1. The Dinner with Parents

MICHAEL

"You aren't even listening!"

I jolted back to reality as I heard the high-pitched voice of Alison, my girlfriend of two months. She was sitting in front of me and glaring.

"Sorry...what were you saying?" I chuckled nervously. I had the bad habit of zoning out mid-conversation. My friends always made fun of me for it and called me Mr. Daydreamer.

"I was telling you about the dinner this Saturday. So you can meet my family, remember?" Alison said. "Don't tell me you forgot!" she gasped.

"Oh, right. The dinner with parents. Scary stuff," I said and scratched my head as I tried to remember our conversation from last week.

I met Alison in my Introduction to Sculpture class in college and we instantly hit it off. I thought she was cute with her wild and crazy curls, big brown eyes, and full lips. I threw a cheesy pickup line at her and she thought I was funny.

 At least that's what she said, but let's face it. It wasn't my personality she was instantly attracted to.

She wanted to go out with me because I was the best-looking guy in class. I mean sure, I was the ONLY guy in that class, but that's beside the point.

"Michael! Focus! You are zoning out again. I was saying that you don't need to be nervous about meeting my parents or anything. They are nice people and I'm sure they will like you." Alison twirled a piece of her ponytail in her fingers and smiled.

"Of course they will like me. Everyone likes me. I'm a perfect ten, baby." I smirked.

Okay, I know what you're thinking. What a cocky asshole! I swear I'm not usually this bad.

Alison rolled her eyes. I'm surprised she hadn't suffered permanent damage in her eyeballs for the number of times I made her roll them with my obnoxious attitude. But I can't help that perfection is coursing through my veins!

"Get serious. Maybe you don't need to worry about my parents, but there's someone you should watch out for," she paused. Her facial expression suddenly turned serious, as if she was about to share her innermost secret with me.

"And who would that be?" I narrowed my eyes.

"My older brother, Jacob," she said quietly.

Hmm...I remembered Alison mentioning her older brother who went to school out of state and occasionally visited on vacation. He was supposedly five years older than her and happened to be extremely protective of his sister. Which means I'd have to work extra hard to turn my charm on, so I don't come home with broken bones.

"Should I be worried? I mean...you said he was nice, right?" I asked. Don't tell me he is secretly an underground cage fighter!"

"Yes he is nice, and no, he isn't a fighter, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't kick your ass. I am his only sister and he expects my boyfriend to be the perfect gentleman, if you know what I mean." Alison smirked.

No problem with that, I thought to myself. It wasn't like Alison and I got frisky on a regular basis. In fact, we haven't even gone past the second base. So the dear brother can cool it.

"What does Jacob look like anyway? Is he good-looking? He isn't better looking than me, is he? Because there can't be two extremely good-looking men in the same room at the same time; otherwise, the universe might become unbalanced," I said casually.

Alison sighed. "Why do you always have to say the dumbest things?" she barked.

I chuckled. I thought Alison was used to my immature behavior, but I guess I still got on her nerves.

I found myself looking forward to the dinner with her parents. I was ready. I was nervous but not terrified. It wasn't like this was the first time I was meeting a girl's parents.

****

I put on my best shirt and paired it with jeans. I kept my hair slightly messy, since Alison told me she liked the 'tousled' look. Messy, but not unkempt.

"What do you think? Do I look okay?" I asked her once I got to her parents' house. I wanted to know her opinion because I didn't want them to think I was trying too hard.

Even though I was acting like the king of confidence before, I was suddenly feeling queasy. For some reason, the thought of meeting her parents made me nervous. Maybe it was too soon. I should've waited a little longer before agreeing to this.

No, that wasn't true.

I wasn't nervous about her parents, per se. For some reason, the thought of meeting her big brother terrified me. I always wondered about him. What was he like? Who was he? What if he hated me right off the bat? Then I felt confused as to why I cared so much.

Chill out, Michael, it's not the end of the world, I scolded myself in my mind.

"You look hot as always. But are you feeling okay?" Alison asked and looked at me intently. She could sense my nervousness. She could probably hear my heart running a marathon inside my ribcage.

"I am fine. But um...what if your brother doesn't like me?" I asked. Why did I feel like he was the one I needed to impress the most? I felt like a loser for worrying about it so much. It's not like I had something to prove to him.

"Stop worrying so much," she giggled.

Easier said than done.

"At least I have you to protect me," I smirked and leaned down to kiss her. I guess she had been wanting to kiss me, because she grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer to deepen the kiss. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in it. She had such nice, soft lips. I was starting to calm down slowly.

"GET OFF MY SISTER."

A deep, gravelly voice spoke behind me, making my heart jump. I broke the kiss, then turned around to look at its owner and found myself staring into a pair of emerald green eyes.