Thinking out loud

Cali love

"Julian , Ashley you finally made it, it's so good to see you" Julian's mom said immediately hugging her son.
"It's good to see you too mom" Julian said laughing as his moms hug got tighter . Ashley smiled at the scene she always loved being around Julian's family.
"Hey there Ashley , been keeping Jules in check"? Julian's dad joked while hugging her.
She chuckled "you know he does what he wants too" she said laughing even harder as Julian yelled "not true" as his mom led him in the house.
"Ashley you look so good, but you always do. Come here and give me a hug" his mom exclaimed holding out her arms.
"You always look good mrs. Edelman" Ashley said returning the hug
"Now how many times do I have to tell you to start calling me mom? You're practically family now Ashley, all we're waiting on is for Julian to finally marry you" the older woman exclaimed giving her son a pointed look.
"I'm working on it ma" Julian said giving Ashley a wink.
Just like that Ashley's heart was full of guilt. She mentally pushed it down as she turned around and smiled at Julian's mom. "It's so good to see you again , it feels like we barely see each other any more" she said as they headed into the kitchen.
"You and Julian are welcome here anytime , just drop by and see us , of course I know Jules has a busy schedule with football but we can work around that" she said setting the food on the table.
Ashley laughed as Julian tried to sneak a bite of food out of one of the bowls but his mom quickly turned around and smacked his hand away.
"Not in my house young man, you may have grown up but you're not too old to get your butt beat" she said shaking a spoon at him.
"That was my catching hand ma" Julian said using his puppy dog eyes.
Everyone started laughing. This is what Ashley loved so much about Julian's family , they had such a great bond and they always stood together.
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AFTER LUNCH
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Julian and his dad went outside to go play football while his mom and Ashley stayed inside to clean the kitchen.
"I see the way Julian looks at you" his mom said looking over at Ashley with a smile on her face "it was the same way his dad looked at me when we were your age, he really loves you and I can tell by the way you look at him that you love him the same way" she finished.
Ashley blinked away her tears "I love him so much , he means the world to me" she said truthfully .
They looked at each other for a minute.
"Ya know Ashley even though we loved each other there was a time where I didn't think we'd make it"? His mom said reminiscing as she watched her husband and son play football.
"Really?" Ashley asked intrigued.
"Yeah, you see Julian's dad as you know didn't really have money , and didn't have enough for college but I had got a scholarship . So I went to UCLA , we still were dating , but it was long distance. There were of course college parties and such that I went to but I never kissed anyone else , I loved Julian's dad and wanted to stay faithful to him but my sophomore year in college I had met a boy in class that I used to talk to in high school, we quickly became friends again , we started talking everyday , fast forward a month later and we were going out on dates , I never told Julian's dad of course until one night I started questioning if I still loved him" she said pausing .
"You questioned if you still loved him"? Ashley asked surprised at this.
"Yes I did, to the point that I debated on actually calling him one night and break up with him but I couldn't , everytime I picked up my phone to call him I couldn't dial his number. Many of nights I spent trying to decide who I wanted to be with , instead of studying for exams I was worried about my love life". She paused again laughing.
Ashley gave a small smile at the woman.
"Anyways one night I had had enough , I knew I had to make a decision so I called Julian's dad first and I asked him a question , a single question , I asked him why did he love me? He of course thought it was weird but he answered it nonetheless he said he loved my smile , the way my eyes would light up when I saw something I loved , the way I would fight for anything I believed in. But what really got to me was when he said he loved the way I looked when I thought no one was looking , he said I'd get this look on my face , he said he didn't know how to explain it but it was the most beautiful thing in the world to him. Once I got off the phone with him I called the guy from high school and asked him the same question , he couldn't name one thing all he said was that he loved me because he loved me that he didn't have a reason why". She finished looking at Ashley.
"I love that" Ashley said smiling at her.
"That man out there that I'm married too , he may not seem like much to many people but he means everything to me" she said smiling while looking out the window.
"Mam not to be rude but why are you telling me all of this? It seems so personal"? Ashley asked.
"Because I have mothers intuition , I see the love you have for my son but I also can tell that you're thinking of someone else. When I look at you I see me. That's why I told you that story" she answered.
"And don't worry Ashley , I'm not going to tell Julian , that's a conversation you and him will have to have. I know at the end of the day you will make the right decision like I did" she added smiling.
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BEDTIME
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For dinner they had taken Julian's parents out for dinner, it had been fun and comfortable , it felt like home.
Now Julian and Ashley were laying down in the guest bedroom.
Julian had an arm wrapped around Ashley's waist , their hands interlocked tightly .
"Thanks for coming with me" Julian whispered softly kissing her bare shoulder.
Ashley felt goosebumps all over her skin at the feel of his lips on her skin.
"Thank you for inviting me" she said rolling over and kissing his nose.
"You know my family loves you" he said smiling softly at her
"And I love them" she said kissing his lips this time.
"Babe when will we start our own family" he asked running his fingers through her hair.
"Do you want to start now"? She asked slyly while moving her hand down his body to his shorts .
Julian grappled her hand before she made it and kissed her lips hungrily "stop being a tease babe , you know we can't do nothing here , mom has good hearing and this bed is squeaky" he said moving his hips making the bed squeak making them both laugh.
"Goodnight you two" they heard Julian's dad shout making them laugh even harder.