Page 24

Layla

“How are you not nervous? It’s my family and I’m freaking out.”

We just landed in Brownsville for our Spring Break visit and we’re waiting to deboard the plane. I’m ready to bounce out of my skin. Yes, I’m excited to see my family, and I want them to meet Teagan, but I’m also worried they’ll be too much for him. Even though he’s proven over and over again that he can handle anything and anyone, no matter the level of their energy. He welcomes the challenge of meeting new people and figuring out what makes them tick. He’s genuinely interested in the people he strikes up conversations with, giving them his full attention. That’s probably why the kids he works with love him so much.

Love.

He loves me. I love him.

Trading those words that day was better than what I had ever pictured. I was so worried that I wouldn’t feel the butterflies and overwhelming surge of emotions since he’d said it while drunk the first time, but they were there in force. I had no idea that actually saying I love you would elevate our relationship. We were already in such a great place. Our honeymoon phase, so to speak.

I thought we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other before, but that doesn’t hold a candle to how we are now. Somehow we manage to keep our PDA to a minimum when we’re with our friends, or in public, but once we’re alone, all bets are off. We’ve fucked or made love on every surface in my house. The stamina of my Irishman is otherworldly. When our bodies are spent, we still find ways to be touching in some capacity.

“Why?” Teagan asks from the seat beside me, bringing me back to the present.

“Because!” I exclaim, pulling my hair over my shoulder and anxiously twirling a strand around my finger. “You’re finally going to see what I mean about them being over the top and I don’t want it to scare you away.”

“Layla,” he says, pulling my hands from my hair. “There’s not a damn thing that’s going to scare me away from you. We’ve talked about this.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I drop my forehead to his shoulder. “I know. I’m just so anxious.”

His lips press into my hair. “You worried they won’t like me, Cailín?”

A chuckle escapes me at the ridiculous idea. “No. They’re going to love you. I think maybe I’m not prepared for all the comments they’ll aim at me. The teasing will be relentless.”

“Ah, love,” he croons. “Don’t you know I’m a goalie? I’ll block every shot that comes your way.”

He means what he’s saying, but I know he’s also trying to lighten my mood. What he doesn’t realize is that those words are exactly what I needed to hear. After years of my family thinking they know what’s best for me, I’ve never had a single person come to my defense. No one to jump in front of me and take the hits. But here’s Teagan, ready and willing to do just that.

Lifting my head, I place a kiss to his jaw. “Thanks, babe. I love you. ”

He grins, that boyish smile lighting up his entire face, then leans in to whisper against my ear, “I love you, Cailín. And I quite like the sound of you calling me babe . Almost as much as I like it when you call me Papí .”

This makes me shiver and regret that we weren’t able to become a part of the Mile High Club.

“We’re not going to be able to share a bed, you know?”

He jerks his head back, eyes wide. “Why the feck not? I thought your Mam was all about a healthy sex life, and that, lass, is something we absolutely have.”

He wags his eyebrows, making me laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, but talking about it and being in the same house with it is a different story. Not to mention that my Abuela is very traditional and would make me go to confession. Actually, she’ll probably have me do that anyway.”

Teagan groans as he runs a hand over his face. “So you’re telling me that I won’t get to sleep with you the entire time we’re there? That’s five days, Layla. I’m not sure if I can make it that long.”

“Ah, Papí,” I purr, placing my hand on his thigh and slowly sliding it up the inside of his leg. “Just because we won’t be sleeping together doesn’t mean we won’t be fucking.”

* * *

“Mija!” Mami squeals with delight the moment she sees me walk through the airport doors.

I tried to tell her we’d rent a car and meet them at the house, but she wouldn’t hear of it, insisting she had to come to pick us up. I was looking forward to driving Teagan around Brownsville though, prolonging our arrival at my childhood home.

“?Hola Mami!” I greet her with a lingering hug.

As crazy as she makes me, there’s something about being hugged by your mother - especially after going without seeing her for so long. She holds me tightly, brushing a hand over my hair before pulling back and holding my shoulders.

“Oh, hijita, it’s so good to see you! You look so good!” She glances over my shoulder, presumably at Teagan, then back at me, wagging her eyebrows. “He’s good for you, no?”

I hide my face in my hands, but I can hear Teagan chuckling as he comes up behind me, placing his hand on my lower back as he extends the other to my mother.

“Mrs. Diaz, it’s lovely to meet you finally.”

“Oh, and he’s so polite too! No need for formalities, Teagan. You can call me Raquel. Thank you for bringing my daughter home for a while. It’s been so long since we’ve seen her.”

Rolling my eyes, I open my mouth to give her the same talk I give her every other time she brings this up, but Teagan slides closer, angling himself toward me, and says, “Ach, to be sure, but thank god travel works both ways, yeah? You lot are closer distance-wise than my family is. My parents would only love to be as close as you all are to Layla. They’d probably be visiting a few times a year.”

I watch Mami’s brow furrow as she processes this information, and then her gaze flicks to me. “I thought North Carolina was bad. I can’t imagine being across the ocean from you, mija.”

Teagan catches my eye and winks, saying without words that he’s just blocked the first shot. The relief from not having to argue with my mother is palpable - a weight lifted from my shoulders. I grin back at him and mouth my thanks.

* * *

After retrieving our bags from the conveyor belt, we quickly loaded everything into the white Honda Pilot my father surprised Mami with on their anniversary. She’d been driving around the same old minivan since Rafael was born. She never complained, but when Papá revealed the new SUV to her, she jumped up and down, shrieking with delight and crying the happiest of tears. She now refers to it as her baby and is very, very strict about eating or drinking anything in it.

When Teagan opened the door for me to climb into the front passenger seat, Mami ooh’d and ahhh’d over how chivalrous he was. She didn’t see the way he slapped my ass before I sat down though…or the way I palmed his dick through his jeans while she rounded the front of the car.

The drive to my family home from the airport is short, which means we’re pulling into the driveway of the brown and tan brick house within no time. I think I’ll always feel a sense of comfort here, even with my parents’ antics and wild siblings. I know that, at any time, I can walk through that front door without invitation and know it’s home.

Their first house was a tiny two-bedroom structure that they rented from Papá’s uncle. It was cheap and they were young, so they didn’t care. Once they found out Marcos was on the way, they knew they’d need something bigger eventually, as they wanted multiple children, so they skimped and saved, working two jobs a piece, to save up for the down payment.

Nearly every day, Mami would drive through a specific neighborhood, looking at all of the houses, knowing this was where they’d raise their family. The day they reached their goal, fortune was on their side as a house she had her eye on had gone up for sale. Not only was it the exact size they wanted, but it was priced just below what they were looking for. It needed a little TLC, but neither of my parents were afraid of a little hard work, so they fixed what needed to be fixed, remodeled what needed to be remodeled, and made it into the place we call home.

Mami puts the car in park, shuts off the engine, and turns to me. “I am under no illusion that the two of you don’t share a bed, but you know how your Abuelos feel about sex before marriage. To keep them from sending us all to purgatory, I’ve put you in your old room mija, and Teagan is in Marcos’. I don’t care what you do after lights out, just don’t get caught.”

Teagan chuckles in the backseat, but I’m about to burn to ash in embarrassment. Why I’m surprised that my mother would say such a thing, I’ll never know. This is par for the course as far as she’s concerned.

“Now, your Papá and Abuelo won’t be home for another hour or so, but Jaz and Cori are inside with Abuela. They’re getting set up to make tamales tomorrow.”

I glance back at Teagan, who grins and winks at me, making my face heat again.

It’s going to be five very long days.