Emilia's POV

Earlier this morning Ashton and I had to wake up to the sound of our phones blowing up with text messages and a few phone calls, all from our poor hung over friends telling us to come home. Apparently, they all crashed at the frat house where the party was and when Luke drove them all home, Michael threw up in the car. While Ashton called Michael to yell at him¸ I spent my time laughing as Ashton began complaining about how it was the "Mexican food incident" all over again.

We ended up having to take the bus back to Ash's house because Julia's car is still parked in his driveway and his is being cleaned and no one wanted to pick us up. When we got to the house, we were immediately rushed to get changed by a not-so-hung-over Calum and Julia. After several attempts to understand why they were being so pushy, Julia finally explained how she forgot that she told her parents that we were going to take the guys over to their house today to meet them.

Not once did she mention this to me, probably because we just recently finished the semester and she was too excited for the party that it just "slipped" her mind. I scolded her briefly for not telling me beforehand and followed Ashton into his room to grab my spare clothes and change. Julia told Ashton to dress up a little, but to still dress casual so he opted for a pair of black skinny jeans with a dark gray, almost black button-up.

I'm excited that Ashton will finally meet Hugh and Candice. Since they were good friends with my parents, I have always been close to them and even though they are my legal guardians, I see them more as my second parents. I was a semi-depressed teenager with four dogs when they signed to be my guardians. They already had a hormonal teenager to deal with of their own at the time and adding another one plus several animals was a Herculean task. I'm still trying to pay them back, but there is literally no amount of money that could satisfy all that they have done for me. I am forever in their debt.

I didn't realize until we got into Calum's truck that Julia also made him dress up a little as well. His jeans matched Ashton's, except his had a hole in the knee, and he wore a white button-up with a black tie. We left the house swiftly and left Luke and Michael there to fight off their hangovers while our boyfriends fought off their nerves to meet the parents.

Now, only ten minutes away from Julia's parents' house, Ashton and Calum are fidgeting as they try to prepare themselves to keep their cool and not screw up this meeting. Calum seems the most nervous out of the two while Ashton only stares out the window and plays with my hand.    

"Is there anything that Ash and I should know about your parents?" Calum asks, loosening his tie with his free hand as he drives.

"My dad is a big football fan," Julia starts, "His favorite team is the Pittsburg Steelers and he absolutely hates the Dallas Cowboys."

I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed Hugh yell at the TV during a football game and I had to seek refuge in Julia's room, but it was Candice who yelled even louder than her husband and the neighbors even complained to her to lower the volume of her voice.

"So basically we need to cheer for the Steelers and loath the Cowboys?" Ashton jokes, and as much as I would like to laugh, this is actually a serious topic. Hugh doesn't play around when it comes to football.

Julia continues to inform the guys of topics to avoid with her parents which include: politics and that animal foundation commercial with the sad music and miserable looking animals that you just want to cuddle and take home or change the channel altogether so that you don't have to sit through the sick form of torture.

As we head into the neighborhood that leads to the house, everyone goes silent. Calum extends his hand over the center console and Julia grips it tightly in hers. They share a quick glance at one another before looking to the road ahead of them. I know Julia is worried about what her parents will think of Calum, but she really has nothing to worry about. Calum is different from the guys that she dated back in high school. He's actually a good person and has a good head on his shoulders and the same can be said for Ashton. I'm more than sure that Candice and Hugh will accept and have a genuine liking towards them.  

Calum pulls into the driveway as we reach our destination and each of us takes a deep breath before exiting the car. Julia adjusts Calum's tie, accidentally choking him for a second before loosening it, and I make sure Ashton's shirt is wrinkle free.

"Are you nervous?" I ask Ashton as he fumbles with unbuttoning the top two from his shirt but can't get the small button through the hole. I take matters into my own hands and help unbutton them for him and just from the lack of those two buttons, his prominent collar bones are being exposed.  

"A little," he says calmly. "I'm actually not as nervous as I was when I met your parents for some reason. This seems easier, but maybe that's because you're not genetically related to them."

Compared to when we visited the cemetery, his entire attitude doesn't even resemble that day. He's more confident and as he stands tall with his shoulders back, I know he will make a good impression on Hugh and Candice just like I know he did with my parents.

"I would have thought that talking to living people would have been more difficult than a headstone," I say as I lean against the truck, genuinely confused as to how he finds this easier.

He shrugs and shoves his hands inside his coat pockets, shivering lightly from the cold breeze. "I thought that too in the beginning, but I've learned that a lot of what I thought was wrong. Everything is different with you compared to what I've experienced in past relationships, but it's a good different. It's new and interesting and experiencing it all with you is the best part."

He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my cheek causing my entire body down to my fingertips to warm up from the simple touch. I don't even need my jacket from how hot I feel right now. I swear his touch alone is like the sun blazing down on me, keeping me warm and alive.

Julia's voice disrupts my thoughts and instantly cools me down as she calls for the two of us to hurry and join them where they stand on the doorstep.

We each give each other a reassuring look before Julia opens the front door and lets us in, causing an eruption of barks and a couple of gasps. Mila, Link, Laila, and Lilah all rush over to greet us. Link takes a liking to Ashton as he jumps on his leg to try and get his attention. The three girls however, are not too fond of Calum who no matter what he tries cannot get them to come near him. Hurt takes over his once ecstatic face as he continues to try to pet the dogs but to no avail.

Once the ruckus has died down, Candice and Hugh stare at us with a look that can only be described as a mixture of bewilderment and utter confusion. Candice stands by the kitchen entryway with a mug in her hand and is wearing an oversized t-shirt (most likely Hugh's) and a pair of green pajama pants with little candy canes scattered across the fabric. Hugh is actually dressed unlike Candice in his usual suit and tie. It's very rare to see him in anything other than a suit and the only exception is when the Steelers are playing and he wears the team jersey.

"Julia, what are you doing here?" Candice asks, moving to hide half of her body behind the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. "And who are these two?" She points to Calum and Ashton who stand behind us, completely rigid and just as confused as Julia's parents.

"Well it's nice to see you too, mom," Julia teases, not realizing that her mother is wearing a serious expression that only wants to know why the hell two giraffes have followed us into her house. "This is Calum and Ashton. Mine and Em's boyfriends, remember? Did you forget that you were meeting them today?"

Her serious demeanor ceases and she reveals herself fully from behind the wall. "No, I didn't forget. We said the twelfth, sweetie. Today is the eleventh."

"I thought it was..." Julia's face drops and the only thing I can hear her say under her breath is, "Oh, shit."

I turn to face Julia with my arms crossed and brows raised. "You know I wish you would have told me when we were supposed to come over here because at least I can actually remember the date and we wouldn't have had to waste a drive over here." I lightly slap the back of her head and a few strands of her hair fall from the bun sitting low by her neck.

"I'm sorry! I could've sworn it was today!" she says, covering her head with her arms to protect herself from being smacked again. Calum rubs her shoulders to help her feel better for forgetting the date.

"It's fine, Jules," Candice assures. "You're already here and the boys are dressed up so nice, I'd hate to let that go to waste." Julia and I stand out of the way while Candice comes over and introduces herself to the guys by pulling them into a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Calum!" she exclaims, tightly wrapping her short arms around the dark-haired boy and then pulling arms-length away. "You're much taller than I imagined," she says, craning her neck to make eye contact.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Greenfield," Calum says, fully embracing Candice's warm greeting. "Julia has told me a lot about you, but not once did she mention how beautiful you are."  

Candice raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms over her chest. "Calum, just call me Candice. Also, no one in their right mind says that anymore. If you're going to compliment my good looks, just say it," she says with a huge grin that takes up half her face.

Julia facepalms at her mother's statement, shaking her head and more than likely wishing that she didn't just say that. Ashton pulls his lips back and tries his hardest to not laugh at his best friend who is already apologizing to Candice not two minutes after formally introducing himself. Candice assures that she's joking, but I know that as Calum scratches the back of his neck and looks to Julia for help, he is severely embarrassed.

Candice moves over to Ashton and scans him up and down. "So you're the infamous Ashton."

Ashton's brows rise at her statement. "Infamous?" He glances over to me and I pretend to yawn to get out of explaining how much Candice knows about him since Julia acts as her information broker and I am also guilty of telling her a thing or two.

"My girls have told me some things about you," she says and I smile at the way she includes me in her reference to her "girls." It took her about a year and a half before she even considered me as a daughter because she and my mom were best friends and since I look so much like her it was hard for Candice to fully accept me into the family without crying. But she came to her senses and now she babbles on to her family about how great her "two daughters" are.

"What kinds of things?" he asks.

"A bit of everything," she answers vaguely, purposely trying to give him a hard time and from the way Ashton's smile is wavering, she's doing her job. Catching him off guard, she envelops him in her arms and squeezes tightly. "You're a good person, Ashton. Thank you for all that you've done for Emilia."

Ashton's smile grows with gratification and he loosely wraps his arms around her as well, rubbing her back softly. "As flattering as that is, please don't give me all the credit. We all helped her, not just me."

"Oh, you're so modest," she teases and lightly slaps his arm, but from the loud smack that echoes in the room and Ashton's wincing, it might have been harder than I assumed.

What I find funny is that even though Candice is joking with Ashton right now, what she doesn't know is that modesty is his specialty and even if this wasn't their first meeting, he would have said the exact same thing. Hell, I once complimented him on making me a great BLT sandwich and he said that it was "alright" and that "Subway could probably make it better." He's too modest for his own good.

"I had planned to make dinner for everyone tomorrow, but since you're here and we have nothing prepared, why don't we just go out?" Candice suggests. "I'll have to get dressed, but Hugh here can entertain you until I'm finished getting ready. Hugh!" she yells to her husband who has his eyes glued to the TV, not even acknowledging that we're here, but that's most likely because we brought two guys home. "Talk to these boys while I get ready and be nice." She heads upstairs, her feet making the steps creak as she jogs up, leaving the rest of us to deal with the man of the house who still has his eyes fixated on the television.  

Julia and I guide Ashton and Calum over to the living room and take a seat on the couch, not really expecting Hugh to say anything like his wife had just asked. Calum watches the football game playing and mumbles to himself about the different plays while Ashton takes no interest in it and instead, trails his eyes around the room, looking at various family photos that are scattered about.

"So Dad, how's work been?"Julia asks and Hugh turns down the volume, ending the annoying commentator's voice that helped eased the awkwardness in the room.

"Not too bad," Hugh says. "I got to fire someone the other day and that was kind of fun. Not so much for him as it was for me." He chuckles to himself. I guess being the manager of a pharmacy has its perks, in this case, firing people.  

"What is it that you do for a living?"  Calum asks, attempting to make small talk.

Hugh turns to face Calum with a blank face and says, "Would you like a beer?"

"I'm sorry?" The confusion on Calum's face makes me laugh a little.

"Do you want a beer?" Hugh asks again, slightly annoyed that Calum didn't answer right away.

"Sir, it's not even twelve yet."

"It's five o'clock somewhere, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah...but I'm going to have to decline," he stammers.

Hugh nods and turns his attention to Ashton. "Would you like one?"

He shakes his head. "No, sir. Thank you for the offer though," he replies without hesitation unlike Calum who isn't doing such a hot job at winning over the parents; he's trying way too hard.

With a small smile Hugh nods again. "I like you two."

Was that seriously a test? Ask them if they want a beer and if they decline, they make it on the 'I-don't-hate-you-for-dating-my-daughters' list? I shouldn't be surprised though. Hugh is not the kind to have a general dislike towards guys (with the exception of Jared). He's protective, yes, but he only puts up a front to give off the impression of the stereotypical over-protective dad.

"If my wife comes and asks if I gave you a hard time, just tell her that I interrogated you with slightly invasive questions and threatened to kill you if you hurt Jules and Em, okay?" Hugh says in a hushed tone. "Oh, and keep acting as if I'm intimidating you—that's the selling point."

Ashton and Calum glance at each other briefly, confused and probably wondering if Hugh is being serious or not, before agreeing and relaxing their shoulders.

"You know I've never had a dad ask me if I'd like a beer as the first thing he says to me," Ashton whispers in my ear.

"Well, like you said earlier, everything is different with me," I say, keeping my voice just as soft as his. "At least he likes you so far."

"Yeah, but I feel a little bad for Calum. He's trying way too hard to make a good impression."

I look over to Calum and Julia has her hand on his thigh as she smiles sweetly and whispers words of encouragement to him. I know he's trying to hide it, but his nerves are getting the best of him, but from the way he smiles back at Julia, the same way that Ashton looks at me—like there's no one in the world except for them—I know he'll be okay.        

"He's already making a great impression," I say, nodding my head over to Hugh whose lips is slightly curved as he looks out of the corner of his eyes and silently accepts his daughter's relationship.

A few minutes later, Candice comes rushing down the stairs fully dressed and ready to go. Just like Hugh had asked of Ashton and Calum, when Candice asks if he was hard on them, they reply just as told and stiffen their shoulders to act as if they were still highly intimidated. Julia and I actually have a hard time keeping ourselves from laughing as Candice scolds her husband and tells him to stop scaring them.

After throwing different ideas at each other, we settle on going out to a nearby café. We take our separate cars and the entire drive over there consists of Calum complaining about how much of an idiot he was and how he doesn't think they like him even though Hugh literally said he did. I really find it cute though how he wants them to like him so much—it really shows how much he cares for Julia and wants to love every aspect of her, including her parents.

We continue to follow behind Hugh's car until we reach the small café. When we get inside, we are seated near the back of the place at a large half-circle booth and we scan the menu of various drinks and small desserts until our server arrives.

Ashton's POV

I know that these people care for Emilia, but never did I imagine to this degree. They really are like a second family to her. They treat her as if she is actually theirs and it's remarkable to see the love that they have for her. I'm sure that even though they don't know it, her parents would be proud of the way that Candice and Huge have raised their daughter.

We make small talk while we wait for our server to bring our drink orders out. The simple, "How are you?", "How did your semester go?", "Anything new happening in your life?" It's a generic ice breaker and Calum seems to appreciate it as he finally calms down and begins to act naturally as he answers each question. He may have screwed up with Candice earlier, but I don't think she'll hold it against him. She seemed to be joking with him earlier, but I honestly couldn't tell if she was using sarcasm or not.

"So what are you guys majoring in?" Candice asks, thanking our server as he places her steaming coffee on the table for her and cautions that it's extremely hot.

"I'm studying architecture," Calum says, stirring cream into his black coffee. "It's a frustrating subject at times, but I enjoy it for the most part.

Candice asks if he could make blueprint design for a pool for their backyard since she has apparently wanted one for a while now. He agrees and says that he'll try to come up with something, but knowing Calum and his lack of artistic skills, he'll probably just draw a square and a few waves and try to pass it off as a pool. "What about you, Ashton?"

I stop absentmindedly running the tip of my finger around the rim of my glass and answer, "I recently switched my major to art."

"What were you doing before?"  Hugh speaks up for the first time since we left the house.

"Business and management," I answer.

"What made you switch?"

My ass of a father. "I had no interest in the topic. I was good at it and was close to graduating, but I couldn't let myself finish with a degree for something that I don't enjoy."

"Do you enjoy art?" he asks.

Though I may have had a dark side to my work, it's been anything but lately. I've used so much color that it's almost too much for me. I love it though and slowly, I am showing off my work because I am actually proud of it. "Very much so," I say and discreetly grasp Emilia's hand under the table.

"Don't hassle the boy, Hugh," Candice says, smacking his arm and he only breaks out into a smile. "I never asked the girls this yet because it slipped my mind the last time they came home, but how long have you guys been dating?"

"Calum and I have been dating officially for almost two months; same with Em and Ash," Julia answers and after hearing the actual duration of our relationship, it's really hard to believe it's been such a short amount of time.

"I don't buy that." Candice narrows her eyes at each of us. "You all look like you've been dating longer than that."

"It feels like it," Emilia says and then takes a bite out of the cranberry bagel that she ordered. With her mouth full, she continues, "If I didn't know better, I would have told you that we've been dating all semester."     

That actually sounds better than just two months. Things escalated quickly in our relationship. Hell, just a week after we got together, I told her I loved her. You're supposed to wait like four to six months before you say something like that, but that's for an ordinary relationship; from what I've experienced so far, we're anything but ordinary in my opinion.

"Well, the length of your relationship doesn't matter as long as you guys are happy." Candice says cheerfully, linking her arm with Hugh's and rubbing his arm. "I'll let you guys have a break from our questions so in the meantime, do you have any questions for us? Want to know any embarrassing stories? Or where the baby pictures are?"

"Mom!" Julia shouts, causing a few other customers to turn their head. She lowers her voice and continues, "No stories and no pictures. We'll never hear the end of it if you give them a show and tell."

Our laughs fill the room and an elderly woman actually tells us to shush. I wouldn't mind seeing a baby picture of Emmie. I wonder what she looked like as a child...

"Hey, Emmie," I whisper and nudge her side.

"No baby pictures," she firmly states, reading my mind.

I groan softly, careful not to let my playful behavior gain the attention of her guardians. Since I can't see any baby pictures I'll have to settle for getting to know Candice and Hugh. "I was wondering how you knew Emilia's parents?" I ask, earning a smile from Candice whose eyes light up.

She looks down to the coffee in her hand, her smile never wavering, before taking a small sip of the drink. "Grace was my best friend," she says. "I met her in my Woman's Studies class during our sophomore year of college. Bennett was nearing his graduation and Grace was contemplating dropping out because school and work wasn't her thing. She just wanted to be a housewife, but I convinced her to stay in school at least until Bennett received his degree. We were inseparable throughout the entire time she stayed at school and when Bennett finally proposed to her the day of his graduation, Grace appointed me as her maid-of-honor.

"I helped her plan the wedding and just a few weeks before the big day, she found out that she was pregnant with Emilia. I was already two months pregnant with Julia so that was just another thing for the two of us to bond over. We stayed friends after both our girls were born, however, it was difficult sometimes because we had families to take care of. But once Emilia and Julia got older, we were able to spend more time together like we used to. Grace and Bennett were two of my greatest friends and I loved them like family. They loved and cared for Julia like she was their own just like we do with Emilia. I even made them Julia's godparents."

Candice's eyes redden and her grip on the cup in her hand tightens. Even Emmie notices the change in her demeanor and she lowers her head, almost as if she knows what Candice is going to say next. "Do you want to know what they said in their will to me and Hugh?" she asks and Hugh takes her hand in his, their gold wedding bands brushing against each other. "They didn't want for us to come to their funeral. They didn't want for their best friends to see them in such a tragic state. We respected their wish of course and to this day, we still haven't visited the cemetery."

I wasn't expecting to get a full story of their relationship with Emmie's parents, but I'm kind of glad that I did. However, the solemn tension that has risen because of what Candice said last kind of kills the mood for everyone.

Apologizing for making things awkward, Candice switches gears and goes on to tell of how Candice and Bennett used to always play pranks on them. She even says that she blames them for making her water break while she was pregnant with Julia because Bennett had planted a fake spider in their house and when she found it, she screamed so hard that she didn't even realize the pool of fluid surrounding her feet.

It's nice hearing more about Emmie's parents and when I look down to her, she can't stop smiling as Candice goes on and on about them. I love seeing her smile like this. I remember when she didn't smile much when I first met her, and now I can't get her to stop. I wouldn't mind seeing her like this 24/7 if I had the chance.

Oh wait, I do.

We stay at the café for a few hours, talking and laughing with each other. Calum and I win over Candice's love and acceptance and she's already asking for us to come over for Christmas dinner, but then remembers that they're going out of town for the holidays and takes back her offer. Hugh wonders how the hell the girls can understand us sometimes because of our thick accents and for fun, Calum and I talk even faster to make it difficult for him. After being around us for a while, it becomes easier to understand us and Hugh finds that out as we continue to joke with each other.

My phone rings inside my pocket and I excuse myself from the table only to answer to a miserable sounding, groaning Michael. He tells me that my car is ready to be picked up from the shop since he couldn't stand to clean up the mess that he made himself, but he at least had enough decency to take it in to get cleaned however, he didn't have enough decency to pick it up himself.

"Michael, why can't you get it?" I ask and roll up the sleeve of my shirt to my elbow. "You know I'm busy right now. Get Luke to go with you."

"Luke's sleeping everything off," Michael says. "I threw every shirt that was on his floor at him and he wouldn't wake up. Now there's just a pile of clothes lying on his stomach. By the way, how's everything going over there?"

Luke really needs to work on his tolerance to alcohol. "Things are going great actually. Calum screwed up in the beginning, but Julia's mom loves him now. Even her dad likes us."

"If they like you, then it shouldn't be a problem that you have to leave to pick up your car." To think this is the same person who told me to take things slow with Emmie.

"I swear sometimes you can be a great friend and others you're a complete ass. I'll pick it up soon."

"Tell their mom I said hi too," he shouts through the receiver before I hang up.

A tap on my shoulder startles me. "Is everything okay?" I turn around to face Candice. "I kind of overheard your conversation. You're a little loud just F.Y.I.," she says, giggling.

It's not the first time I've been told that I'm loud. "Sorry about that," i say.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. This was all unplanned anyway so it's okay that you need to leave. I just came over her to talk to you for a quick second since Hugh didn't want to."

I glance over her shoulder and at the table, Hugh is subtly giving me a thumbs up. "What about?"

"How did you do it?" she asks, seriousness taking over her carefree attitude.

"Do what?"

"How did you make her so happy? I've known Emilia since the day she was born and not once have I ever seen her smile and laugh like she is now." Candice points over to our table where Emilia has her head thrown back as she laughs energetically at Calum.

"I can't really answer that," I say honestly. "She stumbled her way into a great group of friends. The rest was all her. I didn't do anything except bump into her." And hassle her a bit until I forced her to become my friend, but those are just minor details.

"Are you just naturally this modest or are you still trying to impress me?" she asks with a smirk.

"I'm not sure how to answer that."

She chuckles almost exactly like Julia does. "You're perfect for her," she says sincerely. "You're literally Grace and Bennett combined into one person but with an accent."

At least I'm not the only one who thought that. "Candice, can I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"Do you think they would have liked me? Emilia's parents?"

"I think they would have liked you far beyond what I could tell you. Hearing about all that you've done for her makes it hard to not like you. You're nothing like the asshole that she dated before and her parents would have appreciated the hell out of you just like Hugh and I do."

That's a better answer than I could have asked for. Sheepishly, I reply, "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

"You're welcome, sweetie." She gives me one last heartwarming smile before heading back over to the table.

I follow behind her and pull my credit card out of my wallet to pay for everyone as a treat. Like always, Emmie fights me to pay for herself but I don't let her have her way and Hugh actually laughs when she begins pouting. We leave the café and head back over to Julia's parents' house since they apparently still have gifts to give the girls from their grandparents for Christmas.

That reminds me, I really need to go out and find Emmie a present along with everyone else. There are only a couple more weeks until Christmas and I haven't done any shopping whatsoever. At least with Emmie, it's easy to go out somewhere by myself since she likes being alone at home sometimes.

We load up the back of the truck with the few gifts that their grandparents got for them and say our farewells to the Greenfields. Keeping up with the over-protective father act, Hugh firmly shakes mine and Calum's hands while glowering at us. Candice gives us even larger hugs than this morning and tells us to come back soon to visit them so that she can prepare the homemade meal like she had planned.

Calum and I sit in the car and wait while the girls receive kisses and hugs from their parents or in Emmie's case, guardians, before joining us. We all wave once more to the couple before pulling out of their driveway and heading back to Denver. I make Calum drop me off at the car shop to pick up my car and Emmie stays with me because she doesn't want to be in the car when Julia and Calum begin talking all lovey-dovey to each other.

Thankfully, Michael was nice enough to pay for the cleaning job and all I have to do is drive out of there. I take Emmie back to her apartment and instead of staying like I always do, she actually asks me to leave.

"I just want to sleep," she says, yawning widely. "We slept on the couch, which isn't that comfortable if you forgot, and I was up late."

"What were you doing up?" I ask.

She shrugs and yawns again. "Just thinking."

I only nod. I'd be lying if I said I never had a night where I stayed up and just thought about everything little thing. "Alright then. I have some things to work on anyway. Drawings to finish, paintings to paint."

She chuckles and I love seeing the little crinkles by her eyes when she does that. "When do I get to see more of your stuff?"

"Soon," I say. I want for her to be proud of my work even when I'm not. Granted, most of what's filling up my sketchbook is several pages of random doodles and a few scribbled out pages that I was too lazy to rip out, but there are a few completed works in there.

She narrows her eyes playfully and then laughs at her inability to stay mad at me which I find adorable. "Fine, I'll be patient. I'll see you later, okay?" From the doorway, she stands on her tiptoes and her hands latch onto the collar of my shirt as she pulls me down and brings my lips to hers.

I pull away too fast for my liking and tell her goodbye before placing one last kiss on her lips and walking over to the staircase.   

"Hey, Ash," she calls and I stop in my tracks and turn to her. "I love you."

With a smile I say, "I love you too, Emilia."

I drive back home and once inside, I finally lash out at Michael in person for throwing up in my car and revoke all privileges of him ever riding in it again unless he wants to clean up the mess himself.  

______________

A/N:

Merry Christmas everyone! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful holiday regardless. I wanted to post this chapter this morning but it took me longer to finish than I would have liked. I missed writing in Ashton's POV. I hope you all enjoyed it though! Also, thank you guys for all your lovely messages and comments. It really makes me smile when you send me stuff and I love talking to you guys so don't be shy! If you liked this chapter, please press the little star and vote. It takes like 2 seconds and I would really appreciate it. Please continue to comment and share like always :)

-Rebecca xoxoxoxo

Also, let me know what you guys got for Christmas!