Jake lets out a breath of relief when he hears the doorbell ring. His mom asked him to set the table fifteen minutes ago, and since he finished he's been trying to fold the paper napkins into complicated origami. But now that Ryder's here, he can distract him from his nerves instead.

He places the crumpled napkins back in front of the place settings before hurrying to the door. Ryder is leaning there casually, waiting, and he looks breathtaking. He's wearing a crisp collared shirt and a cardigan, and it's too adorable for Jake to handle.

Ryder interrupts his appraisal by leaning forward for a peck. 'Hey, babe.'

'Hey,' Jake greets in return before leaning back in for another, deeper kiss. He smiles when Ryder's hand comes up to caress his cheek. They don't pull away until they hear a crash from the kitchen. 'So, um, you should come in.'

Ryder follows him down the hallway, hand resting lightly on the small of Jake's back. When they make it into the kitchen, Jake immediately slips into a seat at the table. Ryder hovers awkwardly next to him though, glancing over to where Jake's mom is mopping up the kitchen bench. 'Did you need a hand, Mrs Puckerman?'

She smiles at him. 'No thanks, sweetie, I've got it under control.'

Ryder nods his reply, before sliding into the seat next to Jake's. Jake can't help but lean across and take his hand. 'I already offered, like, five times before you arrived.'

'You?' Ryder's laughing openly at him. 'Helping around the house?'

'Shut up.' He shoves lightly at Ryder's hand, but doesn't let go.

'I was shocked too, Ryder.' Jake's mom calls from where she's now stirring dinner.

Jake pouts in response, only partially serious. 'Hey, don't be mean. It's not my fault this is nerve-wracking.'

'Oh, my poor baby,' Ryder's tone is teasing, but he still pulls Jake into a tight hug. Jake feels him kiss his forehead lightly, and he goes completely still, before squirming his way out of Ryder's arms. Ryder looks hurt by this, so Jake nods his head slightly in his mom's direction, by way of explanation.

'Ok, so dinner's nearly ready,' Jake's mom tells them, unaware of the silent discussion at the table. 'Jake, do you wanna organise drinks, please?'

Jake grabs the bottle from the fridge, seeing the way Ryder's eyes light up when he sees that it's root beer. It makes him glad that he'd insisted that his mom bought it.

He returns to the table, passing Ryder his drink before his hand gets distracted smoothing along his temple. He just stands there for a minute, silently staring into Ryder's eyes, fingers running lightly over his face.

He's shocked out of his reverie by the sound of a plate being placed on the table. He pulls his hand away sharply, freaking out because his mother is right there. He turns away from Ryder, noticing the way her brow is furrowing.

'Hey now, Jake, don't act all skittish on my account.' She pauses, as if choosing her next words. 'I-I need you two to act how you normally would. I-I-I need to see – to see that this is normal.'

Really?' Jake asks, doubtful. She just nods in response. He feels Ryder reach up and place a warm palm against his back. He's not sure if it's a reaction to his mom's words, or if it's meant to reassure him. Either way, he's relieved, and he sinks back into his chair.

His mom has taken a seat now too. 'So what's been happening in glee lately?' He tells her about Stevie Wonder week, Ryder cutting in occasionally to add something extra, or to rave about Jake's dancing. Jake feels himself blushing in response. The conversation flows easily from there; talk about Regionals, and classes, and so many other things. At some stage during dinner, Ryder hooks his ankle around Jake's, and now his foot is rubbing gently against Jake's calf.

'So I was thinking,' Jake's mom tells them as she stands to clear the dishes, 'that maybe we could watch a movie.' They both quickly agree, but Ryder insists that they'll do the dishes for her first. Jake's disappointed when his mom doesn't manage to win the argument.

It's not too bad though; Ryder's goofing off, playing with the tea towel and whispering sweet nothings in Jake's ear while he's washing the dishes. His mom just laughs at them, darting around the kitchen putting away the dishes that Ryder dries. She doesn't even react when Ryder leans around to peck him on the lips.

With the dishes done, Jake settles himself on the couch. He only pauses for a fraction of a second before opening his arms to let Ryder in. Ryder settles in quickly, practically sitting on Jake's lap, and Jake wraps him up tightly, pulling him close.

About half way through the movie, Jake starts to wonder why he let his mom pick what they watched. He quickly realises it's not so bad though. Since she's so absorbed in it, he and Ryder can share the quietest of kisses, and she won't even know. He's relieved when Ryder seems to agree.

Sometime later though, Ryder lets out a moan, the noise too loud in the quiet room. Jake's mom turns swiftly to look at them, and it takes a while before she can school her face into a neutral expression. Jake tries not to feel hurt at her reaction. The rest of the night had been going so well, he shouldn't have expected that everything would be perfect.

A couple of minutes later, she turns back to them. 'It's not fair of me to expect you to hang out here,' she tells them. 'You should go and catch a movie. Or something.'

Jake gets up hurriedly, pushing Ryder up with him. After Ryder's thanked Jake's mom thoroughly, and she's lectured Jake about curfews, they're out the door.

'So, I've got that new Xbox game,' Ryder tells him when they make it to his car.

Jake smiles broadly in response. 'Great. Let's go.'