The Mishap

Chapter Fourteen

“So, Liza, Brandi… Have you ever talked about getting married?” Anne, the twins mother asks.I choke on my potato, throwing a panicked glance Brandi’s way.We’re having dinner with her family, and as I sputter a little, feeling Case shift uncomfortably on his seat, I’m starting to regret that I tagged along. Even though their parents did specifically request me to join.
Now I think I know why. They’re definitely hearing wedding bells.
“I know, I know. You’re still young, and you have your whole lives ahead of you.” 
“We don’t want to rush you.” Robert chimes in.
“But… We’re just so excited for you.” 
Brandi’s mom Anne smiles at me, tears welling in her eyes.
“We’re so happy that you’re part of our family now.” She blinks away the tears.
“It would be amazing to see you two get married one day, settle down…” 
Oh… Shitzu. 
Do I have actual magical powers? Am I a flipping witch? Did I summon this marriage talk by lying to April about Brandi and I considering it?
Either way… I feel like there’s something lodged in my throat. Some of it may definitely be guilt. Maybe a little bit of terror too.
They consider me part of their family. What is going to happen when they find out that we’ve been lying to their faces?
“Come on, Mom. Dad. Hold your horses.” Brandi attempts to calm them down.
“Yeah, this is… this is still so new, so we haven’t…” I help.
From the corner of my eye, I see Case’s eyebrows pull into a deep frown. My heart squeezes. This must be hard for him to hear. He already didn’t like seeing Brandi and I pretending in front of April at the movie theater.
Anne smiles graciously.
“Of course. Forgive us for asking, we didn’t mean to pressure you.”
“It’s just that you’ve been friends for so long, that we were wondering if you’d talked about it already.”
“No… Not yet.” I mumble.
Robert coughs a little, clearly ready to move on, but Anne has a wistful look in her eyes.
“Spring weddings are so beautiful, don’t you think?” 
“You’d both look so lovely in white dresses, carrying bouquets of lilacs…”
“Mom. Please.”Brandi spews, visibly annoyed.
Anne laughs a little.
“I know, I know. I’m getting ahead of myself. You’d just look so beautiful, both of you.”
“Don’t you think so, Case?”
I lift up my gaze from my plate to see Case staring at me. I see emotions deep inside his beautiful green hazel eyes. Anger, yearning, hurt… He pushes them away quickly, but my heart stings all the same.
“Yeah. They’d look… amazing.” 
Anne’s eyebrows knit together a little at his unenthusiastic tone of voice, and she eyes her son for a long while before shaking her head slightly and moving on.
“Well, anyway.” She gives me a warm smile.“All I’m saying is don't keep us in the dark. We’d love to be a part of it all…” 
“The engagement party, the wedding, adoption -”
“MOM!”Brandi yells and rolls her eyes, forcing her mother to surrender. Robert gives his wife a gentle pat on the hand.
“You have to have some patience, darling.” 
Anne laughs. “You know I’ve never been very good at that.”
She winks at me. “Now you know where Brandi gets it from.”
I force myself to smile.
“I sure do.” 
For show, I lean over to give Brandi a little kiss on the cheek.
“But I like that about her.”
Leaning back on my seat, I regret the move, because Case’s frown has deepened even more, while their parents look absolutely thrilled.
“You two are just adorable together.” 
“Thanks, mom.”
Case coughs loudly and looks up.
“So, dad, how about that game?”
The conversation moves to less dangerous topics, and I sigh from relief. Still, I can’t help but wonder… How long do we have to keep this up?
Because the look on Case’s face when we were talking about marriage nearly killed me.
And there’s no escaping from the fantasies of a perfect wedding forming inside my head. Only I’m not standing in a white dress next to Brandi. I’m standing next to Case, handsome and smiling in his tuxedo…
…..

The next day, Case and I lounge on his bed, naked and breathless.
“So glad Brandi decided to go shopping.” 
“Amen.” Case burrows his face into the crook of my shoulder, his arm around my waist as we cuddle, recovering from the mind-blowing sex we just had. I’m positively beaming, a stupid grin on my face that I try to rein in by biting my lip.
“A girl could get used to this.”
Case chuckles and gives my neck a slow, wet kiss.
“Mm. You should get used to this.”
I practically purr when his languid kisses trail to my ear, his breath ghosting on the shell of my ear.
“Keep doing that and I will.”
Despite the earth-shattering orgasms Case delivered mere minutes ago, I feel myself getting aroused again when his hand wanders to my breast, squeezing possessively.
“Your wish is my command.”
He presses closer to my back, when we hear the door of the apartment open and close. Case groans.
“Fucking Brandi.” 
I can barely hold my laughter in.
“I’m afraid I’m going to get used to the interruptions too.” 
Case opens his mouth to answer, when a voice calls out.
“Case? Are you home?” 
My heart jumps to my throat.
“Is that -” 
“Mom? Yeah. Fuck.”
We both spring up from the bed, frantically whispering to each other while we throw our clothes on.
“How did she get in?” 
“She has a spare key. Quick. Hide.”
My heart hammering, I look around for a good place to hide behind. The closet door is ajar. I make a beeline for it and manage to stuff myself in right when there’s a knock on the door.
“Case, honey?” 
There’s a pause before Case answers. He’s probably making sure I’m properly hidden.
“Yeah, mom?” 
From my hiding place, I can’t see, but I can hear the door open. Case does his best to sound casual.
“What brings you here?” 
I hear the springs of the bed make a squeak when Anne sits down.
“I was running errands, when I decided to pop in to see you.” 
“Really?”
Case’s tone is a little suspicious, making his mom laugh.
“You see right through me. Actually… There was something I wanted to talk to you about.” 
“Oh.”
There’s a long pause before Anne sighs.
“This is about Liza.”
My breath hitches, and I lift my hand to my mouth, scared that my subsequent breath will be loud enough for her to hear.
“What about Liza?” 
Case’s words are slow and overly careful, sounding suspicious even to me.
“Come on, Case. I’m your mother. You can’t keep secrets from me.” 
Guilt stabs my guts.
“I saw the way you looked at her at dinner yesterday.” 
Case says nothing.
“Honey… I know you have feelings for her. I know you’ve had them for a while now.”
Her voice is soft and warm. I find myself blinking tears from my eyes.
“But you have to let her go, Case.”
It takes a long time for him to answer.
“I know.”
“She’s with Brandi now.” 
“I know.”
“I know it hurts, but it will keep on hurting unless you move on.”
Case sighs. 
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” 
“Of course I’m right. I’m your mother.”
The bed squeaks again, and I hear footsteps nearing the door before they stop.
“Promise me you’ll think about moving on? You deserve to meet some nice girl and find happiness with her.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Anytime.”
The door opens, but Anne makes no effort to get out.
“Mom?” 
She chuckles.
“Judging by the bra on your floor, looks like you have already found someone.”
My eyes widen in the dark closet. Oh no. Does she know I’m here? My ears straining, I try to seize breathing so that I can hear if she’s approaching the closet.
But then she just sighs.
“Good for you. I’m going to get out of your hair now.” 
“O-okay, mom. Drive safe.”
“Of course.”
I listen to her retreating footsteps. When the door finally closes after her, I let out a breath I was holding, feeling a little dizzy.
Case opens the door and helps me out of the closet.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea she was going to burst in here.” 
“Not your fault.”
Then I take a deep breath, giving Case a flimsy smile.
“I was sure she was going to catch me - catch us.” 
He doesn’t return my smile.
“Yeah, me too.” 
He rubs the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.
“Case? Is everything... okay?” 
“Yup. Sure.”
Despite his words, I have a feeling that everything is not okay. Not knowing what else to do, I wind my arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
“I love you, Case. You know that, right?”
After a pause, he relaxes against me with a sigh.
“Yeah… I know. I love you too.”
And all I can do is hope that it will be enough. If we keep loving each other… everything will turn out alright. 
Everything HAS to turn out alright.