Page 88 of Take the Plunge

She blushes. “That’s sweet, but it’s fine, honestly. It might be less intimidating if you and Jett are there.”

“Mum and Dad aren’t intimidating,” Rufus says.

“Meeting the parents for the first time is always intimidating,” Kian says.

“I am a little nervous,” Halle admits. “But I’m also looking forward to it.”

I let the conversation carry on without me. I never met Erica’s parents, although she met mine. That should probably have been a warning sign, but it wasn’t. She always had an excuse. They were on holiday. One of her parents wasn’t well. They were too busy. The list went on and on.

Kian puts his hand on my knee again. I can feel his stare on me, part questioning, part concerned. I grab a slice of pizza and take a hearty bite.

“Seriously, though, if you two have been seeing each other for a month, you should really tell Mum and Dad,” Rufus says. “At least you know they already love you.”

“Do you think they’ll like me?” Halle asks.

“They’ll adore you, babe.” Rufus gives her the noisiest kiss I’ve ever heard.

“I wish you’d join us,” Halle says.

Why? It’s not as if our double date is going swimmingly. It’s awkward as fuck, and my thoughts keep circling back to Kian going to Spain for six weeks. Not that he’s confirmed he’s going, but he didn’t say he wasn’t. I’ve got no right to ask him not to go. But six weeks? Fuck, that’s a long time. Selfish. Possessive. Shit boyfriend. That’s me.

“Maybe another time,” Kian says in a diplomatic tone.

“I’d like that.”

“Hey, has Rufus told you about our granddad’s holiday home?”

“No.” Halle looks at Rufus, one eyebrow raised.

“He’s got a house in the middle of nowhere up in Scotland.” Kian grins. “There’s a lake there and everything. It’s very romantic. We can use it whenever we want as long as Granddad isn’t up there fishing with his buddies.”

“We should all go up there one weekend,” Rufus says. “We need to do it before you go to Spain. A farewell hurrah.”

“Rufus—” Kian says.

“I’d love to go,” Halle interrupts whatever he was going to say. “Have you ever been, Jett?”

“Yeah, a few times. It’s nice.”

“Oh!” Halle says in a ‘the penny has just dropped’ voice. “That’s where you two got together. It must be romantic.” She grasps Rufus’s arm. “It sounds like a wonderful place.”

“That’s settled,” Rufus says. “I’ll talk to Granddad and arrange a weekend to go up. When do you go away, Kian?”

“I haven’t even finalised my proposal yet,” Kian replies. “But I’ll probably be doing my research project in October and November.”

Three months away. It seems like no time at all, even though it’s much longer than we’ve been together, even unofficially.

Rufus fakes a violent shiver. “All the more reason to go to Spain. You’ll freeze your butt off here.”

“It wouldn’t be that cold.”

“Yes, it will. And it’ll be wet. Anyway, I don’t want to wait that long to go to the holiday house.” He waves his hand. “I’ll text you some dates.”

Halle claps her hands. “I can’t wait. Do you have any pictures?”

“Sure.” Rufus flicks through pictures on his phone while giving his girlfriend a running commentary of what she’s seeing.

Kian squeezes my knee, drawing my attention to him. “Are you okay?” he mouths.