This Is Not an After School Special

"Becky, this is Chris, and this is Andrew," Josh introduced, holding an open hand out to each guy as he said their name so that I could better understand who they were.

We were gathered in Chris' driveway, preparing to head out to the mall to hang out. I smiled and waved at the two new faces.

"Josh has been talking about you for awhile," Chris informed me as he crawled into the backseat of Josh's car.

"Has he?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at Josh as I got into the front seat. "And what has he said about me, exactly?"

Andrew elbowed Chris as he joined him in the car. "Why would you make it sound so bad?" He hissed. Andrew turned to me with a smile. "He's just kidding. I mean, yeah, Josh has told us about you, but it's all been good stuff."

"Guys," Josh said to the both of them in a resounding tone of voice. "Stop it. You're going to scare her off."

"I don't scare that easily," I grinned.

We spent a lot of time in only a few stores that all the boys seemed to love. I didn't have much interest in most of the merchandise there, so I found myself people watching and critiquing the guys' choice in clothes.

I had a good time that night. Josh's friends were really nice, and I felt like we got along really well. I thought that Matt would like them, too.

When the mall closed, we just drove around. We ate fast food that we'd gotten from a drive through, and by the time Andrew and Chris got out of the car, the backseat was littered with empty wrappers and loose fries that they had thrown at each other.

"Want to do something on Sunday? Or is that not allowed? I remember that your mom has that rule." Josh said as he parked his car in front of my house.

"That only applies to nights. If it's during the day, it's fine. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking that we should go to the beach. And then maybe you could come to my house for dinner."

I had been taking a sip of my soda, and it suddenly seemed to swell in my throat and cut off my air. I coughed loudly, spluttering and trying to catch my breath and dislodge the carbonated beverage.

"Are you okay?" Josh hovered over me, reaching out to help but failing to figure out how to be of any use.

"I'm fine," my voice was suddenly hoarse. "You want me to go to your house?"

"Yeah. Is that alright? It's a little soon, I know. My mom is just kind of excited that I'm spending so much time with a girl," he explained, blushing a little bit in embarassment.

I thought it over for a moment. We'd been taking things really slow thus far, so maybe it was time that we took a big step. Besides, I was going to have to meet his family someday. I might as well bite the bullet and get it over with.

"I'll be there," I answered finally.

Josh's tense expression relaxed, and his breath came out in a great gush. "Good. I'll come pick you up around two o'clock. That way we've got some time to ourselves before we have to go back to my place."

"Sounds good."

Josh leaned in towards me, cupping the side of my face gently in his hand. Once again the kiss was short and sweet, leaving me wishing for more. Instead of pushing my luck, I grinned at him.

"I guess I'll see you on Sunday, then," I said, opening the door.

"Bye, Becky."

I hurried inside and threw myself down onto the couch. It was barely past eleven, so I didn't feel like going to bed just yet. I began surfing the channels, cursing how terrible late-night television was. I eventually dropped the remote and watched an entire infomercial about a diet pill. I was so bored by the end of it that I was considering going to bed a bit early.

I stretched and yawned as I walked down the dark hallway to my bedroom. I could see flashes of light coming from my parents room, along with the dull murmur of the television. I assumed that they knew I was home, so I simply walked inside my own room and flicked on the light. I quickly changed into my comfiest pajamas and turned out the light before diving into bed.

Now that I was alone, I had time to let my mind wander. I was suddenly nervous about Sunday. I didn't know much about Josh's family, other than his parents' occupations and the fact that he had two sisters.

And once I'd met his family, would he expect to meet mine right away?

I didn't realise that I'd fallen asleep until I awoke the next morning. I stumbled out into the kitchen, still extremely groggy. Both of my parents were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping steaming mugs of coffee. I drug my feet across the room and poured myself a cup, pausing to take a long drink before facing my parents.

"I'm spending the day at the beach tomorrow, okay?"

"With who?" Dad asked, his eyes searching.

I sighed. Now was as good a time as any to get everything out in the open. "Josh."

"That boy that took you and Matt to the party?" Mom looked up at me with an interested expression.

I nodded. "The one and only. Anyways, I'm going to his house for dinner afterwards too, so I won't be home. But I won't be out late."

Mom's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why are you going to his house for supper?"

I didn't speak for a long moment as I took another drink of my coffee. I was trying to gain some time to think about just how to break it to them. "Because I'm supposed to be meeting his family."

"And why do you need to meet his family?" She persisted, her voice hardening just a bit. I wondered briefly if she felt betrayed, now that she was discovering that I'd been lying for a few weeks.

"For the same reason that I hope you guys will meet him," I told her. "He asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes."

"But he's a senior," she argued.

"We'd love to meet him," Dad interjected.

I grinned at him. "Great. We can set something up with him, then. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that you two are supportive about the whole thing."

My mother's face reddenned as she gaped at me, and I gave her a somewhat cocky smirk. Dad was on my side with this, and she knew it. She was outnumbered.

I hadn't really been expecting Dad to be so cool about it when he found out that Josh was a senior, but I was glad that he was taking it so well. I refilled my half-empty cup before walking to the living room and turning on some cartoons. They weren't as good now as they ahd been during my childhood, but I was positive that my mother wanted to interrogate my dad about his calm demeanor. I didn't want any part of that conversation.

The phone rang, and I answered it without taking my eyes off of the television.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Becky," Matt's voice greeted me. "What's up?"

I glanced at the clock. "What are you doing up this early? It's only nine-thirty."

He chuckled lowly. "I'm as surprised as you are. Anyways, Amanda's having a slumber party or something tonight so I want out of the house. Want to do something?"

"I went out with Josh and his friends last night. You can come over and we could rent a movie or something, but I'm afraid I'm on lockdown here for the night."

"You met the friends?" Matt's interest was piqued. "And how was that?"

"It went pretty well, I think. You'd really get along with them. I think we should all hang out together sometime. But tomorrow I'm going to the beach with Josh and then going to his place for dinner. I have to meet the parents."

"Seriously? Have you broken the news to your mom yet?"

"I just did. Dad took it a lot better than she did. Of course, he kind of knew about it before. So are you coming over here tonight?"

"I guess I will. It beats staying here. But I kind of wish I could come over tomorrow night instead; I'd really like to hear how that goes." There was laughter in his voice, like he was expecting me to blow the whole event.

"Thanks for having faith in me," I rolled my eyes. "Come over whenever you want, okay?"

"I'll probably make it over there around seven."

"Are you sure? Mom loves it when you come for dinner."

He laughed loudly. "Will she feel the same now that she knows we're not going to start dating?"

"She probably thinks that this is just a phase, and I'll leave Josh so I can be with you in a few weeks."

"It wouldn't surprise me. Okay, I'll be there about five-thirty instead. I'll stay for dinner, just to make your mom happy."

I grinned. "She'll love you forever. See you in a bit, Matt."

I hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen to get some more coffee. The war seemed to be over, and Mom was cracking an egg against the edge of a frying pan when I walked in.

"Hey Mom? Matt's going to be over for dinner tonight and then we're going to rent a movie or something."

"Are you sure your boyfriend will approve of that?"

I sighed, setting my mug down on the counter. "Josh is friends with Matt, too. He knows that we're just friends. That's all we'll ever be."

"I'll make some extra hamburgers." Mom's mood actually did seem a little elevated now that Matt was coming over. I still didn't get why she favored him so much.

"Great," I filled my cup and headed off to return to my cartoons. "He'll be here around five-thirty. He didn't want to miss your excellent cooking."

"When you and Josh decide on a night for him to meet us, let us know," Dad said. "I wouldn't want to accidentally make any other plans for the same night."

"Right. What a shame that would be," I snorted.

I sprawled out on the couch for an hour or so before I decided to get up and have a shower. I was being kind of lazy, and it took me longer than it should have to get dressed and make myself look halfways presentable. I blow-dried my hair, but skipped applying any make up. Matt had seen me at my worst before, and he hadn't judged me then, so I felt confident that he wouldn't care if I was dressed for comfort as opposed to style.

I spent the rest of the morning catching up on homework, since I knew that I wouldn't have the time to do it the next day. I finished in time for lunch, then lounged around the house for the rest of the afternoon.

I heard the door open and close, and I knew that Matt was here. It had been months since we'd actually bothered knocking or ringing doorbells. We both felt like we belonged to one another's family.

"So why did you feel the need to leave your house?" I asked as he appeared at the foot of the couch. "Amanda's friends are still off limits?"

He grinned and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Yeah, it sounds that way."

I reluctantly sat up, making room for him on the couch. "So what movie are we going to rent?"