I Just Had to Lick the Cookie, Didn't I?

Step up to me
I know that you've got something buried
I'll set you free
You set conditions but I've had enough

"Logan! Adriaan! Over here!" Caroline called. Milo grunted so only I could hear and led me over to his mother. Everyone in the room focused on us for at least ten second before turning away and continuing whatever they had been up to before we came down.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Caroline beamed, wrapping Milo and me into a tight hug. Odd...

"Ahem," Milo cleared his throat. Caroline caught his drift and let us go.

"I haven't seen very much of you two, what have you been up to?" she asked, still smiling. Now that I know the dirty little Boone secret, I can tell she's faking. She's one hell of a lot better than my mother is at pretending to be happy.

"Nothing much."

"If you say so, Logan. Now, your father and I want to speak with you tomorrow. We'll call you down when it's time. Now go introduce Adriaan to everyone before dinner starts," she ordered and walked away. Humph, how rude.

"Well, are you ready for this mind-boggling experience?" Milo asked, turning us around and leading me off somewhere.

"Nah, but I figure you're going to force me into it anyway. Besides, I highly doubt all of these folks could possibly be as fucked up as my family," I blurted.

And then I realized something. I've never actually told anyone about my family. Sure there've been a few hints here and there, but have I ever come straight out and told people my family basically hates me? Nope. Never.

Milo gazed at me curiously for a second.

"Eh, it's possible," he muttered. I scoffed at him as we continued to head toward a group of people. "I'm going to take you to the nicest ones first. These are my lovable cousins. All from my mom's side."

There were four of them. One was a girl, her and another were blonde, and the others had brown hair. They seemed friendly...

"Logan!" the girl yelled, a vast smile on her face. She came at Milo with her arms spread wide and then enveloped him in a huge hug. Her bleach blonde hair looked natural enough. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in forever," she sighed, backing away and releasing Milo. The three boys came over to meet us, also smiling.

"I've been well I suppose," Milo told her, squeezing my hand quickly.

"I think you've been more than well, especially with her," one of the boys with brown hair joked. Milo chuckled lightly. "So, going to introduce us, or what?"

"Of course," Milo stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, this is Adriaan Ryker, my girlfriend," he informed them. They all smiled at me. "Adriaan, this is my cousin Gina," he said, motioning toward the girl. "This is her brother, Louis." He motioned to the other blond. "And these two are Max and Michael, they're brothers."

Gina seemed very nice. She was cute, and small, with pale skin and brown eyes. Probably about sixteen or so. Her brother, Louis, was tall---not as tall as Milo---and slightly muscular. He was okay-looking I guess, and his hair was no where near as blonde as his sisters, it was darker.

Max was older-looking than Michael, but he seemed younger than Louis---which I don't think is correct. He was definitely more mature. Both he and his brother looked alike, but Max had grey eyes and Michael had brown. The two of them were fairly lanky and not muscular. Michael was the one that had spoken to Milo. He seemed happy-go-lucky and entertaining.

"Sorry guys, but she has to go meet everyone else now," Milo smiled, but I could hear the dread in his voice. That didn't sound fun.

The four of them waved bye before going back to their conversation.

Milo led me next to another group of people. This time there were two girls, and one guy I didn't recognize. The other was Andrew.

"Excuse me," Milo said quietly, getting their attention. Andrew looked up at us and smiled at me.

"Nice to see you again," he declared with a nod of his head. Milo nodded back and looked at the others.

"This is my girlfriend Adriaan everyone." The three that I didn't know smiled in greeting. "Adriaan, this is Tammy, my cousin," Milo told me, indicating the only redhead I'd seen so far.

"She's my sister," Andrew whispered from behind her. Tammy rolled her eyes.

"These are Jennifer's brother and sister, Crystal and Ben," Milo said.

Tammy was pretty, with deep red hair and light green eyes. Her and Andrew only looked slightly alike.

Crystal was pale, very pale. Like...well, me. Her eyes were the brightest, most vibrant blue I had ever seen. She was very pretty, making me slightly...um, self-conscious.

Ben was an interesting figure. He had blonde hair, which was almost polar opposite of Crystal's dark brown. He had the same eyes as her though. And Ben wasn't very pale, in fact, he was tanner than tan. Kind of nerdy, but still athletic. Eh.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, smiling. They smiled back and Milo tugged my hand.

"Adriaan has more people to meet, we'll see you at dinner," he stated. The four of them smiled, just like the others had.

Milo then pulled me once again to another group of people. Immediately I recognized two of the three. Jane stood in yet another bright yellow dress, smiling at Elise and another woman holding a baby. Once Milo and I stopped in front of them, they ceased their chatter and gazed at me. Both Elise and Jane smiled warmly, obviously remembering who I was. The other woman seemed slightly confused.

"Adriaan, you know Jane, and Elise," Milo started, "but this is Jenifer. Jenifer, this is my girlfriend Adriaan." After Milo introduced us, Jenifer seemed less confused.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," she said happily. "Jane and Elise have been talking about you for the last ten minutes. And I've heard so many great things from Caroline." Really? Caroline actually said kind things about me? That's a shocker.

"It's nice to meet you too," I smiled. "Is this Abigail?"

Jenifer beamed at the mention of her daughter. Her face became bright with a smile. I realized then that she was a little pretty. She wasn't extremely beautiful, but attractive still. Oddly, she looked completely different from her siblings, and yet completely the same. It was odd, but I had also noticed the same thing when comparing Crystal and Ben.

The bundle in Jenifer's arms was turned to face Milo and me. Milo's grip on my hand tightened slightly. Have I ever told you that I'm bad---horrible with kids? Well, I am. They're cute to look at, but other than that you should just keep them away from me. Obviously I wasn't much help when Faith was born.

"She...looks just like Wayland," gasped Milo. He seemed strained and uncomfortable.

"That's what everyone's been saying so far," Jenifer laughed. "If I were her, I'd be insulted. Who wants to look like their father, especially a little girl?"

All of us laughed a bit.

"It was nice seeing you all again, but I think Milo has some more people to introduce me to. Am I right?" I asked him. He nodded and smiled at the girls.

"We'll see you at dinner," he told them as we walked away.

Next he took me to a group of...old people. Weird. There were four of them, including the wonderful---note sarcasm---Sunday, lemon meringue-cooking, church goers. Not that they go to church though, how would I know that?

The four of them turned to look at us. Two of them smiled, the others---Sunday folks---just stared.

"Grandma, Grandpa, you already know Adriaan, from dinner last month," Milo informed them. Sunday folks just continued to stare. I get the feeling they don't like me very much. "Nana and Papa, this is Adriaan, my girlfriend."

After a few second, the old man whom I hadn't met yet stuck out a shaking hand.

"I'm Grady, Maelogan's granddad from his mother's side." I smiled at the old man and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you," I said sweetly. Grady smiled, and so did his wife.

"I'm Janet, his grandmother. You have no idea how thrilled we are that our little Maelogan is finally bringing a girl home." Her wrinkled face beamed with obvious happiness. Milo shifted and tapped his fingers on the back of my hand.

He still had my hand.

"Yea, well, I really like this one," Milo muttered, looking down. Ha! He was embarrassed. Now he knows how I felt... Oh, didn't Adriaan just get the best revenge idea ever. Oh yes, she most definitely did...

I made myself blush, feeling my cheeks start to grow hot.

"You don't mean that," I mumbled shyly. Milo cleared his throat and looked at me.

"Yes I do," he declared firmly. To make my plan even better, I blushed even more and shifted my feet.

"Well wasn't that sweet," Grady teased in good humor. I giggled awkwardly and squeezed Milo's hand. "Aren't you going to reward him? A man has his needs you know."

"Grady!" Janet gasped, smacking him on the arm. He laughed and looked at his wife.

"Hey, it's true. I won't lie to them. Plus, she's a keeper," he whispered the last part behind a raised hand, but I still heard him. "Come on, we can't wait all day."

Again, I blushed. Aren't I talented...

In one swift movement, I stood on my toes, leaned in, and pecked Milo on the cheek. When I was back on my feet, I noticed a cocky grin on Milo's face. And yet, I'm pretty sure I saw a little blush there...

"Well," Milo said after clearing his throat, "We still have more people to say hello to. We'll see you at dinner."

The four old people nodded and we walked away.

"What was that about?" Milo asked in a whisper. His question made me smile.

"You're not the only one with the ability to kiss you know. If I want to embarrass you, I'm going to. Not that you're embarrassed though, right?" I asked deviously, giving him a side-glance. His face was hardened slightly. Time to execute Operation X. Doesn't that sound snazzy?

We were just about to join a group of five girls, Allison included. She had just looked over to see Milo and me. I received a glare, but Milo got a welcoming smirk. What a snot-bag.

What was Operation X? Let's get to that.

"Wait," I whispered and stopped moving. Milo turned to face me, puzzled.

"What is it?" he asked. Pouting, I gazed up at him.

"Be prepared for the wrath of Allison Richards!" I whispered to him and moved closer. He raised an eyebrow. "You seriously don't get it yet?" I laughed quietly.

"Uh...nope."

"You're supposed to be a genius, remember? What happened to Milo the Great?"

"I told you that I wasn't a genius," he mumbled. Pfft, sure. Well, I'd prolonged Operation X for too long, it was time.

Milo stared at me as I wiggled my hand out of his. Once my limb was free, I grabbed the bottom of his jacket with both hands and tugged out a wrinkle.

"Seriously, what are you do---"

He couldn't finish because I pressed my lips lightly against his and let them linger there for a few seconds. When I backed away, he watched me intently.

"Now you know how I felt," I stated. Milo continued to watch me.

"You are going to get it later, just you wait."

I laughed and turned away, rolling my eyes as well. Suddenly Milo grabbed my hand, causing me to jump. He intertwined our fingers once more and then led me forward to the group of---what looked like---bratty, stuck-up, snobs.

"Ahem," Allison cleared her throat when we arrived at the group of them. Milo ignored her and kept his eyes on the blondest of them. They were all blonde, all five of them.

"Leona," Milo stated plainly. The girl, Leona, looked from him to me and back.

"Logan," she replied.

"Adriaan, these are my cousins." He tightened his grip on my hand. "This is Leona," he informed me, referring to the blondest. "And her sisters, Paris, Vienna, and London."

Paris and Vienna looked like twins. Maybe they were... All of them had that snobby persona. Some more than others. Paris and Vienna seemed the nicest, but one can never judge a book by its cover.

"We had better go, there are still more people for us to talk to," Milo sneered, but it didn't really seem like a sneer. Hmm.

"Whatever, it isn't exactly like we care," Leona responded.

At least I'm allowed to be mean to Allison. I'm going to have to be at least civil to all of the family members. It's going to be harder than I had originally expected.