Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,47

the doorknob, he pulled me into his chest. My palm pressed to his beating heart. One hand spanned my back, and the other tipped my head back to look him in the eye.

“They’re gonna love me. Parents adore me,” he teased. It made me laugh, and I knew that was exactly what he’d intended. The tension in my shoulders loosened and my lids fell as his lips softly brushed mine in a sweet, chaste kiss.

The door flew open, and my brother stood there grinning. “Y’all comin’ in or you gonna stand out there smooching all night?”

Rolling my eyes, I smirked at Cameron. “Like I said—here we go.”

He laughed and followed me in the house with his strong hand curled around mine. All eyes turned our way as the boisterous noise calmed. My damn pale skin burned at all the attention on us.

“Mom, Dad, Pawpaw, Mamaw, this is Cameron.” My gaze flickered to his, and a happy grin lifted my cheeks. “My boyfriend.”

Crimson and Jett had already met him, and my sister smiled happily. The rest of them descended on us exactly as I expected them to, and we all found seats in the living room. They bombarded him with questions that he graciously answered.

My grandmother hopped up, went into the kitchen, and called out to us, “Dinner’s ready!”

Cameron stood and held out a hand to help me to my feet. He was being an incredibly good sport at the third degree my family had run him through. For a brief moment, he held me in his embrace, and I drank in the feel of his body against mine and the scent that was simply Cameron. We wandered into the dining room to the long family table.

“Cameron is sitting by me!” Jett announced. My sister and my mother both hid smiles.

The food was passed around, and conversation turned to Cameron again.

“So I hear you’re going to let Jett drive that fancy car of yours. Pretty brave,” my father said as he spooned mashed potatoes on his plate. Cameron chuckled softly.

“Yes, sir. We were supposed to do it a while back, but it rained and so we postponed. I was thinking maybe we could do that after dinner if it’s still light out. If that’s okay with you,” he replied as he passed the gravy.

“I reckon that would be okay. But he knows all the rules,” my father sternly said as he eyed my brother.

“Yes!” Jett shouted.

“Jett!” my mother instantly admonished. “We’re at the table. Manners, please.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, I just got excited.”

Cameron quietly chuckled. Jett inhaled his food as he kept glancing at the windows to judge the daylight. He needn’t have worried; we ate Sunday dinner early, and there were plenty of hours of daylight still.

Cameron helped clear the table after the meal no matter how many times my family told him he was a guest and there was no need. Little did he know, if they hadn’t loved him before, they did now.

“Well, are you ready?” Cameron asked Jett.

Jett nodded like a bobblehead, then threw his shoulders back. “I mean, yes, sir, I’m ready when you are.”

Cameron pulled his keys from his jeans and tossed them. Jett caught them, and a smile nearly split his face.

“Let’s go, sport.”

At the way Cameron fit in so well with my family, I knew I was falling hard and fast.

“Necessary Evil”—Motionless In White (feat. Jonathan Davis)

Jett cautiously pulled out of the neighborhood we’d been cruising around for the past hour and a half. The residents probably thought we were casing the place. Honestly, I was surprised no one had called the cops on us.

“I really can’t thank you enough. This is so freaking cool,” he said, keeping his eyes dutifully on the road. I’d taken a few pics and videos of him driving so he could show them off to his friends. I remembered what it was like to have something that bumped you up on the cool meter.

The sun was beginning to set, and I was thankful it wasn’t in his eyes as we returned to the house. Like a pro he moved through the gears of the Porsche. He’d only struggled slightly in the first few minutes until he figured out the shift pattern. It was tighter and laid out a little different than the ranch trucks he’d been driving.

“Hey, a deal’s a deal,” I replied with a smirk.

The miles slipped away, and before I knew it, he was decelerating for the driveway. A disappointed sigh slipped from him, and I