Malea’s POV
I hopped out of the car and headed to the back of the trunk to help the Lucian, Adam and Rhys with the luggage. I pulled my suitcase behind me and made my way towards the front door.
“Do you have the key, R? Or should I press the bell?” I called from the front door.
“Just press the bell. Cam should be home.” Rhys said as he walked towards the front door with Lucian and Adam in tow.
I shrugged and pressed the bell and stood back.
“I’ll get it!” I heard someone yell as the door unlocked. The door flung open to reveal Zoya. Her dark blonde hair was wrapped into a messy bun and her freckles barely stood out against her tan skin.
“Mali!” She pulled me into a hug. I missed her so much. I stood back to get a good look at her. She looked so much older than when I Iast saw her.
“How was your drivers test?” I asked as I pulled my bags inside the house. The cool air of the conditioner blasted against my face.
She shook her head and pointed with her eyes in Lucian’s direction. “He is so hot. Oh my God. How? When? Where? Why?” She asked, her face flaming up once Lucian found her eyes and shot her one of his signature smiles.
“We’ll talk about that later. Where’s mom and dad?” I asked as I set my suitcases against the foyer wall.
“They’re with Vera. They’ll be back soon.” Zoya rolled her eyes to show her annoyance.
Lucian, Adam and Rhys followed us inside the house. “Zoya. This is Lucian King, my boyfriend.” I wrapped my hand around Lucian’s bicep. “Lucian, this is Zoya, my younger sister.” They shook hands and Zoya flushed more than before.
“You were on Forbes most eligible Bachelors, right? And you’re the owner of King Enterprises?” Zoya gushed, a weird smile on her face.
Lucian laughed. “How do you know?”
Zoya grinned. “I can’t wait to tell that bitch, Mackenzie, that I met you and that your dating my sister. And I mean you’re everywhere! In magazines, the news, websites-”
“Okay. Enough Zoya. Are you going to continue listing where you’ve seen him, or are you going to show us our room?” I rolled my eyes.
Zoya finally snapped out of her trance. “Sorry. Let me show you to your room.” She began racing up the steps on the staircase.
“Adam and I are going to the living room.” Rhys called after us.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing a room. We don’t have much space.” Zoya said as she reached the top of the stairs. I turned to look at Lucian who winked suggestively and I punched his arm playfully. In Lucian’s house in New York, we shared a room then so there isn’t going to be a difference here.
We lugged our suitcases up the stairs and as we walked down the hallway, most doors to my sibling’s rooms were shut. “Is Vera visiting today?”
Zoya turned to me and shook her head. Then she turned left and we made our way up another set of small stairs. “She’s too weak to be discharged from the hospital. She had Cesarean section.”
“Do you know the sex of her babies?” I asked as we stopped in front of the first guest room. Zoya opened it and dropped one of my carryon suitcases next to the wall.
“One boy and one girl. Jordan is going to have two smaller siblings now.” Zoya clapped her hands happily before making her way over to the blinds and opening them.
“Okay, I’m in the dark. Anyone mind sharing whats going on here?” Lucian said finally. He dropped his suitcases next to mine and stretched.
I opened my mouth to answer him, but Zoya beat me to it. “Vera is our older sister and she’s 25. She just gave birth to twins yesterday and one of them is a boy and the other is a girl.” Zoya finished opening all the blinds and turned back to face us. “Vera already has one son and his name is Jordan. Jordan is 2 years old.”
Lucian walked over to one of the windows and looked out. “Your neighborhood is very nice.”
Zoya raised an eyebrow in question at me while Lucian wasn’t looking. “Thanks.” She brushed past me and stood outside the door. “You guys can relax a bit and I’ll call you down when mom and dad are here.” Then she left.
I shut the door and sighed in relief. “She talks too much.”
Lucian chuckled and fell back on the bed, his arms tucked behind his head. “She may talk too much, but your family is super cool.”
I crossed the room to the bed and fell in place next to him. “Who’s Adam to you?” Lucian asked. He turned to face me, our faces inches away from each other.
I sighed. “I told you before. Adam and I were really good friends before I moved to New York.”
I could tell Lucian was suppressing the fact that he wanted to roll his eyes. “Are you sure you were only friends?”
I rolled onto Lucian and straddled my hips over his, my dark hair falling forward and splaying across his white t-shirt. His breath hitched in his throat and I bit my lower lip realizing that it looked seductive. Lucian pressed his lips to mine, his strong hands trailing down my waist. I lifted the hem of his shirt just enough to slip my hands underneath his shirt, my hands trailing the ridges of his muscles. I could feel his heartbeat underneath me. I sighed.
“Ahem.”
I jumped a mile away from Lucian, my face flushed and embarrassment coloring my neck. Cam stood at the door, an uncomfortable look on his face.
“Oh, God, Cameron.” I threw one of the throw pillows at Cam and he ducked it just in time as it bounced off the door frame. “At least knock.”
Cam threw his head back and laughed. “I didn’t know you guys would be nearly climbing into each other’s pants.”
I reached for another pillow and chucked it at his head, this time I didn’t miss. “What do you want, idiot?” I stood up from the bed and made my way over to him.
“Mom and dad are home and Eileen is back from soccer practice so if you two are done making out, I recommend you both come downstairs.” Cam reached over to touch my hair but I moved out of the way.
“What are you doing?”
“Fixing your hair. You look terrible.” He reached again to touch my hair but I slapped his hand away.
“Thanks, but I’ll take care of my own hair.” I pushed Cam out the door. “We’ll be down in a sec.” Before he could say anything else, I closed the door in his face.
I blew out a puff of air, sending tendrils of hair flying. I turned back to Lucian who sat on the bed watching my every move. I flushed. “Come on, we have to go.” I went over to him and took his hand in mine. I wanted to pull him up and off the bed, but instead Lucian pulled me towards him and I fell on top of him again. My heart pounded erratically.
“Again I say, you guys can save the making out for later!” Cam shouted from the other side of the door.
I groaned and rolled off Lucian, trying to compose myself. Together, we left the room and headed back downstairs. I took Lucian’s hand in mine as we turned into the living room.
My mother sat next to my father, a laugh bubbling from her throat, her graying hair making her look older. Cam and Rhys sat next to Adam and they were discussing the football game on the tv. Eileen stood up next to the tv mantle and pulled her leg up over her head in a stretch. She’s still in her blue and white soccer jersey, her dark brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail.
“Eileen, move away from the tv! You’re blocking tha view,” Rhys complained.
Eileen stuck out her tongue at him and stayed put.
Zoya sat on the center table, trying to explain something to mom and dad. She was trying to convince them to allow her to go to a party in Las Vegas.
“Talia will be there! And after the party we can go to a hotel and come back the next morning.” Zoya pleaded.
“But you’re only 16, Zoya and you only just got your license.” Mom said with exasperation clear on her tone.
“Olivia, just let her go.” Dad said absently, his eyes still focused on the tv. Then he turned to Zoya. “I mean as long as there are no boys at the party, I’m okay with it.”
Zoya threw her hands up in the air. “How could I possibly go to a party with no boys? That’s like depriving myself of food and water.”
“I think you’re over exaggerating, Zo.” Eileen sunk to the ground in splits and inhaled deeply.
“You can’t possibly think I’ll allow you to drive over 4 hours to Las Vegas and stay in a hotel on your own.” Mom said practically.
“But I can’t miss this party.”
“Will there be parents there?” Mom countered.
“In fact, nevermind!” Zoya pushed past us and stormed upstairs. A door slammed shut. That was when everyone else realized that Lucian and I were standing there watching the whole fiasco.
My mother jumped up from the couch and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Baby, I missed you so much.” She stood back to look at me and Lucian. “You must be Lucian?” She asked.
Lucian smiled politely. “Yes, Mrs. Hayes.”
She pulled him into a hug. He stood there frozen for a second before returning the hug. Then she stepped back. “Call me Olivia.”
“So you’re Malea’s boyfriend?” Dad asked condescendingly as he stepped forward.
Lucian swallowed. He’s nervous. I squeezed his hand once. “Yes, I am. It’s so very nice to meet you, sir.” Lucian shook my father’s hand.
“Just a warning, Lucian, if you hurt my baby girl, you’ll-”
“Okayyy, dad.” I interrupted. “I think Lucian gets the picture.”
As if Eileen suddenly noticed we were here, she kicked out of her scorpion and hurried over to us, her jaw dropping to the floor. “No. Way. Mom, that’s Lucian King. The Lucian King.” I felt like crawling into a hole. Why is my family so embarrassing?
Mom turned to Eileen and her eyes widened. “Yeah! I remember now! He’s the one we saw on tv.”
Eileen turned back to Lucian and stuck out her hand. “I’m Eileen. I’m 13 and the 12 years age difference between us isn’t a big deal. If you get tired of Malea’s boringness, I’m single.”
Lucian threw his head back and laughed as if she just cracked a joke while my parents looked at her with stern expressions. “12 years is a big gap.” He said.
She shook her head, her ponytail swinging in the same movement of her head. “No it isn’t. Beyoncé and Jay Z are approximately 12 years apart and they’re happy.”
“Sorry, Eileen, but Malea’s the only woman I’m interested in.” Lucian said simply, his eyes alight with amusement.
Eileen squealed and turned to my mother. “He indirectly called me a woman! I’m going to tell Shana.” Then she hooked her Nike duffle bag over her shoulder and rushed up the stairs to her room.
“Sorry about her… She’s an odd child.” I said after watching Eileen disappear into her room.
Lucian laughed. “No. It’s no big deal. Her personality is refreshing. Well your whole family is refreshing.”
My mom tilted her head to the side in curiosity. “Refreshing in what way?”
Lucian cleared his throat. “Well, I’m an only child and my father barely has any time to spend with me alone so being around a family as close as yours is truly great.” He shrugged as my parents faces softened. “If it means anything at all to you, I feel at home here.”
My mom grinned. “It means a lot to know you feel at home here.” She glanced at my father. “How about you help Jon with the grill outside? We’re making a big dinner tonight and we could use the extra help.”
My father shot my mother a look and she sent daggers through her eyes back at him. My father caved and sighed. “Follow me.” Lucian looked at me with nervousness in his eyes and I almost felt like laughing. My father likes to make every guy I like, nervous.
“How about you help me in the kitchen, Malea?” Mom patted my shoulder and made her way into the kitchen. “We can catch up.”