Trust me, babe

Chapter 9

Kenzie

The doorbell rang at exactly 7 PM which was a bit surprising as I hadn't expected him to be so precise.

"I'll open!" I exclaimed as I rushed down the stairs and through the hall to the front door.

I swung the door open to reveal Jacky. It was weird to see him dressed so formally; he was wearing a white button-up shirt and beige trousers. But I had to admit it made him even hotter, if possible.

"Who is this hot stranger at my doorstep?" I asked, keeping my voice low so that Susanna or my parents wouldn't hear.

He smirked as I stepped to the side to let him in.

"You don't look that bad yourself either," he said, taking a look at my red mini dress.

I could feel myself blush under his close inspection so I led the conversation elsewhere. "Mom and Dad have been gushing about tonight for the whole week," I confessed as I led him down the hall. "They've kept saying how nice it is to finally meet 'the boy who stole Kenzie's heart'."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jacky smirk. It was embarrassing to say it out loud but I wanted to be the one to say it instead of my parents.

I let go of Jacky's hand before stepping into the sitting room where my parents pretended to be chatting by the fireplace. But it was dead silent and as soon as we entered, Mom abandoned Dad and waltzed toward us.

"Jacky! So lovely to finally meet you!" she exclaimed. I watched in horror as she grabbed Jacky's arms and planted a kiss to both of his cheeks, leaving red lipstick stains along the way.

"Oh come on, Carter, don't you just stand there, come say hello to the boy who stole our little Kenzie's heart," Mom scolded Dad and as her back was turned, Jacky quickly wiped his cheeks with the back of his hands. He also glanced at me with a smirk; Mom had said exactly what I'd told him they kept saying about him.

Dad made his way over with a broad smile and offered his hand to Jacky. "Good to meet you, son."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the choice of words but Dad didn't seem to notice.

Mom called for Susanna who appeared with a tray of champagne glasses. She gave them out to all of us before hugging Jacky. The two of them had met countless times already. My parents just had never managed to be around when he was over. They were workaholics, most of their waking hours spent at their office. They were always trying to expand their business; start new projects, get new customers, make more money.

"We aren't normally this formal," Mom said nodding at the glass of champagne in her hand, "but we thought we should make a little toast for the two of you and the little business you plan to start!"

Jacky and I glanced at each other and for a while it felt like our engagement party. Everyone gathered around us, toasting to us and our future together. Kenzie, stop. My thoughts still had the tendency to go way ahead of things.

We sipped our drinks for a while, Mom and Dad talking about my childhood as if they had been present in it like normal parents. However, despite their lack of presence during my childhood, they still managed to have embarrassing stories to tell. Jacky listened intently, joining the conversation every now and then and glancing at me with an amused smile on his face. I tried to change the topic more than once but Mom and Dad kept circling back to stories such as me peeing my pants at the British Museum. I was more than happy when Susanna asked me to help her get the table ready.