A Girl Like You // D. Swing [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 23

Journey Hayes.

I pulled up to the Hailey residence and I parked my car and shut the ignition off before turning to face a nervous Denise. Cedric and Joel had invited us all to a barbeque that their family would be throwing today and Denise would be meeting their family for the first time and she was a nervous wreck.

"Neicey, are you okay?" I ask her and she looks at me. "Yeah, I'm fine. I look fine don't I?" Her face was beet red and sweat pooled from her pores like no tomorrow. "Denise, you look like you're about to pass out at any moment." I turn the car on and I turn the air conditioner on to help her cool down a bit. "I'm a nervous wreck! What if his parents don't like me?" She asks and continues to ramble on about all of these what if's until I finally stopped her. "First of all, you need to calm down and breath, okay?" She nods her head and she exhales.

"Denise, they're going to love you. You're beautiful, witty, smart, and well-mannered. You have nothing to be worried about besides, didn't JoJo say you were the first girl he's brought home and that they were too eager to meet you?" She nods her head. "Okay then. You're overthinking it. Here," I reached into my glove compartment and grabbed a few napkins so she could wipe her face off.

"Ugh! I don't know what I would do without you," She says and I smile. "Alright, how do I look? Any boogers?" She tilts her head back and I do an examination. "Clean as a whistle. You look like a million bucks now let's go before they start getting suspicious." I refer to the people sitting outside of the Hailey residence. "Ready?" She takes a deep breath and she nods."Let's go." The both of us hopped out of the car and the both of us approached the front of the house and all of the attention was shifted to us.

"How can we help you fine young ladies?" One of the older-aged males asked, checking me and Denise out. "We're friends of Cedric and Joel's and they invited us over," Denise says and the same man snaps his fingers and nods his head as if he's trying to remember us.

"Oh! Y'all are Denae and Jordan?"

"We're Denise and Jour—" He cuts us off by waving us off. "Child, Hush. Come on in and follow me." He opens the front door and he allows us to walk in front of him into the house. "Good God Almighty." He whispers from behind us and I looked at Denise with my eyebrows furrowed and she laughed.

The aroma of different types of food lingered in the atmosphere and it made my mouth water. "The boys are right outside. Just go right through that door." He points straight ahead to the sliding door and we thank him.

We walk into the kitchen and all of the ladies that were in there directed their attention to us. "You guys must be Cedric and Joel's friends. Denae and Jordan, right?" Where are they getting these names from? "Yes. We're Denise and Journey." I say with a shy smile.

"Oh, my apologies! I'm Anita Hailey, Cedric and Joel's mother. So very nice to finally meet you girls! I've heard such great things about two." She says with a wide smile shaking our hands in which we return. "Likewise." Is what the both of us respond. "So, from what I hear, you're dating Joel and you're dating Donald?" She asks Denise and I'm caught by surprise.