There Was You

Gently tugging at the hairband in her hair, Riley let out a quiet sigh before she pulled it loose, allowing her hair to gently tumble down her back. It wasn’t the first time that she had done it, since she had climbed into Iker’s car to make the trip to the restaurant that he and his parents had arranged to meet at, she had put her hair up and let it down on a couple of occasions, and whilst it was doing little to stifle the butterflies in her stomach, she couldn’t stop herself from doing it, more than happy to have something to occupy her for a few seconds before she started to worry again.

It meant a lot to her, making a good first impression on Iker’s parents was something she knew that she would only get one shot at and she wanted to take it, but she couldn’t quite get a grip on her nerves, even if Iker had spent the day insisting that she had nothing to be worried about. She couldn’t shake the bad feeling which lingered in the pit of her stomach.

Running her fingers through hair, she attempted to smooth it out a little before the sound of Iker’s laugh reached her ears, causing her to shake her head, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink. “Shut up” she muttered, quirking a little smile.

Iker, who’d moved to retake the empty seat beside her, smiled a little before he leant over, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. “They’re just parking the car” he mumbled “You still sure?” he asked, gently tucking a few loose hairs away from her face.

He could see that she was nervous, aside from her messing with her hair, she had a few other little tells which he knew well enough to know that they were markers of her discomfort, and whilst he wanted her to meet his parents, he still wanted to offer her an out, not wanting her to do anything before she was entirely comfortable with it.

Riley hesitated for a split second before she nodded, her eyes briefly looking up at him. “I think so” she mused.

Iker just smiled at her, his hand moving to take a hold of hers which sat in her lap, pulling at the bottom of the shirt that she wore.

Riley watched their hands, smiling gently at the fit of their fingers, before she shook her head, her grey eyes meeting his. “Should I put my hair back up?” she asked after a moment of quiet “I mean, it was up originally when I put this outfit together, and I thought it looked pretty nice, but then I’ve taken it down and put it back up a couple of times and now I am pretty sure that it is a mess...” she trailed off as Iker let out a soft laugh, brushing another soft kiss against her cheek.

“You look beautiful, Ry” he murmured gently into her ear.

Riley let out a soft bashful laugh before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached them, causing Riley to lean away from Iker, her eyes quickly settling on the older couple who stood beside the table, polite smiles on their faces. Taking in a deep breath, she quickly fixed a soft smile onto her features before she shuffled back to her feet, gently extending her hand ahead of her. “Hi” she squeaked “I’m...uh...I’m Riley” she added.

Iker smiled a little to himself before he stood up next to her, his arm gently wrapping around her waist. “These are my parents” he noted “My mother, Carmen and my father, Jose Luis. Mama, papa, this is my girlfriend, Riley” he added.

The older couple were quiet for a moment before Carmen leant forwards, wrapping Riley in a soft hug. “It’s good to finally meet you” she fussed gently.

Riley, who’d stiffened a little in the hug, let out a soft nervous laugh as she pulled back, tucking her hair back off of her face. “You too” she mused softly.

Carmen watched her with a soft smile. “Iker’s told us a lot about you” she mused.

Riley felt her cheeks flush a little. “Good things I hope” she replied quietly.

Jose Luis grinned. “Like we could get him to say anything else” he joked, rolling his eyes playfully.

Iker laughed before he shook his head. “Are we going to...?” he trailed off, gesturing to the table ahead of him.

Riley nodded quickly, a little too quickly, something which made the soft smile that Iker wore widen a fraction. Watching his parents sit down, he leant a little closer to Riley, feigning brushing a kiss against her cheek as he murmured into her ear. “Relax” he mumbled softly.

~#~
Quirking a soft smile to himself, Iker rested back in his seat, watching as Riley talked animatedly with his father. She had relaxed into it, after a shaky start, she had slowly but surely started to join the conversations and after she had started, stopping her talking had been almost impossible, something which made Iker smile, glad to see her as confident around his parents as she was around him. Tilting his head slightly, he caught her eye and flashed her a grin, something which caused a soft blush to spread over her cheeks before she looked away, smiling goofily to herself.

Iker laughed beneath his breath before Riley pushed her chair back, clearing her throat a little. “I’m...uh...I’m just going to pop to the bathroom” she muttered before she skittered away.

Iker watched her go before he turned back towards the table, meeting his mother’s stare. “So?” he asked gently.

Carmen, who’d been sipping on her drink, hesitated for a second before she placed the glass down. “She’s lovely” she mused “I mean, she was a little shy and a little quiet to begin with, but when she got going...She’s very nice, Iker. I can see why you like her so much” she added.

Iker quirked a bashful smile. “She is pretty amazing” he fussed softly.

Carmen nodded her head slowly before she opened her mouth, hesitating a little before she spoke. “She’s just...” she stumbled out “She’s a lot like...you know who” she noted, meeting his eyes so that he caught onto what she was saying.

Iker held her stare for a second, but didn’t say anything.

“She really is lovely” Carmen insisted “And I can see how much you like her, I just...I don’t know. I’m probably just worrying for nothing, but you were with...you know who for a long time, you did propose to her, Iker, and now...”

“He proposed to her?”

Iker jumped at the sound of Riley’s voice before he turned around, his eyes landing on where she stood, a little away from the table. Taking in a breath, he caught his mother’s apologetic look, before he stood up, offering his hand out towards her. “Come on” he murmured “We’ll talk when we get back to my place” he added.

Riley blinked a couple of times before she nodded, placing her hand in his. “Ok” she mused “Mr and Mrs Casillas...”

“It was lovely to meet you, Riley” Carmen fussed with a soft, apologetic smile.

Riley nodded her head slowly. “You too” she breathed quietly before she followed after Iker, not quite sure what to think.