I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Part Five
Interactive
Later that night, around five o'clock, everyone sat down at the dinner table to enjoy a good Christmas dinner. Just a few minutes before everyone sat down, Dianne's son, , arrived and apologized about being late. His flight was delayed by two hours and he tried to get there as soon as possible.
Dinner started out quiet and awkward, but then 's father got the ball rolling by asking a question to make everything even more uncomfortable.
"So , how did you and my daughter meet?"
glanced down at her plate embarrassedly wondering how she was going to tell her family about this. How do you tell your parents that you kissed a strange guy in a coffee shop and then suddenly become friends?
"Um, you can have a go with this one," grinned, nudging in the arm.
"Oh, well thank you," chuckled and then cleared his throat. "We, um, met at a party....Sir," he said as he wiped his lips with a napkin.
"Really? What kind of party?" Her father asked curiously.
"You know, it was one of those parties, Dad. dragged me there as always, and one of 's friends dragged him there. And since we were both having a horrible time, we befriended one another," explained, expanding the truth just a tad.
"Oh," Dianne smiled, "How long have you two known each other?" She asked.
bit her lip. "Just over two weeks," she said cautiously.
"That's not very long at all," 's mother said gently. "But , you seem like a really nice guy," she added.
"Thank you," nodded.
"I'm sure it was love at first sight," teased.
"Actually, and I are only friends," informed and then regreted using the term 'friends.'
"Yeah," agreed slowly.
"Well, that's still very sweet," her mother smiled.
flashed a thin smile at her family as she took in a deep breath. She could tell felt just as uncomfortable and wanted to run out too.
After everyone had finished dinner, Dianne, Felicity, cleared the table. insisted to help as well, so he did. As ran water over the plates, brought in the last of the drinking glasses and sat them on the kitchen counter.
"Are you having fun with my family? 'Cause I feel so bad that I've put you through all this," began quickly.
"No, don't. I like your family," said in a sincere tone. "And I kinda like that they like me," he laughed.
playfully slapped 's arm with her wet hand, which left a little print on the sleeve to his shirt.
"Aye!" He murmured as he wiped his sleeve.
Just then 's mom walked in and passed on his way out. She smiled as she watched her daughter rinse water over the dishes.
"You don't have to do that just yet. We're gonna have pie in a bit," she said, rubbing 's back.
"I know," said , softly.
"So, what made you decide to come home for Christmas?" Her mother asked while running her fingers through her daughter's hair.
"Um, I didn't really decide," began, " did."
Felicity looked at her with confusion.
" offered to come with me when I told him I was scared of coming home. The thought of him being here made me feel better, so I agreed to do it," explained as her eyes lit up.
Felicity smirked knowingly. "I see," she simply said. "Let's bring out the pie now, okay?"
nodded and then grabbed the towel off the counter to dry her hands on.
* * * *
"Thank you for having me. It was really nice to meet you lot," said as he hugged 's family goodbye.
"Aw, it was nice meeting you," Dianne squeeled as she gave him another hug.
"You two have a safe drive back," Felicity said, giving a kiss on the side of her face.
"We will. I love you," said with a smile.
"I love you too," she replied, hugging her daughter tight.
When everyone felt satisfied enough to let and go, they got into the car and waved as they drove off. The drive half way there was quiet and peaceful. Neither one of them said a word.
"Thank you for everything today. I really appreciate it," broke the awkward silence.
"No problem. I had fun," smiled.
"Well, I'm glad because I had fun too," agreed, glancing over at him.
"See, it wasn't so horrible," teased as he grinned from ear to ear.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were right. Big deal," rolled her eyes playfully.
laughed and slowly stepped down on the brakes as they approached a red light. He glanced over at and smiled while he studied her face.
"Are we really only friends?" He asked bluntly.
looked at him questioningly. "Well, of course. What else would we be?" She replied.
"I don't know," shrugged. "After tonight... maybe something more," he said in a soft-spoken tone.
bit her lip to hold back a smile. "They got to you when they thought we were a couple, didn't they?" She smirked.
just shrugged. He felt embarrassed for even bringing it up. obviously didn't feel the same way he did. The light had turned green and someone behind them honked their horn, so drove a little bit before pulling over on the side of the road.
"What are you doing?" asked, confused.
"I like you," he stated as he turned to face . "Hell... I might even love you. I don't know."
", let's talk about this later. You're just caught up in the moment right now," she said nervously.
"I thought was the one afraid of commitment," smirked as he raised an eyebrow.
laughed under her breath as she glanced down at her hands folded on her lap. A few seconds later, she looked up to stare in the eyes.
"She is," nodded.
"So, what's wrong?" asked.
"Nothing," whispered as she leaned in close and gave a soft kiss on the lips.