Come Around

Later that evening, Cassie let herself into the Dawsons' house and wandered into the living room. Rian's mom was sitting on the couch with her knitting needles going faster than Cassie had ever seen before.

"Hi Mama Susie," Cassie said and she looked up from her knitting.

"Cassie baby! It's so good to see you," she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and pulling Cassie into a hug. "Rian's not here, you know. He took Angie out," she said when she let go.

"That's okay," Cassie said, "I actually came here to see you and Papa Greg. Is he here?"

"He went to run some errands and should be back soon. Have a seat. Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

Cassie smiled and sat down, "No thank you," she said and Susie sat as well, "What do you think of Angie?"

"She's a doll. I think her and Rian are very good for each other," Susie said.

"I do too. But that makes sense. At least to me it does. They're my two best friends. It just seems logical that they would be a good fit," Cassie said.

Susie laughed, "Yes, of course. And Rian says that you're dating Alex?" she said and Cassie nodded, "He's a little young for you, don't you think?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice.

Cassie shrugged, "He can be immature at times, but he's good to me," she said.

"But you two have very different lives, Cassandra. Trust me, I know Alex well enough. He's not the type you can keep tied down for very long."

"Did Rian tell you to have this talk with me?" Cassie asked with a heavy sigh.

"Of course not," Susie said, "I'm genuinely concerned about you and how your relationship could end up. Alex is a nice kid, but he's not one to take anything very seriously."

Cassie sighed again, "I appreciate that you're worried. But you have to understand, I didn't chase Alex and make him commit to me. He pursued me relentlessly. Honestly, I didn't even like him at first. I wanted nothing to do with him. But we somehow finally became friends and then a little more than friends and he's the one who pushed me into committing," she explained.

Susie's eyebrows raised, "That's very uncharacteristic of him," she said.

"That's what everyone keeps saying."

"Everyone just wants you to be happy, dear," Susie said.

"And I am. I was happy before I met Alex, and I'm still happy now that he and I have been together for almost six months," Cassie said.

"Now that you and who have been together for almost six months?" a male voice questioned.

Cassie turned to see Rian's dad walk into the room, "Papa Greg!" she said excitedly, jumping up off the couch and hugging him.

"Why didn't I know my little girl was seeing someone?" he asked.

"No one told you?" she asked.

"Including you," he said.

Cassie laughed, "I've been dating Rian's friend Alex," she said, "And before you lecture me or whatever, Mama Susie already voiced concern over his age and lifestyle. And so has your son. So if you could just be happy for me, that would be great."

"Of course, sweetie," he said with a smile, "As long as he treats you right, then I'm happy that you've found someone."

They spent the next hour getting caught up on things that didn't involve Alex. Cassie told them about her job and other happenings in her life, and they told her about everything she'd been missing there in Maryland. Part of Cassie felt like she belonged there, with her parents, with Rian and his parents. But the rest of her knew that her life was in California now. Her job, her friends, her house. And not because it was California, but because that is where she had built it.

They had begun reminiscing when Rian and Angie returned, "Dude," Rian said as he came into the room, "Alex just called me and said he's been trying to get ahold of you for over an hour."

"Oh. What does he want?" she asked.

"He didn't say, just that he's been getting your voicemail and if I saw you to let you know."

"Let me see your phone," she said and Rian tossed it to her. She caught it and didn't even bother scrolling through the contacts, simply dialing his number instead.

"Hello?" he said, answering on the third ring.

"Hey, it's me. Rian said you've been looking for me?"

"Yeah. Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm visiting with Rian's parents and getting all caught up on everything. What's up?"

Alex was silent for a minute, "Well, I'm hanging out with my parents tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come over and watch a movie with a us," he said.

"Um, yeah, sure. Can you come get me?" she asked.

"Of course. I'll see you in ten," he said and hung up.

Cassie gave Rian's phone back to him and stood, "Well, I'm going to go spend time with my boy. I'll see you guys tomorrow at dinner, if not before," she said and grabbed Angie's arm as she walked out of the room.

"Girl, you better let go of my arm before I drop your ass," Angie said, trying to pull her arm out of the vice grip Cassie had on it.

"Sorry," she said, releasing the hold she had on her friend's arm, "I'm just freaking out. Alex wants me to meet his parents. Right now."

"And...?" Angie asked.

"And this is huge, Ang. He doesn't take girls home to meet his mom. It's not like him meeting my parents. I bring everyone home."

Angie laughed, "Cass, it'll be fine. I'm sure his mom will love you. She's really nice. And Rian says you and her are similar in a lot of ways."

"This is so much different from you meeting her. You're not dating her son," Cassie said.

"Stop freaking yourself out. It's going to be fine," Angie said.

Cassie sighed. She let herself out of the house and walked across the Dawsons' lawn to her parents' and into the house. Just as she was getting into her room to grab her phone, she received a text from Alex saying he was turning onto her street.

When she got in his car, she gave him a quick kiss, "Texting while you drive is very dangerous," she said, "You could've gotten into an accident and died."

Alex laughed, "Yes, with no one else on the road. I'm sure that would've happened."

"Hey, it's possible," she said with a shrug.

They pulled up to his house after a few minutes and she hesitated before unbuckling her seat belt. Alex took notice and reached over, brushing his fingers softly against her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just a little nervous. I'm not good at meeting parents," she said.

He smiled, "Don't be nervous. My mom already loves you just from everything I've told her. And my dad just basically goes with the flow. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he said.

Cassie trailed behind Alex as he walked to the front door. Once inside, he grabbed her hand and led her through the house to the family room. It was already set up for the movie and just waiting for the two of them to return. On the coffee table, there was a bowl of popcorn along with some different kinds of candy and cans of soda. His parents sat on the couch just behind it.

"Oh my Lord, she's gorgeous," his mom said to his dad and stood up, "The pictures Alex showed us of you didn't do you justice," she said as she walked over and stood in front of Cassie, "It's so nice to finally get to meet you, Cassandra. I'm Marie and this is Victor," she said referring to Alex's father.

"It's wonderful to meet both of you," Cassie said with a smile, "Alex actually talks about you a lot. It's refreshing that you're so close."

"He talks nonstop about you," Marie said and Alex blushed, "I've never seen him like this before.
she continued. Alex's face turned a darker shade of red, causing his dad to let out a chuckle.

"Okay," Alex said, "That's enough embarrassment for now. Let's just watch the movie, shall we?"

Cassie faced him and smiled, "You think this is embarrassing? Just wait until she starts showing me the baby pictures."

"God, no," he said. "I refuse to be around for that. You two can have a girls day with Angie and Rian's mom and have at it. Rian and I will be off somewhere far away."

They all laughed. Everyone got situated, Marie and Victor on the couch and Alex and Cassie on the love seat. The movie started and Alex's arm snaked around Cassie, pulling her close to him. She rested her head against his shoulder and fixed her gaze on the TV.

"See," Alex said quietly, placing a kiss on the top of her head, "I told you there was nothing to worry about."