~The Forbidden Fruit~

~The Forbidden Fruit~ Chapter Sixteen

Andy pov.

The day I spent with Casey was great, I felt at ease for the first time in a while. His aura was serene and comforting, well that was when he wasn't rambling. Though his rambling was hilariously cute, it let me know he was nervous and it in turn made me uneasy.

"Hello sweetheart, Nicky, you two look well fed." Our mom greeted Nick and I with a European cheek kiss and a light hug. It had been officially two weeks and she was back. "Do me a grand favor and help me with my bags, thanks I appreciate you."

I scowled at the back of her head as she stepped into the house.

"Yeah, because I said I'd get your bags."

Nick backhanded me in the arm, giving me a "shut up" face.

"Glad you're home mom, we missed you." He called to her while walking to her car to unload with me.

The two of us hefted her heavy bags out of the trunk and rolled them back to the door. How is it that she leaves with three bags and comes back with six?

"I'm glad to be home honey, you can't imagine how exhausting this trip was for me. It's nice to be home and settle down for a change."

I lugged her bags all the way to her room which was thankfully on the first floor. Carelessly and angrily, I dropped them on her bed and headed for the door, only my mom came in before I could escape; Nick followed soon after.

She took one look at the bed and scrunched up her face.

"Andy, I need to sit on my bed, be a doll and set the bags on the floor."

My jaw worked and Nick cleared his throat, I found it funny that despite the lack of motherly skills she exuded, he refused to let me fight with her. Plastering on a fake smile I slid the luggage off of the bed and onto the floor.

"Tell us about your trip, mom." Nick sat on the edge of her queen size bed and she sat back on her pillows, kicking off her heels.

I leaned against the wall watching her unwrap her black bun and shake out her lengthy hair.

"It was wonderful but I hated the cold weather, my skin gets blotchy when I alternate climates. Oh, before I forget, Andy I picked up a few gifts for you and your brother. They're in the chiffon bag."

Nick raced over to the bag and plopped down on the floor, ripping open the bag and pulling out two plastic covered items and two boxes. I already knew what that meant but Nick looked disappointed when he opened up the slip, revealing a chocolate brown tuxedo.

"Umm...Thank you?" He frowned at the suit.

I gauged my mom's reaction and of course she was completely clueless, holding an excited smile on her face.

"You're welcome, take a look at the shoes they match perfectly."

Sure enough his shoes were the same color brown as his little tux, he closed the box.

"What's the occassion?" I decided to ask.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed and beamed as if she was waiting to be asked.

"Well, tonight the three of us have officially been invited to the annual anniversary bash for my company. They waved the minimun of 6 years working experience and invited me to come; we are all going to the Burnham and Rays 30th annual anniversary celebration!"

Unbelievable, this woman just flew back into town from a two week convention, walked into the house and sat down for literally five minutes, and now she was talking about going to some celebration?!