Chapter 12

Sunday was pretty relaxing for the girls. Neither had anything to do and the only thing their parents had scheduled for the day was a dinner with both of their families so that everyone could get to know each other better. The dinner was at one of the high end restaurants in town.

"Peyton are you ready?!" Lainey shouted from her room. "It's 5:30 and it's at least a 20 minute drive to the restaurant without bad traffic!"

"Yeah, almost." Peyton yelled from her room "I just have to finish my makeup, decide on my jewelry, find my shoes, and pick a coat."

"Jesus woman what have you been doing for the last hour and a half?" Lainey grumbled.

"Do you really want to know?" Peyton yelled back.

"Not really, just hurry. You're going to make us late for a dinner that's about us." Lainey said walking out of her room and down the hall to Peyton's.

"Wow!" Lainey marveled. "Peyton, you look..... amazing. I..... I'm...... wow"

Peyton blushed at Lainey's inability to speak. "Thanks. You look wow too. The royal blue really brings out the color in your eyes, and the gold heels and jewelry put it over the top. You look like you were professionally styled."

"Thanks" Lainey said as it was now her turn to blush. "But seriously we're going to be late if you don't hurry up." she said after regaining her composure.

"Ok, ok, just help me then. Go into my closet and find my long black coat and black wedge sandals please."

Lainey walked into the closet and started looking around. She found the heels right away, but saw multiple black coats. "Which of these coats do you want?" she yelled from the closet.

"The long one."

"Leather or-"

"No, the other long one." Peyton interrupted.

"Ok here" Lainey said as she walked back over to Peyton.

"What jewelry should I wear?"

"Nothing blingy, a silver necklace and your silver Rolex would work just fine. Your dress is already show stopping enough so you wouldn't want to take away from that, and you went with black heels so I'd stay traditional and go silver for my jewelry."

Peyton furrowed her brows and turned around to look at Lainey who was now sitting on her bed. "Since when did you get so fashionable?"

"Since I didn't have mommy and daddy picking out my outfits for me my whole life." Lainey mocked.

Peyton furrowed her brows, "You kno-"

"I'm sorry" Lainey interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me." Peyton demanded. "What are you sorry for, mocking me or the fact that you realized it pissed me off?"

"Mocking you. I'm sorry for mocking you. I'm just stressed about the dinner tonight, and now we're going to be late, which is only going to make things worse."

"What do you mean make things worse? It's just our families. It's not like we're going to meet with a client or something."

"Peyton, my parents are going to flip when we show up late."

"It's fine. We won't even be that late. I'm ready and if we leave now we'll only be like 5 minutes late."

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, neither girl looking up from their phone till the driver announced their arrival.

"Great" Lainey rolled her eyes "We're 7 minutes late." She looked to Peyton "If my parents say anything let me handle it."

"Uh, ok, but I really don't feel like it's a big deal. It's literally just a dinner for our families to be seen out together. Plus it's my fault we're late not yours, so if they want to blame someone they can blame me not you."

"Yeeaahhh, no." Lainey said holding out her hand to help Peyton out of the seat.

"What do you mean? 'Yeah, no.' It was definitely my bad not yours. " Peyton said as they walked through the doors.

"Just let me handle it, ok." Lainey whispered as they came into view of the rest of their group.

"It's about time. I was beginning to think you weren't coming." Lainey's dad said.

"Sorry, time got away from us."

"Is that what you'd have told a prospective business partner?"

"Had this been a business deal I would not have chosen a restaurant in the middle of town in which I would have to wade through poparazzi, second of all I wouldn't have had it on a Sunday evening, and lastly I would have arrived extra early to ensure our table was reserved."

"So my daughter doesn't have any respect for my time?"

"That is not what I said, John." Lainey said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, cut it out you two." Sarah, Lainey's mother, said. "Lainey your father is right it is disrespectful to keep people waiting on you. Not only did we have to wait for you, but so did Peyton's family."

"Yes, ma'am won't happen again." Lainey said pulling out an open seat for Peyton before taking her own next to the girl.

"It better not or next time we won't be so forgiving." John said.

Peyton gripped Lainey's hand from underneath the table, which shocked the girl causing her to look at Peyton with an inquisitive look. "Let me tell them it was my fault."

"No, that will only make things worse."

"But it was my fault and they shouldn't be mad at you because of it."

"It's fine I pro-"

"Mr. and Mrs. Howard, it was my fault we were late not Lainey's." Peyton said cutting her off.

"Oh please, dear, there's no need to cover for our daughter. She knows better than to be late."

"Honestly, ma'am it was my fault we were late. I was the one running behind not her."

"Lainey?" her mother said, with a questioning tone, looking for clarification from her daughter.

"I-"

"Is she lying?" her mother interrupted.

"Not, exactly bu-"

"Really? So not only were you late, but you lied about it?"

"What? I never lied. We were both late. I should have made sure she was ready sooner."

Sarah sighed, "Lai-"

"Hey, Losers"

"Didn't start without us did you?"

Alex and Aaron, Peyton's brothers, yelled as they walked up.

Peyton sighed and rolled her eyes before introducing them. "Lainey, these are my idiot older brothers. They're twins but you can tell them apart because Alex is taller and dumber than Aaron, but they're both assholes." she then turned to her brothers and said, "Idiots this is my..... fiancé Lainey."

"Yo dad, if you promise to get me a wife half as hot as the one you picked for Peyt I'll happily let you arrange my marriage." Aaron joked.

"Damn!  This is the girl you were throwing a fit about having to marry?" Alex exclaimed.  "Shit sis, if you don't want her I'll take her.  She's a total B-A-B-E!"

"Alex!" Monica scolded.

"She's gay, and not into assholes you fungus infested toenail!" Peyton said rolling her eyes at her brother's sexist comment.

"Peyton!" Monica scolded.

"Who told you about my athletes foot?" Alex gasped.

"Drop it." Monica scolded her children again.

Peyton facepalmed herself. "I didn't say you HAD fungus dipshit. I CALLED you fungus."

"If she's not into assholes why's she marrying you?" Alex asked.

"Peyton if you answer that I swear t-", but Monica was yet again ignored by her bickering children.

"I didn't say she wanted to. But, we are the same age, I'm a girl which happens to be the only gender she's interested in, and she doesn't exactly have a choice because we are being forced to get married."

Alex took the seat on the other side of Lainey and put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, baby if you don't want to marry my sister I'll happily take her place."

Lainey rolled her eyes and picked his arm up and removed it from her shoulder and then turned to her parents. "You mean to tell me I just sat here and got scolded for being late when I wasn't even the last one here?"

"You were still late." John said.

"I'd never scold you for anything beautiful." Alex said putting his arm back around Lainey's shoulder.

Lainey threw his arm off this time and shoved her seat backwards standing up. "Don't touch me." She said to Alex. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

"Don't you dare walk out those doors Lainey!" John yelled at his daughter as she walked out of the restaurant ignoring him.

Everyone sat around the table awkwardly quiet afterwards.

"Mommy, can I go check on Lainey." Megan said.

"No, Megan. Your sister is being dramatic and I will not let you feed into her attitude."

"What?!" Peyton scoffed at Sarah's comment.

"Peyton. Don't." Her dad warned as she stood up to go after Lainey.

She furrowed her brows at him. "Excuse me? Her parents just completely dismissed her feelings and won't even let her sister go check on her, and you're ok with that? Listen, you are the reason we are getting married, so I'm going to go check on my fiancé and you aren't going to stop me." she then turned to look at Lainey's parents. "You two disgust me. Lainey has done nothing but be the best daughter she can for you two and all you do is put her down." Peyton said before walking out the door looking for Lainey.

"Well damn, they're both plenty dramatic, that's for sure." Aaron remarked.

"No joke, maybe they really are a good fit."

"Boys, shut up." Monica said.

"Wha-" they both started.

"ZIP IT!" she yelled. "You've done nothing but make things worse since you walked in. Just sit there and don't make another sound until everyone else is back at the table and we are all ready to order." She scolded her sons, who shrunk in their seat as their mother yelled at them.

Throughout the mess no one had seen the waiter walk up to the table. "So, I'm assuming you're going to need a few more minutes?"

"Ye-"

"No, I will have the top sirloin medium well with a side of steamed broccoli, my wife will have the chicken alfredo, and the two young ones will both have the children's chicken strips and mac and cheese plate." John ordered.

Bill and Monica stared at him in shock for ordering without the girls. "Oh please, Lainey has done this multiple times before and she never comes back after throwing a fit like that. You might as well order as well unless you think your daughter will come back without her." John rolled his eyes.

"Yo, I'll have the bacon cheeseburger with steak fries, thanks hot stuff." Alex said.

"I'll have the half rack of ribs with mashed potatoes." Aaron said.

"Are you kidd-"

"Mon," Bill said putting his hand on his wife's arm to stop her. "Let's just order and if the girls come back they can order then." He then turned to the waiter. "I will have the prime rib, medium, with the house salad for my side, my wife will have the chicken tortellini, and our young ones will both have the child's plate of spaghetti and meatballs.