Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~38~

Shawn stopped what he was doing, which happened to be fucking his beautiful girlfriend on the couch, and said, "What if we did brunch instead of dinner? I feel like there'd be less pressure, and it's usually a shorter meal."

Taryn groaned, but not from pleasure. "I was so close! Why are you even thinking about this now?"

"Sorry. It just popped into my head when I looked over at the kitchen and saw the bagels on the counter." He abruptly pulled out, eliciting another agonized groan, and moved so that he was sitting down. "Maybe if we make a decision I'll be able to focus."

Right before they started fooling around, he'd brought up the possibility of seeing his parents the following week. They'd only been together for ten days, yet his mum was already hounding him about meeting Taryn. Her work schedule threw a wrench in things, so the only dinner option was Monday.

"I have to be at the bar by one on Sunday, so brunch would be fine. Is there any way we can do it here so that we don't have to add in the travel time?" she said while draping a throw blanket over her naked body.

"Host brunch? Wow. I guess we could, right? How hard can it be?"

"If we don't want to cook, we can serve what inspired this idea. Who doesn't like bagels?"

He smiled. "I love that idea. Do you mind if I call my mum to see if they can make it?"

Taryn directed her eyes to his dick, which was still standing at full attention. "Like that?"

"I'll call them after." He tore the blanket off and moved on top of her again. This time he wasn't distracted, plus he made up for the earlier interruption by making sure she got hers more than once.

******

The following Sunday, Taryn arranged the assortment of bagels on a platter and then took the red onion, tomatoes, and cucumber she'd sliced earlier out of the refrigerator.

Her boyfriend wrinkled his nose in disgust. "No one puts tomato on a bagel. That's just disgusting."

"I googled 'bagel brunch' and more than one food website recommended these toppings. No one is forcing you to eat them."

"I don't even like having them in my kitchen," he grumbled as he set four champagne flutes next to the fresh squeezed orange juice they'd bought at the organic grocery store. They were serving mimosas, though Taryn would be abstaining from champagne since she had to work later.

"You're so cranky this morning. You'd think the blowie I gave you in the shower would have put a smile on your face, but apparently not."

Truth be told, he was anxious. Having her meet his parents was a big deal to him, since he really wanted them to like her. It wasn't that he needed their stamp of approval, but they'd been very invested in his relationship with Winter, and Taryn was nothing like his ex. It was important to him that they see her the way he did and that they understood how happy she made him. On top of that, it was huge that he was letting her into the inner sanctum of his family after he'd been semi-estranged from them. He loved that this was a return to normalcy, but it was also terrifying.

Shawn walked over to her and lifted her onto a clear area of the counter. Standing between her legs, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a soft kiss. "I loved the blowie, and I love you. I'm just freaking out a little because this is a significant step."

"I know," she told him as she ran her fingers through the back of his hair. "Everything you've told me about your parents leads me to believe that I'll love them. They made you, after all, and you are pretty darn great. As for them liking me...well, I'm just going to be myself and hope for the best."