I Don't Mind

Chapter 36

Adrian's POV

I could tell how nervous Derek was meeting my parents. He did a good job of hiding it from my parents, but I know him well enough to know when he's nervous. He had a hand in his pocket the whole time. That's one of his tells. 

"You did great, Derek," I whisper to him. 

"Thanks." 

I lightly grasp the hand that's in his pocket, and it immediately comes out and holds my hand back. I smile as we continue to walk towards the restaurant for dinner. 

This is what happens every year. Our extended family is so huge and we can't all realistically fit in a restaurant that might already have people in it, so we just reserve a private dining area and eat in there as a family. 

One tradition is to have a table only for the kids, and since my generation is still considered the kids since half of them are still kids, we still get our own big table. 

"This place is so beautiful," Derek says for what might be the 20th time already. 

"It is. We'll be able to come here every year as a couple." 

"Or we can come here whenever. Nothing's stopping us from doing that. Maybe we can move here when we're older," he suggests, looking down at me. 

"That would be awesome. We can just sit at a beach all the time and see the view. That would be really cool." 

"I wanna tell you something. Actually, I'll tell you when we get back to our rooms. It was gonna be a surprise but I need to tell you because I'm so excited for it." 

"Just tell me now," I say. 

"No, I want to make out with you after I tell you." 

"Fine. I'll wait." 

We find our way to the private dining room and walk in. A good chunk of my family is here, including my uncles, aunts, grandparents, great uncles and aunts, and cousins. They all turn to look at us when we walk in and I feel really uncomfortable. I don't think they've all looked at me like this before. 

"Uh, here, come with me," I say quietly, leading Derek to the table where all my cousins are sitting. 

"Hey, Adrian," my cousin Vince says. He's two years younger than me and pretty cool. He plays basketball, and is apparently pretty good. He's one of the taller cousins, so it makes sense. 

"Hey, Vince. How have you been?" I ask. 

"I've been good. This is Derek, right?" he points at my silent boyfriend. 

"Yeah. Derek, this is my cousin, Vince. Vince, this is my boyfriend, Derek." 

"Nice to meet you," Derek says, shaking hands with Vince. 

"It's great to meet you too. Listen, I have kind of been left out of the older cousin's discussions. I feel like they don't include anyone younger than Jackson. They just go off to some restaurant for lunch and leave all of us here. I didn't realize until Bella said something about it. Anyways, all that to say that I don't know how the older cousins will react to you, Derek. I'm sure you're a great guy and you're great for Adrian, but realistically, I really don't have a say in this. I'm Adrian's second cousin, so it's not like I have any power. If Adrian's happy with you, welcome to the family. We're all excited to play football with you." 

"Thank you, Vince. I'm excited to play football with all of you too," Derek responds, smiling. 

"I think the older cousins are gonna come late for dinner. They are not really the best about being on time to things like this. The rest of the cousins should be here soon."