Helpless

The Story of Tonight

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT

We were on our way the SoFi stadium in Los Angeles to meet Jen's parents. And for her dad's concert. I had played it off that I wasn't nervous and that everything would be fine. But I didn't know that. Would her parents like me? Would they accept our relationship? I knew that her parents were a couple of years older than me. What if they disapproved of me dating their daughter? We drove to the private parking lot in the stadium, and I tried to bury those thoughts in the back of my head.

"Ready?" Jen smiled.

"I'm ready," I smiled back. But I wasn't. I was beginning to get anxious.

Two securities met with us, and we followed them to where her parents were in the back. All the while, Jen led the way. She wouldn't let go of my hand. I hope she hadn't noticed that my palms were beginning to sweat. As we got closer, I could hear people speaking Spanish in the background.

"Mom, Daddy?" she called out.

"Hi, Mija," I heard her dad called out. "Come on in."

When we walked into his dressing room, I came face to face with her dad. My first impression of him was that he was a kind man. He seemed patient and judging by how he hugged and greeted Jen, he seemed to adore his daughter.

"Daddy," Jen looked at me. "This is my boyfriend, Johnny."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Depp," he said extending his hand for me to shake it, with a kind smile.

"Pleasure is all mine, sir," I replied. It was a firm handshake. Undoubtedly one that was a warning to me. I recognized that handshake. I had done the same with Lily-Rose's boyfriends in the past.

"Come on, let's all sit down," he said.

We walked towards the sitting area where Jen's mom appeared with some drinks. She greeted Jen with a big hug and a kiss before turning her attention towards me.

"Nice to meet you, Johnny," she said with a smile. She was less formal than her husband. But I suspected that she still meant business.

"The pleasure is all mine, ma'am," I responded with a nervous smile.

We began to talk about the concert tonight and Jen's mom said she hoped I liked it even though it was all in Spanish. From what I had gathered from Jen and Javier, who was a big fan of his music, was that Jen's dad was a romantic. And he sang romantic music. Think Julio Iglesias. But with a Mexican twist. Ballads. I was intrigued.

"Mija," her dad turned to Jen. "May we have a couple of minutes with Johnny. Alone?"

Shit. I was not expecting that. I must have looked surprised or nervous. Maybe even both because Jen's mom looked at me and said, "don't worry, Johnny. We just want to get to know you better."

Jen gave them a look and then turned to look at me, quickly placing a kiss on my lips. "Don't worry, they'll behave. Won't you?" She asked looking back at them.

"He'll be in good hands," her responded with a smile.

Jen gave my hand a squeeze before walking out of the room. I felt trapped. I didn't have to deal with these kinds of formalities in years. Decades, even.

"We wanted to get to know you better, Mr. Depp," Jen's dad began. The way he kept calling Mr. Depp made me nervous. Did he not approve of me dating his daughter? I was about to find out.

"Sure," I replied nervously.

"Look," he began. "When Jen told us she was dating you, we were concerned. Our main concern, if I may be honest, is your age difference. I know a lot of people in Hollywood and even in the music industry that I work in, they date and marry younger partners all the time. Sometimes they last, sometimes they don't. I want to get a better read on your relationship with her. Why her? What makes you so sure Jennifer is the one for you?"