Coffee Break

“Please be nice. Please,” I begged, watching Martin get out of his car.

Fuck. I can’t believe this is actually happening. Martin’s actually coming over to have dinner with me, my dad and my brother. This can only end badly.

“Sure,” my dad nodded.

Sam didn’t say anything, just folded his arms over his chest.

“Please,” I whispered.

Sam’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. “Fine. I’ll try,”

That’ll have to do. I stepped away from the window and checked my reflection in the mirror. Light blue shirt freshly ironed? Check. Neatly pressed tan slacks? Check. Hair co-operating? Not quite. But I can’t do anything about that now.

“Quit checking yourself out in the mirror,” Sam teased.

I opened my mouth to retort, but the doorbell rang. Martin!

“Go into the kitchen or something!” I hissed.

For once they listened to me, leaving me alone to welcome Martin in. With a shaky smile, I opened the door, my smile forming into a genuine one when I saw my boyfriend. Black shirt, grey chinos, beautifully messy hair and a bottle of whisky? Perfection.

“Hey, come on in,” I beamed.

“Thanks. You look beautiful,” Martin said shyly.

“You too,” I blushed.

Martin blushed slightly too, but leant his head up to press his lips to mine in a gentle kiss. I sighed into the embrace, lingering slightly before pulling away. Just that simple gesture showed me that everything’s going to be okay tonight. We’ll be fine.

“My dad and Sam are waiting in the kitchen. Just a warning. I’ve told them to behave, but still,” I said quietly.

“I’ll be okay,” Martin said confidently.

I certainly hope so. The two of us headed into the kitchen, my dad chopping up some salad while Sam leant against the counter. Sam noticed us first, but didn’t say anything. Jerk. I cleared my throat, making my dad turned around.

“Hi! Martin, right?” my dad smiled.

I’d roll my eyes if he wasn’t trying to be polite.

“Yeah, Martin Johnson. It’s great to finally meet you,” Martin smiled back.

Great? Slight exaggeration there Marty.

“I’m Sam. But you know that already,” Sam said simply.

Martin just nodded, holding his hand out to shake. Sam hesitated slightly, making me clench my teeth, before he shook Martin’s hand. Good. Martin then shook my dad’s hand, before handing over the bottle of whisky he’d brought.

“You got us Jack Daniels?” my dad asked, frowning slightly.

“Well, I was going to bring wine over as a thank you for inviting me, but I thought you guys would appreciate this more,” Martin replied, flushing slightly.

I swallowed nervously as Sam and my dad shared a look I couldn’t interpret, before my dad smiled.

“I hope you like steak and potatoes, because that’s what we’re eating,” my dad announced.

Oh thank fuck. He’s warming up to Martin quicker than I thought.

“Yes Sir,” Martin nodded.

“Call me Mark,” my dad said firmly.

Well…he’s definitely warming up to Martin quicker than I thought!

“Why don’t I give you a tour of the house before dinner?” I suggested.

“15 minutes,” Sam told me, giving me a warning look.

I blushed, slightly mortified. As if that was my intention! Martin chuckled and took my hand in his, so we left.

“So far, so good,” he murmured, squeezing my hand as we headed upstairs.

“I just hope it carries on like this,” I said softly.

*

We sat down 20 minutes later, steaks grilled to perfection with the potatoes and salad generously portioned on the plates. I hope Martin can eat a lot – us Merrick’s tend to eat a lot. Martin’s eyes widened a little but he smiled at me straight after. Oh good. To be honest, anything he doesn’t eat, I’ll eat. As we ate, a light conversation started up, mainly about Sports, until my dad brought out the chocolate orange cheesecake that I’d made earlier – where the conversation turned to Martin.

“Tell us some more about you, Martin,” my dad said.

I froze slightly. Oh god, here comes the interrogation. Martin just patted my knee softly, letting me know it was okay. I can only hope he’s right. I don’t want my dad and brother to scare him off for good.

“What would you like to know?” Martin asked.

“Anything! If you and Zack are serious, and therefore if you’re going to be around for a while, we might as well know more about you!” my dad reasoned.

Martin chewed his bottom lip for a few seconds, clearly thinking.

“Well, I live with one of my co-workers, Alex, and my best friend William still works with me too. My dad’s a mechanic so I grew up around cars and I’ve always loved them. Uh, I love dogs too, but I haven’t had a dog since I left home for here after college. And I’m obsessed with the show Criminal Minds – I watch it religiously. I like old school punk rock, I don’t like the Kardashians and I would never bleach my hair,” Martin listed.

Well I knew all that already.

“Interesting,” my dad mused.

“Are you aiming to work in Coffee Break for the rest of your life?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sam!” I hissed.

That was uncalled for. Martin just smiled at me.

“I actually have a degree in Biology, so it was never my aim, no. I…I started working in Coffee Break with my best friend, William, and because the pay is enough to live off and I have an amazing circle of friends all around me there, I don’t see the need to do anything different right now. Sure, it’s not the best job and maybe one day I’ll change, but right now I’m okay,” Martin explained.

Sam’s face remained emotionless, but I saw his eyebrow twitch. Hah. He wasn’t expecting Martin to have such a well-rounded answer.

“I’m glad you’ve got your head on your shoulders,” my dad smiled.

“Thank you,” Martin replied.

“I guess as long as you don’t just drift along for the rest of your life, that’s good,” Sam said reluctantly.

I smirked triumphantly. Sam ignored me, my dad chuckled and Martin smiled at me. Tonight was going so much better than I thought it would.

*

Time flew past so quickly that before we knew it, it was past 10pm and Martin had to leave.

“Thank you so much for having me round,” Martin said to my dad.

“No problem, I’m glad we finally got to meet the guy that Zack is crazy about,” my dad laughed.

I blushed slightly. Fuck him.

“Don’t ever forget that we will hunt you down and make your life miserable if you ever hurt him though,” Sam warned.

Surprisingly, this wasn’t said with too much venom – Sam and Martin had bonded over their mutual hatred for the show Jersey Shore, strangely enough.

“I won’t forget,” Martin smiled.

I sent my dad a pointed look, so he cleared his throat.

“Let’s go start washing up, Sam,” he announced.

Sam narrowed his eyes at me, but left anyway. I immediately wrapped my arms around Martin’s waist and pressed my lips firmly to his. Martin laughed softly but kissed me back, threading one hand through my hair and letting the other rest on my chest. After a minute or so, I pulled away slowly, resting my forehead against his.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“Why?” Martin frowned.

“Because you put up with Sam’s attempts to sabotage and my dad’s attempts to embarrass me,” I sighed.

Martin’s hand slid round to cup my cheek, making me look at him properly.

“I did it for you, Zack. For us. I care about you so much and I really want this to work between us, so if that means dealing with your family, then so be it. I actually had fun tonight,” Martin mused.

“You did?” I asked with a small smile.

“Yeah, I did,” Martin nodded.

I smiled a little more and pressed my lips firmly to his again in a hard chaste kiss, before pulling away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said softly.

Martin pecked my lips before stepping out of my arms and opening the front door.

“See you,” he winked.

Wow.