Chapter 29 | Thanksgiving

"Do you have any plans this weekend?"

The girls haven't mentioned anything and the teachers haven't assigned anything... "Wait, isn't thanksgiving this weekend?" I say with a slight hint of disdain in my voice.

"Yeah" he smiles. "I know you probably have plans with your family so It's fine if-"

"My parents are never here for thanksgiving. We've never really celebrated it, not that I've ever had the strong wanting to with the whole history behind it. But they're out this year too and Grant's visiting his family." I realize my eyes have been shifting around my whole room from my tangent, I focus them back on Elijah who's sitting across the bed from me, and sigh with a small smile. "No, I'm not busy." 

"Well, we don't have thanksgiving in my country but my father thought it would be a nice idea to have a family dinner in honor of American customs... why he had to choose this one out of all of them I don't know, but none the less."

"Very American of him to choose the holiday of slaughter."

He chuckles and nods his head at my statement. "You make a point there." He pauses, "Since I told my father about us last week, he's been curious... he wants to meet you."

My eyes immediately widen, "He asked to meet me?"

"I just think that this would be a good chance to introduce to him my beautiful, amazing, and kind girlfriend." He inches closer with every word, resting his lips on mine with his final one. 

I kiss him back sweetly and smile, "How am I supposed to say no to that?"

He hugs me, pushing us both to lay on the bed before laying another kiss on my cheek. "Thank you."

-:-

"Are you sure I'm not too underdressed, or overdressed?" I look in my reflection on Elijah's car door as I stare at my black body-con dress with a thick red stripe lining down both sides and black heels. Elijah's wearing a velvet green blazer with a black shirt underneath and matching black pants.

"You look absolutely wonderful. You're dressed perfectly." He grabs my hand as we start to walk up the stairs to Elijah's father's house. To say 'house' is to put it simply, more like a slightly smaller mansion. Men and women dressed in black suits, presumably security like the ones by the front gate, are posted throughout the outside of the walls.

I know Elijah said his father was a powerful man but wow. 

"I think I'm going to throw up."

Elijah stops and looks at me, his hands rubbing my arms lovingly. "Everything is going to be perfectly fine. You look stunning, they are going to absolutely love you." He looks into my eyes reassuringly for a moment before kissing my forehead. 

I nod my head, I need to be strong. Rack up some courage girl, you can do this. "I'm ready."

Elijah knocks on the door and moments later a slightly older man opens the door. "Welcome Elijah, your father and everyone else is in the dining room." He looks over at me, "You must be Alora."

I smile as confidently as possible, "Hi, yes I am. It's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine, my name is Demetrius. Come on in."

"Thank you." Elijah and I both say. 

Demetrius points the way towards the dining room and I quickly follow Elijah inside. 

There are about 10 place settings at the table while everyone is stood up around the bar. Immediately I recognize a familiar face which instantly puts me at ease, it's Vinnie! Having someone else here that I know makes me feel much more comfortable. 

Next, I recognize the bright red hair, Veronica. She looks over in our direction and half-smiles before calling the attention of an older taller man. He has a strong facial structure outlined by his perfectly trimmed beard. The hair at the top of his head is full and light in color but not exactly white. His strong figure put him at late 50s maybe 60s but the look in his eyes and his stature would even go to say 70.  

He looks over at Elijah and me with a serious look that quickly turns into a smile that I could only describe as... amused? 

The man walks over towards us, Veronica quickly behind him. The heads of the three guards posted around the room follow his steps.

"Hello, father."

Immediately my hand squeezes Elijah's as it comes to my attention that the man that I've been worrying about this whole time is right in front of me. 

"Hello, son. You're Alora I presume?"

"I um-"

"Yes father, this is Alora Marazzi, my girlfriend."

Elijah's father puts his hand out for me to shake. I snap back into reality and try to collect myself, "Hi, it's an honor to finally meet you, Mr.Peral."

"You can call me Victor. Please have a seat you two."

We walk over towards the table and Elijah pulls out a seat for me and proceeds to sit next to me. His father sits at the head of the table with Veronica to his left and Elijah to his right. Vinnie takes the seat next to me and the rest of the people settle into their respective seats.

Everyone except for the boys, Veronica, and I are all at least older than 40. A woman and a man, who I presume is a couple since they haven't left each other's side, are the oldest here at around 70. They all are trying to make it seem like they're minding their business but it's more than obvious that they're watching me, wary of how Victor might react. 

The appetizers are set before us by waiters. A green soup sits before us, no one touches the plate until Victor has the first sip and then everyone begins to eat.

What is this, some type of cult? 

We sit mostly in silence, while soft music playing in the background. In between courses, Victor turns his attention back to me, "So Alora, you're still in school right? Have you applied to any colleges?"

"Yes sir. I'm a senior this year, I'm hoping to get into NYU next year."

"Ahh New York City, how exciting. My son tells me you're exceptional in school."

Elijah's glace quickly turns to me as I feel my cheeks warm up. He talks about me to his father?

I nod my head, "I wouldn't go as far as exceptional. School's very important to me. I'm lucky to have the education my parents provided for me so I try to do my best for them as well as myself. Elijah on the other hand surely is exceptional."

Victor's eyes land on Elijah, "It hasn't always been that way with my son. I thought he was going to let his potential go to waste... I'm glad he's getting his things in order."

Elijah glares, "Thank you, father." He says, restraint lining his voice. 

"So what do your parents do Alora?"

"They own and run Marazzi Company."

He nods his head and smiles, "Busy folks I presume. Marazzi... are you Italian?"

"My parents are, I'm Brazillian." He raises an eyebrow, "I'm adopted. My biological parents passed when I was young."

Elijah holds my hand, "Ahh I see, I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost my wife years back. There's nothing like the pain of losing a loved one." He pauses, "But let's discuss lighter matters. What are you planning on studying."

-:-

The night continues and everything goes well in my opinion. There were a couple of silences during eating but nothing went sideways. The other guests never really seemed to get too comfortable with anyone but themselves but everyone engaged in conversation once Victor got all his starter questions out of the way. 

The waiter staff collects our dessert plates and I can feel how full my stomach is. Elijah's hand never left my thigh during the entire dinner. It was comforting knowing that he was right next to me this whole time. 

"Shall we move this party to the parlor?" Victor arises from his seat as the rest of the party nods their heads. 

Elijah quickly gets up from his seat to pull my chair back out. We follow the rest of the guests and his father into the next room as they all start to order drinks once again. 

"You want to step out for a minute?" Elijah whispers into my ear.

I nod my head and Elijah excuses us from the party. We head out to the balcony and instantly the crisp cool breeze of the outside hits my skin and I take my first real deep breath of the entire night. 

I go over to Elijah and embrace him, snuggling my head into his chest. "Are you okay? How are you feeling, are you cold?"

I nod my head, my voice low, "I'm alright. I just wanna stand here for a minute with you." 

He takes a deep breath as well and I can feel the tension leaving his body as he leans into the hug. He places his head on top of mine and we sit in silence for a couple of minutes. 

"I'm sorry if my father kept asking so many questions. He doesn't know when to stop. He's nosey and thinks he has the right to everything."

I shake my head, "It's okay. He didn't ask anything out of pocket and that was him just being a father you know? He's trying to get to know me which I thought was nice."

"I think it went well. He seemed to like you, he's not the most inviting."

I chuckle, "Probably because you talk about me so much."

He scoffs and squeezes me tighter, "Do not. But so what if I mention you, I'm proud of you."

My cheeks start to heat up again as I snuggle in closer to his chest.

"We should get back inside soon."

He sighs, "Do we have to. I like it out here better, just with you."

I step back from our hug a bit, "Me too, but I don't want to be rude and I have to go to the bathroom."

He smiles with a mischievous look on his face, "Can I go with you."

He pulls me back into our hug, this time with both his hands on my lower back and our face close together.  

I hit his chest softly before turning back around towards the door, "Don't be dirty, we're at you're dad's house come on."

"Fine" he whines.

Elijah shows me the way to the bathroom before rejoining the party. After washing my hands I reapply my chapstick and lip tint. I check my phone, no messages. It's approaching 10 pm but my parents haven't called yet. 

The phone rings a couple of times before going to voicemail yet again. "Hey mom, hey dad. I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. I'm still at Elijah's and everything's going well. I'll be going home soon, give me a call whenever you can."

I turn the phone back off and put my things back in my purse before taking another look in the mirror. I smile at myself, "You're doing great."

I step out into the hallway and walk down the hall before overhearing voices.

"You're being stubborn, father."

It's Elijah and his father. I quickly move towards the side so that I'm not seen and interrupt.

"It's not that I don't like her Victor-"

Victor?

"I don't like to go by Victor. I haven't for years."

"I don't understand why. It's the family name. You should be proud to be named after such great men."

He scoffs, "Great men? Do you mean you and grandfather? Grandfather was a cruel man, close to a tyrant in the eyes of many, I don't know why you idolize him so much. You of all people should know. My mother chose Elijah. That's what she called me and that's what I prefer. I want nothing to do with the name Victor."

"Son, you have to understand. Whether you choose to accept the name or not, it's still a part of you. And at the end of the day, you'll be a Peral. You have a duty to our country and the pe-"

"Father-"

"Let me finish for once will you. I like the girl. She's well educated, kind, and she seems to have a strong mind, I like her, but regardless... she is not one of us. It's against tradition and it will not be accepted. I sent you away so that your behavior would be corrected then I took a chance and sent you here for your education because you asked for a bit of freedom but in the end, you are still a Peral and you will come back home and fulfill your duties. You're wasting your time with her if you think it'll ever be able to continue. "

Elijah shakes his head, "I'm not wasting my time father. I love her. I truly love her. I knew she was special from the moment I met her and I was right. Mother always said to never refuse your heart, especially for love."

Love? He loves me?

Elijah's father sighs and takes a seat, now out of my view. "Your mother... she was one of the most opinionated" he pauses, "and smartest women I have ever met. I won't intervene. I won't be the one to come in the way of you and your love but that still won't change anything. Our agreement stands, I won't tell her anything until you're ready to tell her yourself but the day will come when it'll be necessary and that'll be the end."

They stay in their silence for a while, Elijah's frustration prominent in his face but he refuses to say anything more. 

"Let's rejoin the party shall we?"

"I'll be there in a minute."

Elijah's father gets up and leaves. I let a moment pass before continuing my walk down the hallway and joining Elijah in the room.

"Was that your father?" 

A smile comes over Elijah's face as he walks towards me. "I've missed you."

The warmth of his chest pressed up against me sends butterflies straight to my stomach, "I've been gone for all of five minutes."

"I still missed you." 

"I called my parents, they didn't pick up."

"We can call them again when we're driving back, they're probably just busy."

I nod my head. 

"My father just left the room, we were arguing, once again."

I look up at him, "Everything alright?"

"It will be. He's just stubborn in his ways, cant accept change until it's already in place."

He stares into my eyes for a moment before kissing me. A sweet but passionate kiss is passed through our lips.

"Wanna go home?" He asks.

"Would it be rude to leave already?"

He shakes his head, "Two of the guests already had to go, they have a long drive. We can just say goodbye and go."

"Okay, sounds good then."

-:-

"What'd they say?" Elijah says, seated on the hood of his car as I walk back towards him. 

I turn off my phone and shove it back in my purse and grab my keys. "They said they were busy with meetings all day and that's it's been extended into next weekend. They were supposed to be coming home the day after tomorrow."

He shakes his head, "What about Grant?"

"He's not coming back until after the new year probably. His father relaxes a bit over the holidays." I pause, "Sleep over, please."

"I don't have any of my clothes on me."

I pout and walk up closer to him. "Please. You can use the clothes you gave me."

He smiles, "Okay."

"Yay!" I say, my smile overtaking my face

I put on my fuzzy Christmas bottoms and grab an extra pair from one of the guest rooms for Elijah. The shower turns off and I place his change of clothes on the bed.

Elijah emerges from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his lower half. His upper body covered in little droplets of water and his hair wet and messy from the towel drying. 

My eyes stay glued to his upper chest but quickly make their way down his perfectly chiseled abs down to his v-

"Let me at least put on pants first before you go eyeing me like that or we'll both get in trouble."

My cheeks blush red as my eyes immediately dart towards the clothes on the bed and I hand it over to him. He walks back into the bathroom and gets dressed, I take a seat on the bed.

"Now where were we." 

Elijah climbs on top of me, helping me move up the bed. He starts planting kisses up my chest towards my jawline. My breath hitches with every kiss but as soon as he reaches my lips he moves back down towards my chest, his breath lingering over my breasts.

He starts to kiss me, softly sucking on the skin before moving lower towards my stomach. He pauses for a second before slightly lifting my shirt so that his kisses can reach my stomach. 

Pulling the waistband of my pants he plants a soft kiss on my hips and then the top of my thigh. He looks up at me with his beautiful green eyes, his hands slightly tugging on the waistband, asking for permission.

I nod my head, "please."

-:-

AHH!

no other words than that honestly. 

how do you guys feel about that Thanksgiving dinner? what were Elijah and his father talking about? is Elijah and Alora's relationship doomed to fail and end? 

how did you feel about Elijah's father? let me know in the comments!