Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 41 • Trip

I sat diagonal from Lynch, staring down at my coffee mug. I wasn't exactly sure what to talk about now. I felt like I was back in high school, not knowing what to do in a relationship. I guess that's partly true since the only real relationship I had was with Liam. There were a few boys back in middle school that I liked but I never dated any of them.

I took a sip from my mug, spacing out while staring at the table. Lynch nudged my hand and I blinked, looking up at him. My heartbeat sped up as I stared at him. He smiled, taking a sip from his own mug. I dropped my eyes down to my coffee as my face heated up. I feel stupid acting childish like this but I realized he was the kind of guy I wanted my parents to meet.

I thought Liam was that guy when I introduced him to my parents the first time but that went downhill fast. They saw that he was bad for me but I stubbornly didn't believe them. Once I got an apartment with him, I realized I should've listened to them. Now that he was gone and I had Lynch, I wanted to see them again. I wanted to apologize for arguing and being hard-headed.

"I want to go see my parents," I blurted, keeping my eyes on my coffee.

It was quiet for a minute before Lynch replied, "Alright, sweetheart. Do you want me to go with you?"

I looked up at him again and nodded. "Please."

The side of his mouth tugged up in a crooked grin. I couldn't help smiling back. Lynch was the guy I wanted my parents to meet. He was everything I wanted and I thought I had gotten with Liam. Now I just hoped my parents would be happy with my decision and like Lynch.

"When do you want to go see them?" he asked.

I shrugged having not really thought about it. It was a spur of the moment idea so I hadn't planned anything out.

"What about today?"

"That'd work but would you be ok with that? I don't wanna bother-"

"Nope, don't even say it. You want to go? We'll go. That's what matters. We'll finish our coffee, get dressed, and head over to your parents' place."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Really? Wait, but your opinion matters too. If you don’t want to go today, we don't have to."

He placed his arms on the table and leaned closer to me. "Yes, I want to. I want to make sure you're on good terms with your parents again and I want to meet them because they're your family." He paused for a minute before asking, "Are you nervous about seeing them again? Is that why you're trying to make excuses?"

I opened my mouth but quickly closed it, realizing that's what I'd been doing. It's been so long since I've seen them and we didn't end on good terms before I left. It's probably been about the same time I was dating Liam that I've seen them. Almost six years with no contact with my parents. My face burned as I nodded in agreement with his observations.

"The only way you'll get over that nervousness is if we go see them and talk it out." I justed nodded again because everything he's said has been right.

He lifted his mug to his mouth and swallowed the last of his coffee. He stood up ao 5nd leaned over me, bracing his hand in the table as he kissed my forehead. I looked back up at him as he moved toward the sink and rinsed his mug out. I continued my turtle's pace of taking small sips of my coffee until there was none left.

Lynch had already disappeared to go get dressed so I rinsed my mug out and set it on the drying mat. As I headed back to the guest room, he passed me in the hall, fully dressed in jeans and a flannel. I closed the door behind me and dressed quickly. I threw on a pair of jeans and a plain dark green shirt. When I took notice of Lynch's flannel balled up on the dresser, I changed my shirt for a plain gray one instead.

I brushed my hair out and pulled it up into a ponytail before finding my vans and pulling them on. I grabbed the flannel and my phone on the way out, making sure to turn the light off. I found Lynch waiting in the living room and watched a smile pull on his lips when he noticed I was holding his flannel.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I slipped it on. He held his hand out for me and I hesitantly took it. He interlocked our fingers and pulled me to his side, leading us out of his apartment and down to his truck. He held the door open for me to climb in and shut it behind me, rounding the front to climb in his side. I picked at my thumb as he turned on the truck and reversed out of the space.

Passing me his phone, he said, "Put in their address for me. The password's 0523."

I took his phone, stunned for a second. "I- ok."

I did as he said and a second later, directions were being read through the truck. He turned on the radio as I set his phone in the center console face up. Once we were on the main road and heading toward my parents' house, he laid his hand on the console palm up. I took his hand and sat in the comfortable silence between us.

At some point closer to arriving at their house, I began telling Lynch stupid stories I remembered from when I was younger. When I looked over at him, he was smiling as he watched the road. I briefly stopped talking, both excited and surprised at the fact that he was listening. He glanced over at me and encouraged me to keep talking before refocusing back on the road.

I did as he said and continued the story. The entire time, I kept glancing over at him. My hand was still in his and he had yet to pull it away. I briefly wondered if this was some surreal dream that I was wishing for. That this would disappear if I closed my eyes for too long.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, sweetheart?" He inquired, squeezing my hand.

I looked over at him again, pointing out, "You're too good at guessing that I'm thinking about something. How do you know?"

"You get quiet. You space off and stop focusing on what's around you."

"Oh, ok. I didn't realize I did that."

"So what're you thinking about?" He asked again.

I huffed out a breath, staring at the empty road ahead of us. "I don't really know. My brain put it in my head that this is just a dream that I'm hoping is real."

The truck bumped down onto the side of the road and slowed to a stop. I looked over at him, confused why he pulled over.

"Do you believe it's a dream?" He looked over at me and held my eyes.

"Um, no. But it feels like it should be with how my life's been going," I replied.

He leaned closer and said, "Good. I can promise you this isn't a dream. This is real for me too, y'know. I don't think I'd have it any other way."

He leaned over and cupped the back of my head, kissing me. I gasped before sinking into the kiss. My eyes flew closed and only opened again when he pulled back. I stared at him as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Hope that proves I'm real, sweetheart." He grinned. "Now, you ready to see your parents again?"