BUZZ!
The doorbell rang as I set out the plates on the dining room table for lunch. The Pasta Alfredo and fried chicken were steaming fresh at the center of the table and Auntie’s famous apple pie was sitting in the oven.
Riley was coming over for lunch today to meet my dad, and I was feeling a bit queasy about it. I smoothed out my hair, walked up to the front door, and opened it.
Four months since we first met, and he never fails to make my heart flutter at the sight of him. He was wearing dark jeans, a blue and white checked button down, and a black blazer. The sunlight wafted playfully through his hair, dyeing it two shades of brown and bringing out the light green flecks of color in his bright hazel eyes.
His perfection just doesn’t get old.
His face broke out into a smile upon seeing me, and I wondered for the thousandth time what a guy like that could possibly see in a girl like me.
“Hi!” I chirped with a smile.
“Hi,” he chirped back, that perfect smile still playing out on his perfect face.
I led him to the dining room where Maggie, Auntie, and my dad were already seated around the table.
“You must be Riley,” my dad said jovially, standing up from the table and shaking Riley’s hand.
“Yes sir,” Riley replied courteously. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, but the pleasure’s all mine, what with everything I’ve been hearing about you,” my dad replied with a laugh as he sat back down.
“Really? What is it you’ve heard about me?” Riley asked, raising his eyebrow at me as I took a seat beside him.
“Actually, it’s Maggie that tells me about you. This one won’t say a word,” my dad gestured at me with a good natured chuckle.
“I don’t talk about you THAT much,” Maggie said defensively.
“True,” my dad said. “It’s that other boy you talk about a lot. What’s his name? Tony?”
“Uncle Flynn, stooooppp,” Maggie groaned, twirling pasta around her fork.
“It’s okay, Maggie. Your secret’s safe with me,” Riley said, winking at her.
Before Maggie’s cheeks could change into an even brighter shade of red, I decided to change the topic.
“So dad, what do you think about Riley’s videos on YouTube? Pretty good, right?”
“Yes,” my dad mused. “I particularly like that one you did with the piano…”
“When I Was Your Man?” Riley asked.
“Yeah, that’s it,” my dad said with a snap of his fingers. “Oh, and that one where you guys were dancing to that song…”
Riley turned to me, slack-jawed. “You didn’t,” he said.
“Oh, but I did,” I replied, with a small laugh.
“You showed uncle Flynn the Harlem Shake video?” Maggie asked, bursting into giggles.
“Sorry you had to see that, sir,” Riley said, looking down at his plate with an embarrassed smile and a blush on his cheeks.
“I’m not,” my dad replied in cheerful tones. “I think you’re a great dancer.”
That only made Riley’s cheeks redder and I couldn’t stop laughing at his face.
“In fact,” my dad continued. “Maybe you could teach my daughter a thing or two. She’s not much of a dancer.”
