Her son’s voice filtered out of the living room. “And?”
“And…uh…I worship the ground you walk on?”
“And?”
“And what else do you want me to say?”
“Hmm…I’m perfect.”
“Okay, I’m perfect.” Jane smiled. She liked this girl already.
“No, you’re perfect!”
“I know! That’s what I said.”
“Fine, back to tickling.”
“You’re perfect, you’re perfect!” the girl’s voice shrieked. The tortured laughter finally subsided. “I’ll never doubt your wonderfulness again.”
Jane stepped into the room and smiled. “Nickolas Gene, quit tormenting her!” Her son’s girlfriend was pretty. She had wavy brown hair with subtle blond highlights and a perfect, tan complexion, with bright green eyes. “I’m Jane Carter, Nick’s mom.”
“Hi, Mrs. Carter. I’m Beth.”
“Just call me Jane, please.”
“Okay, if you insist. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And if Nick bothers you, just tell me and I’ll take care of it,” she teased. “I hope you like spaghetti. That’s what I was planning to make for dinner.”
“That sounds great.”
“Ooh, you’re making spaghetti?” Nick said, his eyes widening.
“Yeah, is that okay?”
“Of course! I love spaghetti!”
Beth looked at her boyfriend and smiled. He acted like such a little kid, very easily pleased and so innocent looking.
Just then, three kids barreled into the room, a girl looking to be in her young teens and a girl and a boy who seemed to be a few years younger. “Nick!” squealed the older girl. She jumped on his lap.
“Hey, Leslie! This is my girlfriend, Beth. Beth, that’s Leslie, Angel, and Aaron. Where’s Beej?”
“She’s outside in the pool.”
“When did she decide to go swimming?”
“Since Aaron decided to push her in,” Leslie giggled. As if on cue, another teenage girl stormed into the room. She was fully clothed and soaked from head to toe.
“AARON!” she shouted. The little boy clambered up the stairs, and she looked at Nick. “Isn’t that, like, against big sibling the rules? He can’t do that to his older sister!”
“Hey, don’t look at me. I can’t help you! To be honest, I’m kind of impressed that a kid as small as him could actually possess the strength to push you in,” he said. For this comment, he received a smack on the shoulder from both Beth and BJ.
“It wasn’t my fault! He caught me off-guard!” BJ protested. Suddenly, she realized Beth was in the room. “Are you going to introduce us, Nick?”
“Sure. This is my girlfriend, Beth. Beth, meet BJ.”
“Nice to meet you, Beth,” BJ said politely. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to kill my little brother.”
Jane stepped into the room. “I don’t think I wanna know why the floor is all wet. You two, go get cleaned up for dinner, and tell BJ and Aaron to do the same,” she ordered to Angel and Leslie.
They took off up the stairs, leaving Nick and Beth to themselves. “I love your family, Nick,” she said brightly.
“I do, too.”
The front door opened to reveal a man who she assumed was Nick’s father. “Hello, I’m Bob, Nick’s dad. You must be Beth. I don’t think Nick’s stopped talking about you since he met you,” he teased.
Beth smiled and looked at Nick, who looked like a tomato. Did he really like her that much? “It’s nice to meet you, Bob.”
Dinner was wonderful; Jane was a great cook. Beth got along with Nick’s family very well, especially BJ. There was only a two-year age difference between the two girls. After they finished eating, Nick walked her home.
“So what did you think?”
“I loved the spaghetti,” Beth teased.
Nick sighed exasperatedly and ruffled her hair. “I was talking about my family, smartass.”
“I love them, Nick. They’re all awesome.”
“Good, I’m glad.” He kissed her on the top of the head and pulled her into a hug.