Far Love (Book 1)

15 | Family dinner

September 15th, 2023

Rain shows up in a white 2016 SUV with Bryan and Liam packed into the back, a food dish in the front seat.

I and Dylan are sitting on the porch swing, his arm slung across the back of my shoulders.

All of a sudden I feel self-conscious of the way we are sitting, the way Dylan's fingers have been playing with a strand of my hair for the past half hour, the way my hand rests on the top of his thigh, the way that I casually lean into the side of his body and have my head on his shoulder.

But then I hear Liam say, "I still can't believe I had to straddle the back of your seat so you could have your fucking mac and cheese in the front seat," and all of a sudden the nerves are gone.

I stand up as Rain walks up the porch steps, dish secured in her hands. She sees me and beams, moving the dish to one hand and shaking mine with her other. "Hi, Rylie."

"Hey, it's nice to see you guys again," I smile as I look down at Bryan and Liam clearly in a lively debate down the porch steps.

"You don't have to lie, you're only here for me right?" she winks.

"Oh for sure," I chuckle.

Dylan walks up behind me and twines his fingers with mine, "Don't steal her from me now."

Butterflies.

"Don't ruin my fun little brother," she says as she walks away.

"But I'm a year older than you."

"Doesn't feel like it sometimes," she says, turning her head over her shoulder and strutting into the house.

I and Dylan follow suit behind Bryan and Liam.

Up closer I can tell that Dylan and Bryan do look the same. They have the same sharp jawline, and the same eyes and eye shape as their father, and their heights are the same. Besides their hair, you'd think they were the same person.

We follow his siblings into the house and to the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it's made of dark wood and white accents. I put my hands on the counter and Dylan snakes his arm around me.

I ask Lilly, "Can I help with anything else for dinner?" Seeing how she is still cooking, and the fact that her kids have also made the trek to Claremont, I can tell this is a bigger dinner than usual.

"I'd love that," she smiles. She gestures toward a pot and says, "Why don't you start by stirring that?"

I unbind myself from Dylan and walk over to the stove and start flipping and stirring everything in the pans and pots.

I feel Dylan's stare on my back but refuse to look back. After a few moments when everyone is gone beside me and Lilly, she stops walking to when she's standing behind me. I slowly look back, a small bit scared of what she has to say.

When I fully turn around, her face turns into a delighted smile and she pulls me into a hug. Immediately I'm stricken, my body not knowing what to do. Eventually, though, I take the embrace and hug her back.

When she pulls back she holds my shoulders and says, "Thank you."

"Eh... for what?" I ask, confused.

"Dylan seems happy with you, I'm glad he found you."

"Oh. We aren't together..."

She looks confused and her cheeks turn pink, "I would have thought you are. He seems super happy, and honestly with the way you guys had been from when you first walked in he seemed pretty protective of you."