Capítulo 86: 86. Arriving for Dinner (Erik & Liona)
Erik continued to talk to Liona about the system he was talking about and explained in detail about how he used it to his advantage and how he could help her too. Pretty soon, they had arrived at their destination, since her car's nav unit chimed at her that it couldn't find a road that it could navigate. This was so rare, that she almost had forgotten that some roads didn't have the embedded technology that assisted the self-driving cars. Her car thankfully had a manual override, and she could drive manually, even if it was such a rare occurrence.
After switching the car to manual mode, she took the wheel and carefully navigated into a narrow driveway that led into a trailer park that she had no idea had even existed. With Erik's direction, she carefully drove through the park to his address and parked in his extremely narrow driveway.
"Wow, I never expected you to know how to drive manually, Lia." Erik said in awe as she parked her car.
"Yeah, my parents taught me how to drive manually in case I found myself in a situation that my car couldn't navigate. My dad especially was adamant that I learn how." Lia smiled at Erik before leaning over and kissing him on his cheek. He was being so cute when he praised her.
Erik blushed at the chaste, affectionate kiss Lia had given him. He turned to look into her eyes and saw the happy sparkle that he loved to see. He leaned over this time and took the opportunity to kiss her delectable lips that were so soft. He wanted to make the kiss light and affectionate, but he had a hard time resisting the heady feeling he always got when he was being affectionate with her. Instead of a light, chaste kiss, he deepened it into a full kiss that made him feel fuzzy inside.
Liona was enjoying the kiss Erik was giving her, but she had the feeling they were being watched, so she, reluctantly, pulled back before the kiss could get out of hand. "Hold on, Erik, I think we should be a bit more mindful of our surroundings. Besides, aren't I here to show your mom that I'm not some kind monster after her son? I don't want to give your mom the impression that I'm only after you because you're an alpha."
"You're right, Lia. I'm sorry for almost getting carried away again."
"Erik, please stop apologizing to me for every little thing. I find you adorable and sweet, and you've never pushed me further than I want to go. I've told you and I will continue to tell you, I will let you know if you're going too far. You don't need to apologize for just being yourself. Now, let's go in, so I can greet your mother properly, okay?"
Erik just nodded. He was trying, but he knew he still had a long way to go to not just instinctively respond with an apology if he did something even remotely perceived as wrong to someone above his station. But then again, Lia had made it clear to him that she didn't want him to think of her as above him, and they were equal in this relationship. It was a foreign concept, but he was slowly getting used to it.
"Alright. Let's go in." Erik opened the car door and got out as Liona did the same.
He clasped her hand when they met in front of her car and led her up the rickety steps to his home. Liona hadn't said a word about the run-down appearance of his home's exterior, or the trailer park for that matter. She was acting like this was a perfectly respectable area. When he reached the top of the steps that creaked under the weight of two people, he took a deep breath. He knew his mom would have already heard them pull up and get out. Thankfully, she was probably too busy minding his younger siblings and preparing dinner to greet them at the door.
Liona let Erik guide her up the steps to the quaint trailer home that he lived in. It wasn't very big from the looks of the outside, but it still had a charming feel to the place. She waited patiently for him to collect himself, since he seemed nervous. After a moment, he turned the knob to the house and led her in by her hand. She gave him a reassuring squeeze as they entered the small living space.
Looking around the small place as Erik closed the door behind them, Liona didn't see much in the way of furnishings, considering how many people were in Erik's family. The room they entered was what she supposed was the living room and entry point, but there was only an old standing lamp and a beat up couch that looked like it had seen better days. The threadbare fabric was reminiscent of something you'd see in an old movie, set in the 2020s or somewhere along that decade. The living area was separated from the kitchen area by a wall of sorts with a cutout above the sink so that you could see the living room from the kitchen. That was about all she could see from where they entered, though.
"Mom, I'm home. I've brought my girlfriend as you demanded." Erik called out to his mom, who had Tyler on her hip as she came from the back of their small home.
"Don't just stand there! Show her in and introduce her properly! Where are your manners?!"
Erik's mom was a dirty blond, verging on the cusp of being a brunette haired omega woman. She was a scrawny with a similar build to Nikki, despite the fact that she had just given birth a few months ago. Although her appearance was much more like Erik, so Liona could see where her fated mate got his good looks from. The most striking thing about the woman was her piercing apple green eyes. They were similar to Erik's but a slightly different shade than the yellow green peridot of Erik's. Her hair was short, but long enough that she had pulled it back into a simple ponytail, unreachable by Tyler, who was clinging to her.
"Come on in and sit down, Lia." Erik encouraged.
"Sure." Liona squeezed Erik's hand before sitting down on the old couch. She decided to introduce herself properly, since poor Erik seemed to be a mixture of nervous and anxious as he gave his mom a warning.
"Mom, this is Liona, she's my fated mate, so be nice!" Erik warned.
"I'm Adeliona Bartley, but I prefer going by Liona. It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Norman."
"I prefer just Julie. It's nice to meet you, too, Liona. So Erik says you just had a birthday. How old are you?"
"I just turned 18 a couple of days ago, Julie." Liona was polite and to the point.
She had the feeling that Julie had her reservations about her, especially after Erik had admitted that he had argued with her about them being fated mates. She wanted to put her at ease, especially since she loved Erik and his family meant a lot to him. It had pained her to see that hurt in his voice when he talked about that argument. His mom was, for some reason, the only parent he had. He didn't talk about his dad and always got quiet when the mention of him came around.
"Well, now that I know that you and my son are close in age, what are your intentions with him? What do you intend to do now that you see how we live? As you can see, we don't exactly live the luxurious life you seem to be used to. Even if my son worked three jobs for the rest of his life, he would be hard-pressed to support your current lifestyle if you two intend to further your relationship after you graduate from school. And I expect my son, at the very least, to finish school. Do you know what will happen if you decide to string Erik along? How, that will affect him? A fated bond is more than just an attraction to their mate. It's a tie that binds you together, and if that were to snap, what do you think will happen?"
Liona could see why Erik had been so upset and snapped at his mom. She was somehow only seeing the negative about things, and didn't seem to hold a hint of joy for the happy occasion that her son had found his mate. It rubbed her the wrong way. However, she tried her very best to hold her tongue, although she really wanted to snap at the woman.
"Julie, I love Erik. Just because we are fated mates, doesn't mean that we have to rush into things. As much as love him, and would like to bond with him, I want us to fully take our time to get to know each other. You're right to want to see Erik finish school, and I also plan on graduating. After we both finish high school, I will be finding a job to support myself while we figure out how we want to conduct our lives together. As for my supposed luxurious lifestyle? Yes, my life is comfortable, and I have not personally known poverty, but that doesn't mean that I can't understand that it exists. I find it terrible that you as part of his precious family have had to live like this, but I don't think that warrants pity. Instead, I admire you and Erik for being resourceful enough to survive on such a meager budget. I don't expect to live like I have once I leave my parents' home to start my life with Erik."
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SimMermaid
SimMermaid Slowly I am getting more chapters written for this book. I'm trying not to hiatus it, but it's been a rough winter for me so far. I don't juggle things well, so I have been struggling trying to finish the editing and scheduling for Book 1 as well as work on the necessary edits to book 2 before it goes live. January 1st Book 2 goes live on MFR so be sure to check it out!
Book 1 is nearly complete on the MFR platform so I'm excited!
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