This Was Not the Plan (gxg)

Chapter 5

Nick lived in the richest part of town. I was completely awestruck when we pulled up to his mini mansion. I thought my house was nice but his made mine look like a poor person's shack. It had a grand entrance complete with a roundabout driveway and a fountain in the middle. The landscaping looked incredible and very well maintained with beautiful flowers of all different colors. The house itself was a light greyish brown color with dark brown trim. There was an accent stone that went halfway up the siding and teal shutters on each of the windows. It was breathtaking.

"You didn't tell me you were rich." I said, gaping at his house.

"Yeah, I don't really like to talk about it." He said hanging his head to hide his embarrassment.

What there was to be embarrassed about, I wasn't sure. 

The driveway was completely packed with cars. I wasn't sure how many family members he had, but based on the lack of parking space, there was a lot of them. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

"Hey it's gonna be fun I promise." Nick said, squeezing my hand, "If it helps, Kendall is really the only grumpy family member I have."

"That does help actually," I giggled.

With another deep breathe I hopped out of Nick's truck. Nick jogged around to the trunk to grab a bag of ice we had stopped to purchase from a gas station. I could already smell the unmistakable fragrance of burgers and brotts roasting on a grill. My stomach growled just thinking about the food.

Nick took my hand in his as he lead me around the side of the house to a gate to the backyard. I braced myself as we crossed the threshold into the backyard. The size of the yard matched with the size of the house. There was enough room for half a basketball court, a trampoline, tons of grass to run around in, and a stunning two story deck and patio combination. The upper level is where the grill was along with a couple of tables for seating. On the lower level was a fire pit and a high-top table.

I had completely underestimated how large Nick's family was. I spotted at least a dozen and a half kids of all different ages playing tag or jumping on the trampoline. There were about fifteen adults scattered around the patio and deck, chatting and drinking. Next to the fire pit in the farthest corner was Kendall and Zach. He had his arm around her shoulder and was playing on his phone. She was staring mindlessly into the fire. From what I could tell, everyone seemed to avoid that area.

Nick guided me towards the patio. He set the bag of ice down by a set of coolers stacked next to the walk-out basement doors.

"What can I get you to drink?" he asked, opening one of the coolers.

"What are my options?" I asked quietly, not really wanting to draw attention to us.

Fortunately, everyone around us seemed too enveloped in their conversations to notice us.

"Coke, sprite, Water, Gatorade..." he listed as he rummaged through the cooler.

"I'll take a sprite." I said.

He nodded before pulling out a couple of cans and handing one to me. I smiled my thanks as I took it and popped the tab. Nick took my hand and led me to the nearest cluster of adults, introducing me to them. Everyone was extremely welcoming, asking about my personal life, cracking jokes, trying to make me comfortable. It was obvious who was related to who in the family, as all of the siblings had the same dirty blonde hair and caramel eyes.

We mingled shortly with everyone until we finally reached the upper part of the deck where two identical dirty haired men were talking by the grill. One had the tongs in his hands as he was flipping burgers, the other was leaning against the railing, beer in hand. The one leaning noticed us first.