Ashley laughed for about ten minutes when I called and told her that my mother was coming with me. She didn’t seem to think that it would be a problem to get away from her. This calmed me a bit but I was still nervous. It’d never really been a problem to keep our relationship hidden from my mother; mostly because she was never home.  I thought that the weeks were going to pass slowly but they went quickly and Thanksgiving was on me before I knew what was happening. My mother and I were sitting first class and we were descending into LAX and with every second my anticipation grew. Ashley was picking me up while my mother got a rental car. Ashley had somehow convinced my mother to let me stay with her while my mother got a hotel room, so that I could get the “true college experience”. She would join us for meals and at night so that Ashley could show us both LA. It wasn’t going to be as bad as I’d thought but we’d still be spending way more time with her than usual.

“Do you see Ashley?” She asked me, as we stood by baggage claim. I shook my head, craning my neck as I rolled my suitcase back and forth nervously. Suddenly though I perked up at the sight of her.

“There!” I practically squealed, making my mother smile as Ashley fought the crowd to get to us. I wanted nothing more to throw my arms around her and kiss her until my heart stopped but I settled for a quick hug. She smiled warmly at me and I could see that the hug wasn’t enough for her either.

“Hi Mrs. Carlin, do you want us to wait for you to get your car?” Ashley asked politely, making my mother smile.

“No, I’m sure that you two want to catch up and I have Spencer’s cell phone number if I run into trouble.” I nodded, hugging my mom bye before rushing Ashley away before she could change her mind. As soon as we were out of the main building and a safe distance from my mother Ashley pulled me into a rough kiss. My hands left my suitcase in favor of wrapping my arms around her neck and kissing her back with everything that I had. Jesus Christ I’d forgotten what a good kisser she was. She pulled away much too quickly and smiled as she rested her forehead against mine.