All three joined us and took their seats at the table. “Hello, what would you like to drink?” The waitress asked as she took note of the new guests at our table. Megan ordered a martini, Jeremy a beer, and my mother a glass of wine.
After everyone had settled in with their drinks and had placed their dinner order, we began a casual discussion. “So, how are you enjoying Philly, Marcus and Mia?” Sara asked as she sipped on her wine.
Marcus went first. “I like it a lot here. It was nice seeing Mia’s face light up at places she’d remembered as a child.”
Smiling at his statement, I placed my hand on his leg underneath the table. “It brought back a lot of wonderful memories of Dad and Michael.” Sara gently nodded with a soft smile.
“Yeah, I’m really digging this place.” Jeremy decided to add, even though nobody had asked for his opinion.
“Oh, Marcus and Mia, I hope you guys don’t mind if Jeremy and I ride back to Boston with you. Sara is staying a little longer, and I have work on Monday,” Megan stated with a slight shrug and soft playful grin.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Marcus replied to her.
Megan’s smile widened. “Yay, road trip!”
The rest of the dinner was more fun than I had expected: the discussions, the laughing, the drinking, the jokes—it all was perfect. My grandfather was charming, my grandmother was sweet, Megan was enthusiastic, my mother giggled and talked about the good old days, and Jeremy . . . Well, he was simply Jeremy. Now, Marcus on the other hand . . . I was in awe of him by the end of the night. He joined in on specific topics, cracked a few jokes with Jeremy, and laughed along with my grandmother. It was another side to him that I hadn’t yet witnessed and an experience that I would never forget.
As the evening came to an end, I said good-bye to my grandparents, squeezed them tightly, and promised to visit again soon. Because I wouldn’t see my mother before we left in the morning, I pulled her into a hug and thanked her for inviting me. I assured her that this trip was just what I needed and that I couldn’t have been more grateful. We drove back to the hotel with Jeremy and Megan as they sat quietly in the back seat. Marcus held my hand in the front seat. He was talkative and discussed certain subjects that William had brought up at dinner, and I laughed right along with him.
To say that the night ended wonderfully was an understatement.
***
After breakfast that Sunday morning, Marcus, Jeremy, Megan, and I took one last stroll around the City of Brotherly Love before checking out of the hotel. As much as I wasn’t ready to leave just yet, I knew I had a life waiting for me in Boston.
Jeremy and Megan hopped into the back seat of Marcus’s car as I slid into the front passenger seat right beside Marcus. He reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along my cheek as he flashed an adorable grin and winked before turning on the ignition.
As soon as Marcus turned the car on, the loud pounding music of Taylor Swift’s song “We Are Never Getting Back Together” hit the speakers. Marcus shook his head before he reached to change the station, but we both froze as we heard a loud, high-pitched voice singing along with the song. It was an absolute shock to the both of us as we turned our heads and focused our eyes on Jeremy.
Jeremy’s eyes were shut tightly. His head was swaying side to side as he felt the groove of the beat. Marcus and I quickly glanced at each other, amused, and then turned our gazes back to Jeremy. Megan was giggling beside him as she watched as well. Jeremy, not knowing that all eyes were on him, continued to sing in a high-pitched tone about never getting back together.
Jeremy eyes flashed open, and he stopped howling in mid-song. His brows bunched together as he studied all the eyes on him. “What? Taylor Swift is hot!”
Marcus snapped his head toward me and with an arched brow said, “This is going to be a long fuckin’ drive.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MARCUS
Five and a half hours later, we were back in Boston. Although it had been great to escape, it was also a relief to be home. Jeremy was annoying me during the entire drive. I was glad to have finally dropped his ass off. Megan and Jeremy nagged at each other constantly, which was both amusing and frustrating at the same time. It made me feel a bit more at ease about my relationship with Mia, just knowing that we weren’t the only couple that argued all the time. At least when we did, it was for valid reasons, whereas Megan and Jeremy nitpicked at every detail and then joked about it after an unnecessary argument.
Mia dropped her things at her apartment and came home with me. I didn’t want to push the issue about moving in together because I knew she wasn’t ready for it. She was satisfied with how we sometimes slept over at each other’s places, but I wasn’t content with it. I wanted her close to me every night. We had put the wedding aside at her request as well. If it had been up to me, I would have married her yesterday. Again, I couldn’t force her into any of it. I just had to stand back and wait until she was ready.
As I pulled into the driveway of my home, Mia let out a yawn and stretched. We had left Philly around eleven in the morning and had arrived home close to six that evening. It was a long and exhausting fucking drive. After turning off the ignition, we exited the vehicle, and I grabbed our bags. Mia waited by the passenger side as I made my way toward her from the trunk of the car. She leaned in towards me as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Are you hungry?” I asked as we walked side by side.
“No, I just want to crawl into bed and sleep. I have an early class in the morning.”
“Okay, I think I’ll join you. I have a deposition at ten tomorrow morning. We can have an early breakfast before your class.”
Mia tilted her neck up, and the edge of her lips curled into grin. “What?” I asked matching her smile.
“Nothing. Sometimes you can be sweet, you know?”
“Ha, no, I thought I was an asshole.”
“That too, but sweet for the most part.”
“I’ll take it.” I kissed the top of her head as she let out a slight giggle.
We walked up the stairs of the front porch and quickly spotted Jimmie. His head was slumped back against a patio chair with a beer in his hand and a cooler beside his foot. Mia and I glanced at each other skeptically and then went over towards him. Jimmie never drank when he was watching Elle. He said it was a bad example.
As we approached Jimmie, I noticed that his eyes were closed. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep, so I tapped his boot with mine. “Hey, Bro.”