Divine by B.L. Teschner Page B

on to me about,” he admitted.
    I stood up and pulled
my purse on over my shoulder. “At least the rain died down so
you're not standing here getting soaked like I did.”
    “ I know,”
he laughed. “I lucked out I guess.”
    “ You're a lucky
guy.”
    He crossed his arms in
front of him and smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
    Everything he said made
me smile, and that last remark was no exception. Yeah, he could have
meant it in a different way. He could have believed that he was lucky
in general. But, I chose to believe what I was hoping he would tell
me someday, that he was lucky because he had me in his life.
    “ Well,” I
sighed, “are you ready to meet my parents?”
    He gave me a nervous
nod. “Yeah, I'm worried about your dad, though.”
    “ Oh, don't worry
about him, he won't be home from work for another hour or so. And as
long as you don't cook better than he does, he'll be fine with you.”
I raised my hand up and patted the strong muscles of his arm; it
surprised me how hard they felt through the thickness of his
sweatshirt.
    “ You don't have
to worry about that, I can't cook at all,” he confessed.
    “ There's
nothing hard about cooking; if you can read a recipe, you can cook.”
I looked down at the keys in my hand to find the one that belonged to
my front door. “You can read,
right?” I teased him, looking up at him with a playful stare.
    He gazed back at me
with a smile. “Awe shucks honey pie, I ain't able to read none,
I's just a dumb old mechanic,” he answered back in an
uneducated hillbilly-type accent that was quite convincing.
    I roared with laughter
at him. “You do that so well, Jonah.”
    “ I know,”
he laughed at himself as he hit me playfully on my arm. “Are
you ready to do this yet? I'm getting anxious here . . .”
    “ Okay, okay.
Let's get this over with.”
    He followed behind me
as I walked up to the front entrance of my house and released the
deadbolt from its chamber. The door opened with a squeak as I pushed
it open, unveiling a torrent of hot air that pushed past our faces.
    “ My mom keeps it
really hot in here,” I told him as we stepped into the entry
way.
    “ Yeah, Arizona,”
he remembered.
    “ Exactly.”
    I put the keys on the
table and dropped my purse to the floor. “Mom, we’re
here.”
    Moments later the heavy
steps of her excited feet came tumbling down the carpeted staircase.
    Oh god. Is this a
bad dream?
    Nope.
It wasn't a bad dream, it was my unfortunate reality. I don't know
what had gotten into her, but my mom was making her way toward us
dressed comfortably in her pink flannel pajamas, teddy bear slippers,
and her pink fluffy robe.
    “ Mom, what are
you wearing?” I cried out, completely embarrassed. “I
told you Jonah was coming over today.”
    She held out her arms
to Jonah and pulled him in for a bear hug, ignoring my complaining.
“Hi Jonah. I'm Bethany Peregrine, but you can call me Beth.”
She pushed him back but held onto his shoulders in her usual hugging
technique. “Wow, you sure are a sturdy young man, aren't you?”
    Jonah looked nervous
and gave a laugh at my mom's comment, unsure how to answer.
    “ Mom,” I
cut in, making her release her friendly grip from his shoulders. “Why
are you in your pajamas?”
    She looked down at her
outfit and then back up at me. “It's cold and rainy outside; I
wanted to be comfortable. I don't think Jonah cares what I wear, do
you Jonah?”
    “ No Ma’am,
I wish I was in my pajamas, too,” he sided with her with a
smile.
    “ See? No big
deal. Jonah even wants to be in his pajamas.”
    “ Well, okay
then,” I gave in with a laugh. “Since I lost the vote I
guess that means I'm in charge of getting the drinks. Would you guys
like some coffee or hot tea?”
    “ No thanks,”
my mom replied.
    Jonah nodded. “Yeah,
I'll take some tea, please.”
    My mom smiled and
motioned toward the living room. “Come sit on the couch,
Jonah.”
    He smiled at me and
then followed her over to the couch,