Butterflies (A Before You Exit fanfiction)

Chapter 35

MARIA'S POV

Christmas was yesterday and it was the most fun I've had in a while. Christmas Eve was too. We've decided to stay here in Orlando since it's where my father was buried since he loved it here so much. Moving on, since I've nothing else to do, here's a recap of my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

(RECAP STARTING ON CHRISTMAS EVE))))

"What time are we leaving to see your family?" I asked Tamani,

He checked his watch, frowned, then said, "Now."

Jeremy, Tam, Kris, Jenna, and I were supposed to spend the whole day with Tam's family to make up for not seeing them tomorrow. It's now 8am. We got up early for this. But Tam seems kind of nervous..

"Is everything okay?" Jenna asked, picking up on Tam's attitude too.

"Okay, let me tell you all about my family since we have an hour drive ahead of us. I have a twin sister named Lyla and a brother who's 13 named Cameron. Then, there's Nixie, 12, and Sirena, 11, who are sisters and my cousins. Jared, 16, and Dylan, 18, are brothers and also my cousins. Zack, 7, and Carly, 9, are brother and sister and my cousins too. Hannah, 2, and Olivia, 5, are sisters and my cousins. Last, Brian, 23, Peter, 19, and Matthew, 15 are brothers and my cousins." he said.

"Damn you have a shit load of cousins." Kris blurted.

"I know. Nixie, Sirena, Jared, Dylan, Zack, and Carly are my mom's siblings children. My mom is one of four children, 3 boys and her. Hannah, Olivia, Brian, Peter, and Matthew are from my dad's side. He's one of three children, 2 girls and him. Both my mom's and dad's parents will be there. All my aunts and uncles and all those cousins I named will also be there. I have a really big family. And Lyla is the only girl around our age so she is going to love you three. And, Jeremy, she knows a lot about guys from having 7 of them, counting me, always around her. She is going to try to hit on you. Please, don't freak out. Lyla is just used to being with the guys so she has overwhelming confidence around them. And Maria, Jenna, and Kris, Matthew, Jared, Peter, and Dylan won't be shy towards you either. Again, don't freak out. They just have a lot of confidence and are itching to see if you all are as 'hot' as I said you were. Nixie and Sirena are a little shy but totally personable once you get to know them. Hannah, Olivia, Carly, and Zack will beg you to play with them until the point where you want to rip their heads off."

"No wonder why you were hesitant about us coming today." Jenna said.

He snorted. "That's not the worst of it. I don't bring much friends to meet my family so my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and parents will question you to the death. Don't expect a break. And please, don't mention anything about Kaitlin or Tess or Kylie. I don't want them worrying. Jeremy, they'll ask you if you're gay and if you found me attractive. Girls, they'll ask if you have feelings for me or if any of you are my girlfriend even though I've told all of them plenty of times that I'm single. They will ask what you do now, and what you want to do when you grow up. They are not judgmental, just protective."

Tam looked close to hyperventilating now.

"Tam," I said as he turned to look me in the eyes which were filled with worry, "If I didn't want to go I wouldn't have suggested we did for the day. I realized that there was some reason why you didn't see them or didn't want us to meet them. I know what I'm getting into. We know how to handle kids. We've gotten questioned by so many adults that we know when to keep out mouths shut. Also, I'm not usre about the rest of them, but I don't mind sharing what I do and what I want to do. I'm not ashamed of myself. And I bet the girls and I will have fun with the guys and I'm certainly sure if your twin looks like you, Jeremy will have fun with her." I stated.

"Thanks." Tam replied as he kissed my forehead, completely ignoring the other's stares.

"I'm not even going to bother to threaten you about Lyla because I know that you will make the right choices and respect my sister. Right?" Tam asked Jeremy, eyebrows raised.

Jeremy turned his attention from the road for a brief second to glance at Tam. "Yes, I will. For crying out loud, I live with three. I know where to draw the line." He chuckled as the girls and I punched him from our seats in the back.

A half hour later we reached our destiny, Tam's parent's home.

"Brace yourselves. They'll all come rushing out the door. I just saw Zack in the window." Tam said and moments later people flooded out of the house. I guess we were the last ones there.

They immediately formed a line in front of us.

I raised an eyebrow at Tam.

"They're trying to make this easier for you all since crowding you wouldn't be the best welcome."

"Thank you." Jeremy and the girls and I said to Tam's smiling family.

I walked up to the first in line. His parents.

"Hi. I'm Maria." I said.

"Hello, Maria. We're Tamani's parents. I'm Nicole Mallory and this is my husband, Chris Mallory." Tam's mom said.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Mallory." I replied politely, shaking their hands.

"Please, call us Nicole and Chris. Any friends of Tam's that he actually talks about mean something." Chris said.

I beamed at them. "Thank you."

I walked to a boy and a girl. The girl looked my age and the boy looked younger.

"Hi, Maria. I'm Lyla."

"Cam."

"Nice to meet you."

"I know that you know who we are. I've never seen Tam so worried so I know he probably explained everything on the way here." Lyla said.

"Wow, I guess twins really are close." I joked and Cam and Lyla smiled.

"Your friend is hot. What's his name?" Lyla asked.

I smirked. "Jeremy."

As Lyla oogled Jeremy and as I walked away I winked at Cam and he winked back, then he both laughed. I was beginning to love his family.

I walked to the next four, well five this time. There was three boys and the parents. They boys didn't even bother to make it discreet as I watched their eyes flow from my head to my toes. I blushed. Their parents noticed then scolded the boys. They didn't look in the least way affected or embarrassed. Tam was right when he said they had a lot of confidence. Two, or four in this case, can play at that game, though. I held my head high and walked over to the five of them.

"Hi, I'm Maria." I said to them.

"I'm Tom and this is my wife Josie." the man said while the woman nodded her head at me.

"I'm Brian."

"Peter."

"Matthew."

I shook each of their hands. Each of the boys winked and smiled at me and I returned the favor by winking and smiling back. Their shocked expressions made me and their parents chuckle. Then, they blushed. I guess they haven't had a girl that was at a loss of words with them until me. HA.

The next family had the parents and two young looking girls.

"Hi, I'm Anthony." the father said.

"I'm Marie." the mother said.

"I'm Maria. Nice to meet you." I said, then knelt down the reach the girls.

"What's your name?" I asked the older looking one.

"Olivia. You're very pretty." she said then gave me a hug.

I was shocked and when I looked up at the parents they were about to get her off of me with embarrassed faces.

"It's fine." I told them, recovering quick enough to hug her back.

"I'm Maria. And so are you." I tapped her nose and smiled when she giggled.

I turned the other girl who just jumped into my lap.

"Hi. I'm Hannah." she said.

"I'm Maria."

Marie lifted Hannah off my lap so I could go meet the rest.

The third group had the parents and another two girls that looked a little younger than me.

"Hello, I'm Maria." I said.

"I'm Joe." the man replied.

"And I'm Carmen." the woman said.

"I'm Nixie." the older girl said.

"And I'm Sirena." the younger girl added.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled and walked to the second to last family.

This one had a boy and a girl, then the parents.

"I'm Rose and this is my husband Mark." the woman said.

"I'm Carly."

"And I'm Zack."

"I'm Maria. Nice to meet you all." I winked at Carly and Zack and they smiled at me as I walked to the last family.

This one had two boys my age and their parents. These boys' eyes also raked over me but they tried to hide it more.

"Hi. I'm Maria." I said.

"I'm Owen." the father said.

"I'm Michelle." the mother said.

"Jared."

"Dylan."

Jared and Dylan looked a little shy while shaking my hand but when our eyes met I knew that this was a trick and that they are really like Brian, Peter, and Matthew. Oh gosh.

They noticed that I saw through them and laughed.

"Nice try guys. Your other cousins over there did a worse job though." I said, nodding to where Brian, Peter, and Matthew were watching us. Then. I chuckled and walked to Tam's grandparents.

"Hi, I'm Maria." I said to the first couple.

"Hello, dear. I am Jane and this is Ed. We are Chris' parents." The woman said.

"Very nice to meet you." I said as I shook each one of their crinkly hands gently.

I smiled at them and walked to the last couple on the long line.

"Hi, I'm Maria." I said.

"Hi. I'm Rosemary and that is my husband Jim. We're Nicole's parents." the woman said.

"Very nice to meet you, too." I said, again shaking each of their crinkly hands gently and smiling as I walked towards Tam.

"I love your family." I gushed.

A look of relief crossed his face. "I'm glad. And if the guys give you trouble tell me and I'll kick their asses."

I laughed. "Well, Brian, Peter, and Matthew didn't even bother to be discreet as they checked me out. Tom and Josie scolded them but they didn't care until I winked and smiled back at them when the winked and smiled at me. Then Tom, Josie, and I laughed at their shocked expressions. But, Jared and Dylan did try to be shy, but failed terribly. I told them that they did better than the three behind me staring at us."

Tam started laughing. "I warned you. Those five think they are invincible when it comes to girls. I knew this would be hilarious because you, Kris, and Jenna aren't the type of girl who drops at a guy's feet."

"I have to admit though, they are all really fucking hot. It's not surprisingly they are related to you. By the way, Lyla already told me that she thinks Jeremy is hot. I wonder why he isn't related to you either because DAMN I live with smoking hot boys." I said.

Tam and I were both hysterically laughing when Jeremy, Jenna, and Kris came up.

"Did they hit on you?" I asked all three of them.

"Yes, a lot." they said together and smiled.

"They're hot." they all added simultaneously.

"For once, I appreciate Tam's good looks." Jeremy snickered when Tam glared at him.

"Me two!" Jenna exclaimed.

"Me three!" Kris added.