No Expectations

by Diaz, Madison

  My hands shook as I waited for my parents to come home. Tonight Stephen and I planned to announce our relationship. Amy already knew and approved. She'd be coming as a buffer in case my dad completely flipped out and actually kicked me to the curb. Although, she assured me she had a feeling he wouldn't.

  Spring semester was back in session, and I'd been abiding by all their rules for the last few weeks. Stephen and I went on dates that I didn't hide from them. They assumed I was still dating Cam or someone else. They never asked who it was, and Amy thought it was because they already knew. "There's no way you'd be that heartbroken just to turn around and be happy again like a week later. They know." I still wasn't too sure.

  The sound of keys turning the lock made my heart jump into my throat. The front door opened, and my mom came strolling in with Amy right behind her. "Hey," she said then came over and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Oooh, spaghetti? My favorite."

  I grinned, not used to the positive affection from her, but I'd take it. "Thanks. Almost done."

  She nodded her approval before going to the fridge for wine. Amy wiggled her eyebrows at me before reaching into the cabinet to grab some glasses. My hands were clammy, so I rubbed them on the dish towel before straining the noodles.

  They gossiped on about people at their jobs while I finished cooking. I sent a text to Stephen. My dad should be home any minute now. I'll tell you to come up after I've told them.

  He responded in an instant. Okay, your call. I'll be waiting :) He'd gotten a lot better at texting since we became official. He sent more smiley faces or emojis and would send me cute texts all day long. It made me love him so much more… though I hadn't told him that quite yet.

  The front door opened and my dad appeared. He loosened his tie before shrugging off his jacket and putting it on the rack. "Wow. My three favorite ladies."

  Mom giggled as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. I looked away and stayed busy cleaning up the counters before he snuck a kiss to my cheek.

  I cleared my throat. My voice shook as I said, "Okay, well, now that everyone's home. I have something important to say before dinner."

  "You got the internship?" Dad asked, excitement laced in his voice.

  Biting my lip, I shook my head. "No. Not exactly. Still waiting on an email." He nodded with understanding. "Let's go into the living room and sit down," I suggested. They were silent as they followed. Amy looked equally as nervous as I felt.

  All three sat on the couch together. Amy nodded, giving me the go to start. I sat in my dad's chair and let out a deep breath. "Okay… well… the thing is… I’ve been wanting to say something for a few weeks, but I couldn't find the right time." My parents' eyes widened as concern grew. "It's nothing major!" I quickly said, hoping my news would be to them. They relaxed a little. "I… um… I'm dating someone."

  Mom nodded like that was common knowledge. "Right."

  Dad's eyebrow rose as if he knew what was coming. My eyes avoided his as I continued. "Well, the person I'm dating… is… well… it's-"

  "Stephen?" Dad asked without a change in his expression.

  I swallowed, hard, then nodded. "Yes, sir. We're serious this time, and I'm going to keep dating him no matter what you say. I've never loved someone this much in my life, and I don't care if it's only temporary or whatever. Even if it's puppy love. I want to see it until the end."

  "You love him more than you loved Tony?" Mom asked seriously. Slowly, I nodded. She blinked then looked at Dad who shrugged. They both turned their attention back to me. "Well, then we'll accept it."

  My mouth fell open. That was too easy. "What? No fighting?"

  Dad sighed as he shrugged again. "I can't stay mad at you forever, Mia." He ran a hand over his face before scratching at his beard. "Look, he's way too old for you. I mean, way too old, but ruining my relationship with my daughter over something like this would be wrong." His head tilted. "I hated how we were. I didn't treat you right when I found out. I'm sorry."

  Mom nodded along. "I'm sorry too, baby, about the way we acted, especially me. I was scared. You grew up too fast. I shouldn't have shamed you like that. I won't do it again. You know my parents made me feel like crap when I started dating your father. I shouldn't have done that."

  I blinked, realizing this was my first heart to heart with my mother. She'd actually acknowledged how she treated me. "So you're not kicking me out?"

  They shook their heads as someone knocked on the door. Dad jumped up from the couch before I could sprint to the door. He looked through the peephole then back at me before shaking his head with a knowing grin.

  He opened the door, blocking my view of the visitor. I hadn't told Stephen to come up yet, but we all knew it was him. "Hey." Dad reached his hand out into the hallway. "Nice to see you again. Sorry about all the threats. We'd love it if you could join us for dinner."

  Stephen stepped into the apartment, and our eyes connected. They were wide for a second before they softened, and we smiled. "Smells good," was all he said, keeping his eyes on mine.

  Finally free, I ran across the room and into his arms. We didn't have to hide anymore. I looked up into his soft blue eyes with the wrinkles at the edges and felt at home. We were in love and we left it at that.

  Epilogue

  Stephen

  The bedroom door burst open, bouncing off the dresser with a loud bang. My eyes shot open to the darkness of my bedroom as I heard a "Shit!" hissed from the doorway.

  Rolling onto my back, I watched the dark figure stumble to the other side of the room, banging her toe in the process. "Fuck!" was another hiss before I finally chuckled. She gasped. "Stephen?"

  Reaching up behind me, I turned on the lamp. The room lit up to reveal Mia’s cute “going out” clothes. Her v-neck showed off the top of her perky breasts. Her shorts cut off a little too short for me to be comfortable, but I had smacked her ass earlier before she left. Her eyes glazed over a bit, exposing her level of drunkenness. "How was girls' night?"

  Her face lit up as she jumped into the bed. She army crawled her way over to me before I grabbed her arms and pulled her the rest of the way. She kissed my lips then laid a bunch of little kisses all over my cheeks and nose. Drunk Mia was cute.

  This wasn't the first time I'd been a witness, but tonight was the first time she was able to do it legally with her friends. She thought I'd get angry when she first told me she wanted it to be a `girls only' thing, but I was fine with it. I wanted her to be happy with her new friends.

  "I'm guessing it was good then?" I asked with a smile before she settled into the crook of my arm and started running her fingers across my chest.

  She nodded. "Oh, my god, it was so much fun. We went to this club down on South Beach where Jamie bought me a fruit loop shot, and it was so good. We should go there. They had dancing, but Alex and I kinda stayed near the bar all night. I missed you like crazy."

  I couldn't hide how happy it made me when she was happy. "Well, I'm glad you had fun. Layla and I missed you like crazy too. She wanted to stay up late and wait for you, but she didn't last past ten-thirty."

  She snorted. "What a little dork. She takes after her daddy."

  "Not all of us can stay up all night reading Creepypasta and watching Netflix."

  "Hey! I spend a lot of time studying too!"

  I chuckled. "Right."

  She bit her lip with her flushed cheeks and lazy eyes. I grinned as we stared at each other. Over two years later, and I still never got tired of staring into her big beautiful brown eyes.

  She officially moved in with me two months ago before her spring semester started. After finally nailing a paid internship at a local vet clinic, she saved some money and attempted to split everything. I still paid majority, of course, but I loved how independent she wanted to be. She could do anything she wanted on her own with the benefit of knowing I’d be there to catch her fall for as long as she wanted me.

  She cupped my cheek bef
ore kissing me again. I held her body close to mine and kissed her with everything I had.

  We laid there, making out for what seemed like a long time before there was a knock at the door. We pulled away, grinning at each other. "Come in!"

  The door opened, and Layla stood in the doorway in her cute little pajamas. Dane came rushing into the room to jump onto the bed. Mia invited her to join. My nine-year-old beamed at us running to the bed and jumping on. She climbed up between us, and Mia held her in her arms. "I thought you were sleeping, little girl."

  Layla giggled. "No, Daddy fell asleep, so I went into my room and played a game."

  "Your daddy's an old fart," Mia said with a wink which made Layla giggle even more. I crossed my arms and looked hurt. "Aw, we didn't mean it," she joked.

  Clearing my throat, I tried to sound all business. "Alright, both of you need to go to bed. We have an early morning tomorrow."

  Layla shook her head. "No way! Mia and I are gonna have a sleepover, so you get the couch."

  Mia fake gasped. "Layla! Daddy's the best snuggler in the world, so he has to stay. We can't have a good sleepover without him."

  Layla sighed. "I guess." She turned her attention to me. "But you're on thin ice, Daddy. No snoring or you're out."

  Mia’s eyebrows rose as she stifled a laugh. I cleared my throat. "Layla, honey, go to your room please."

  She sighed, dramatic as ever. "Okay. Goodnight, Mia."

  "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you, and I'll see you in the morning."

  She sighed. "I love you too."

  Mia’s eyes met mine, and we smiled at each other. The two most important women in my life had upgraded to three. I couldn't have asked for someone more right for me.

  Once Layla left the room, Mia snuggled up to me, kissing my jaw. “And I love you, Mr. Jacobs, more than you’d ever know.”

  Running my fingers through her hair, I kissed her forehead. “I know, baby, and I love you too.”

  And I knew I always would. I'd give Mia anything as long as I could keep her heart. We didn't know where things would lead, but we just knew we wanted to be together. It felt right, and that had to be the end of it.

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