Cheesy on the Eyes by Teagan Hunter Page 0,20

sit back, liking the way he’s unaffected by my family’s madness.

We’re not for everyone, that’s for sure. We’re loud, straight shooters, and close as hell. It’s hard to weave yourself into our fold. Jaden’s proof of that.

In the four years we were together, my mother never once let him call her anything other than Mrs. Schwartz, and my father never tried to spend time with him. Though Jonas was away at college most of the time we were together, he never bothered with trying to throw his weight around.

I guess they just never thought he was worth their effort, and I see now I should have taken that as a sign.

“I was starting to wonder if you guys would ever sit down,” Simon says, appearing with a tray full of drinks.

“They got you waiting tables, huh?” Jonas teases, knowing full well Simon is the owner. Not only have we been coming here since we were little, but Jonas also used to work for Slice. When he injured his knee and had to take some time to rehab it and decide if the NFL was what he wanted, he came back home and even picked up a couple shifts to help cure his boredom.

I bet Simon’s missing having the extra hands around with the summer crowds.

He laughs as he distributes our drinks. “Well, if my best driver hadn’t run off and joined some fancy-schmancy sporting club, I’d have some extra help around here.” He looks to Sully, and there’s no mistaking the humor in his eyes. “Should I move you over here, kid?”

“Yes, please join us, Sully.” My mother bats her lashes up at him. “We’d love to get to know you. Right, Harvey?”

Another grunt from my dad.

“Yeah, Sully. Join ’em. Get to know your girlfriend’s family a little.”

Sully looks like he either wants to laugh at the insanity of all this or strangle Simon for egging it on.

I can’t tell which.

He looks to me, and I give my head a small shake.

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

I’d have no problem having breakfast with him under normal circumstances. Hell, I begged him to sit with me just the other day and then forced him into pretending to be my boyfriend.

But making him do it when my family is involved? Even I’m not that cruel.

Sully clears his throat. “As much as I appreciate the invite, Let—uh, Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz,” he amends when he catches sight of my dad’s glower. “Some friends are waiting for me. Sunday breakfasts are kind of our tradition since they all grew up and got married and had kids, leaving me behind in the dust.”

“Hopefully not for long,” my mother murmurs before tucking her lips together and peeking around the table innocently. “Well, it was lovely meeting you, dear. We’ll have to get together soon.” She pins me with her stare. “Before the wedding, Thea.”

“Picked that up loud and clear, Mom.”

Jonas laughs. “Haha. You got scolded in front of your boyfriend.”

“Please, Jonas, you get scolded all the time in front of your fiancée.”

“Way to ruin my fun, Frank,” he pouts.

I ignore them, turning to Sully. “Uh, Sully, I guess I’ll see you later? Maybe give me a call this afternoon?”

He shakes his head. “No can do. My…uh, cell is busted.”

Shit, shit, shit.

“Oh!” I sit forward. “I’ll be at work later, so we—”

“Come on, Thea.” My dad groans. “It’s a Sunday. Take a break from the shop.”

“Oh hush. Like you haven’t spent a Sunday poring over paperwork before.”

“I knew you living next to the shop was a bad idea,” he grumbles.

I wave him off and turn my attention to Sully. “Want to meet me at Schwartz Auto at about four?”

“I can do that,” he affirms. “Again, thanks for the invite. It was great meeting you,” he says to my parents.

“Don’t be a stranger, dear,” my mother says.

“I’ll try not to.” He laughs, probably because that’s exactly what he is—a stranger. He turns to me. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yep,” I say, even though he didn’t ask a question. I’m nervous. I have no idea how to end an interaction with my fake boyfriend in front of my family.

He gives a halfhearted wave and starts to turn away before catching himself.

“Hey, babe?”

Just like the first time he called me that, the name slips easily from his lips, like it was always meant to be there.

“Y-Yeah?” I say, speaking cautiously because I can’t imagine there’s anything left for us to say in this already awkward