Becoming Mallory by Elaine Evans

Author:Elaine Evans [Elaine Evans]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

29

Caleb

I honk the horn as Mallory and I wave at her parents, who are standing on the porch and watching us drive away. A sense of relief washes over me as I release a long, deep breath. The dinner went well, don’t get me wrong. I feel like I made a good impression on them.

At least, I hope I did.

But my brain needs a break. For over an hour, I was on my best behavior, trying my hardest to say the right thing and not do anything stupid. Impressing Mallory’s parents, other than impressing Mallory, was my sole mission in life tonight. Quite frankly, I’m exhausted, and our date hasn’t even started yet.

I glance over at Mallory and notice her hands are fidgeting in her lap as she picks at her cuticles. Turning my attention back to the street, I watch the houses pass us by, one by one.

This silence is maddening. We have talked each other’s ears off for months at the café. We text every day, sometimes all day. But as soon as you attach the word “date” to our time together, we get all weird and awkward. I’m usually a pretty calm and collected kinda guy. But right now, I feel like I want to crawl out of my skin.

“So, I hope your parents liked me,” I ask, giving the conversation a go.

“Don’t worry, they did. You would have known if they didn’t. Especially my dad. He gets quiet when he doesn’t like someone, and he talked to you. So, you’re good.” She pauses. “Just wait till you meet my dad’s cousin, Johnny. He’s just like my dad. Maybe even a little worse. He’s also very protective of me.”

Oh, geez! There’s two of them!

She’s wearing a big smirk as if she is already playing out the “meet Cousin Johnny” scenario in her head. I will put that family meeting off as much as possible. Thank you very much. The Givens men are intimidating, to say the least.

After that lame attempt at conversation, we both get quiet again. I turn onto the highway, and all you can hear is Imagine Dragons and Mallory’s breathing. God, why is this so hard all of a sudden? I need to address the elephant in the room. Or … car.

“Okay. Let’s be honest here, Mal.” Her eyebrows raise in concern. “Are you as nervous as me? Because my stomach is in knots, and I feel like I’m going to throw up your mom’s delicious dinner.”

Her gorgeous face breaks into a curious smile, and she sighs in relief. “You’re nervous?”

I glance at her knowingly. “Yes. Very.” I turn my attention back to the road.

A nervous giggle escapes her lips. “Me too.”

“I mean, this is ridiculous. We have talked and become so close over the last few months. Why does this feel different?”

I know why it does for me. Because, over these last few months, Mallory has become way more to me than just a friend.

She taps her leg nervously and avoids looking at me by staring out the passenger window.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.