Side Swiped

Chapter 22: The Aggravation Station

Dinner had gone successfully disastrous. Successful for my dad and Jason's grandparents, and disaster for me and Jason because we kept trying to hold back laughter as his grandparents kissed my ass.

"Oh Mackenzie, your dress is beautiful. Where did you get it?" Ruby asked. Jason lets out a choked up laugh.

"It was a gift," I say.

Jason clears his throat and I could practically hear mischievous thoughts forming in his head. "What do you like about it Grandmother?"

Her and Maxwell's jaw clench a little at the question. Jason, being the good friend...boyfriend he is, was rubbing salt in to their open wounds for me. A wound, might I add, caused by their hatred for me because of the bad first impressions we had of each other.

"I just love," she pauses looking to Maxwell as if he could save her, "the lace," she says with a strained smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Remington," I say.

"And grandfather," Jason says with fake innocence in his voice and hidden purpose in his eyes, "Don't you like Mackenzie's dress too?"

Maxwell was a slightly better pretender than Ruby. "Yes, I do Jason."

"Well, shouldn't you say so?" He asks with a smile. All the while, I'm clenching my chair under the table trying to hold back my laughter, but my face was redder than the dress I had on.

"Mackenzie," he turns to me, "Your dress is lovely." There's a very mild annoyed undertone to his voice.

Immediately jumping on the bandwagon with Jason and his Aggravation Station I say, "Why thank you Maxwell," I reach across Jason to grab his grandfather's hand. He starts to pull his hand away but he doesn't. "Your compliments and thoughts mean the world to me."

Jason chokes on the water he was sipping and I pat him on the back pretending to be oblivious to why he was choking.

"You ok Jason?" I give him a clueless smile.

"Well I hate your dress," he says after he recovers. "It's just so...red."

I laugh at his response. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will," he smirks.

My father looks at the pair of us with a small knowing smirk on his lips.

He was obviously pleased that Jason and I were now on good terms. The two of them were like best buds, and I couldn't imagine him easily giving up his friendship with Jason if he and I ever fell out.

My dad looks from Jason, to me, to Maxwell and Ruby, and back to Jason and me when realization dawns on him.

"You two are weirdos," he says with a smile and a shake of his head.

"Your bill," the waitress announces.

"I'll handle it," Maxwell reaches for the binder.

"Of course you won't," my father insists, his hand reaching the binder before Maxwell's.

"Please allow me," Maxwell says, but with a look from Ruby he concedes. The look was one of--desperation? Or reminding?

Whatever the look was it seemed to be enough for Maxwell to put his testosterone down.

"Thank you Mr. Gold."

Dad nods his head. "It's my pleasure Maxwell."

As we're standing outside of the restaurant I'm walking to my dad's car when Jason tugs my arm. "Come with us."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Us."

"Come on Mackenzie, they'll drop us off at home and then I'll take you to your dad's house. I mean to your house."