Rayne and Alex

Chapter 15

Rayne

"Why are you shaking?" Alex asks me. We're standing at the front door of what I know is his mom's house. Alex mentioned to me that where he lives is actually just an addition to Eli's house. He and his mom lived in one of the small apartment-like homes, but he moved into another one on his own when he turned eighteen. Now his mom lives in the one he grew up in, and he is her neighbor. I think it's cute that even now he's still really, really close to his mom.

Alex has a small smirk playing on his stupid lips on his stupid, hot face.

"I'm meeting your mom, asshole. Cut me some slack. I'm nervous," I take a deep breath and try to steady my erratic heartbeat. I don't think I'm ready to meet Alex's mom.

Alex wraps are arm across my shoulders and brings me close to him. He kisses my head as he whispers to me, "Baby, she's going to love you."

I really hope so. Before Alex opens the door I speak up, "How many of your girlfriends has she met?" I pause. "I just want to be mentally prepared."

Alex laughs, "Actually, Rayne, you're the first."

The second Alex gets the door open, there's a beautiful, blonde woman in front of me. Eli stands next to her, giving me an encouraging smile. If I didn't already know that I was meeting Alex's mom, it wouldn't've taken me long to figure it out. They've got the same green eyes, same blonde hair, same nose, and even the same mouth. They were both strikingly beautiful.

"Hi!" The woman says with a bright, friendly smile. She takes my hand, dragging me out from under Alex's arm, and embraces me in a warm, comforting hug. "I'm Lily. It's so nice to meet you."

I smile and try to step away from Lily's embrace, but she keeps me secure in her hug. Instead I speak with my chin on her shoulder, "Nice to meet you too. I'm-"

"She's here!" A woman's voice calls from somewhere in Lily's house. At the sound of this voice, Lily let's me go and laughs.

In the hall behind Lily, a short woman with brown, curly hair appears. Her eyes are a soft blue that I'm immediately jealous of. They remind me of the ocean. She's smiling widely as she also comes toward me and hugs me tightly. I don't know why, but something about the woman makes me want to hug her for a long time. I squeeze her back a little, trying my best not to be weird, and catch a whiff of her vanilla perfume.

"Hello," the woman says to me when we let go of each other. "I'm Rose, I'm Eli's mom."

"And I'm Eli's dad," a deep man's voice says.

I look passed both Lily and Rose and see a man with a beard walking toward us. He's a pretty tall man and I know without question that he's where Eli gets his looks from. They have the same eyes and the same light-brown hair color. He gives me a warm smile as he walks up behind Rose. He lays one hand on her hip and extends another hand out to me in greeting.

"Jeff. It's a pleasure," he flashes his teeth at me once more and then lets go of my hand to place it on his wife's other hip. My insides warm in delight at the sight of them so happy together.

I feel Alex come up behind me. He wraps a hand around the nape of my neck and squeezes in an attempt to comfort me. I know he probably thinks I'm still freaking out, but the truth is, I think the panic has subsided.

"Are you guys done?" Alex asks. "I don't want her to run away yet."

Eli raises a hand, "I'm Eli and I've already met you, but hey."

Everyone in the room laughs at that.

I look at everyone in front of me and give them the kindest smile I can muster. "It's very nice to meet you all. I'm Rayne." I reach into my purse and take out the small container of peanut butter snickerdoodles that I had made. I hold it up to them. "I brought some cookies. But, if you're allergic to peanuts, you probably shouldn't eat it." I give a small laugh, but freeze when I see everyone in the room is staring at me strangely. I look to Alex quickly and then back to his family, "Um, Alex didn't mention any allergies."