The next morning, after a shower, we dressed in our nice clothes and had breakfast down at the hotel. J.D. scrolled through his phone, calling his mom as I sat down with my food from the buffet. I winced as I sat down, his small smile on his lips telling me he knew I was sore.

"Hi mom, it's your favorite son." He says, taking a bite of eggs. "Yes, your only son, but you love me more than the girls, right?" He laughs, "listen, I'm in town, and I have a very pretty girl with me who I would like to bring over so you can embarrass me."

He continues talking for a few minutes and hangs up after giving me a thumbs up. "She wasn't busy?"

"No, they're both home she said to give her an hour so she can put on her face." He shrugs. "Whatever that means. We can head over after breakfast."

I was suddenly nervous. "Do I look okay to see them?"

He seems confused, "you look beautiful, my love. Believe me, they will love you as much as I do."

I smile and gently caress his cheek. "Thank you."

We chit chatted over breakfast and afterward walked over to the valet who brought his car around.

J.D.'s parents lived on the outskirts of town in a beautiful neighborhood that lined up brick houses with large gates and green yards. When we arrived, he parked behind an SUV and stepped out, walking around to open my door.

He wrapped my coat around me, the cool chill of December biting at my face. He gently wiped something off my chin and smiled. "Gorgeous."

He walked with me, wrapping his arm around me to the front door that swung open as we approached it. A familiar looking woman gasps and jumps up and down as she sees us. "Oh my god! Jimmy, get out here! Hi sweetheart!" She runs up to me and hugs me, a real hug that feels so familiar.

It was like a flash in my memory. My mother's funeral. She had come up to me and hugged me then.

"Okay, mom, she gets it." J.D. says to her as she brings me inside to her warm home. The first thing I notice is the stairs that lead to the second floor and then photos in every corner.

"My boy!" She grabs J.D. and pulls him down to hug him tightly. "Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you two! Jimmy, the kids are here!" She calls out into the other room.

Jimmy, a familiar face, comes out and smiles at us. He walks over and gives me a tight hug, and pinches my cheek. "Look at her. She's all grown up now!"

"Hi Jimmy, good to see you both again."

We are brought to the living room where his mom Claudia had set up drinks and some snacks. J.D. takes my coat, and I sit down as he walks over to give his dad a hug. We all sit, making small talk about the weather and how cold it was getting.

"So, J.D. tells me you two ran into each other and didn't recognize one another?"

I nod, "Yeah he looked familiar, but I haven't seen him in so long. It wasn't until he came to my dad's house that I realized we knew each other."

"How romantic. You know J.D. had a little crush on you when you two were kids. He would get so shy around you." She teased him, causing him to blush. "Now, sweetheart, how is your father doing?"

We talked for a while about life, my dad, and work. At some point, J.D. and his dad walked out of the room to talk about something to do with the documents he had brought for him.

I sat and drank warm tea with his mom, looking around the room as she watched me. "You have a beautiful home."

"I'll take you on a little tour if you'd like." I nod and follow her around as she shows me the guest rooms and back yard. She puts her arm around me and squeezes me tightly. "Sweetheart, I can't get over how much you look like your mother. You have grown into such a beautiful woman." She smiles at me. "This time of year must be hard for you."

I nod, "Yes, but I'm getting through it. I've been trying more, I think. Just with my dad and life, it's been nice having James around. You raised a very good man."

We walk back into the living room and take a seat on the sofa. Talking to his mom made me feel safe. She spoke to me with such love and care, and I could see where my boyfriend got his heart of gold.

After a long talk, she brought out some photos of J.D. when he was a kid. The man himself walked in and groaned, falling on the couch beside me as I saw the cutest photos of him as a kid.

After a few photos, I recognized one that caught my attention it was a picture of James when he was about ten years old, and the little girl next to him was me. It was a candid photo, and I realized it was his birthday party.

"Oh, look, the day I didn't get a PS2 because someone took my wish." J.D. teases me.

"James, I wasn't going to get you one of those game systems." His mom laughs.

"Well, maybe if I had grand theft auto video games, I wouldn't have been out on the streets doing it in real life."

His mother smacks his arm, and he just laughs.

We stayed for dinner; the time seemed to slip away as we talked. I was nervous about meeting his parents as his girlfriend, but as I came out of the restroom, I could hear them talking about me quietly around the corner from the hallway.

"... you're lucky she puts up with your sense of humor." His mother scolds him. "She's a good girl, not like that trash you would bring around."

"She's a very good girl, I know I'm lucky. She's aware of my past, by the way, and does not care. She loves me for my personality... and my sexy body." There's a pause and a small slap. "Ow, that's my bad shoulder!"

"You behave yourself with that girl, do you understand. You finally bring home a nice girl with a fucking brain, you mess it up, I'm kicking your ass." His dad threatens.

"I won't daddy I love her." He says in a high pitch voice. "No, but seriously I really do. By the way, we are going to the arch tomorrow, would you like to join us?" My eyes widen and I decide to make myself known, walking into the living room. "There she is!"

I walk over and take a seat. "I don't do heights." His mom states. "You two enjoy yourselves tomorrow, just come see me before you leave."

*

After we leave, J.D. drives in silence, watching the road. "They love you, by the way." He says randomly.

"I love them." I admitted. "Your mom made me feel really happy. I don't know. I can't explain it like she talked to me like my mom would."

"Maybe because you don't really have any older woman to talk to. I mean, you have your dad, me, that Tracy chick from work who seems to only talk about boyfriend stuff. Honestly, it might be good to talk to a woman about womanly things." I can tell he's not exactly sure how to word it, but he was sure trying. "I mean my mom can talk, so if you ever want to, you can call her. She really likes you."

We make it to the hotel again and stop, waiting for the valet. "Thank you for bringing me here." I kissed his cheek. "And for offering me to borrow your mom."

"Anytime, just put in a good word for me. Can you believe they like you more than me."

Back in the hotel room, I decided to get out of my clothes and take a hot shower to warm myself up. The door opens, and J.D. stands there naked. "Hello, stranger." I cover myself.

"May I join you?" He smiles.

"Yeah, but no funny business, I'm still sore."

He salutes me, walking into the shower, cursing when the hot water hits his back. "That'll burn your skin." He turns the knob just ever so slightly and stands under the rain shower head.

I can't help but look at him and his naked body. It was a new level of intimacy, seeing him soft and doing a regular activity. I also took time to notice how long his hair was when it was wet at and flat against his head. It must have been voluminous because it reached his shoulders when wet.

"Can I wash your hair?" I asked as he reached for the hotel shampoo. He stopped and turned to me, curiously looking at me.

"Can you reach, shorty?"

The shower had a bench, so I offered him a seat. He gently took a seat and covered himself as I grabbed the soap and began washing his hair. He seemed relaxed as I scrubbed the shampoo through his scalp, scratching gently with my nails.

"You have so much hair." I looked down at his lap. "Do you shave?"

"My face?" He asks. "Yeah, every few days. I can grow a sweet mustache and sole patch if you want me to look a little like two thousand and five Johnny Depp." He wiggles his eyebrows.

I laugh as I spike up his hair in a Mohawk. "Baby, I love you, but you don't look like Johnny Depp." I giggled. "I meant do you shave...down there?"

He looks down and seems to understand. "Oh, I trim it. I like a little hair but not like a full bush. They say it looks bigger if you go fully bald, like the porn stars do, but that sounds like razor burn and ingrown hair."

"Oh my god, rinse." He stands and washes out the shampoo, sitting back down once it's out of his hair. "Conditioner?"

"Yes, please." I pump the conditioner, and he seems curious, looking down at my intimate area. "I like what you have going on, do you wax?"

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, I do it myself."

His eyes widen, "how?"

"With a mirror and a lot of patience. You're welcome." I shrug, combing his hair back with my fingers. "I love your hair, I'm so jealous."

"I don't mind hair, by the way, I'm still going to eat you out." He shrugs. "Do you like my hair long? I can cut it." He looks up at me.

"I think it's perfect, but please don't grow a mustache, I don't really like facial hair."

He rinses his hair and has me turn to wash my hair as well. Once we were done with the shower, we dried off and went to sit in the bedroom. I rubbed lotion all over myself and put on a hair serum. J.D. watched me as I did my nighttime routine and seemed to be enjoying it.

He sat down at the edge of the bed facing the TV. I sat behind him and massaged his shoulder. "So, for Christmas, what do you guys do?" I asked him.

"Actually, I was going to talk to you about that. I'm going to California on the twenty-first. I won't be back until the twenty sixth." He looks back at me.

"Going to go see your sisters?" He nods. "That's exciting!" I really hoped I sounded sincere. As much as I would love to be around him for the holidays, I knew eventually he would go somewhere. "I'll miss you." I kissed his cheek, sitting beside him.

"I'll miss you more, but hey, I will be back for your birthday, and we can do something really fun for that." He smiles big. "Unless you can go with me to California..." He looks hopeful, but I knew I would have to decline.

"I can't, J.D. I'm going to be with my dad here, and my brother already got his ticket. Plus, I can't have that much time off of work." I sit down in his lap where he holds me. "But we still have these next eight days."

Saying that out loud made me realize how short our relationship was, but how intense it had become. How did someone who I hardly knew a few months ago now mean the world to me.

We went to bed that night, after we ordered some dessert. I lay in the dark hotel room, the light from the moon lit up his face as he drifted to sleep. I watched him carefully, tracing his nose and lips. He smiled at me and opened his eyes. "Go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow." He whispers.

"Okay, will you hold me?" I flip over and feel his hand grab me and pull me against his chest. He pushes my hair aside and rests his head against the crook of my neck. He begins to hum quietly, and I slowly drift off to sleep.

*

Thanks for reading. Xx