I pulled my lips away from Austin, a little breathless.

He was over at my place. It had been three weeks since we started dating and everything was going well. For our second date, he took me boating on the bay. It was a lot of fun and really different. I had never been boating before that, which was odd since I lived so close to the water. For our third date, he was going to take me to the carnival that was coming to town. I was excited about this because I loved the carnival when I was a child and hadn't been to it since.

I leaned against Austin's chest and he placed an arm around me. We had (500) Days of Summer playing on the TV, but weren't quite watching it.

"Zooey Deschanel is so pretty," I commented.

"She is," Austin agreed.

"A part of me thought that you'd say something corny like, 'But not nearly as much as you.'," I said.

"Did you want me to?" he asked.

"No; because it wouldn't have been sincere. I know I'm not as pretty as she is," I said.

"I'm not sure if you want me to agree or disagree. I think you two are pretty comparable in terms of how attractive you are. She's got that 'I'm different' kind of beauty to her. And you've got that 'I'm naturally attractive' look to you," Austin said.

"A diplomatic answer. Pleasing both crowds," I commented.

"Well, I do want to be a politician. I have to have a way with words. It's part of the job description," he said.

"True," I agreed, sitting up and facing him. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Then he leaned in and kissed my lips slowly, our lips moving in perfect unison. He moved closer to me, making me move backwards and lay down on the couch so that he was on top of me. I felt his hands underneath my shirt, following the curves of my body. He moved from my lips to my jaw line and then down to my neck, kissing and sucking at my skin, making me feel warm and breathless. I brought my hands under his shirt, too, and traced his perfectly sculpted abs. I brought his face back to mine and kissed his lips again. His lips moved slowly against mine, drawing the kiss out passionately. I let out a small moan of pleasure as the kiss grew more intense.

Then he pulled away again.

"God, that was intense," he said, his eyes burning with hunger for more. I wanted nothing more than to rip his clothes off right there, but I resisted. Not yet.

I sat up and brushed my fingers through my hair to tame it slightly. We turned towards the television again, but my heart was still racing and I couldn't focus on the movie.

"I need water," I said, getting up. He didn't say anything, just kept his gaze on the television. I went to the kitchen and drank some water. I waited a few moments before going back to him. I sat leaning against him again.

When the movie was over, I turned the TV off.

"So I wanted to ask you something," I said.

"I'm not interested in getting married yet," he said. I laughed and he chuckled.

"No, I was just thinking, do you think you would be up for meeting my family?" I asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Sure. What were you thinking?" he asked.

"Well, every Thursday, we have this tradition thing. I told you about it before sort of. We always go to my grandparents' house for dinner on Thursday nights. It's just like a family thing," I explained to him.

"So you want me to go on Thursday?" he asked.

"If you're cool with it..." I said.

"No, no. It's fine. We've been dating for almost a month now. I would take you to meet my parents, but they live in New Jersey..." he muttered.

"That would be a bit of a hassel..." I agreed. He smiled at me.

"So this Thursday?" he asked. I nodded.

"This Thursday. You can come here first. I usually go back home and go with my dad and sister. But we can meet them at my grandparents' house this time," I said.

"Or we could go from here to your dad's place so I can meet your immediate family first," Austin suggested.

"Yeah, that makes more sense. We'll do that," I said.

"I'm guessing the attire is formal?" he asked. I nodded, thinking of how critical my grandparents were. "Thursday: Meet the Parents," he said, typing it into his phone.

This would be interesting.

                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, you look beautiful," Austin said, when I opened the door for him Thursday evening. I blushed slightly and he walked in.

"I'm almost ready. Wait here," I said, running back into my room. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out a pair of pumps. Then I walked back out, grabbing a light coat to put on. "Ok, done," I said, straightening up.

"You're the driver today," he said. I grinned, grabbing my keys.

"Sickest," I said.

"Should I be fearful for my life?" he asked as we made our way to my car outside.

"Not at all! I'm an excellent driver!" I exclaimed as we got into my car. I started the engine. "Well, I may get distracted sometimes..." I added.

"Well, now you have someone else's life in your hands," he said, fastening his seatbelt. I laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," I said. I reversed and then drove to my house. Dad and Makayla were already ready and waiting. I could tell Makayla was eager to meet Austin by the look she gave me when I walked in.

"Hi, Daddy," I said, kissing his cheek and going up to him. Austin followed behind me silently. "This is Austin. Austin, this is my dad," I said, introducing the two to each other. They both shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Austin," Dad said, smiling at him.

"It's great to meet you, too, sir," Austin replied. He looked slightly uncomfortable. It was always weird meeting the parents.

"And this is-" I began, pointing at Makayla, but she cut me off.

"I'm Makayla. Avery's sister. But you can call me Kay," Makayla said, batting her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow, you two look a lot alike," he said, glancing between both of us.

"Wrong thing to say," Dad muttered as Makayla and I burst into angry exclamations of how we looked nothing like each other and how it was an insult to even be compared. Austin glanced at my dad, who shrugged. "We should get going," Dad suggested. I nodded.

"We'll follow you in my car," I said.

"All right. You did tell your grandmother that you were bringing him, right?" Dad asked me.

"Of course. I wasn't going to make that mistake again," I said.

"We wouldn't want a repeat of the Chase incident," Makayla mumbled.

"What was the Chase incident?" Austin asked when we got back into my car.

"One of my boyfriends in high school. I brought him over for dinner unannounced and my grandmother made a huge deal out of it," I replied.

"How big a deal?" he asked.

"Enough to make him break up with me," I said. He chuckled.

"Was it on purpose?" he asked.

"What? Bringing him unannounced? Not at all. But I'm glad I did it. I found out what a wimp he was," I said. I drove in silence for the rest of the way. I could tell he was nervous about meeting my grandparents.

"Woah..." he breathed when we got to their large house. "Your grandparents are rolling in money..." he said as we got out of the car.

"Which in my opinion does not justify the way they act towards most people," I replied. I stood in front of him and straightened his tie. "You look really handsome, by the way," I said, smiling up at him. He kissed my forehead and Makayla made gagging noises in front of us. I wanted to throw my shoe at her, but passed up the urge.

Janet, the maid opened the door for us.

"Come in, come in! You can join Mr. James in the drawing room," she said. I looked at her, confused.

"Mr. James? Ethan is here?" I asked.

"Who else?" Janet asked, and then bounced away to get my grandmother. I walked into the drawing room to see Ethan sitting alone on the highly decorated antique couch. He stood and looked from me to Austin, confusion etched in his face.

"Ethan? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Your-" he started, but was interrupted.

"I invited him," Grandma said, walking in. She had a devilish grin on her face and I knew she was hoping for drama.

"Why?" I asked, feeling my temper begin to rise. Dad placed a hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to calm down.

"Well, Richard likes talking to him and he is almost like family, after all," she said, her eyes drifting to Austin. She held her hand out to him and he grasped it lightly. "It seemsAvery doesn't have the manners to introduce you properly. You must be Austin. My name is Martha. I'm Avery's grandmother," she introduced in a bitterly sweet voice. I wanted to kick the old lady in her shins.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Parks. You have a really lovely home," he complimented. She smiled widely at him.

"Oh thank you, dear. It's my pride and glory," she said. "Well sit, sit. Can I get you anything to drink? Bradley?" she asked, looking to my father.

"I can get it, Mom, thanks," Dad said, making his way to the little table that had the drinks on it.

"I'll go check on dinner. I'll be right back," Grandma said, exiting the room.

"Can I have some wine?" I asked my dad. He looked hesitantly down at the drinks and then poured me some white wine. I downed it in one gulp and winced as the liquor went down my throat. "Ethan, can I talk to you for a minute," I asked. Ethan blinked at me. I nodded towards the hallway outside. We both got up and walked out. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Your grandma invited me!" he replied. "Why didn't you tell me you were bringing Austin?" he whispered angrily.

"I don't know. I guess...I guess I forgot," I said in a quiet voice. How could I have forgotten to tell Ethan such an important detail?

"You forgot to tell your best friend that you were bringing your boyfriend to meet your family?" he asked me.

"Ethan...I'm sorry..." I mumbled.

"Whatever. How are we getting out of this?" he asked me.

"I have no idea. Clearly, she's up to something," I muttered.

"She doesn't look evil at all. But she is," Ethan said.

"What are we going to do?" I asked. He sighed.

"I'll leave..." he suggested, but I turned him down.

"No way. You can't leave now," I said.

"I am not going to sit through an uncomfortable dinner--" he started, but Makayla walked out. We both fell silent and turned.

"What do you want, Kay?" I snapped.

"We're going in to eat dinner. Grandma's calling you," she said, eyeing Ethan flirtily. I sighed in frustration and we both followed Makayla into the dining room. I sat down next to Austin on one side of the table. Ethan sat in between Dad and Makayla on the other side. My grandparents sat at the ends of the table.

"So, Austin. Tell us a little about yourself. You're at the University with Avery, right? What are you studying?" he asked.

"I'm doing a Political Science major with a minor in Criminal Justice," he answered.

"Why Criminal Justice?" Grandpa asked. He shrugged.

"I just think it's cool," he said. I closed my eyes. Wrong answer.

"Cool? You're studying something because it's cool?" Grandma asked, judgment dripping in her voice.

"Well I--" Austin fumbled, noticing he had said something wrong.

"It used to be that students studied a subject to become more educated. I don't know what's happened in society, but now young adults seem to think it's just enough to study something because it's cool," Grandma continued.

"Grandma, I don't think that's what Austin meant--" I started.

"I know very well what he meant," Grandma snapped at me.

"Mom, please. Just drop it," Dad said.

"Can you pass me the salad?" Makayla asked.

"No, eat your fish. You are the last person that needs to be eating salad," Grandma scolded. Maykayla rolled her eyes and picked at the broiled fish on her plate.

"Bradley, I was thinking about throwing a joint fundraiser cocktail party. Would you like to help me plan it?" Grandpa asked my dad.

"Fundraiser party? Didn't we just have one?" Dad asked.

"It's always good to keep our sponsors happy, Bradley," Grandpa told him. Dad raised his eyebrows and looked down at the table. I knew what he was thinking: that my grandfather needed to retire. But he didn't bring it up; there was already too much tension in the air.

"Austin, did you know Avery and Ethan have been best friends since they were born?" Grandma asked Austin, a glint in her piercing blue eyes. Ethan and I exchanged glances and I placed a hand on Austin's knee.

"Not since we were born," Ethan said.

"Since kindergarten," I corrected.

"Oh, same thing. They're really quite close," she said.

"Well, that's what best friends are, aren't they? Close. It's what makes them best friends," Makayla pointed out, waving a cut up piece of fish on her fork. For once, I was glad she said something.

"Ethan's been with Avery through quite a lot. He's a very good friend to her; always there when she needs him," Grandma continued, ignoring what Makayla said. I bit my lip. What was she trying to do?

"Avery told me how close they were. I think it's nice," Austin said. "It's always good to have at least one really close friend by your side," he added. I smiled at him and nodded. Grandma raised her eyebrows at him.

"Really? You're all right with Avery being such close friends with such a handsome young man?" she asked. I flared my nostrils, my anger boiling up inside me. Austin blinked at her, starting to understand what she was getting at. Ethan kept his gaze down on his plate.

"They're just friends," he said.

"So it seems..." Grandma said, sipping her wine. "You know, I think that Ethan and Avery are a much better pair than you and Avery..." she said. This caused an uproar.

"Grandma!" Makayla and I cried in unison.

"Mom!" Dad exclaimed at the same time.

"Martha!" Grandpa yelled. She blinked at the outcry, pretending to look taken aback. But I knew that she got what she wanted.

"I have to go," Ethan said, throwing down his napkin and getting up. He stormed out of the room quickly. I pushed my chair back, glared at my grandmother and ran after him.

"Ethan wait!" I called, following him to the door. He turned, a slightly pained expression on his face.

"Drop it, Ace. Just forget it," he said. And before I could stop him, he walked out the door.

"Ethan! Come back!" I called, but he wouldn't listen. He got in his car and sped away into the darkness, leaving me feeling quite alone.

______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Uh-ohhh! Complications! Crazy grandmother...

Ok, so I sent a message about this before, but I'll write about it on here for those of you who don't read the messages I send. This story really will be a short story. I think we all know what's going to happen at the end, and I promise you that there are no surprise twists. So hopefully I can crank this story out in a week because I thought of another idea last night for a new story. But I don't want to work on it while I'm writing this one, for fear of ruining the plot of this one or rushing through it. I will still take my time and make it a good read. I can guarantee you that. I like to think that one of the marks of my stories is that I have good development and style of writing.

Anywhoo...comment and let me know what you think! Keep those votes coming! They make me smile! =)

XOXO