I laughed and turned to drag Kill over. His eyes held a hint of nervous energy. He stuck out his hand to my dad after drying it on his jeans. My dad quickly slapped his hand into Kill’s. They smiled at each other, seeming familiar since they had already talked on the phone.
“Mr. Annabelle,” Kill said gruffly.
“Call me Eugene. I told you that on the phone.”
“Kill, this is Martha,” I said, choking back a giggle when I noticed the pink tint on Martha's cheeks when Kill pulled her in for a hug.
“It is so nice to meet you, Martha. Slick has told me so much about you,” Kill said as we walked to where the carousel was spitting out the luggage from their flight.
My dad shot me a questioning look when Kill called me Slick. I just smiled and shrugged, too happy to do anything else. Kill kissed the top of my head before leaning down and getting the suitcase Martha pointed out to him.
We talked excitedly the whole walk back to the Highlander. Once everything was stored in the back, we all climbed in to the comfort of the heated seats. I let my dad sit in the front with Kill so I could discuss dinner with Martha.
We decided to take them to the hotel so they could check-in and freshen up. When they were ready, they would come back to our house so Martha could help me with dinner. Since I wouldn’t let her cook anything, she’d insisted on it. My dad and Martha went up to their room while Kill and I went to the restaurant in the lobby so they could have some alone time.
“So, what do you think?” I asked, taking a sip of my iced tea.
“They’re awesome. Martha cracks me up. I love how she keeps your dad in line, and I can tell they really love each other.”
“Yeah, they are. I haven’t seen my dad this happy in a long time. Martha was the best thing that happened to him.”
Kill frowned at me. “I disagree. You're the best thing that happened to him, and I know the feeling.”
I blushed furiously, embarrassed by how his words flew straight to my heart. Thankfully, I was saved from having to respond when my dad and Martha walked up to us. They were freshly showered and looked rejuvenated. My dad snatched my glass and finished off the rest of my tea, while Martha glared at him.
“No more caffeine for you,” she said when he set the empty glass down.
Kill winked at me and I tried not to laugh, as my dad gave Martha his best innocent look.
Back at home, everyone was waiting in the kitchen, excited to meet my dad and Martha. I cringed when Jet shook my dad's hand, but he surprised me by keeping his mouth shut. I expelled a shaky breath, and my shoulders started to relax as I assumed I was out of the clear.
Silly me. Jet reverted back to his true self when he grabbed Martha and gave her a hug. "Good Job, Eugene. You’ve got yourself a very sexy lickable woman here."
We all hit Jet in differing regions of his body. My eyes wrenched over to my dad, wondering what he would do. He stared at Jet with a puzzled look on his face.
Martha saved the day, "Thank you, Jet. He is a lucky man. Aren't you, Eugene?"
My dad cleared his throat, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "I am."
After everyone was introduced, my dad pulled me aside. "I'm so glad you chose Kill. They all seem like nice boys, but you're still my baby girl," he said, eyeing Jet.
He shuddered when Jet kissed Amy, his tongue snaking into her mouth as she held onto a bag of sour gummy worms. I burst out laughing. Kill and Martha turned and gave me a questioning look. I shook my head. Kill cocked his eyebrow at me, and I reciprocated, silently letting him know I would tell him later. He winked, and turned back to finish talking to Martha.
A knock sounded at the door. I did a quick headcount, making sure everyone was present. Jessie and Van were on the couch talking to D. Jet and Amy were making out on the recliner, and Kill and Martha were still talking in the kitchen. I walked over to the door, opening it to see Ryan and Denise holding up boxes of pizza and bottles of soda.
“Come in,” I said, moving aside.
“We wanted to meet your parents and thought you might not want to cook dinner tonight, since you’re cooking tomorrow.”
"Dinner's ready," I announced as I followed the pizza into the kitchen.
They passed around paper plates and plastic cups.
"Wow, you guys thought of everything," I said, my heart bursting with love.
"We wanted you to be able to visit. Besides, we wanted to see if you needed any help with dinner tomorrow," Ryan answered as she handed Martha a napkin.
The boys descended on the food, and my dad eyed their vigor for a moment before grabbing a piece for himself.