Forevermore

Thirty Two

Indi

From my room, I hear the door downstairs open then close.

He's here.

I check my reflection in the mirror in my room one last time. I'm wearing a yellow sundress–despite it being the start of October–and my hair is in a braid that hangs off my shoulder.

After a quick deep breath, I leave my room and start towards the stairs. When I make the turn in the staircase, I see Ezra at the bottom.

His grin widens when he sees me. "Hey, pretty girl."

Without thinking, I run down the stairs and practically throw myself into his arms, allowing him to give me a knee-weakening kiss.

When we pull away, I get a good look at him. His hair is wet from his post-game shower–which is a lot sexier than it should be–and he's in his usual attire. Black hoodie and jeans. Casual, but so hot.

His eyes take me in too. I feel my skin's temperature rise the way it always does when his attention is on me.

"You're beautiful," he whispers before dipping his head to kiss me once more. I thread my fingers through his damp hair and my stomach flips over when he grabs me by the waist.

"Mhm." A throat clears from the kitchen.

I jump at least a foot back from Ezra and spin around so quick it makes me lightheaded.

How did I forget to take the other people of this house into account?

"Dad!" I plaster on a smile for my father, who's sitting at the kitchen table. "We were just– I was..." I wearily glance over at Ezra, whose amused grin is frustrating and delightful all the same. "Just helping him get something out of his hair."

"He knows," Ezra says.

"What?" My eyes dart between the both of them. "How does he– How do you know?"

"Ezra came to ask me for permission a few days ago," Dad says as if that isn't one of the sweetest things a guy could do.

But before I can think about it for too long, I spot a girl in the kitchen. A woman.

She's cooking on the stove so she can't see me, but she's definitely heard this. I have no idea who she is. All I can make out is her dark hair that's tied back with a white ribbon.

"This is Carrie," Dad says when he catches me looking at her. "She's a...friend from the rec softball team."

Carrie turns around and flashes a bright smile at me. "Indi!" She has an accent that sounds much like Sofia Vergara's. "I've heard so much about you. You're even prettier than the photos."

The photos?

"Thank you," I reply with a smile on my face. "Are you from Colombia?"

"Yes!" She exclaims. "And you? You're from Spain, right?"

"My mom is."

Her lip twitches into a distasteful scowl before she quickly wipes it away. Either it's jealousy about Paloma being Dad's ex, or it's because he's told her about everything that's happened. Or both.

"And him." She points at Ezra. "Is this your boyfriend?"

I shrug. "It's– he's..." I glance over at him, smiling when I see the easygoing look on his face. His hand somehow ends up in mine and I hope I never have to let go. "He's just Ezra." I'm not even sure what that will mean to her, but I know what it means to me. When I turn back to Carrie I ask, "Are you with my dad?"