Second Sucks

Weeks later, I was finally starting to grow more comfortable being in a legitimate relationship with Jeremy. Time with him flew by, and before I knew it, it was the end of November and we had been together nearly three months. Oddly enough, the day we hit three months was the day before Thanksgiving, and Jeremy kept hinting that he had something planned. Every time I asked him about it, he just grinned and refused to tell.

"Can you just tell me what we're doing?" I asked as we drove to his house on the 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving.

"You'll see." he said with a coy smile.

"Yeah, but why did I have to wear this stupid outfit?" I grumbled, folding my arms over my chest.

"I didn't say you had to, I just said 'dress nicely'." He said with a laugh. "Besides, you look cute."

I rolled my eyes and tugged at my skirt. I hated wearing skirts, dresses, or anything that fell in those categories, but when he said 'dress nicely', I had figured that meant something better than jeans. Either way, it was too late to change.

When Jeremy pulled up in front of his house, a sinking feeling grew in my stomach and everything clicked. I had barely talked to his parents since we started dating, since they were gone quite a bit when we hung out. This had to be it; I was officially meeting them, and for the first time as his girlfriend.

Jeremy seemed to sense that I was worried, because as we got out of the car, he wrapped an arm around my waist and said, "Don't be nervous. They'll love you."

He bent down to kiss me, then lead me into his living room, where his parents were sitting. They smiled as we entered and quickly stood up.

"Mom, Dad, this is Cecily." Jeremy said, the grin on his face threatening to split his face in two. I thought back to the day he first asked me to be his girlfriend, how excited how he had seemed when he said he wanted me to meet his parents. I could tell now that he had been telling the truth.

"It's so nice to meet you," his mother said, pulling me in for a hug. "Jeremy talks about you non-stop."

"Ma!" Jeremy groaned, slapping a hand against his forehead. I laughed as I shook his father's hand and they lead me into their dining room.

"We decided to have Thanksgiving a day early," his mother said as a table laden with plates of steaming food came into view.

I blushed bright red and mumbled, "You guys didn't have to do all this for me."

"It's nothing, really." she said, giving me a warm smile. "We've never been one for Thanksgiving anyway, and now you three can be my guinea pigs for a few new recipes."

Jeremy looked at me with an expression that said, 'I told you so.'

---

After we were done stuffing ourselves, Jeremy drove me back home, taking the back roads to make the drive longer.

"Now was that so bad?" Jeremy asked, a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, your parents are great."

"I wouldn't go that far." he joked as he moved one hand off the steering wheel to hold mine. We looked at each other and smiled. As he drove, I kept my fingers woven through his and laid my head on his shoulder, and when he finally stopped outside of my house, I had never wanted to be anywhere more that I wanted to stay there with him.

---

When I woke up on Saturday morning, a few days later, the first thing I did was grab my phone and send Jeremy a good morning text. Within seconds, he replied with a good morning of his own and a little smiley face. I replied asking him what his plans for the day were, but this time he didn't reply. I sighed softly and rolled out of bed to get ready for the day.

I slowly made my way through a shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a random shirt that I pulled out of my closet. The entire time, I nearly obsessively checked my phone for a text from him, but nothing showed up.

Finally, when I was about to give up and get back in bed, my phone buzzed, nearly rattling off my bedside table. I leaped onto my bed to reach it, and with a wide smile, opened up the message.

Jeremy: You dressed?

Me: Very nearly.

A minute passed before I got another response.

Jeremy: Great. Look out your window.

I raised an eyebrow and crawled across my bed to my window. Pushing aside the curtains, I saw that Jeremy was waiting outside of his car, in my driveway, two Starbucks cups in his hands. I grinned and pulled on a pair of shoes, then ran out to meet him.

"What are you doing, McKinnon?" I asked, trying and failing to hide my smile as he offered me one of the cups.

"What? Can't I surprise my girlfriend with coffee in the morning? And maybe take her out somewhere?" he said as he pulled me into a tight, one-armed hug. "Now go get some PJs, you're spending the night with me tonight."