Homecoming

Mr. and Mrs. Jones gave us time to sleep. I woke up at 10 a.m. I felt refreshed as I had gotten enough sleep. We all ate breakfast, and around 11 a.m., we were ready to leave.

Kate and I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Jones for their hospitality, time, and for inviting us to their comfortable house.

They said that it was a pleasure to have us; they were glad to know their daughter’s friends. We promised to visit them in the summer.

I was waiting for Drew to come, even though he had told me that he wouldn’t be here. Of course, he didn’t come, didn’t call, and didn’t send me any messages. I hugged and kissed Mr. and Mrs. Jones, then Lily.

The last person to say goodbye to was Logan. He wrapped me in his arms, kissing my forehead. I looked at him, and he smiled.

“I will talk to him. Everything will be okay,” he said.

“Thank you.”

After we had said our goodbyes, I went to my car, and in five minutes, we took off. Kate was silent. It was strange, but I gave her time. Only Ed Sheeran’s music filled my car. I hummed “Perfect” along with him until Kate interrupted me.

“Okay. What was that about? Logan and you seemed awfully close.”

“Well, we decided that we could be friends, so…”

“So?”

“Drew got jealous about Chase and me, that’s why he didn’t come to see me and ignored me in general. Logan just assured me that everything would be okay. He promised to talk to Drew about our relationship.”

“Really? Even people like Drew get jealous? He looks so sure of himself, so popular with girls. Wow! I am surprised.”

“He’s just new to the whole 'being in a relationship' thing.”

“And I think he likes you even more than he’s showing. You’re gorgeous, he can be proud to have you as his girlfriend, but that can come with consequences. I guess it will be a challenge for him to react appropriately to the way your good looks always get attention from the guys around…”

“But the deal is that I want only him.”

“And Logan?”

“What about him? I told you we agreed that we would be friends.”

“Sorry, but it’s very difficult to believe that. You guys look at each other so caringly.”

“We decided to set rules for our friendship, and I think, if we follow them, everything will be just fine.”

“What are those?”

“Nope, that’s between Logan and me. Sorry.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh.”

“Not even a word?”

I laughed, but I deflected all her attempts to know more about my friendship with Logan.

Kate tried to pout at me, but as soon as we arrived in our hometown, her attention turned back to our parents. We both were excited to finally see them.

We agreed to spend the day with our respective parents, and in the evening, I would go to see Chase. I asked Kate to join me, and she happily agreed, for which I was very thankful.

If Kate was with me, Chase wouldn’t get the wrong impression.

After I walked into my home, I was greeted with a bear hug from my dad and with kisses from my mom. We were excited to see each other, and we had so much to talk about.

We ate lunch and sat in the living room to discuss our vacations. My parents showed me pictures of Paris and Barcelona, and I was in awe. They were gorgeous cities with unique architecture and individual styles.

Laughing, my mom told me about the argument my dad had with some man in Barcelona. Of course, it was about soccer, about the old but never-ending rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. They ended up sitting at a café with this man and drinking sangria, though my mom whispered to me that she had been afraid my dad would be beaten up for his loose tongue instead.

I told them about my time at the Jones's house and also about our trip to the lake house.

I didn't have any desire to tell them about the drama in my love life, but I accidentally let it slip that I had a boyfriend now.

Mom was genuinely happy about that and wanted to know everything about Drew, while my dad stayed skeptical.

He was worried about me after my breakup with Adam and was on his guard around every guy who approached me.

“Are you going to introduce him to us?” My dad looked at me with obvious concern.

“Henry, leave her alone. She only started dating this guy.”

“And this is supposed to make me feel better about it? One asshole—I am sorry, baby—had already hurt her. Forgive me for having my doubts about another one…”

“He’s older than her, and he’s a football player, one of the stars of their college.”

“Lydia, do you hear yourself? What about his personal qualities? What about his parents? How does he treat our girl? Huh?”

“Mom, Dad! Stop! We only just started dating. We have time to get to know one another. I promise you that I will be careful with my heart.”

Liar! I was already in deep shit with my feelings for Drew, but my parents didn’t need to know that.

“Maybe, you can meet him when you visit me at college. What do you say? Of course, that’s if I am still together with Drew…”

“Honey, we would be happy to meet your boyfriend,” Mom gushed.

“But only if you feel ready. Okay?” Dad said. He was still worried, but for me, he was willing to give it a try.

I felt so happy to have my parents. They were my strength and my inspiration.

~Someday I want to build a family like that.~ I was interrupted from my thoughts when my phone rang.

I grabbed it and stared at the screen. I was still hoping to see Drew’s name on it, but it was Chase. I felt disappointed. Before I picked up the phone, I tried to shake off my gloomy thoughts. Chase didn’t deserve my glumness. It was Drew who kept upsetting me.

“Hey. Are we meeting today?”

“Hey, Chase. Yes. Kate and I will come to the bar. At eight?”

“Yes, I will wait for you.”

“See you.”

My mom looked at me with curiosity. Dad left the room to go to the kitchen. “Who is Chase?”

“Chase Farrell. I'm not sure if you know him.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Is he Adam’s cousin?”

“Well, yes. We met one day when I was back from college. We ended up talking almost every day. He became my friend. Now, he’s moving to New York, so I wanted to see him.”

“So, why are you going to take Kate with you? He’s your friend, not hers.”

“Erm... I didn’t think about that. He never said that he’s against the idea of Kate coming along with me.”

“Rebecca Dawson, did you have sex with Chase Farrell?”

“Mom!”

“Oh, God... Rebecca, honey, why did you do that? He has a reputation, you know. He slept with a huge number of girls who visited the bar where he works.”

“I didn’t…”

“Are you seriously thinking of lying to me? I’ve seen Chase, he’s handsome and charming, but why? I thought you were much better than the ‘one-night-stand’ thing…”

I was stunned. My mother always supported me. She encouraged me to flirt with guys, to date Adam. She gave me her shoulder to cry on when I broke up with him. Now, this?

She was judging me, and I didn't appreciate it at all.

“I am not better than this. Even my relationship with Drew started with it.”

“What?!” She opened her mouth in surprise. I stood up from the couch and walked to the door. I turned around and looked at her.

“You know, Mom, you were always there for me. You always told me that I should be more open with guys. So why are you so surprised? You didn't think that I would be okay being a 'hookup girl'? Well, it happened. Not once, not with one guy.”

“Rebecca, honey... I didn't mean it. I was surprised, that's all. I thought that you were looking for a serious relationship.”

“I was. See, where did it get me? My high school sweetheart cheated on me with almost every girl from our class. Now, I want to enjoy my time in college. Don't be afraid. I always ask guys to use protection. So you won't be a grandmother soon…”

“For fuck's sake, Rebecca!” I froze. My mother never cursed in my presence or at me. She rushed to me, placed her hands on my cheeks, and looked me straight in the eyes.

“What happened? Why did this become normal to you?”

“Mom, I am fine. It’s just a period of my life. I like Drew, I do. So, I hope that we can build something good together, something strong. No matter how our relationship started.”

“Oh, honey.” She hugged me tightly. “I am just worried about you, just as much as your father. I don’t want you to cry over some stupid guy who didn’t appreciate what he had. Just be careful, okay? I am not talking about an unexpected pregnancy.”

“I will be.” I hugged her back.

“What did I miss?” My dad stood in the hallway. He looked us over and smiled.

“Nothing. Rebecca is going out tonight. Do you want to watch a romantic comedy with me?” Mom released me and walked to Dad; he placed his hand on her waist and pulled her to him. ~Yep, I want something like this in the future.~