AGAIN

Meeting the fam

A/N: Hey, all! It's been a minute :)) A lot has been going on personally. My father passed away a few months ago and I'm moving to a new country less than a month from today. The good news is, because I'm moving, I'll probably be able to dedicate a lot more time to writing. Sorry for my absence here! I hope you still remember this story and keep enjoying it.

FLASHBACK: YEARS AGO

   "My sister's actually really nice, you have nothing to worry about." Tina said as Bette drove them both to Ashley's.

   "Tee, I'm not worried. I'm honestly fine," Bette assured her girlfriend. She had had many girlfriends before and, quite frankly, bonding with her girlfriends' families never seemed to be much of an issue for her. In fact, she was pretty confident it would be a lovely evening.

   Tina smiled. Sure, Bette didn't seem stressed on the outside, but she knew her girlfriend could hide her emotions really well. She just wanted to make sure Bette wasn't internally going crazy.

   "We're almost there. Just make a left turn here and we'll arrive." Tina said and Bette did as instructed.

   When Bette was parking the car, Tina needed to speak up again. "You know, there's nothing wrong with being a bit anxious to meet my sister. I just wanted to make sure you knew she's pretty easygoing."

   Bette grinned. "Love, I'm not anxious. I promise you, okay? I appreciate your unnecessary concern."

   "Okay, how can you not be nervous?" Tina let it out.

   "Do you want me to be nervous?" Bette asked after putting the car in park. 

   "Well, no. It's just, I don't know, I'll be nervous when I meet your family." 

   "Okay, and as you said, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just not a usual concern for me because I've always managed to make a great first impression with my ex-girlfriends' families." Bette smiled. "Now, shall we get going?"

   Tina nodded and smiled back. They left the car and knocked on Ashley's door, who promptly answered and let them in. 

   "Bette, it's great to have you. It's nice to meet Tina's favorite person!" 

   Bette smiled politely. "Likewise. It's a pleasure to meet you too. Tina's told me a lot about you." Now, had she really? No. But everybody likes to hear that simply because it makes them feel somewhat relevant. 

   Ashley's face lit up. "Well, let me get us some wine. Do you drink, Bette?"

   "I definitely don't turn down a good glass of wine, do I, babe?" She winked at Tina.

   "You certainly do not." Tina was in awe. Bette was such a charmer.

   Ashley returned with their glasses of wine and handed them to the couple.

   "So, babe, I told Ash that you're graduating pretty soon." Tina started the conversation.

   "That's impressive, right? I mean, you're graduating at record time. Tina said everyone else in your class only graduates one semester after you do." Ashley mentioned.

   "I did put in more hours studying than most. I mean, I took as many subjects as I could." She said, nonchalantly.

   Tina smiled. "It's a great achievement, baby. You should really be proud."

   "I am, love. Just trying to figure out the next steps." She flashed Tina her signature smile.

   Ashley watched their body language. It seemed as though they were in constant communication, even when not speaking. Scratch that, it didn't only seem that way - it was that way.