I Swear That She's the One

[Callie’s POV]

I stood in front of the body length mirror in my bedroom and examined my outfit while toying with my hair. I fastened the thin brown belt around the middle of my bluish/gray chiffon floral dress, and smoothed out the bumps in the material. Once I was satisfied, I walked into the bathroom, and pinned my bangs to the side, spraying hair spray on my curls to keep them in place.

I heard the front door open, signaling Stephen’s arrival and I quickly sprayed my perfume in front of me and walked through the mist. I set the heart shaped bottle back on my dresser, and turned around just as Stephen walked through the door. I smiled at his attire; black jeans, white v-neck and a green plaid button down; and walked into his open arms.

“Someone looks gorgeous,” he said softly as he pecked my lips.

“And someone looks handsome,” I said fixing his collar a little, “I guess we should head to the restaurant shouldn’t we? Don’t want to be late.”

He just nodded, and grabbed my hand leading me out of the apartment. I slung my purse over my shoulder, tossing my phone and key’s into it, and followed him to his SUV, trying to keep my palms from sweating. The car was still cool from the air conditioning he had used from the ride over, and I slid onto the seat and tossed my bag next to my crossed ankles. I drummed my fingers nervously against my leg, but tried to hide it as just getting into the music.

“Callie, are you nervous right now?” Stephen asked looking over at me quickly.

“Honestly? Yes,” I said looking at him with a shy smile.

“Aw, babe, why? You already know them,” he said trying to keep the smirk off of his face.

“But not as your girlfriend,” I said shaking my head, “I don’t know, it’s stupid, honestly. I just don’t like meeting parents of my boyfriends, I feel awkward.”

“Well, if it makes it any easier, they already love you,” he said grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

I squeezed back, and gave him a calm smile, before turning my eyes back to the road and tried calming my nerves as we approached the turn in for the restaurant. Once we found a spot, and made it into the cool waiting area, I felt Jackson’s arms secure themselves around my middle.

“Callie, you really did come!” he said still hugging me.

“Of course, I couldn’t miss my favorite 9 year old’s birthday,” I said hugging him back, “Happy birthday, bud!”

“Thanks! Will you sit by me at dinner, I’ve missed you,” he said looking up with puppy eyes that caused me to laugh.

“Of course,” I said smiling as he grabbed my hand to lead us to his parents.

“Callie, it’s wonderful to see you,” Mrs. Gomez said standing up to hug me lightly.

“Great you see you too,” I said returning her hug, “Nice to see you as well Mr. Gomez, and you too John.”

The two men smiled, and hugged me quickly, before a hostess approached us to tell us our table was ready for us. I grabbed Stephen’s hand, and felt my other hand being grabbed my Jackson as he pulled us towards the table.

“Look at my little brother already trying to steal my girlfriend,” Stephen said causing me to laugh.

“I can’t help that you picked a pretty girl,” Jackson said with a shrug, “And you actually stole her from me, she was my nurse before she was your girlfriend.”

“He has a point,” I said laughing with Stephen.

I sat next to Jackson at the table, like promised, with Stephen on my other side, and across from Mrs. Gomez. The nervousness hit me again, and I toyed with the menu even after I had figured out what I wanted to eat.

Once our orders had been taken, everyone began talking, and I started sharing more about my life with the family. My nervousness quickly faded, and was replaced with happiness, as I realized how easy going and friendly the family were.

=====

“See, I told you that you’d survive,” Stephen said as we walked into my apartment.

“I know, I know,” I said tossing my bag onto the chair and flopping onto the couch, “Your family is seriously the best.”

“And what about me?” he asked, batting his eyelashes.

“Eh, you’re okay I guess,” I said making a funny face.

He feigned hurt, and started tickling me, telling me he’d only stop if I admitted he was the best. I told him I never would, which only caused the tickling to become worse, and tried my hardest to escape. We started wrestling, trying to see who could be dominate, and I managed to get his hands from my side and pin them over his head. By this time, we were both out of breath, and tired, and I hadn’t realized how close our faces had become.

“Hey,” he said as his breath tickled my face.

“Hi,” I said licking my lips and looking into his eyes.

Right after the syllable left my mouth his lips were firmly on mine, and I let go of his arms so I could wrap my arms around his neck. He used his now free arms to flip us over so he was on top, and kept his hand on the small of my back.

After what seemed like a short make-out session, I pulled away, and stood up, causing him to give me a look that screamed “tease”. I just smiled, and started walking backwards towards my room, and used a finger to invite him with me. He eagerly followed, and kicked the door closed as soon as we were both inside.