Heading Home Again

“Yes, Mom,” I said as I threw a pair of yoga pants into my duffle bag. “I know, Mom. Okay, Mom. Yeah, I’ll be there.”

I was half listening to my mother’s ranting while trying to make sure I didn’t forget to pack anything for my weekend home. I was trying to make sure I had everything I needed for a few days in the cold state of New York.

When Anna told me she was engaged over FaceTime, I almost dropped my phone as I jumped up and down. “That’s so exciting,” I said to her before she started telling me the details about how her now fiancé proposed.

Charlie and Anna had been dating for roughly two years when he popped the question. They were walking his dog in a park when he pointed out a piece of paper taped on a bench. Charlie asked Anna what it said so she walked over to it and saw that it simply read, “Turn Around.” When she did, he was down on one knee.

Anna had been in a lot of crappy relationships and dealt with a lot of heartbreak over the years, so I was really happy that she had finally found a guy who not only treated her right, but also really seemed like a perfect match for her. It was inspiring, too. A short time ago, Anna was in the same place as me. Maybe I’d meet my Charlie soon!

I was due for a trip home anyway, so I decided to go for Anna’s engagement party. It wasn’t going to be anything huge, but it’d be a perfect opportunity for me to see all my close friends from home in one shot. Then I’d spend some time with my family before hopping back on a plane. It was going to be a short trip, but with the way things were going at work, I wasn’t about to take any vacation days.

On my way to the airport, I received a text from Tom. “Have a great trip home. I’ll miss you!” He added a kissy face emoji on the end of his sentiment. I smiled at the text and promptly texted him back that I’d miss him, too.

I arrived in New York super late Friday night and crashed immediately. When I woke up Saturday morning, I went downstairs where my mom was making breakfast.

Sometimes, I get uneasy when my mom asks me about my love life, but as I ate her amazing pancakes, I was happy that I finally had some good news for her. I told her I had just started seeing Tom and that things were going pretty well.

“I’m glad, sweetie,” she said refilled my coffee cup. “I worry about you out there.”

“I have a life, mom,” I responded as I rolled my eyes. “But I know you worry.” I could always tell my mom was concerned about me when we spoke on the phone, but I tried to calm her nerves by telling her about all the fun stuff I was doing.

“So,” she began as a mischievous look crept across her face. “No chance you’re going to move back home?”

I tilted my head down and gave her a look. “The more you prod me, the less I want to come home. Besides, I told you, I have a life there!”

I hadn’t told my mom about all of my work drama. It was the last thing she needed to worry about and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up that I’d possibly move home if things didn’t work out with my job.

So, Saturday afternoon I met up with Darlene and Jessica to browse around the mall for a possible engagement gift for Anna and Charlie. I knew we’d probably end up getting them a gift card somewhere, but it was nice to walk around the mall that I used to wander around when I was in high school. Plus, I could use some new shoes.

I caught up with Darlene and Jessica a little bit while shopping. Neither of them were seeing anybody, but they were going out a lot and really happy with their respective jobs. I actually felt like an outsider walking around with them. While I still continuously texted them both along with Anna in a group chat, I had no idea how much more connected they were to each other than to Anna or me. It was still an enjoyable afternoon, though.

“So, how’s everyone else?” I asked as I picked up a cool soap dish in Target. There was one person in particular that I wanted to know about but couldn’t ask directly about.

“Pretty much the same,” Jessica replied. “You know, all the guys are moving in with their girlfriends and I’m sure this engagement party is the first of many we’ll have over the next couple years.”

I laughed. “Well, I’ll probably miss some of those. Between engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and then the actual weddings, I have a feeling I’m going to miss out on a lot of it.” I let out a quiet sigh. It was kind of sad that I couldn’t have my life in California while teleporting here for the important stuff.

“Yeah, the other night we were all hanging out and we started talking about how weird it is that you’re across the country now,” Darlene said as she pressed a pillow against her face.

“Oh, yeah?” I curiously asked. “Who were you with?”

“You know,” she responded with a shrug. “The usual. Anna, Tom, Tom, Moose, Billy.”

My heart actually skipped a beat at the sound of Moose’s name. “So, how are all of them?”

Jessica and Darlene rambled on a bit about what everyone was doing. None of the information was that interesting or new to me until they finally got to Moose.

Turns out, he was newly single again and he would be at the engagement party.

Meeting Kim

The first voice I heard was somewhat high pitched and from the way she called out, "Tom?" in such an innocent tone, I concluded that it was his younger sister before she even walked out of the bedroom.

"Hey, Kim. This is Caroline," Tom replied as he motioned to me. "Caroline, this is Kim."

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” Kim said with a hand wave. Kim was thin, but looked somewhat muscular, like she definitely worked out. She had brownish hair with a slight red tint to it and really light skin. She was wearing a black tank top and plaid pajama shorts.

“It’s great to meet you, too,” I responded with a big smile.

I assumed that Tom and I would just hang out alone on his couch and watch TV. I presumed his sister and mom were in the bedroom, but that we’d have a little bit of privacy in a separate room.

I was surprised, though, when Kim sat down at the end of the couch and Tom followed. I sat down at the other end of the couch with Tom sitting in the middle.

“So, how was dinner?” Kim asked as she rested her chin on her elbow.

“It was good,” Tom replied. “How was the beach?”

“Nice,” Kim replied. “Mom was being such a pain, though.”

“Is she asleep?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, she passed out after we watched the Bachelor on demand.”

While I kind of felt like an outsider during this entire exchange, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved that Tom’s mom was asleep. I like to mentally and physically prepare somewhat before meeting a parent.

“So how long have you lived in Santa Monica, Caroline?”

“About a year and a half,” I replied a little too quickly. I could feel myself becoming awkward in this whole situation. It’s not that Kim or Tom gave me any reason to feel that way, but I just felt like the entire situation was kind of strange. I mean, I was getting along with Kim but why did she come out here to talk to us?

She asked me how I liked it here and I mentioned a few of my favorite things before asking her where she lived.

“Wow, Tom. You clearly told her a lot about me!” Kim teased.

Tom laughed and told me that Kim lives in Arizona. She works for a marketing company there.

We continued talking for about a half hour. I didn’t originally intend to stay over for long, so I was wondering if Tom and I were going to get any alone time together.

“Well, I’m exhausted,” Kim finally said as she stood up and stretched her arms far above her head. “I’ll see you in the morning, Tom.”

“Good night,” Tom replied.

“It was so nice to meet you, Kim,” I said with a smile. I really felt comfortable with her already and I was glad she seemed so down to earth.

“You, too!” She responded. “Hold onto this one, Tom.”

Is that not the greatest thing to ever hear from a new flame’s family member or friend? I smiled at her before turning to view Tom’s response. He was smiling and nodding.

Once Kim was securely inside, Tom scooted closer to me, grabbed for his remote control, and put his arm around me. “So, what are you in the mood to watch?”

“I’m not going to make it through a whole movie,” I laughed. “Maybe something I’ve already seen?”

“Why don’t I just put on some TV,” Tom said before randomly choosing a station with a sitcom on it. After he put down the remote, he reached his other arm around me and we positioned ourselves into an optimal cuddling position.

We sat there for a few minutes before I spoke. “This feels nice.”

“Mmmmm,” Tom replied. “It really does.” After a moment, he continued. “But I know what would feel better.”

He moved so that we were now facing each other and then he kissed me. It was a deep, passionate kiss and his right hand was on my neck while his left hand was on my lower back. We made out like that for a while before coming up for air.

“So, you’re sister seems really nice,” I suddenly blurted out.

Tom playfully rolled his eyes. “I’m glad you think so. Good luck putting up with her.”

We went back to making out without going any further. I’m not sure if he was trying to be a gentleman or didn’t want to wake up his family, but it very much like high school and that was actually kind of invigorating. We just spent the rest of our evening really passionately making out on his sofa.

“I’m exhausted,” I finally responded before picking up my phone to order a ride. “I’m glad I came back here.”

“I’m more glad,” Tom replied before placing a single kiss on my neck. “I’m going to need to have you over again soon.”

“Oh yeah,” I asked with a giggle.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “And not when my family is visiting.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied before turning to him and kissing him again.

My ride was there within a few minutes. On the drive home, I thought back over the night and smiled.

The next day, I went to the gym and then to the beach with Shelby. It was nice to catch up with her but I tried to avoid conversations about my job as much as possible.

I went home and took a shower before ordering sushi to my apartment in preparation for a nice evening of catching up on my DVR.

Before the sushi arrived, I got a FaceTime call from Anna. I sat down and accepted it. “Hey, girl,” I immediately said.

“Hello,” Anna said in a slow, unnatural voice. “Guess what?”

“What?” I asked with hesitation.

Suddenly, a huge smile spread across Anna’s face and she held up her left hand. “I’m engaged!”

Strong Margaritas

I can always tell when I'm actually into a guy based on my date preparation routine. For my first couple dates with Tom, I was enthusiastic as I picked out an outfit and did my make up, but if I'm being completely honest, I was kind of phoning it in. I get so nervous that I don't really keep all of the wonderful possibilities in mind. However, as I bopped my head to some 90s music while applying a new lip color, it occurred to me that I no longer felt that uncomfortable dread that I sometimes feel during the early stages of dating. My nerves were settled and I felt like I could finally start to feel relaxed around Tom.

Tom and I agreed to meet at a Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating for dinner. I wore a black tank with blue jeans and black wedges. I got to the restaurant a little early and Tom hadn’t arrived yet, so I took the opportunity to get a head start on drinking. I sat at the bar and ordered a watermelon margarita. I was tempted to take out my phone and start scrolling through work emails, but I was trying to keep different parts of my life compartmentalized. Work time was work time and free time was free time. It was nice to simply sit and relax without feeling like I had to use this extra time to accomplish anything.

By the time Tom arrived, I was about halfway through my margarita. “Hey, you,” he greeted me with a hand on my lower back as he sat on the stool next to me. “It looks like I have some catching up to do!”

I giggled, realizing how strong this margarita was and how fast I had drank it so far. “I’m just excited to eat,” I responded as I stood up. “Let’s get a table. I already know what I want to order.”

At that moment, Tom caught me off guard with a quick kiss on the lips. “This is why I like you. You know what you want.”

I could feel myself blushing as I thought about how disappointed he would when I inevitably became that girl who wasn’t able to pick a restaurant to save her life. He had me pegged so wrong.

The hostess seated us outside before Tom leaned back in his chair and asked, “So, how are you feeling?”

I was still super embarrassed that I passed out on our second date, but Tom was being so cool about it that I was almost happy it happened. “Yeah, sorry. I need to take better care of myself.”

“Eh, we all have those days,” he replied with a shrug. “I think you do a pretty good job with all the meals you prepare at home and those barre classes you’ve been attending. I’m at the gym five times a week, but I eat way too much fast food.”

I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was such a simple conversation, but it had been so long since a guy legitimately remembered the tiniest details of what I told him and showed a genuine interest in my mundane day-to-day activities. I barely ever told him about my meal prepping and I was surprised he actually remembered the exact fitness class I was currently trying out.

We ordered more drinks and nachos as we continued talking about work and our upcoming weekend activities. “My sister and mom are actually visiting for a week,” Tom informed me. “They arrived last night and they’re at the beach now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I replied. “We could’ve gotten together another night.”

“No, no,” he said as he furrowed his eyebrows. “I wanted to see you. They’ll be here all week.”

I didn’t know much about his family, but I did know his younger sister was his only sibling. She was actually my age, while he was a couple years older than me.

After our nachos, we ordered entrees and another round of drinks. I switched from the strong margaritas to beer as I felt myself getting drunk.

By the time we finished and decided to head out, it was around 10 o’clock. “So,” Tom began as we started walking down the street, hand in hand. “It’s still kind of early. Would you want to come back with me and watch a movie or something?”

I liked the idea of “or something,” but I also didn’t want to ruin anything by moving too fast. Still, I was having a good time and didn’t really feel like going home so early. “Sure,” I responded with a smile. We walked to Tom’s car so he could drive us back to his apartment right outside Santa Monica.

Seeing a guy’s place for the first time is always intriguing to me. Would it be clean? Would it be decorated at all? How would the furniture be arranged?

He unlocked the front door before stepping aside and letting me step in first. It was dark for a moment before he flipped the light switch. I didn’t notice the usual stuff, like cleanliness or decorations, first. I noticed three suitcases sitting right in the middle of his living room.

“Wait,” I said as I turned to face him. “Is your family staying with you?”

Tom looked confused. “Yeah, did I not mention that?”

I guess I didn’t ask, but I assumed his mom and sister wouldn’t be staying with him for a week in his one bedroom apartment.

Before I even answered, Tom asked, “Is that a problem?”

“Oh my goodness, of course not,” I responded as I reached out and put a hand on his chest. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was averse to meeting his family. I was just surprised he’d be okay with me possibly running into them so early.

“Okay, good,” he replied before pulling me in for a hug.

At that moment, I heard the bedroom door open.