Flawed Perfection (Beautifully Flawed, #1)

Chapter Forty Two

I stood on the balcony watching my breath come out in plumes as I thought over what the next few hours could be. I used to look forward to Thanksgiving; to the family gathering—eating too much, laughing and smiling until my face felt like it would crack. There was always the anticipation of what might happen, though, and this one was no different in that aspect. It was worse than usual, because now it wasn't just what Adam's parents might attack him with, or what Adam's mom might attack me with—it was the first time Adam and I were us. The fact we forgot to tell anyone but Bobby was lingering on my mind too. His reaction had been acidic enough on its own.

I wondered how it was possible in Bobby's irritation he hadn't told his mom. Tara confirmed he hadn't though. I kind of wished he had; it would have been easier that way. It was going to be hard to explain why we hadn't mentioned it when we'd been dating for over four months now. In my mind Thanksgiving was bound to be as much of a disaster as the volleyball tournament had been.

Except this time I was going to be the one coming back with a concussion—an emotional one.

"Hey," Adam said as he stuck his head out the window. "There you are...aren't you freezing?"

I laughed and my breath froze in the air. "Yeah, maybe."

Adam smiled at me, and my insides warmed after the frigid thoughts I'd been having.

He held out his hand. "You ready?"

I shook my head before responding differently, "As ready as I'll ever be."

I climbed in the window, and Adam rubbed my arms. "It'll be alright."

"As long as Bobby doesn't throw another hissy fit."

"Good thing we're not driving together," he said with a smirk.

I nodded in agreement.

The drive out of Boston wasn't as bad as I feared it might be; most of its residents made their way to their destinations earlier in the day. Bobby and Tara had been one of them. Bobby always spent the entire day with his parents and Tara was more than willing to help our moms with preparing the meal. She admitted she was nervous as she dragged me into her apartment to try to pick out something that was cute, but not too revealing of her shapely body.

In the end I convinced her to wear jeans and a cardigan set with rhinestones on the shoulders that I lent her. It was something she would never have bought in a million years, but she agreed it was perfect for the occasion.

"What you thinking about?" Adam asked as he shifted the car and put the cruise control on.

My stomach churned as my mind drifted to exactly where we were going. I sank deeper into the seat before answering, "Wondering how Tara is doing with the Moms. I texted her, but she hasn't responded."

"They'll love her—my mom tends to love everyone...well, except you."

I must have looked as green as I felt because Adam reached over and squeezed my knee. "It's going to be fine."

"She won't suspect anything is up from us driving in together, but she's going to die if you kiss me or something."

"That's the first thing I'm going to do...stick my tongue down your throat," he said, pulling his lip ring into his mouth. "Oh, baby!"

I tipped my head back against the seat before turning to look at him. My face flushed with heat as I stared at the shiny object wrapping around his lower lip.

"Whoa! What did you just think of?" Adam asked with a chuckle at my expression.

"That!" I pointed at his lip ring. "Does she know about that yet?"