SAM's POV

~Wednesday, Jake's House~

Me, my moms, and Antonio arrived at Jake's house around 5pm for his mother's birthday dinner. Although I had bought a gift for his mother, my mom thought it'd be rude to go empty-handed, so she decided to bring a bottle of wine as well. Jake had told me that his mom liked nice-smelling things so I decided on a box set of mini scented candles along with a nice birthday card. Hopefully, she'll like it.

There was a car parked in their garage and another in front of their house on the street. We park behind the second car and as we were walking to their front door, my insides were all bubbly. I am soooo nervous! Plus, I was shivering because of how cold it was. We've JUST started dating, and it's not even that serious, but the thought of meeting Jake's mom seems like a huge step.

"You excited?" My mom asks with her hands buried in her red wool coat pockets.

"Mm, I guess. Just try not to embarrass me, alright?" I reply as I cut my eyes at her.

"Oh, hush. How would I embarrass you?"

"It's not that hard for you..." I ring the front doorbell, looking down at my black-heeled boots and red velvet dress with leggings. I decided to dress up a little bit to impress my man, of course.

"Aye, just because we're at your little boyfriend's house don't mean I won't smack you into next week. Watch it, missy." She threatens.

"Martha, why are you always threatening to smack Sam?" Antonio asks with a chuckle. "She's only teasing you a bit."

"When you have your own kids, you'll understand..." She flips her short bob haircut. I can't lie, mama is looking cute tonight.

"So... you're saying you wanna have kids?" Antonio leans all up behind my mom, speaking super close to her ear with a flirty grin. She blushes. Ewwww.

As I throw up in my mouth, she playfully pushes him back. "Slow your roll, Mr. Martinez. You gotta put a ring on it first."

"Whatever you say... Mrs. Martinez," he replies in a sultry voice.

The door finally opens and it's Jake!

"Hey!!" He greets us with the biggest, most genuine smile.

"Hey!" I reply, smiling big. I always feel so good around him.

"I'm glad you could make it. Come in, it's cold." Jake opens the door wider and steps aside as we shuffle into his living room. 

We gently tap the snow from our shoes onto his doormat before taking them off. I wiggle my toes through my socks, feeling the warmth of the floor beneath.

"Oh! I can take your coats, too. I'll hang 'em in the closet," Jake insists, still wearing a big smile.

"Oh, thank you," mama says.

"Thanks, Jake," Antonio replies.

I slip my coat off my shoulders and as Jake grabs it, he makes long eye contact with me. He better stop--

"It's good to see you again. How was the drive?" Jake asks us, mostly looking toward my mama and Antonio. As they make short small talk about the weather, I glance around the living room. Even though I've been over his house before, I never got a chance to take everything in.

His house had a very comfortable, casual feeling. Nothing fancy. His couch was filled with red-and-green holiday pillows... there was a bookshelf that displayed some sports trophies and medals (most likely Jake's)... and I just noticed the pictures of him and a lady who I'm guessing is his mom. I stepped up for a closer look.

"Hey. Let me show you where everyone's at..." 

Jake's voice brought me back to reality. We were the only ones in the living room.

"Oh, okay," I reply as he smirks at me.

"You look really nice tonight," he says.

"Thanks. I know," I reply in a gentle tone. He chuckles and grabs my hand.

"Come on," he replies before guiding me into the kitchen.

***

As I entered their colorfully decorated kitchen, I spotted at the head of the table a happy-looking, middle-aged woman wearing a 'Happy Birthday' tiara on her head. She had on a blue and white patterned frilly blouse and a chunky red necklace that instantly could catch your eye. She seemed very bright and enthusiastic as she laughed amongst her family. Mom and Antonio sat to the right of her at the table. Next to them, a boy that looked about my age sat to the right of Antonio, followed by a younger-looking boy.

We walked around to the other side of the kitchen table where two empty seats were waiting, I'm assuming for us.

"Ahh, mijo! And... is this your special friend I've been hearing about?" Jake's mom exclaims.

All eyes are on me. 

"Hello..." I say with a simple grin.

"Mom, this is Sam. Sam, this is the birthday girl, my mother." Jake chuckles as he introduces us.

"Oh my gosh, how beautiful you are. Come here. We hug in this family," Jake's mom says with a huge smile. She stands up and wraps her arms around me. It was one of the best hugs you could possibly get. Wow, she seems so nice! But she is Jake's mom so I wouldn't expect anything else.

"Please, join us! Have a seat!" His mom offers. Jake slightly pulls the chair out for me as I sit then he sits to my right in the seat next to his mother. I glanced at the unknown girl to my left, giving her a polite smile. She looked a bit older than me. On her left sat a young girl, then next to her at the other head of the table was another middle-aged woman.

"I'm glad you and your parents could make it!" Jake's mom says while smiling at me.

"Oh... Antonio's not my dad," I awkwardly say.

I see my mom take a glance at Antonio, who looks awkwardly downward. Almost hurt, but he quickly speaks up. "That's right, I'm not Samantha's father. I'm actually marrying her mother next month."

My mom rests her hands on his lap with a genuine grin.

"Oh, really? How exciting! Well, blood or not, family is family. And I'm glad all of you could make it to celebrate my 20th birthday!" Jake's mom says with a wink, showing her pearly whites as the rest of the table laughs.

"Hey, I thought your 20th birthday was last year?" The girl next to me chimes in.

"Eh, shush!! I can be 20 for as long as I want, thank you, Jennifer," Jake's mom replies. We giggle. "Anyway, I really do thank you all for coming. It's always a blessing to see another year... to see my beautiful family... and to meet new friends. I hope that we can just enjoy this time together tonight, enjoy the tasty food -- thanks to my sister and niece for cooking -- and just get to know each other a little better."

"Amen to that," mama says.

"Yes! So, Vickie, will you get some drinks for everyone, and then we can quickly introduce ourselves before we eat and start the fiesta."

The middle-aged woman at the end of the table stands up, her curly brown hair bouncing as she makes her way to the fridge.

"Sure, sure. Everyone, we have water, juice, soda, tea, some Jarritos, and some alcoholic options for the adults. Just tell me what you want and I'll bring it," Vickie says.

We get the drinks all sorted out while we start the small talk and introductions.

"So, for our guests, Vickie is my older sister. And she brought the whole family: she has her oldest daughter, my niece, Jennifer--"

Jennifer waves to me, mama, and Antonio. "Hi."

"--her second oldest, Tommy, who's the same age as mijo Jake--"

The boy sitting next to Antonio nodded a 'wassup'.

"--and my youngest niece and nephew, the twins, Dominic and Clara. They're about to finish third grade this year... my precious babies." They looked curiously at me with their big brown eyes. I'm not even a fan of children, but they're too cute, no lie.

"And you all know my boy, Jake. My sweetie pie. The numero uno man in my life!" She says with pride as she caresses his chin. His cousin Tommy cracks up at this.

"Ma, not at the table. Please," Jake pleads, looking embarrassed. How is he so cute?

"Oh, please. Don't act like you're not used to it. No matter how grown you think you are, you will always be my baby!"

"I know that's right!" Mama agrees. "I don't know why teenagers think their parents are just so disgusting."

"Like we weren't there for their ups and downs, kissing their boo-boos..." Jake's mom continues.

"Changing their sheets when they wet the bed for the fifth time in one week..." Vickie adds from the end of the table. Her comment causes her daughter Jennifer to giggle while looking at Tommy.

"Aye, don't look at me. She's talkin' about you, sis," Tommy replies.

"I'm talking about both of you," Vickie says. Oop.

"With all of their problems, they should be glad we still claim them," Jake's mom says which makes everyone chuckle.

"Okay, ma. Did I mention how much I appreciate you?" Jake grabs his mom's hand and caresses it lovingly.

"Not enough. You should say it more," she teases.

***

A few minutes passed and we had made ourselves a plate, and lemme tell you it was good! They had a taco bar, some bbq pulled pork and pulled chicken, some nachos and queso and salsa, rice and beans, pasta salad, some sliced watermelon, strawberries, and grapes, and a veggie tray. I wanted to go ham on the food, but I didn't wanna look like a pig in front of Jake's family. So I only ate small portions of a little bit of everything.

They had some light music playing on in the background too - a little bit of pop, a little bit of old-school hip-hop, as well as some latin vibes - which took away any tension from the atmosphere.

"Mrs...?"

"Oh, wow. I didn't even introduce myself. You can call me Rosalita."

"Rosalita, have you all lived in this area for quite a while?" My mom asks. 

"Oh, yes. My parents and my parents' parents have all lived in New York City for decades. There's a lot of good people here, so I plan on staying here probably 'til I'm old and grey..."

She glances towards Jake who is grinning at her while chowing down on his food.

"And perhaps my son will also plant his roots here, too. And take care of his little ole mother while starting his own family."

"Now you know Jake does not wanna stay around here just to take care of you," her sister Vickie exclaims, smirking. "You know you're a headache as it is."

Light chuckles fill the room.

"Yeah, he probably wants to get away from here and explore the world some. And live his own life," her niece Jennifer says. "Tommy, too. Run away while you can!"

"Oh, Jake loves me too much to leave me. Isn't that right, honey bun?" Mrs. Rosalita pinches Jake's cheeks which causes me to hide my chuckle. Wow, she's being so embarrassing right now.

"Of course I love you," Jake replies with a grin. He really doesn't seem too embarrassed by her affection though.

"I think all mothers tend to feel that way. We don't want to see our babies leave the nest. Especially me; Sam's the only one I got," mama says while glancing at me.

"Ah, you're an only child, too?" Mrs. Rosalita asks me.

"Mhm."

"So is Jake. If he leaves me, I'll be sad and lonely."

"Stop being so dramatic. You're the most amazingly independent woman I know. You've never needed anyone for anything," Jake replies.

"You're damn right."

The table breaks out in chuckles and the younger ones cover their mouths in shock.

Jake chuckles. "So, why are you being all dramatic?"

"I just want to let you know how much I'll miss you if you leave me."

"I'll be here for the next four years at least so... no worries," Jake replies. Just being reminded that I won't be able to see him for that long makes me kinda sad.

"Well... I must be the worst mother because I'll be happy when Tommy is gone. Soon as he graduates high school, I'm kicking him out the house," Vickie says while drinking from her glass of iced tea.

"Except I told her I'm not leaving just yet," Tommy speaks up. He has a huge smirk while he's talking. "I'm gonna stay in the city and maybe get a degree at a community college, and help take care of my little bro and sis a bit. It's only her, so I wanna help out as much as I can."

I feel Jake nodding his head beside me.

"You know, that's so sweet of you, Tommy. I'm sure your mom is really happy to hear that," my mama says.

"Oh, don't butter him up!" Vickie says with fake disgust.

"Mom, you know you're glad that he'll be staying around. A free babysitter while you're at work? Come on," Jennifer says while smacking her teeth.

"Free babysitter? That's his job anyway. The older ones always take care of the younger, no matter how old they get," Vickie replies. "I mean, look at your aunt over here. She's almost a senior citizen but acts like a child every day. Since I'm the oldest, I still gotta whip her in shape sometimes."

Tommy, Jennifer, and Jake all share a knowing laugh. You can really feel how close they are. Must be nice to have extended family around all the time.

"Hey. Why are you lying to our guests?" Mrs. Rosalita responds with a smirk. "Don't pay my sister any mind. Anyway... Sam, what are your plans for after graduation? Are you staying or leaving the area?" She quickly changes the subject as all eyes are again on me.

"I'm planning on going to UCLA after graduation," I reply.

"Oh, UCLA! Yes! Jake was looking into that school as well. Good for you, darling! And do you know what you want to study?" She asks with an interested smile.

"Not really, but maybe something with sports? Sports medicine is popular or physical therapy. I'll be happy as long as I can just play basketball."

Her eyebrows rise in shock. "Ah, you play basketball, too? I didn't know that. Clearly, my son doesn't share too much about his relationships."

"I don't blame him. You're nosey," Vickie roasts her sister once again.

"Is that how you met? Through basketball?" Mrs. Rosalita asks while taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah," I respond.

"Aw, isn't that sweet! Look at you~" Mrs. Rosalita replies while pinching her son's cheeks.

"Agh--" Jake flinches at his mom's touch while chuckling.

"He's my baby so I know I raised him right, but if he ever treats you wrong, let me know and I'll beat his behind with my sandal, okay?" Mrs. Rosalita winks at me causing me to laugh.

"Mmm, okay," I give her an 'OK' sign with my hands.

Jake looks at me with a blushy smile, then looks down at his plate of food. So cute.

***

After everyone finished their meals and chatted, they decided to play a few games of BINGO while having dessert. The dessert was some tres leches cake with strawberries, and it was super sweet and creamy. I have never tasted food so good! They also had ice cream, cookies, and mini cupcakes that Jennifer had brought from home.

"B7..." Vickie called out.

"Oh! BINGO, BINGO!" Her young daughter calls out. She hops in her seat with excitement.

"Ooh, Clara? Lemme see," Mrs. Rosalita says. She looks over her niece's BINGO board and smiles before giving her a big hug. "Woah, look at you! You did get BINGO. Okay, mamacita, go over to the prize table and pick out a prize."

Clara runs over to the prize table as everyone admires her cuteness. She picks up the biggest bag wrapped in blue paper and quickly tears it open. It's a huge assortment of coffee.

"It's... coffee!" Clara yells with a huge smile.

"Oh, you do not need that at all," her oldest brother Tommy remarks. The table chuckles.

"Oooh, looks like that's a nice gift for mommy. Thank you, Clara," her mother Vickie says while walking over and attempting to grab it from her, but she pulls away.

"No! It's MY coffee," Clara yells with a pout.

"Oh, lord..." Vickie shakes her head and makes her way back to her seat, Clara following suit.

"Clara, you can't even drink coffee," Jennifer chuckles.

"Yes, I can!" She yells back. Why do babies have such loud voices?

After a few more rounds and a few more prizes, Tommy asked if the younger ones could hang out downstairs where they have more games. He mentioned Dance Dance Revolution, Mario Party, as well as other games. After being fake offended that the young ones wanted to ditch the old heads, Mrs. Rosalita agreed and told us to have fun. She also told the twins, Clara and Dominic, to behave while they hang out with us.

So me, Jake, Tommy, Jennifer, and the twins make our way to the lower level and play a few rounds of video games. It was pretty fun watching everyone dance or struggle to dance. My mans Jake had the moves, too. After we were getting exhausted, we decided to play a game of UNO. Me and Jennifer sat on the couch while the boys sat on the floor with the deck of cards between them. The twins were a bit antsy and decided to go back to the kitchen for some more dessert.

"Bring me back a goodie bag, okay?" Jennifer says, her long brown hair flowing down her shoulder. She was pretty. Honestly, Jake's whole family was nice-looking. I can see where he gets his charms from.

"Okay!" Clara and Dominic say, running up the stairs.

I grin. "How old are they?"

"Eight going on eighteen..." Jennifer replies with a flip of her hair and a friendly grin.

I chuckle.

"Aren't they adorable?" Jake asks with a grin. I nod.

"Your whole family is-- cute..." I sort of cut myself off at the end. I mean, it kind of sounds embarrassing to admit this out loud.

"What was that?" Jake asks, teasing me.

"Of course we are. Don't be shy to say it," Jennifer says matter-of-factly. "I don't know about Tommy though. I think good looks skipped a sibling."

Tommy sucks his teeth and throws down a 'skip your turn' card aimed toward his sister, but she looks unfazed. "Jokes on you, sis."

"Oh, yeah, Tommy's definitely an alien. Definitely the black sheep of the family," Jake jokes.

"Boy, you wish you could be as good-looking as me. That's why I'm an alien - I'm above your level," Tommy claps back with some huskiness in his voice.

"Ah, right, right..." Jake sarcastically answers.

"Can I ask how old you guys are?" I look between Tommy and Jennifer with a grin.

"How old do I look?" Jennifer asks, grinning at me from her corner of the couch.

"Be honest. Say 40," Tommy chimes in, taking a laid-back swig of his soda.

"Shut up," his sister barks.

"Um..." She doesn't look that old. Probably in college or something. "Maybe 22?"

"Ding, ding, ding! You got it."

I nod my head and smile. "Cool. What about you? Aren't you the same age as Jake?"

"Yep. I'm 18."

"So you're a senior?" I ask.

"Yep."

"Cool," I nod my head.

After a bit more small talk, I discovered that Tommy would also be graduating this year and he's gonna go to the same community college as Jake. At least I kinda feel a little better knowing that Jake will have family around while I'm across the country. Jennifer was also graduating this year from community college. She explained about her wanting to go into teaching elementary students. She planned on transferring to a 4-year college and finding an apartment within the city. Seems like those two had their plans all figured out.

"You guys seem to have your life all sorted out. That's cool," I manage to say.

"Oh, not at all. I didn't always know what I wanted to do, until I tried different things, took different classes, and see how it fit," Jennifer replies with a reassuring grin.

Jake nods. "Sam's been kind of nervous about post-graduation, which is natural."

He must be reading my mind.

"And the fact that we'll be miles apart is kinda... not so fun to think about," Jake reveals.

"Oh, you'll be fine. You only started dating and you seem so close already. Just based on my woman's intuition, y'all will be fine," Jennifer says. "The fact that he brought you here says a lot."

"What do you mean?" I ask while peeping at Jake.

"He's never brought his girlfriends to a family function. Probably for the best," Jennifer says while smirking at Jake.

"They were all ska--" Tommy begins.

"Hey! Stop it." Jake cuts him off before he can finish his word, but I think I knew what he was gonna say. This conversation kinda makes me wonder about Jake's exes, but I shake the thought outta my mind.

"Jake seems to really like you. And honestly, you seem way more calm and respectable than his exes..." Jennifer says.

Jake laughs. "Calm is by far the opposite of Sam."

I frown. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know if she's nervous, because Sam's usually more talkative than she's been today." Jake grins mischievously at me. "Are you nervous?"

His cousins take a glance at me, making my face flush.

"Why would I be?"

"Mmkay. Just wondering... ahh... feels so nice. For once my ear isn't ringing from being around you," he replies while shuffling the card deck.

"Hey! Shush..." I frown. Lucky we around his kin or I'd be throwing hands.

Jennifer chuckles while sipping her tea. "Okay."

***

Later, the twins went and grabbed Jennifer to go upstairs, so I hung out with Jake and his cousin in the lower level playing video games. It reminded me of when me and Jake were in the basement playing video games, eating Twizzlers and Doritos, and having fun. But now I'm getting to know one of his closest family members almost like I'm part of the family, too.

I'd beaten Jake before in several different video games, so I wasn't surprised when it happened again. However, his cousin Tommy was better than the both of us.

"Man, I'm used to beating this guy's butt in games. But you some good competition, Sam." Tommy says with a smile.

"Well, you know..." I pop my collar and grin, causing them both to laugh.

"You're pretty cool. We should play again sometime," he says.

I nod my head to agree.

"Maybe not too often. I don't want your stupidity to rub off on her," Jake says with a stank face. His cousin pushes his arm.

"Bro, don't start nothing."

"Nah, I'm kidding. I'm glad you two are getting along. It makes me feel good," Jake's expression quickly changes to a smile as he looks at me. It was just a look, but why are there butterflies in my stomach?!

"Bro..." Tommy says while raising an eyebrow at us.

"Tommy, can you leave us for a second?"

"Do y'all need a room? Because..." Tommy snickers.

Feeling embarrassed at Jake's gaze and Tommy's question, I softly hit Jake's arm.

"Stop. No. I should probably get going anyway..." I say while standing to my feet. Jake looks up at me.

"Ah, it is getting late, huh?" Jake seems to snap out of it, checking the time on his cell phone. "Bro, uh, I'll be back. Let me say bye to Sam and her family."

"Okay. Bring me another piece of cake when you come back," Tommy says.

I wave goodbye to his cousin before Jake escorts me up to the main kitchen area. All in all, it was a pretty nice party. It wasn't as bad as my mind was making it to be. Everyone was pretty cool -- his mom was super cool and I felt pretty comfortable around her. I could feel how close everyone was, and it made me feel mushy. Jake's so lucky to be raised in a family like this.

After telling everyone goodbye and grabbing some goodies to go, Jake leads my mom and Antonio to the front door. As they leave, he gently grabs my hand and tells me to wait.

"Hm?" I turn around, meeting his big brown eyes with my own. His dimples reveal themselves along with his pearly whites.

"Did you have fun?" He asks while swinging my hand.

I grin at how cute he's being. "Yeah. It was really fun. Thanks for inviting me again."

"Anytime. And thank you for being so... open? Like, I know you were a bit nervous, but I think my family really likes you. Thank you for treating them well is what I guess I'm trying to say..." He nervously chuckles while scratching the back of his head.

"No problem," I reply while grinning.

There was a small pause before he said, "I wish you could stay..."

As he says this, he wraps his arm around my waist as I draw closer to him. Agh, here he goes being all flirty and sh**. Stop it!!

"Jake... I wish I could, too. Maybe... another day?"

With no warning, I feel his warm lips crash against mine. We kiss for a few seconds before pulling apart. I'm speechless. Why is he making me feel this way??? I watch his tongue glide over his lips where I've left traces of my lip gloss.

"Mmm... the cherry on top of an amazing night," he says with a smirk.

I don't wanna get too carried away and I'm afraid his mom or someone could pop in the room and see us at any moment. So I nervously laugh, grab his shoulders, and manage to get out of his arms. "Okay, Jake. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Spanish class. Okay?"

"Me gusta..." He replies while biting his lip and walking towards me.

I finally walk out the front door, not really wanting to leave, but knowing I got to. I'm sure mama is wondering what the heck is taking so long. Don't need her nagging about anything else during the drive home.

"Bye..."

"Bye, Sam..."