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As the next few weeks came and went, Carrie was busy with school work. Now that midterms were over, professors were throwing anything they could at their students to get them ready for the finals that would be happening at the end of next month. Part of her was glad that David had such a busy job because it meant that it wasn’t all on her shoulders that they hadn’t seen each other. They were both so busy, but since he was able to get a few days off over Thanksgiving, they would be able to get in some much-needed time with each other.
Her phone pinged on her bed with a text from David as she was finishing touching up her look. She’d decided to wear a white long-sleeved wrap shirt that had a fake black buckle on the side. It had a small V-neck that didn’t show any of her cleavage making it perfect for meeting David’s family. She paired it with black dress pants and black pumps. She chose to leave her hair down with her natural waves. Her makeup was minimal with just a little bit of eyeshadow, eyeliner, and some pink lipstick.
All of her work was well worth it when she opened her door and found David raising his hand to get ready to knock. His hand froze in the air as his eyes slowly trailed up her body from her toes to her face. By the time his eyes met hers, she was already biting her lip wanting nothing more than to take him back into her dorm and have her way with him.
She couldn’t help but think that if they did that, then his mother would know. She did not want her first impression with Mrs. Clarke to be that she just had sex with her son. What mother would be okay with that?
“You look... amazing,” he told her.
“Thanks. You’re very handsome,” she told him in return. It was true. He was wearing a soft blue button-up shirt with a pair of dark jeans that stuck to him in all the right places.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked her.
“Yes.” She grabbed her purse from a hook, shut the door, and locked it behind her before grabbing his hand and letting him lead her to the elevators.
“So is there anything I need to be prepared for?” she asked him once they were in his truck.
“I’m not sure; my family is pretty normal. My mom will probably ask you a lot of questions, but it’s just because she never expected me to really settle down. She’s been trying to set me up on blind dates for the last couple of years, but I’ve never gone through with them. I didn’t want to get any girl’s hopes up.”
“Were you really that anti-relationship before?”
He shook his head before reaching over and squeezing her hand. “I knew that I was too hung up on you to even look at a woman. It wasn’t fair for them.”
She was hesitant as she asked the next question. She didn’t want to say something that would offend him, but she needed to know. “What about when you slept with other women?”
He sighed, but not in a way that signaled that he was angry with her. He just seemed to be a little embarrassed at the topic. “I had needs, but... it was always hard to find someone that didn’t remind me of you at all. A lot of the time when a girl would come up to me at a party, I would inevitably compare them to you—same eye shape, eye color, or the color of their hair. I didn’t want to be reminded of you if I was... um... in the middle of something... I would hate myself if I was imagining you while being with someone else. Does that make me sound like a horrible person?” he asked her hesitantly like he expected her to ask him to stop the car and take her back to her dorm.
She thought carefully over her answer before saying anything. “No. I mean, I would be lying if I said that I always wondered why you picked the women that you did. They were always leggy blondes that I thought I would never be able to live up to.” She hesitated before admitting, “I did the same thing with guys. I never went for any jocks even though they would never talk to me in the first place, but it was so hard to spend time with any guy without wanting to be with you instead, and at the time, I thought that would never happen.”
He brought her hand up and kissed the back of it. “Now look at us.”
“If I could go back and tell my eighteen-year-old self about what would happen, she wouldn’t believe it. She’d say I was crazy.”
They spent the rest of the drive listening to the music. She alternated between watching the scenery pass her window and looking at his strong profile as he focused on driving.
“Do I have something on my face?” he asked jokingly as he side-eyed her.
She laughed. “No. Can I not just look at you?”
He shook his head. “This isn’t fair. I want to stare at you, but if I do that it would be considered reckless driving.”
She scoffed. “Hasn’t someone told you before that life just isn’t fair?”
“I think I may have heard that a few times.”
The jokes dried up the minute he pulled up to what was presumably his aunt’s house.
“This is her house?” she asked, shocked. It was a beautiful two-story house that looked like it could fit two of her own childhood homes inside it.
“Yeah. She’s been married a few times, and when her husbands died, they left her with a nice lump of money. She lives here with her three kids: Becca, Davis, and James.”
“Are you close to your cousins?” Coming from a small family, she’d always imagined having a large one around her. It was a stupid, little dream of hers.
He wrinkled his nose at her question. “Kind of. We’re the kind of cousins that see each other around the holidays and call each other on our birthdays, but we don’t really talk outside of that.”
“What about your sister? Are you close to her?” She may have been stalling, but she was also curious about his family dynamic. If it got her a few minutes before she had to go in there and meet everyone, then that was fine by her.
“I am,” he told her with a large smile. “We may not be as close as you and John, but we make sure we call each other at least once a week. She’s a journalist at the local newspaper. I think I have every article she’s ever written somewhere in my house.”
“Aren’t you a sweet, little brother?” she asked him teasingly.
He shrugged his shoulders before giving her a blinding smile. “Is that all your questions, or is there anything else you want to talk about?”
She raised her hands defensively. “I’m not stalling.”
He laughed loudly. “I never said anything about stalling.”
She flushed as she realized he actually hadn’t. She’d been doing just that, and he knew it.
“Sweetheart, if you don’t want to go inside then I will drive you back to the university and spend the holiday with just the two of us. I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
She took a deep breath before she shook her head. She could do this. “It’s okay. I’m just a little nervous, but I can’t wait to meet your family.”
He brought her hand up and kissed her palm softly. “They’re all going to love you.”
As he helped her down from his truck, she recognized one of the cars that were parked on the road as John’s own truck. At least she would know some of the people in that house.
He led her up the walkway, but before they could get even halfway up the staircase, the door was thrown open, and a woman with David’s black hair came out to greet them.
“David, honey, it’s been too long,” she said as she pulled him into a hug. The height difference brought a smile to Carrie’s face. Mrs. Clarke came up to his chin, so Carrie could only assume that David got his height from his birth father.
“I missed you too, Mom,” he told her gently.
She pulled away and faced Carrie next. She could’ve sworn that her palms began to sweat the moment their eyes met. If she’d eaten anything before coming over, her stomach would be threatening to bring it back up.
“You must be Carrie, dear. It’s so lovely to meet you.” Before Carrie realized what was going on, Mrs. Clarke pulled her into her arms. Carrie could vaguely remember the last time her own mother had held her like this just before they got in the car accident. It was going on five years without her mom, and she suddenly felt a lump grow in her throat as she felt the motherly love that Mrs. Clarke had for her children. It was something she hadn’t even realized that she missed.
She forced herself to swallow past the lump and blink away the tears that she could feel threatening to form in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry on her shoulder after meeting her not even five minutes before.
“It’s so good to meet you too, Mrs. Clarke.”
She waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. “No, no. Call me Liz.”
“Liz,” Carrie repeated with a smile as she felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.
“That’s better. Let’s get you guys inside so you can meet the rest of the family.” She put her arm around Carrie’s shoulders and led her inside with David following close behind. “They couldn’t believe it when I told them David was bringing a girl. None of us thought this day would ever come,” she whispered the last part to Carrie, but David still heard.
“God, did anyone have faith in me?”
“Dear, between you and your sister, I was starting to think that I would never have grandchildren. Thank God for Christopher,” she joked.
David rolled his eyes; she couldn’t help but laugh at his expense. She could tell from how his mother talked that she thought very fondly of her son.
Liz led them to the living room where a large group of people was sitting. She spotted John and Taylor on the couch with Christopher sitting on the floor with another little boy that looked to be a few years older than him.
Liz started introducing everyone in the room. “This is my sister, Julie, and her children, Becca, Davis, and James. This is my daughter, Angela.” Carrie waved at them all before Liz waved over a man that was around her age. Carrie already knew that it had to be David’s stepfather and felt some of her nerves return. She knew how close the two of them were, and if he didn’t like her...
“Honey, this is David’s girlfriend. Carrie, this is my husband, Phil.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Clarke,” she greeted.
“You can call me Phil. Mr. Clarke makes me feel too old,” he joked.
“You have a lovely home,” Carrie told Julie, David’s aunt, as her eyes looked around the room. It was probably the size of her entire dorm, but it let off a comfortable air that showed a family lived in it. Carrie could feel even more of her nerves fade away as everyone chatted and laughed with each other.
David led her to the couch that Taylor and John were sitting on. She sat down next to John with David on her other side.
“Hey, sis,” John greeted her.
“Hey. I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming here,” she accused him.
John didn’t seem even remotely sorry. “I knew that David would invite you, and I didn’t want you to feel obligated to come, but just so you know, I didn’t even let his mom know for sure until I knew that you were also coming. There wasn’t a chance in hell that I would let you spend the holiday alone.”
“You know, sometimes I want a different brother, but then during times like these, you show me exactly why I let you stick around.” She laughed.
“‘Let me?’” Carrie chuckled at the offended look that was on his face. “You’re stuck with me, sis. Forever.”
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that I love you.”
Just a few moments later, Liz sat down next to Phil and gave Carrie an adoring smile. “So, what are you studying, Carrie?”
“I’m majoring in psychology to become a social worker,” she explained.
Liz’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a very admirable profession. What made you choose that?”
Carrie shrugged. “I just wanted to make a difference and help kids that really need it.”
“I don’t doubt that you will do just that. You’re a junior, right?”
Carrie nodded. Angela laughed from the couch that was adjacent to theirs, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at her brother. Carrie recognized the look since she’d seen it in John’s eyes when he would get ready to tease her relentlessly.
“Robbing the cradle, little brother?”
David rolled his eyes, but didn’t seem to be offended at her comment.
“Please, it’s nothing. Speaking of robbing the cradle...” he trailed off, but she immediately shook her head.
“Nope. Sorry I brought it up,” she apologized hastily. Carrie assumed that there was something that David had over her—something that she probably didn’t want her parents to know. She would ask him when they were alone.
Liz rolled her eyes at their antics. “I don’t even want to know.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Angela called out.
Liz and Julie both stood up to go into the kitchen to check on their meal and left the rest of the family talking. By the time Liz called out that their dinner was ready, all of her nerves were gone. She felt like she’d known these people her entire life (not including her brother).
The table was a gorgeous mahogany color and set for all 12 of them with five seats on each side and two chairs on either end. David pulled her chair out for her and then took the one that was directly next to hers, leaving John with the chair on her other side with Taylor and Christopher filling in the rest of their side of the table. David’s mom was to his right at the head of the table, and his sister was directly across from him. His aunt and her three children filled up the rest of that side with Phil taking up the opposite end of Liz.
Carrie actually heard herself moan when she put some of the mashed potatoes in her mouth. They were just so gooey and delicious that she could’ve eaten the dish all day and been happy. She hadn’t realized all of the noises she was making until David leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“If you don’t want me to take you upstairs and find a room that I can fuck you in then you need to be quiet. I’m this close to saying fuck it,” he threatened her.
She blushed as she looked around to make sure that no one—especially her brother or his mom—heard him, but they were all deep in their own conversations. She gave him a look that told him to stop, but he just winked at her before going back to his own plate.
Throughout the rest of dinner, she could feel her brother’s eyes on her. She worried that he must’ve heard David’s comment from earlier, but when she met his eyes, he only looked mildly curious instead of the affronted look he would surely have had if he knew what David whispered in her ear.
After the pie was served, they retreated back to the living room. Jokes were told, laughter was spilled, and by the time David asked her if she was ready to go, she almost told him no. But she knew what waited for her when they left. She would have David to herself for the rest of the night and all day tomorrow since he was off work, and then the entire weekend they could be together. She felt like Christmas came early.
With that thought in mind, she stood up and said goodbye to his family. John, Taylor, and Christopher followed suit.
“Come visit me anytime,” Liz told her. “I would love to get to know you better.”
Carrie smiled. “I’d like that.”
David led her to his truck, but John put a hand out to stop them.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked while looking back and forth between her and David.
She was a little concerned with the seriousness in his expression, but she just gave David a nod before following John a little way down the sidewalk until they were out of earshot.
“What’s going on?” she asked him.
“I just wanted to say that I’m happy for you two. You seem to be really good for each other. I’m sorry for ever doubting that.”
“What do you mean?” She’d thought that he wasn’t a big fan in the beginning, but she had no idea that he had initially doubted their relationship.
“David didn’t tell you?” he asked, and she shook her head. “He asked me if he could ask you out on a date, and I didn’t have the best response. I didn’t want him spending time with you if he was just going to treat you like any other woman he’s been with. It’s not my proudest moment, but I made him feel like he wasn’t good enough for you. I knew that I was wrong, so I ended up apologizing, but that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.” He shook his head as if he was trying to shake his thoughts back in order. “I’m assuming that because you just met his parents that this thing is serious?”
All she could do was nod her head; her brain was still processing everything he’d just told her.
“I’m glad. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you, sis. Mom and Dad would be proud too.”
Her eyes welled up at that. “I love him, John. I love him so much,” she whispered.
His eyebrows rose in shock, but he didn’t try to argue with her like she worried he would. “Does he know?”
She nodded her head. “He does.” The bright smile that lifted my cheeks was enough explanation for how David felt towards her.
John’s own smile spread at her words. “I’m glad.”
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss on the top of her head like he used to do when they were little. Her heart expanded with the love that she had for her brother. As she went back to David, she thought of just how lucky she was. She had a loving brother and a boyfriend that was soon becoming her everything. Along with her friends, she realized just how amazing life was. She couldn’t imagine it getting any better than this.