Chapter's song: Perfect by One Direction. Because come on. It's OD :)

Working in Tom's show was depressing. After the first day, they needed to edit the episode to make it perfect, and that meant repeating scenes. Over and Over. I ended up filling coffee orders and walking to the nearest Starbucks for whatever the crew felt like.

When Friday rolled in, I was glad I wasn't going to step foot in that stupid set, at least, not soon. I should have felt exhausted and drained, but I wasn't. Bryan was coming over for dinner and I was worried. Juno seemed bent on playing matchmaker, and knowing her, she was anything but subtle. Plus, I didn't know how to act around him anymore.

I liked him. A lot.

My heart raced every time our eyes met. Or my cheeks would feel warm whenever he talked to me. It was so embarrassing and emotionally challenging trying to appear nonchalant when your whole body reacted to him.

So, I did the most sensible thing any intelligent woman could do: I avoided him like the plague.

I dreaded tonight's dinner. I was sure that Seth would notice me blushing. Juno too. And I knew my brother. He'd take any chance to embarrass me. Plus, Juno invited Mr. Gomez. That was bound to be more awkward. The guy was nice, but I couldn't shake away the image of his beer belly and naked chest out of my mind.

The bus took longer than expected. There was a car crash that slowed up the traffic. I couldn't stop looking at my phone's clock. When the bus finally stopped, I had less than thirty minutes to get home, take a bath and help Juno with dinner.

I ran all the way home, shoved Seth out of the way on the doorstep before he could say hello and ran to my room to take a quick shower. The house did smell great. Juno was making my favorite dish, lasagna.

Dressed in khaki pants and a white blouse, I let my hair air-dry since it was usually up in a tight bun. I pinned it to the side with a pretty butterflies' pin and stepped down the stairs in a hurry.

When I reached the kitchen, Juno was making a salad and Seth was setting the table in the dining room. "Did you have a good day?" Juno had a grey stripped sweater over a bright yellow shirt. Her usually long hair was up in a ponytail. She looked pretty.

"You look great, Juno!" She smiled at me while assembling a few grape tomatoes inside the salad.

Seth walked in and stared at us before crossing his arms. "Why are you two looking so nice?" Juno chuckled while I cracked up. He placed both hands on his hips. "Is there anything I need to know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop acting like a caveman, dude." I patted him on the arm as I passed next to him. The dining room looked great. Seth had placed the fancy china and all. It looked like Thanksgiving dinner. "You should have asked your new girlfriend to come along, Seth!" I said aloud as I straightened a fork.

"Why? Is this a meet the family, kind of thing?" he answered back in a loud tone, too. Only that he was standing right next to me, making me flinch. Idiot. His grin was smug when I glared at him.

"No." I glanced at Juno. She was singing softly while finishing the salad. "Things are getting serious, don't you think?"

Seth shrugged. He had a blue shirt on with jeans. "What's with the shirt?"

He rolled his eyes. "Juno made me wear it." He scrunched up his nose as it was the worst thing ever.

I laughed at him. "You look nice. For a change."

"I always look nice," he raised an eyebrow while I shook my head. "Jess. You need to be honest. Do you like Bryan?" My whole face felt on fire as I averted my eyes. "You do!" he sounded shocked.

"I can't help it!" I admitted exasperated, gesturing with my arms in the air. "I don't want to. I'm pretty sure that he's not into me. Plus, he's my freaking boss, and way out of my league. So please, don't mess with me. I'm struggling as it is!" I had blurted that out in one breath and my heart was racing by the time I finished talking.

Seth's eyes were wide. "Okay," he raised both palms in mock surrender.

I sighed. "Sorry."

"I didn't say anything," he took a step back as if I were to smack him on the head or something.

I rolled my eyes before going back to the kitchen. "How can I help you, Juno?"

My grandma's eyes were amused. I was pretty sure she heard it all. I kind of screamed it out, anyway. Maybe the whole neighborhood had heard it. Freaking hell.

To Seth's credit, he didn't say anything else. Neither Juno.

We were finishing getting everything ready, when the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath, straightened my blouse, and opened the door. Bryan's lips tugged up. My breath caught I my chest at how handsome he was. Dark brown pants and a white shirt never looked better before. The scent of his spicy cologne made me feel dizzy. "Hi," I said moving to the side to let him pass through.

He held a large bouquet of white flowers in his right hand and a bottle of red wine in the left. "This is for Juno," he raised the bouquet. I nodded.

I didn't need to call her, she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "That's so sweet of you, Bryan, thank you!"

"Thank you for having me."

Seth greeted him with a handshake. "Nice to see you, man."

"I also invited Carlos, my boyfriend. I hope that's all right with you." My eyes cut to Juno. It still felt weird to hear her saying my boyfriend.

"I'll be happy to meet him, Juno, thank you." I tried not to stare at him as we made our way to the living room. It was hard. My eyes kept sliding to him out of their own.

The door ran again. I opened the door to Mr. Gomez, and as always, my cheeks flushed. "Good evening, Jess." He handed me a box of chocolates. "This is for you."

"Thank you." I noticed he had another box with assorted gummies for Seth and my smile widened. That was really cute. And he looked much better with clothes.

"I'm glad you're here," Juno reached out for him and pecked him on the lips. Seth and I looked away with wide eyes. We were happy for Juno but this was just weird. Bryan smiled at our reaction.

Seth looked like a 5-year-old on Christmas night when the chubby man gave him the gummies. My brother was such a little kid sometimes.

Dinner was nice. We didn't know what to talk to at the beginning. I told them about the car crash and such. But then, Juno mentioned to Mr. Gomez that Bryan was a chef and the whole conversation turned into different types of meat cuts and the dishes you could do with them.

Mr. Gomez was a funny man. He made a few jokes about food, making us all laugh. I noticed how happy Juno looked around him, and my heart warmed for her.

Bryan praised Juno's lasagna and I just knew that she was absolutely delighted with him. "It's my Jessie's favorite dish," Juno said as she glanced at me with proud eyes.

"I'm really sorry for being late and not helping you out."

She shook her head. "Seth was here. We know you were busy. It's okay."

Seth muttered something along the lines of she slaved me, but Bryan stared at me. "How was the rest of the week?"

I shrugged. "I didn't do much. They had to edit." I played with the food on my plate. "I know the Starbucks menu by heart now," I said through a pinched expression.

Bryan's lips clasped tight. "I'm sorry. I thought Tom would make more episodes."

"It's okay. On the bright side, I got Bobby Flay's autograph for Juno."

That made him chuckle. "Well, at least there's that." I smiled back at him.

"Kids," Juno stood up, clinking her glass with a spoon. "There's something I want to tell you," she grabbed Mr. Gomez hand and both Seth and I shared a panicked look. "Carlos asked me to marry him!" she announced excited.

Seth's bottom lip fell to the floor. I kicked him under the table. Only that I didn't kick him. I kicked Bryan instead. Bryan jumped and stared at me in shock. Blushing hard, I apologized. I glared at my stupid brother. He had a fist on his mouth, trying not to laugh aloud.

Juno's eyes narrowed and Mr. Gomez beamed at everyone.

"Congratulations!" I tried to sound cheery as I rubbed the back of my neck. Damn. My room was across Juno's.

"Come give me a hug!" Juno said as she opened her arms. Chuckling, I raised myself off the table to hug her.

Bryan stood up as well and gave Mr. Gomez a side-hug and a pat on the back. Seth took a moment to celebrate. He was shocked but he loved Juno too. We both wanted the best for her. And Mr. Gomez was a good man, after all. I figured we just needed to set some rules. Or maybe even move out of house.

The highlight of the night was when the old man took out a quite expensive-looking diamond ring for my grandmother. He even kneeled. Which was a hassle later, since he couldn't get up on his own. Seth and Bryan had to help him stand up while I tried really hard not to laugh.

After dessert, Bryan said that he had to get going, so I offered to walk him to his car. It was kind of like a given. Juno would have made me do it anyway. I wasn't complaining anyway.

It was almost midnight when we stepped out of the house. "I'm sorry I kicked you!" I blurted out as we stepped down the front stairs. "Seth was gaping and I didn't want Mr. Gomez to see him so shocked."

Bryan cracked up. "Don't worry. You just took me by surprise, that's all." I blushed as he kept on, "at least I know you have a mean kick." He pushed me playfully by the arm as my eyes casted down. My whole face burned and I was probably as red as a tomato. A shy smile played on my lips.

"How do you feel about it all, though?" he asked when we reached his car.

"Juno deserves to be happy," I hugged myself as the air nipped my bear arms. "Maybe we'll have to move out or something." Bryan's brows furrowed. "Not because she might kick us out or anything," I smiled at his worried face, "but I don't think Seth wants to live with my crazy-newly-wed grandmother."

Bryan chuckled as he gazed at my house for a second. "You have a beautiful unconventional family, Jess."

My heart warmed at his words. I knew he felt alone sometimes. "They have their moments," I said softly before my lips tugged up. "And you're bound to be invited to the wedding."

His lips tugged up in that beautiful smile that made my heart feel stiff. "I can't wait." His eyes roamed all over my face and my lips parted. Slowly, his hand reached out for a strand of hair that was resting over my shoulders. Since I didn't dry it, soft waves had formed. He didn't say anything, he just touched it for a moment as my heart was about to burst out of my chest. "Good night, Jess." The strand of hair slipped away from his hand.

"Good night, Bryan." He smiled again before hoping inside his car. He waited for me to get inside my house before driving away.

A soft sight left my lips as my brother's voice sounded from behind. "He's an idiot if he's not into you." Surprised, I turned to look at Seth. He was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, looking serious. "I mean it Jess."

With a warm smile on my face, I walked to my little brother and sat beside him. He passed an arm across my shoulders, pulling me to him. "I love you, dufus," I said as I leaned on him.

"I know. I'm the bomb. And I love you too, sis. Even if you abuse me." I chuckled at that.

Guys, so here's the deal. I'm writing the second book for the Imperfect Series (Hoplessly Imperfect is the previous turnaround. I'm not supposed to post anything on that book but...I'm doing a sneak peak for Valentines'  Anthology.) What I want to say is that my updates will be weekly. One chapter per week. No more. Because I'm writing full-on the second book. Hopefully, you'll understand. 

But I missed you. So much. 

PS: Don't forget to vote and comment!!!!

And check out Amanda's new story, Vigilant. It's pretty awesome!!!!!!!