Watching his mother leave the room, Greg sat up wiping his face with his hands. He glanced at Morgan who still wore a deer in headlights expression.
"So, good morning," he started, shifting to face her.
"Good is not exactly the word I would use," she eyed him warily. "Last night, however, was amazing." A slow smile spread across her face as she ran her fingers over Greg's chest, tracing the definition of his muscles.
"Oh, yeah?"Greg grinned. "Up for a repeat?" He moved in closer to her, but she pressed her hands firmly against him, stopping him.
"Not so fast, Romeo. The walls seem to have ears and eyes, and the doors," she gestured towards it, "no locks. Besides, I now have to mentally prepare myself for breakfast and facing your mother who knows we had sex." She winced at the thought, her whole body flushing pink. Greg groaned, partly from humiliation and partly from the frustration of being turned down.
"Yeah, sorry about that. She means well, but now you know why I don't introduce my parents to girlfriends," he said collapsing back down on his pillow. "They have no boundaries."
"So what made you change your mind? Remember this little excursion to your parents' place was your idea," Morgan reminded him as she nestled herself into the crook of his arm.
"Well, I figured we're in this for the long haul so I needed to do it quickly, like ripping off a band aid. Get it all out in the open. And after meeting your family, I knew you weren't likely to run."
"Haha, very funny. Just be thankful it was your mom and not my dad who caught us in bed together," she buried her face into his chest. "Oh my God! I still can't believe she found us like this." Greg flipped her on her back making her squeal as he hovered over her.
"Well, it could have been worse. She could have found us like this." He moved to kiss her neck drawing a moan from her.
The door creaked opened and they scrambled to cover themselves.
Greg's dad peeked from behind the door. "Pancakes, Greg. You coming? Oh hello Morgan." He gave a sheepish smile as he backed away from view. "See you kids downstairs."
Morgan looked at Greg horrified. "Have I told you how wonderful you are lately?" he said moving to kiss her but she brushed him off.
"Get dressed before some long lost cousin pops in on us. I'm sleeping in my own room tonight, and no more of this until we are safely back in Vegas." She draped the sheet around her as she crawled out of the bed.
Ten minutes of hurried dressing later, Greg and Morgan found themselves in the kitchen trying to avoid eye contact with either of his parents. Morgan kept her gaze downcast as she pushed her food around on her plate. She felt Else's eyes on her, surely watching and judging her every move. The silence surrounding the table was stifling.
"Morgan, can you pass the breasts, I mean butter?" Greg's attempt to start conversation failed miserably. Morgan stared at him wide eyed, her cheeks flaming red. His parents burst into laughter.
"Well, I guess we know where your mind is, son." Gordon laughed clapping an embarrassed Greg on the back. "Don't worry. We've all been there. In fact, I think you walked in on your mother and me a time or two when you were just a little lad."
"Dad! Too much information," Greg groaned.
"All I'm saying, son, is that might have been the first time someone walked in on you, but if you're doing it right, it won't be the last."
Morgan gagged on her juice, spurting a cough. "Gordon, dear, I think that's enough sex talk for the breakfast table," Else shot him a warning look. Gordon shrugged, relenting as he finished off his meal.
"Morgan, dear," Else continued, "I had planned to go shopping today. I was going to suggest you join me before your things arrived this morning but would still love the company if you're interested."
Morgan looked to Greg for an answer before replying, but he was staring at his plate still reeling from the uncomfortable chat with his father.
"Sure, that would be great if you're okay with it, Greg?" she asked. He looked up at her clearly lost. "Your mother invited me shopping. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, great. Sounds good," he answered.
"That gives us some more time for man talk without the ladies interrupting," Gordon threw his arm around his son who gave a brief stiff smile.
"Yep, so great," Greg mumbled as he stuffed his mouth full of pancakes.
After a few hours of browsing department stores, Else took Morgan to a quiet little tea house for lunch. The waiter took their order leaving them to fill in the awkward gaps with chatter.
"Thank you for taking me out today, Mrs. Sanders. I'm having a great time," Morgan said.
"Call me Else, dear. And the pleasure is all mine, although I'm afraid I did have an ulterior motive behind it," she met Morgan's confused look with a smile. "As you know, Greg is my only child, my baby. I know he acts like he is tough, being in law enforcement and all, but deep down inside he is still this fragile little boy. I guess what I'm trying to say is to be careful with him. I've seen the way he looks at you, and I don't think I've ever seen him so in love with something since his dog Oscar, who died about twenty years ago. Broke his poor little heart. I can't stand to see that happen to him again." Her expression turned into a cautious warning.
Morgan placed her hand on Else's in a reassuring manner. "Trust me. I understand. I love your son and would never intentionally hurt him. But I do think he is stronger than you give him credit for."
"Thank you. I know it's not my place, but it's just something a mother needs to hear," Else said. "So about this pending engagement of yours, have you considered where you would have the wedding? San Francisco is very nice in the summer."
Morgan drew in a deep breath bracing herself for the on pour of premature wedding planning that lasted the rest of lunch.
Greg sat lounging on the couch next to his father as they watched another action flick on the large flat screen tv.
"Here," Gordon said handing Greg a small box, "your mother wanted me to give this to you while they were shopping."
Greg took it, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "What is this?" he asked.
"Your grandma's engagement ring. Your mother wants you to give it to Morgan," his dad said not breaking his concentration from the movie.
"What?! We've only be dating a few weeks. Have you two lost your minds? You need to stop this." Greg said sitting up.
"It was your mother's idea. Besides, if you are headed that way, you have a ring. If not, save it for the next one. Just take it so I don't get in trouble," Gordon said moving to grab a bag of chips. "She's quite the girl. If I were you, I wouldn't wait that long."
"Yeah, thanks. I'll remember that if you don't chase her away by talking about our sex life. I mean, come on. What was that besides embarrassing?" Greg retorted stealing some chips from the bag.
"Just be glad you have a sex life to begin with," Gordon smirked. "I still remember the days of finding sticky Playboys under your mattress. You're at least a step up from that."
"God, thanks Dad. Let's just stop talking and watch the movie." Greg leaned back again, but his focus was now on the ring in his hand as his thoughts wandered.
"So, how was shopping?" Greg asked Morgan when they were finally alone.
"It was great, up until your mother compared me to your dead dog," Morgan said leaning back against him as they sat on the porch swing.
"What?" he asked.
"Never mind. How was your man talk with your dad?" she asked.
"Uncomfortable as always, but let's look on the bright side. Tomorrow we are headed back to Vegas and the moment we get to my place we can finish what we started this morning." He tilted down to kiss her. She smiled looking up at him.
"Looking forward to it. In fact, I got some new lingerie today in your favorite color. I'll wear them tomorrow for you."
"God, I love you," he said and then froze seeing the impact of his words in her thoughtful expression. She sat up straighter staring deep into his eyes.
"I love you too, Greg," she said.