Maid For You 4

Chapter 85

In late August, Coleman and I took a trip from Wethercross, Aregano to Alexandria, Virginia, United States of America. Coleman had talked my family virtually several times since we'd started dating, and he and my mom would even text on occasion, but they'd never met in person and we decided it was time for a proper introduction. Besides, my birthday was the first of September, and I was eager to spend it with my family and Coleman. I rested my head on his shoulder on the plane-ride there, holding his hand and squeezing it tightly.

"I'm excited for you to meet everyone," I said. "My mom's especially excited. She thinks you're great."

He chuckled. "Your mother is wonderful. She cares about you a lot."

"She does."

"And your father?"

"Well, he obviously cares about me a lot as well."

"I know that. I mean, what does he think of me?" Coleman asked. He and Dad were not on texting terms yet.

"Well he's..." I paused, trying to find the right words. "I mean, he's my dad, you know? So he just...it's not that he doesn't like you or anything."

"That's promising," he said dryly.

"He just, well, he worries about me. He's protective. Classic Dad stuff. It's nothing personal."

"So you're telling me that I need to convince your father that I will treat you right?"

"Well, it really couldn't hurt."

Coleman was planning to have some sort of driver pick us up from the airport and take us to my parent's home, but Mom insisted that she be the one to pick us up. Dad was still running the souvenir store, so in the end it was just she and Calvin who rolled up in the old gold Toyota minivan.

"That's them!" I said eagerly, pointing at the car approaching. I nudged Coleman's side. "Have you ever ridden in a car like that?"

I looked up at his face, and he looked slightly leery. "I can't say that I have."

"I'm sure I could convince them to trade you for one of your Bugattis."

"Don't joke like that Cassie, I beg of you."

As Mom pulled up to the curb, Calvin flung open the front door and jumped out of the car. I ran up to give him a hug while Mom came around from the front seat and approached Coleman.

"Coleman!" she cried. "It's so nice to meet you in person!" She gave him a hug, and he laughed a little awkwardly and hugged her in return.

"It's very nice to see you, Mrs. Carmichael." He made eye contact with me a smiled cheekily.

Calvin then approached Coleman. "Good to see you, Prince Coleman," he said. He held out his hand to dap Coleman up, where he'd grab his hand and pull him into a pound hug, but Coleman looked a little lost at the hand gesture before him. He awkwardly made a little T-rex arm in order to shake my brother's hand, which was positioned too close for a regular handshake, and Calvin glanced back at me and made the same stupid face he always made when he thought something cringey was going on. I stifled a laugh.

Calvin then went to open the trunk, and Coleman and I brought our suitcases to the back—I had one, and Coleman had two.

"You sure have a lot of suitcases, your highness," Calvin said. I wasn't sure if Coleman had caught on, but I knew that tone. Calvin would put it on whenever he was mocking someone but wasn't at all obvious about it. I shot my brother a glare, but he just smiled mischievously at me.

Punk. I thought.

"Well..." Coleman smiled awkwardly. "I wanted to bring some souvenirs and gifts from Aregano for you and your family."