Back Flip Boy [ Ethan Nestor ]

23.

I woke up curled in his arms with Cooper in between us, his cute little beady eyes staring up at me. I rubbed the top of his head as I untangled myself from Ethan's arms, beckoning Cooper to follow me so we could go upstairs and pee, and also talk to Mrs. Nestor. The past week and a half with Ethan's family were amazing, but we had to get back to LA soon to meet Mika and the girls for our trip to Seal Beach. We hadn't told Ethan he'd be coming with us yet, and basically had the opportunity to spend the whole summer in LA with me and Mark. He also had no idea that I was going to be touring a house with Kathryn, so that would be a nice surprise for him too.

"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Nestor smiled at me as I closed the basement door, following Cooper to the back door. "I hope you guys had a good night?"

"We did. I know he stayed up kind of late editing, so I have no idea what time he'll be up." I opened the back door for Cooper, turning back to Mrs. Nestor. "So, about the plane ticket-"

"It's already purchased. Both of them."

"I-"

"No, it's the least I can do. You both are very important to each other and you've done so much for him, it was only fair that we do something in return."

"You didn't have to, really. How much do I owe you?"

"Nonsense. You owe us nothing." she waved her hand nonchalantly. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"If my breakfast can be paying you back, then yes." I joked. "Actually, a toasted bagel sounds great right now. Do you have any cream cheese?"

"We do. And please, don't worry about paying us back. I want to do this. You've really bought Ethan out of his shell. I want to do something both of you will be happy about, and this is it." she smiled at me as she started getting the breakfast stuff. "Do you two have any plans for LA?"

"Well, me and my friend Kathryn were going to tour a few houses since we're moving in together-"

"Oh, that's so exciting!"

"I know! And I was thinking of asking Ethan to come along, so he doesn't have to stay alone with Mark."

Mrs. Nestor raised her eyebrows. "Interesting."

"I- oh, no I- I mean we're not- I'm not asking him to move in with me I-"

"Honey, it's quite alright." She smiled at me. "I wouldn't say no to Ethan moving out to be closer to you, Mark and the Youtube stuff. I know he really wants to go into that."

"I've met some really cool people doing Youtube, I could only hope he does the same." I smiled lightly. "He's got some good talent he really could put to use on the platform."

"You didn't hear this from me, but I think he could make a living off of it."

Both Mrs. Nestor and I broke into laughter as she placed the bagel and cream cheese in front of me, the two of us keeping up light conversation until Ethan decided to trek upstairs. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and placed his head in the crook of my neck, his face going into my hair. I reached up and started scratching the top of his head lightly, smiling  as his mom and I continued talking. Mrs. Nestor slipped a bagel in front of Ethan, smiling at him as he unwrapped himself from me and plopped down in the seat next to me. Around eleven we made our way back downstairs to get dressed, considering we were going to film a few videos together and I definitely was supposed to be vlogging this trip but totally didn't. It's fine though, since I had pre-scheduled videos anyway. We took the dogs for a walk and settled in to film, deciding to do a stupid "try to paint the other with a blindfold on" video for Ethan's channel, and a video for my channel where we took turns trying to teach the dogs new tricks.  By the time we were done filming it was around dinner time, and we all found ourselves in the Nestor's living room, watching a movie while we all ate some pizza.

It was a nice feeling, being able to be so... well, myself around my boyfriend's family. I had never experienced this, considering I never got to meet Kyle's family- but that could be because he never introduced me to them. It was so different, being with Ethan, and it was nice. The best part of it, in my opinion, for sure had to be how nice Mrs. Nestor and Mr. Nestor were to me. They practically treated me like another family member, instead of some outsider who happened to like their son. Feeling like I fit in, that was big for me. If I were being honest, I never really felt like I fit in anywhere before I met Ethan. But now that I met him, I finally felt like I had that place where I could truly be myself. It was hard for me growing up, especially since I was always stuck in Mark's shadow. Well, that was until I got out of the shadow but still. I felt like I finally had a place where I belonged, and it made me feel all happy on the inside.

I curled closer into Ethan's side, pulling his hands into mine and starting to fiddle with his ring. I felt him pull me closer with his free arm, and I felt myself practically melting into his side. My head went to rest in the crook of his neck, Cooper and Max coming to sit near us. It was a cute little picture- me and Ethan, and dogs next to us. It was something I could see in the future- him and I and our little family. The thought of us being a family together made my heart swell, and it was something I hoped we could achieve. Obviously, it would be years down the line, but it was something to work towards.

Mrs. Nestor cleared her throat. "Oh Ethan, I forgot, something came for you in the mail today."

"I didn't order anything."

I feigned confusion. "Are you sure you didn't order anything?"

"No, I have like five dollars."

Mrs. Nestor got up and went into the kitchen, and it took all of my willpower to not burst out into laughter as I watched him in his confused state. She came back in and handed him an envelope, a friendly smile on her face.

"There's no return label?"

"Interesting, I didn't notice that."

Ethan slowly opened the envelope, his eyes widening as he saw what was inside. "A one way ticket to LA?"

"Surprise!" I smiled, doing jazz hands for dramatic effect. "You're spending the summer with me and Mark!"

Ethan bought me in for a hug, tears of joy running down his face. I pulled away with a chuckle, using the pads of my thumbs to wipe the tears off his cheek as he smiled.

This was going to be the best summer ever.