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15
Betty
We were a little late getting to the club, but no one seemed to mind. I wasn't the only one that had to change and get dressed. I knew that a lot of the reason that Nick had to was because of what we had done right before we left. My mind could not get that out of my head, and my body still had fragments of the feelings that lingered.
The place was much like the one that we had met at. The music was obviously the same and that was one of the best parts of it. It was a little grungy, though. The floors were dirty, and the table was sticky when I set my arm on it. I tried not to think too much of it, but it was actually a distraction that I needed.
Once Nick got on the stage and started to sing, it felt like he was talking to me when he did it. I don't know why, but I found that to be one of the hardest things to focus on. It made me realize that all of the feelings I had were from somewhere. This guy was unlike anyone I’d ever met before, and I knew that I would have never met him in California. Maybe my mom was on to something. Maybe I needed a different breed of man to satisfy me. The ones in California were never quite what I needed and wanted.
I had never thought that of myself; however, it was becoming clear that I needed a different sort of man. I had never known that. It seemed like I was learning new things about myself all the time, and I hadn’t even been here all that long. Self-discovery was going to be frequent on this trip.
The surroundings faded back, and I was only interested in the man that I was watching. He had the look of pleasure on his face. There was excitement in his eyes, and I could tell that he was happy. For a moment, I was a little jealous, wondering if I was ever going to find that thing that would give me the same fire in my eyes. I had a ten-year plan, sure, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to accomplish, but would any of that ever make me that blissfully happy? I had a feeling that the answer to that was going to be no.
When he was done with the set, I looked at my watch and realized that we were going to be late for my parents’ dinner as well. I sent a text to my mom to give her a heads up that we were running about fifteen minutes behind, but I knew that it wasn't going to be enough. They were very adamant in the fact that I was to treat their time like it was golden. They both thought that their time was far more precious than basically everyone else’s.
The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt him or rush him. I knew they had a few songs left to do and I hoped that the fifteen-minute leeway that I gave us would be enough. The second set was midway thru and we were way past the time of leaving. I tried not to feel antsy. I don't know why I was so anxious about the dinner. I wanted everyone to get along. I wanted my parents to like Nick, and I knew that if we came in late, it was going to start us off on the wrong foot. That was something that I just didn't want to do.
Thankfully, I didn't have to say anything to Nick. He was immediately apologetic and told me that we were leaving right away.
“I'm glad that I brought some wine with me. It usually smooths things over. I got it from my parents’ collection. This stuff is older than I am, and it always gets the parentals smiling. Wait and see.”
I wanted to believe him. Hell, I hoped that he was right. I did not want to hear it from my parents about us being late. It didn't matter how old I was, their dissatisfaction was felt immediately for a long time after. I did not want this to be one of those times. Me giving the excuse of my date’s music set going a little later than usual would not be the kind of excuse that I could use. I didn't even dare to.
“I hope you're right, Nick. You don't know my parents.”
“I bet they're just like mine. Trust me, I know them. At least with yours, though, we don't have to tell them the truth right away.”
I couldn't help but look at him a little funny.
“What are you talking about?”
“I was thinking that they didn't have to know that we were late because of my music. If I told my dad that, he would lose it, trust me. I have to believe that your father would be the same way.”
“I have a feeling that our parents are quite the same, then. We can tell them that you had a business meeting that ran over. He will just assume that it has to do with your father and I'm sure he'll just let it go. Business first, always.”
It wouldn't be the first time that I had to fib to my parents a little bit. They never did want to see things my way, so I figured with a little information changed, they would. I really didn't know why I was so interested in them liking Nick, but I was. It was important to me and telling a little white lie to my parents was not even an issue. I just wanted them to see the good in Nick, like I did. Maybe I was always hoping that they would stay off my back about finding a man.
He agreed with me and when we got to my parents’ house, I could tell that they wanted to know what had happened. I told them that we had to stay behind so that Nick could take care of something and it went exactly like I knew it would. They immediately thought that it was some kind of work thing Nick was doing and technically it was.
My father didn't think of much else than making money, so he must have assumed that everybody else was the same way. It smoothed things over almost immediately, and I was glad that we started with it. If not, it would have been an awkward conversation and the whole time they would have been wondering what happened. I had always found that putting a potential problem out in the forefront first always seemed to make it so much better. I had never been good at tiptoeing around things.
My parents were quite ecstatic that I had brought Nick home. They assumed that we were together in a meaningful way, and I didn't know if we were or not, so I didn't really say anything one way or another. They embarrassed me over and over again, telling stories that were nothing that I wanted him to know about. He didn't need to know about a boyfriend that stood me up on prom or the fact that I had trouble with keeping boys.
Even as my mom said it, I wanted to crawl into the walls so nobody could see me. I couldn't believe some of the things that came out of her mouth and it just made it a million times worse. I'm not sure if she knew that I had never been with any one before. I guess it was just something instinctual for someone like her. But for me, I had gone the unpopular route of waiting. It wasn't like I was waiting for marriage, but I was waiting for something. It was just this feeling that I had. If it wasn't one hundred percent perfect and I wasn't dying for it, what was really the point of doing it?
All of that was to say that the dinner was not all bad and it wasn't all good. It was a mix and as we were leaving, I was thankful that it was over. He thought it went well, but he probably would because my parents were nicer to him than they were to me. I would suppose that they were just happy that I was finally with someone. It had always been something that they worried about.
I knew that there was going to be questions asked later and I wasn't looking forward to them, but at least I could put them up for now. For now, I could pretend like I didn't just have one of the most awkward evenings of my life.
Nick really didn't get it. He was happy to have met my father and that everything went well. I asked him why he cared so much, and he told me that it would be easier later if they liked him.
“Easier later? What do you mean? Easier for what?”
He shrugged. “Just what I said. It will just be easier.”
He kept talking about the future, like we really had one together. I didn't know if we did or not. It was too soon to tell. I know that I felt good when I was around him. He made me feel like everything that had gone wrong was for a reason and every day that I waited for the perfect guy to come, I hadn’t wasted my time. It was all because of him.
I really don't know if it was true feelings or not, but it came over me and it was hard to ignore it. I wanted to think that the butterflies in my stomach were mirrored in his own, but that would have been ridiculous to think. I had known for a long time that guys and girls were different. I was new to men and love, so I probably felt more than I should. I talked myself out of even dreaming of him feeling the way that I did. It would be too perfect, too much what I wanted. I learned that no one ever got everything. It was just greedy to assume that it was obtainable.
