𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 | 𝐪. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

chapter 13

the time had come for delia to meet jack's parents and brother. she had to wear a turtleneck from the events that happened the night before. the marks that were left made her more nervous and she was hoping no one would notice them. while they were on the way to the rink, jack was explaining to her that she wouldn't have time to meet quinn until after the game at dinner.

they pulled up to the rink and she put on a smile. she was extremely nervous to the point where her hands were sweaty. jack grabbed her hand to comfort her when they started approaching his family.

"why is your hand all sweaty?" jack leaned down to her ear.

delia remarked, "oh, i don't know, maybe the fact that i'm about to meet your parents!" jack chuckled in response. delia glared back at him.

jack momentarily let go off delia's hand, so she could wipe the sweat off. he knew that his dad was going to shake her hand at the very least. he soon reconnected their hands and walked into the suite his parents were at.

jack pushed the door open and immediately a squeal came from his mom. she rushed over to the couple and pulled jack in for a hug. after their rendezvous, she looked at delia and said, "and you must be delia!"

delia smiled, "it's a pleasure to meet you, mrs. hughes!"

"no need for that! you can call me ellen!" she then hugged delia. delia was shocked at first, but then wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's mom. it was comforting to know that she had already been accepted by ellen.

once delia had departed from the hug, she saw that jack's dad and luke had joined the group. like jack had predicted, jim shook delia's hand. thank goodness her nerves had settled down, otherwise that would have been extremely awkward for her. he also wanted her to refer to him as jim instead of mr. hughes.

before delia could even get a word out to greet luke, he had already picked her up and spun her around. "i'm so happy i can finally meet you in person!" luke exclaimed.

"luke, put the poor girl down! you're going to scare her!" ellen yelled at her youngest child. instantly, luke put delia back on the ground and grinned at his mom.

jack glared at luke, "remember, she's my girlfriend. don't do or say anything stupid." luke put his hands up in surrender and backed a couple feet away from delia.

now that everyone had been introduced, jack felt comfortable enough that he could leave. he was confident that the night was going to go well. the fact that his mom hugged her was a great sign and luke already loved her.

"i need to get ready for the game, so i'll leave you guys to it. mom and luke, please don't say anything too embarrassing about me. i'll see you guys after the game!" jack told everyone. he gave delia a kiss before leaving the room.

once jack had left, ellen pulled delia aside to chat. she had so many questions she wanted to ask her. apparently, luke was bothered by this since he said, "mom, that's no fair! i wanted to talk to her first!"

delia turned around to face him and smiled, "don't worry, once your mom is done with me, i'll sit next to you for the rest of the game!" luke was satisfied with that answer and went back to talking with his dad.

ellen and delia had gone into a corner of the room and sat down at a table. something about ellen brought peace to delia and her entire mood had changed. she was starting to wonder why she ever worried about meeting the sweet woman in front of her.

"first things first, i need to know if jack is treating you well. if he isn't, i will not hesitate to put him in his place, " ellen started off their conversation.

delia was stunned at ellen's remark, but regained her composure and replied, "jack is a great boyfriend, you raised him well. i mean, we have our moments, but every couple has their ups and downs."

"good, i'm glad! i would have beaten him if he wasn't," ellen chuckled. delia could tell she wasn't lying. ellen continued, "how are you feeling about tonight's dinner? jack briefly mentioned that you were nervous."

delia was slightly upset that jack had told his mom about her being nervous, but she quickly plastered a smile back on her face. she hoped ellen hadn't seen her brief moment of hurt. delia replied, "i am still slightly nervous, but i feel better after meeting the three of you. i'm looking forward to meeting quinn!"

ellen placed her hand over delia's and reassured her, "there is nothing to worry about! you don't need to stress over quinn. you guys will get along great! just be yourself. luke clearly loves you and so does jack. everything is going to be okay!"

delia believed her. sometimes, it's better for delia to hear an adult say those things instead of someone her own age. "thank you, ellen! i really do appreciate it!" delia thanked her.

"of course! i just wanted to make sure you were okay! we should probably join luke and jim since the game is about to start," ellen gestured for them to get up.

ellen and delia rejoined luke and jim and they all sat down together in a row. delia sat next to luke on the end and jumped into a conversation with him. ellen and jim were conversing among themselves and partially overhearing luke and delia's conversations. delia was overall happy and felt comfortable around them. she was hoping this would continue for the rest of the evening.