Christian and I head downstairs into the kitchen the same time as his parent's car pulls into the driveway. I'm excited to see them again, since they had been so nice and welcoming the last time they saw me. I also can't wait to finally meet Michael, who has yet to make another appearance.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Christian asks, as he takes a seat at the table, his question pulling me from my thoughts.

I mentally shake my head and smile before sitting down beside him. "If your parents don't mind, I'd love to," I reply.

Christian chuckles and reaches over to squeeze my hand, as he says, "They won't mind, Beau. They loved having you over for dinner last time, and I'm sure this time will be no different."

I smile happily, Christian's words of kindness on behalf of his parents makes my heart soar knowing they like me as much I like them. I sigh contentedly, and then the door leading into the garage twists open and Christian's parents step inside sporting grocery bags. Christian hops up to help his mom, and she smiles at him.

"Hi, honey. Did you have a good day at school?" she asks.

Christian hesitates for a moment before saying, "Yeah, it was good." But the strain around his words says otherwise, and I feel a surge of guilt spread through my heart —- even if Christian has forgiven me. Christian's mother doesn't say anything in response; either she doesn't notice or decides not to ask. My guess is the latter, since she's too intuitive not to notice.

She sets the groceries down on the kitchen island, along with Christian and his father, and then she smiles at me. I smile back and say, "Hi, Mrs. Philips, it's nice to see you again."

"Please, call me Guinevere or Gwen," she says with a smile.

I feel my cheeks heat up as I shyly reply, "Um, okay, Mrs. Ph—- I mean, Guin-Guinevere." I bite my bottom lip, my face feeling like it's on fire.

Guinevere chuckles and asks Christian to help put away the groceries, and he pouts before doing what's he told. I watch them work together from the sidelines, feeling out of place in their perfectly synchronized movements and playful banter.

Once nearly everything is put away, Christian's father turns to me and says, "So not to let my wife outshine me. Beau, you can call me Parker." He smiles; I smile too.

I still feel somewhat out of place, but I appreciate their kindness and their need to make me feel at home and comfortable, and then I remember something. The second time I came over, and Christian introduced me as his boyfriend, Guinevere had welcomed me to the family. I can't believe I nearly forgot about that, but it feels more real now that they're allowing me call them by their first names. It feels more welcoming and like I'm truly a part of the family. I smile to myself as I watch them gather together everything for dinner, and feeling more comfortable, I insert myself into the space beside Christian. I see him smile at me from the corner of my eye, and he mouths, "I love you." And I've never felt more wanted.

Parker assigns us the task of chopping vegetables, and after a while Guinevere asks, "Christian, is your brother home?"

"I think so . . ." Christian mutters, as he juliennes a red pepper.

"Why don't you call him down," Parker suggests. "We can have a family night." He smiles, and glances at me with a wink. I grin in response, as my heart does yet another flutter for the millionth time.

"Okay," Christian says before inhaling a deep breath and—- "Michael! Come downstairs!" he yells.

My jaw drops in disbelief, as Christian just grins and asks, "How was that?"

Smack!

"Ow!" Christian cries after Guinevere snaps the towel at him.

Christian pouts and rubs his arm were his mother hit him, while she purses her lips and says, "Don't act like a smartass to impress Beau, Christian. You know better than to yell inside the house," she reprimands in a stern voice, while I just watch on with my lips pursed.

Christian frowns and mumbles, "Sorry, Mom."

"Now go get your brother liked the civiled son we raised you to be," Parker says.

Christian opens his mouth to object, but one look from his father shuts him up, and he sighs before leaving the kitchen.

"Sorry about that, Beau," Guinevere says.

I smile thinly at her and mumble, "It's okay, I was just surprised."

Guinevere chuckles as Parker replies, "He definitely is comfortable around you."

I bite my lip against a smile, and quietly reply, "I'm comfortable around him too . . ." And then the room sinks into a solemn silence, with just the soft thud of knife blades cutting into peppers. A moment passes before the quiet peace gets broken apart by the heavy footfalls of two grown boys running down the stairs, and the sounds of their brotherly bickering.

I smile to myself and continue to chop my pepper, as Michael and Christian walk into the room. Christian settles down beside me again, while Michael claims the chair across from me. I glance up at him when I feel his gaze, and he grins at me. I smile back shyly as Michael loudly asks, "So how can I help?"

"Help your brother and Beau chop the vegetables, sweetheart," Guinevere says.

Michael grins and pulls out a knife from the chopping block as he replies, "Can do." We chop in silence for a while longer, and every so often I feel Michael look at me. I begin to twitch under his scrutiny, and peek up to meet his gaze. He grins at me when he catches my eye, and asks, "So how did you meet my little brother exactly?"

I feel caught off guard, but at the same time I should have expected Michael to be curious. I just didn't anticipate all the staring . . .

"Ah, we . . . we met at a youth group," I mumble.

Michael purses his lips curiously, and asks, "What kind of youth group is it?"

I bite my bottom lip, and my brow furrows as I mumble, "Um, it's . . . it's a—-"

"Michael, please," Christian says, giving his brother a knowing look.

Michael frowns, and then he chuckles as he says, "Ahh, I get it. Okay, different subject then...." Michael trails off in thought, and then he snaps his fingers as if he's struck with a sudden idea. "Do you have any siblings?"

I shake my head. "No, my parents split up before they could have anymore kids. Sometimes I wish I had a little sister, but . . ." I trails off with a half-hearted shrug.

"That's too bad. You're super cute, so I bet your sister would have been too," Michael says nonchalantly.

I gasp, and nearly choke on my saliva, while Guinevere cries, "Michael!"

"What? I'm just being honest . . ." Michael mumbles.

Guinevere rolls her eyes, and I feel heat rise from my neck to spread across my cheeks. "God, Michael, why do you have to be such a perv," Christian mumbles.

"Oh shut up, brother. I gave your boyfriend a compliment," Michael says.

I exhale a heavy breath and glance up Michael as I say, "Th-Thank you, Michael."

Michael glances at me, and smiles before looking back at his brother, as he exclaims, "See, Beau knows how to accept a compliment!"

I see Christian roll his eyes in my peripheral vision, and biting my lip I return my attention to my task at hand. Light banter fills the room after a moment of heavy silence, and the weight lifts as we all laugh at a joke told by Parker. And I can't quite put my finger on it, but all throughout the rest of dinner, I detect moments of tension between Christian and his brother —- and I just can't help my curiosity, as my mind fills with questions and possible scenarios.

When we finish with dinner and everything has been cleared away and cleaned, Christian and I go back upstairs to his room. Christian is unusually quiet and I want to ask him why, but at the same time I'm having trouble finding the right words. Especially since I don't exactly know what's going on. But then again, it started when Michael began to ask me questions. Could that be what's bothering Christian? I wonder.

I watch quietly as Christian falls down onto his bed, and biting my lip against my growing curiosity, I step forward to join him. I crawl onto the bed and settle into the space beside him, and carefully take his hand as I mutter, "Dinner was really good, and Michael, he seems nice . . ."

Christian frowns and pulls his hand from mine, as he replies, "Michael's an annoying ass."

I purse my lips, and try to reach out for Christian, but he just pulls away again. I bite my bottom lip and try not to let it affect me, and furrowing my brow, I ask, "Why do you say that?"

Christian sighs. "I don't really want to explain, just know he hurt me when I was vulnerable, and I haven't been able to fully accept his apology...." Christian mutters.

I bite my lip against my questions, and release a small sigh as I lean down to lay beside Christian. He accepts my touch, and winds his arm around my waist as I rest my head into the crook of his shoulder. I ball my hand into a fist on his chest, as he draws patterns over my hip and down my leg; I close my eyes against the feeling, and snuggle closer.

A moment of content silence passes this way, before Christian's gentle voice breaks the solemn quiet. "Beau, would you like to go out on a date? We've never actually had a real one, and I just thought—-"

I place my fingers over his lips, silencing him as I lean up on my elbow, a smile forming along my lips as I stare down at him. I feel that I don't have to convey any words as I slowly caress his cheek, before leaning down to chastely kiss his lips. I smile against his mouth, and convey them anyway.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Christian," I softly whisper.

Christian smiles against my mouth, and slides his hand up my back until I feel his fingers sink into my hair. He kisses me back just as softly, and brushes his lips against mine as he replies, "How does this Friday sound?"

"Perfect," I reply.

"Is there anything you'd like to do?" Christian asks.

I think for a moment, but my mind is blank. Anything with Christian is perfect; I won't even care if it's cold and raining, and as long as I have him by my side, I'll be warm.

"I'm sure whatever you decide will be perfect," I reply.

Christian chuckles as he runs his fingers through my hair, and kisses my temple before laying back with his eyes closed. I smile and soak in as much of his addicting touch as I can, before it's time for me to go home.

Word count: 1,880

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A/N: Ugh, I just love them! Does anyone have any idea what their date might be? Let me know what you think! Thank you so much for reading, and please, don't forget to vote and comment. Have a wonderful day/night!

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️