Dove and Grenade

The phone was too loud, and I was too hungover. I groaned and turned over, but Matt sat up. The phone continued to ring as he rolled out of bed and pulled his shorts on.

"Hello?" he yawned, ceasing the phone's screaming.

I put my face into the pillow, but I soon felt a hand on the small of my back. I looked up, but I could barely open my eyes. Matt chuckled and handed me the phone.

"It's for you," he said.

I took the phone and groaned, "Hello?"

"Kara, how's my favorite girl been doing?" came a deep voice from the other side.

"Daddy?" I said.

"We had to call all over to find you, bunny," Dad replied. "We called your apartment in Bakersfield, and that asshole Alex so kindly directed us to your brother who sent us here."

"Yeah, it's been awhile since I heard from you guys I guess," I yawned. "How've you and mom been?"

"Took a vacation to Greece last month," said my dad. "We're planning on China in February."

"Wow, come into some money?" I snorted.

"Oh, we've always had this," Dad said. "And since your brother didn't go to college, we have plenty to spare for ourselves. But I didn't call here to talk about your mother and me. How's my baby bunny doing?"

"Pretty good," I sighed. "I love being back in Los Angeles. It's better here."

"Uh-huh," said Dad. "And who was the young man that answered the phone?"

"You remember Matt, right?" I said.

"The kid with curly hair?" Dad asked.

I laughed, "Yeah, him."

"Are you two dating?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"It's about time. Jesus, growing up you couldn't keep your hands off each other-"

"Dad!"

"Oh, right, and your mother and I are coming up to visit on Friday. We're planning on Friday having dinner with you and Aron, and Saturday we'll have dinner with you and Curly."

"Where are you staying?" I asked.

"Not sure yet," dad sighed. "You have an extra bed we can take?"

"I suppose we could find-"

"Great! It settled! We'll see you Friday, then!"

He hung up before I could say anything else. I hung up and handed the phone back to Matt. I groaned, falling back into bed.

"What's new?" Matt asked, climbing up on top of me.

"My parents are coming on Friday," I sighed.

"Is that a bad thing?" he said. "You've got some pretty cool parents."

"My dad just kind of invited themselves into our house," I explained.

"We'll make it work," Matt said.

I ran my fingers through his hair and said, "You've always got a solution, don't you?"

"Always," he said, bringing his lips down to mine. "Now, come on. Get up, and I'll take you to breakfast."

He stood up and attempted to pull me off the bed. I fell, not trying to help him at all, and he sighed. He turned and began walking out of the room.

"I guess I'm showering alone then," he said.

I sat up.

"Matty," I whined.

"Not coming back!" he said.

"Matt! I need a shower too!" I said, standing up.

I tripped over the rug again in the hallway. Why did I put that there in the first place? I land against the bathroom door, and I knocked, though I really didn't have to. I heard the shower start up, so I opened the door.

"Matthew..." I said.

He peeked out of the shower curtain and smiled. I shut the door behind me. He winked at me and closed the curtain.

Goddamn this man...

------------------------------

"It kinda seemed like my dad was more than okay with us," I said. "He wants to have dinner with us on Saturday."

"Really?" Matt said through a mouthful of blueberry pancakes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," I said. "You know him- he's not the kind of dad who's overprotective. He never cared who I was dating, as long as I didn't come crying to him."

"How often did you do that?" Matt chuckled.

"More than once," I said simply. "But I doubt it'll happen again."

Matt smiled and said, "I'd never let that happen."

I nodded once and grinned at him. He took another bite of pancakes. I shook my head.

"This is gonna be the longest week of my life," I said.

"You'll make it through Sunday," Matt replied. "I'll make sure."

"I know you will," I giggled. "You always do."