The moment Mia's mum departed the room, Mia let out a long whine of a groan and buried her head between her hands. "I am so dead....," she mumbled weakly.

Turning towards her, I bit back from piping in, 'Hey at least it wasn't you Dad.' Something told me that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say after just instigating something that had essentially gotten her into trouble.

Eyeing her up and down, the corner of my lips twitched up with slight amusement as I noticed that it was in fact her who had incorrectly put her top on inside out. I tried desperately to hold back my smile, knowing I was supposed to be taking this situation seriously.

Mia seemed to notice her mistake at the same time as me and looked down at her top before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm such an idiot, now she knows for sure I took my top off," she groaned.

"Well, I didn't think she seemed too mad...," I tried to pipe in optimistically.

Mia glared at me. "You just couldn't keep your hands to yourself, could you?" She snapped, her eyes narrowing accursedly.

Nope, no I couldn't.

Smiling, I plucked up an amused eyebrow, finding it entertaining that she was pretending she didn't have just as much of a part to play in what happened as I did.

"Well, you didn't exactly seem reluctant when you were grinding yourself up against my dick," I laughed, as I looked her up and down amusedly.

I still couldn't believe she'd done that; it had damn well nearly killed me.

Mia immediately became still at my statement, a furious blush overtaking her cheeks.

She cleared her throat, still blinking rapidly, and sporting that ever-increasing blush on both cheeks. "I didn't grind, I was adjusting myself," she argued.

I plucked my brow up even higher, making Mia shift uncomfortably. It was clear that both of us knew she was sprouting absolute bullshit.

I smiled wider. "Also, if one of us is to blame, it's you. You're the genius who put your top on the wrong way," I teased as I nodded my head down to her top.

Mia's blush deepened. "Well, you didn't notice it either, so it's equally your fault," she retaliated quickly.

"Hey, my expertise lies in helping you undress, not dress you," I joked, my eyes sparkling teasingly.

Mia tried to maintain a still face, but a smile soon cracked through her lips. "You're such an idiot," she mumbled. "But anyway, we should probably go downstairs before my mum comes back," she sighed as she started to climb her way off the bed.

I frowned at the idea, preferring to just lock the door and continue with what we were doing.

To my disappointment, Mia started to make her way to the door but stopped as she caught her reflection in the mirror.

She let out a groan, and then I nearly died from shock when she suddenly reached for the end of her top and lifted it clean over her head. My eyes instantly widened, my eyes once again flying over to her full chest and swallowing. Suddenly, the desire to grab her, and chuck her back on the bed flew sharply back through my mind. And just like that, I was instantly ten times more aroused.

To my frustration, Mia quickly turned her top back the right way around and slid it quickly back on, ruining my view.

She turned back towards me curiously, and I stiffened uncomfortably. I quickly realized I'd perhaps got a little more excited by that than I really should have if the aggressive tent in my pants was anything to go by.

"Come on, let's go. What are you waiting for?" she asked as she gestured for me to follow her.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "I...er...still have a certain situation going on downstairs Chubs which your strip show just made worse," I mumbled with a frown.

Mia paused for a second, then her eyes fell slowly down to my jeans, and she snorted amusedly when she noticed the problem.

"Oh right, my bad. Just go to the bathroom, and er...deal with it," she said as she gestured awkwardly to the general region of my crotch.

I was just about to reluctantly nod my agreement when I suddenly paused. I looked up at her with a small, devious smile, wonderful ideas crossing through my mind. "Or you could...."I started.

"Nope, Uh, uh, no way, bye," Mia interrupted quickly with a laugh clearly knowing I was once again trying to start things up when her mother was literally still downstairs.

She quickly turned on her heel and started to make her way to the door, to no doubt escape me.

"I was just going to say, or you could help me meditate," I called out.

Mia scoffed and kept walking. "Hmm, sure you were going to say that," she replied back slyly.

I watched as Mia soon left the room, and with a sigh, I slowly lifted myself off the chair and made a slow path for the bathroom.

After a quick five-minute session trying to release some pent-up tension in the bathroom, I finally exited the bathroom and jogged my way down the stairs. I could only hope it wasn't obvious to Mia's mum why I needed a few minutes to collect myself.

As I approached the kitchen, I slowed down hearing the sound of Mia's voice, along with her mum's. Their voices carried across the room quite loudly, and curiosity getting the better of me, I slowed to a stop by the edge of the door figuring they might be talking about me.

I heard Mia's mum expel a heavy sigh. "Look Mia, I understand how you are feeling. You're young and in love, and it's easy to get carried away. It's healthy to have these feelings," she explained softly.

I stiffened, releasing she was clearly warming up to give some weird mother-daughter sex talk.

"I'm good, Mum. I don't need this speech. Sex ed covered it all," she blurted out quickly, clearly not liking the direction of where things were heading.

"Yes, I know, but I just really want to make sure it's drilled in. He's your first boyfriend, and I just don't want you to make a mistake and end up pregnant."

I nearly choked at the mention of pregnancy.

"Mum, we haven't even had sex yet, and when we do, I'll be careful."

When we do? My lips plucked up into a smile against my control. I made a mental note to tease Mia about these words the next time I got her alone.

"And trust me," Mia continued. "I don't want kids yet. I'll probably have kids with him when I'm thirty or something.

Again, I found myself nearly choking. I couldn't believe she'd just fully admitted to having plans to make me the father of her kids. God, knows how many times I'd imagined the same thing over the years, but to hear her admit it, was something else.

I tried to close the likely Cheshire-sized grin on my face as I pushed myself off the wall and finally entered through the door.

Mia's head snapped towards me as I entered, and her eyes instantly sprang to twice their size, clearly terrified I'd just heard what she said.

I had definitely heard, and man was I fucking glad I had. In fact, I'd quite happily enjoy listening to her last sentence on repeat.

Mia shifted uncomfortably in place under my gaze, looking ready to sink into the earth and die. The corners of my lips tugged higher and higher, unable to help myself. She probably thought I was laughing at her, but in reality, I was trying to hold myself back from smiling like a fool.

"Erm...hey," Mia said awkwardly as I came to a stop in front of her.

I could see Mia's mum looking between the two of us with knowing amused eyes, as though laughing at her daughter's misery.

"W-why don't you take a seat?" she asked nervously as she gestured towards the dining room table.

Still smiling, I nodded my head. "Okay," I said simply, deciding to wind her up a little bit longer. Keeping quiet, I slowly walked over to the table and took a seat.

She coughed awkwardly and pulled out a chair beside me. I turned to face her, my eyes darting between hers amusedly. "So how many?" I asked, unable to help myself.

Mia looked me up and down, her cheeks burning slightly red. "How many what?" she asked cautiously, her eyes narrowing.

My mouth stretched out into a full-blown grin. "I just wanted to know how many kids we're going to have?" I chuckled.

Mia's cheeks burned a more furious red as she kicked me hard underneath the table. "I hate you," she snapped.

Realizing she was truly getting quite embarrassed, I let my eyes soften. Grabbing a hold of her hands, I entwined our fingers together. "How many?" I repeated.

Mia looked me over curiously, and silently.

I smiled, and cleared my throat, taking her a look as a sign to continue. "I'd quite like two, a boy and a girl. A boy so I won't be outnumbered by the girls and a girl because she'll look like you," I whispered. "But kids or not, I won't really mind. Having you in my life would be more than enough," I finished softly.

An enormous smile immediately stretched out onto Mia's face, and she shook her head at me lightly. "How on earth do you always come up with such perfect shit? Do you pre-plan," she joked.

As I laughed, Mia's mum soon walked over to the table and dropped a salad bowl gently down onto the table. She smiled. "You guys are so cute," she cooed. "But I heard you Mia, swear jar," she snapped.

"Oh, for fucks sake," Mia cried.

Before Mia's mum got the chance to yell at her again, the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house.

I instantly became still. Judging from Mia's still, equally panicked expression, I realized this meant the horror was about to begin. Mia's dad was home.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all sat around the table, silently eating while I tried not to shit myself. Why was I trying not to shit myself, you may ask? Well because Mia's dad was currently sitting directly across from me at the table, and had been sending me these tight-lipped glares from across the table for the last five minutes.

I swear to God, every time we made eye contact, his grip on his knife became that much firmer. There was no doubt in my mind that he was currently imagining stabbing it directly through my head.

He hadn't said much of anything to me since he'd arrived, other than a stiff utter of my first and last name through his lips, and another hard stare.

Mia who was sitting beside me, kept shooting nervous looks between her father and myself, before nervously shoving more potatoes down her throat.

It was clear she thought I was going to die too.

I fidgeted nervously in my seat once more as her dad stopped eating completely on his last mouthful, and just started scanning me up and down with a narrowed gaze.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Mia's dad cleared his throat. He plastered what resembled a smile on his face. In all honestly it looked less like a smile, and more like some kind of wild animal barring its teeth.

"So, Ethan," he stated sharply, his eyes locking on mine. "I've heard so many wonderful things about you over the years," he said with a slight chuckle, a sinister edge to his tone.

Unsure what to do, I gave him a polite smile. "All, good things I hope," I softly chuckled glancing over to Mia with a smile.

Mia's dad's smile widened, and he picked up his drink and took a long swig off it before locking his eyes back on mine. "Actually no, Ethan. I've heard little to no good things about you over the years," he stated bluntly.

My smile vanished from my face in a second as a sharpened silence crossed over the room.

Mia's eyes widened and she leaned forward and started trying to say something but her dad raised up a hand to silence her.

He let out a bitter laugh and waved his fork in my direction. "You know, I remember the very first time Mia mentioned you quite distinctly. My poor daughter was crying her eyes out because a horrible insensitive boy at school spread a false rumor that she was a lesbian," her dad spat, his knuckles turning white as he clutched his fork in what could only be described as a death grip.

All the blood immediately drained itself from my face, and I stood staring at him in stilled silence; horrified.

My head then immediately snapped over to Mia in shock. I scanned my eyes over her, feeling sick to my stomach as I realized, I'd made her cry that day. I'd realized she was angry that day, of course. She'd made it clear in enough aggressive words she was mad, but the fact she had cried over it, made me feel like the evilest person in the world.

"I made you cry...," I whispered weakly.

Mia's eyes softened, and she smiled gently, which somehow made me feel like even more of an asshole. "Ethan it-"

"Yes, you did make her cry," her dad injected. "And because of your nasty little rumor when she went to the school dance, she was the only girl in her group of friends that no boy wanted to dance with. She was heartbroken!" he snapped, as he glared at me with a stony expression.

I lowered my gaze from him, in shame, for the first time realizing this man had every right to hate me. He wasn't being irrational at all in his dislike for me, he was just being a protective dad, and I knew with no doubt I'd act the same way, in his position.

Mia let out a long groan in irritation. "Oh my god, Dad stop making him feel bad for something that happened six bloody years ago. I was too sensitive back then anyway," she snapped.

I shook my head slowly and locked eyes with her. "No, Mia he's absolutely right. That was a horrible thing to do, and I'm so, so very sorry for what I did," I said, never meaning an apology so badly in my life.

"Why did you even do it," her dad butted in.

I swallowed harshly, feeling embarrassed having to explain the selfishness of my reasoning out loud. "Because I was jealous," I finally mumbled. " Mia liked some boy in our class, and I hated it. I heard him talking about how he thought she was cute, and I – I panicked and before I knew it, the lie flew out of my mouth. It was an incredibly selfish thing to do, and I don't blame you for hating me, sir."

Silence filled the air, as I explained my full reasoning out loud.

I cleared my throat. "Also, just for the record, one boy did ask her to dance. Me. But she wouldn't even talk to me, let alone dance with me, so I suppose I got my comeuppance in the end," I said with a light bitter laugh.

It was an embarrassing and sore memory, that continually made me cringe whenever I thought about it.

Mia looked over at me curiously, seeming shocked at my words. She no doubt thought I'd asked her to dance as some kind of joke. Well, I hadn't. I was never joking.

Mia's dad who had been staring at me with a hard rigid stare for quite some time now, let some of the tension ease away from his face. "I appreciate your honesty, Ethan, we all make mistakes, and I can see you're genuinely sorry," he said simply. I saw a flash of what I thought might have been an attempt at a small smile and I had to blink twice to be sure.

I smiled back hesitantly, still in shock that he was accepting what I had to say.

Her dad then soon cleared his throat. "Now that's out the way, I want to hear more about you now," he said as he returned to eating his food.

"I know you're a smart boy. What are your plans after school?" he asked.

I relaxed immediately, more than happy to move on to a normal topic of conversation. One where I could finally look like a decent option for his daughter.

"I got an acceptance letter from Stanford yesterday morning, so I guess that's where I'm going," I said, unable to stop a smile from escaping my lips. I had tried so hard for years to get into that school, so it was hard to contain my excitement.

Mia snapped her head towards me in shock. "Oh my god, congratulations. Why didn't you tell me, you idiot?" she cried as she slapped me on the shoulder in excitement.

"I just did," I said flatly while eyeing her with a playful spark in my eyes.

"That's amazing, Ethan," Mia's mum said as she smiled over at me proudly.

"That's funny, Mia's always wanted to go there too," her dad commented as he gestured over to Mia.

"Why do you want to go there, Ethan?" he probed.

"Well, firstly, because it's got a good pre-med course, and I'm planning on becoming a doctor. And secondly, because it's close by, I can come back a lot and visit my mum and my little brother," I explained.

I then stole another glance over to Mia. "And probably the strongest reason of all is because I knew there was a high probability Mia was going to be there," I said as I threw a wink over at her.

A brilliant blush immediately burned over Mia's cheeks, and her lips tugged up into a smile.

"Definitely a keeper this one," her mum whispered at her rather loudly from across the table which naturally made my smile grow wider.

"Wait, how did you know I wanted to go to Stanford?" Mia asked curiously. "I never told you that, plus we applied months ago before we were even friends, never mind dating," she asked in confusion.

I let out a light snort, finding it amusing that she thought I was going to let the fact she didn't tell me shit stop me from finding out information. "You're underestimating my stalking abilities. And even if you didn't like me, I still wanted to be near you," I admitted in an honest shrug.

I decided to leave out the fact that I had a ten-year plan to win her over that involved us going to the same college.

"Stalking abilities? You're stalking my daughter?" her dad snapped, as he sat straighter in his seat like some kind of guard dog.

Oh shit.

"Relax, he doesn't mean literal stalking dad, stop being dramatic," Mia said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm not a stalker, I just asked her friends and teachers if they knew," I said with a nervous laugh.

Her dad just hummed in reply, not sounding convinced in the slightest.

We all happily focused back on eating our food for the next few minutes, and the atmosphere finally felt somewhat peaceful.

That's before Mia's dad suddenly cleared his throat.

"So, Ethan. Have you had sex with my daughter?" he asked me abruptly.

All heads at the table, snapped up to look at him in shock. 

------------------

Hope you enjoyed  xx

Also guys for the next chapter, I may write an alternative version of something hilarious that could have happened at the dinner. I annoyingly thought of it a couple weeks after originally publishing my first book, but it was too late to change.