I’d never been in a relationship with someone who’d taken me home to meet their family. What the hell had I just agreed to?

29

Alex

“I’m going to throw some spare clothes and stuff in a bag,” Elena told me as we got ready to leave for my place.

“Inviting yourself for a sleepover?” I asked, trying to hide how pleased I was.

When Zane had suggested inviting her over to meet the family, I’d been so uncertain of where we stood. Since then, we’d pretty much demolished the professional boundaries and entered into territory that went beyond a client relationship. But I still didn't know if Elena just saw us as friends-with-benefits while we were fake dating or whether she was also starting to wonder what it would be like if we didn’t end things when we were supposed to. I’d been surprised she agreed to come, but didn't want to read too much into it.

“I most certainly am inviting myself for a sleepover," she said. “I’m charging a premium for having to play the girlfriend routine outside the bounds of our contract. I’ll accept my bonus in orgasms. It might take you days.”

“Days, huh?” I leaned down and kissed her neck, making her squirm. “Just how many are you charging me for meeting the fam?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll keep a tab and let you know.” She turned to kiss me deeply but briefly, then murmured, “Now fuck off and go wait in the living room or we’ll never get out of here.”

“So who’s going to be there?” Elena asked on the way over.

“Rami.” We both smiled, remembering the last time we’d seen him. “Both of my younger brothers, and my mom.”

“You said your dad passed a while ago. Is your mom still single?”

I nodded. “They were married for thirty-five years and she says she'll never love anyone like that again. That’s part of the reason we want my her to move out here. She’s all alone in that house now that my youngest brother is leaving for school.”

“I’m sorry you lost your dad. That must’ve been tough on all of you, but especially her. Do your brothers act too? I suppose I could google all of this instead of grilling you if you want.”

I laughed. “Please don’t. It’s nice to pretend every detail of my life isn’t online for once. My middle brother is in a band and the youngest is still figuring it all out. There’s a bigger age gap between the two of them, so he’s still in college.”

“And Rami fits in this picture how?”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. We grew up together and our paths happened to align when we both chose to be in the entertainment industry.” I felt bad we were only talking about me because I was just as interested in her. “What’s the story with your family?”