Silk || hs

Pretzel Day

At long last, my mother takes the turkey out of the oven, and finally, it is time to eat. My younger cousins have been literally whining for the past hour and a half, and I honestly don't blame them. In my family, we do a Thanksgiving lunch that is supposed to start at one, but in reality, it rarely starts prior to two-thirty. So needless to say, we're all starting to get a bit hangry.

Harry isn't here yet, but I really don't think it would be a good idea to make everyone else wait for him, so my mother decides to let everyone go ahead and assemble their plates. While everyone is loading up on mac 'n' cheese and various other comfort foods that are traditional for a Thanksgiving meal, I work on getting everyone's drinks settled. Apparently, that is one thing we forgot to do, so now I'm being forced to talk to every one of my relatives in an effort to fix such a tragic oversight.

As I am placing the last drink on the table, I am pulled into conversation with my very Southern grandmother, during which she asks me the number-one stereotypical relative-at-Thanksgiving question: "I'm so glad you're enjoying school, Camryn. Are you dating anyone yet?"

Ahh ha ha. Stress.

And just like there is a director giving cues to the characters in my life to make things more dramatic than they should be, the doorbell rings, signaling Harry's arrival. Man, my life really has a flare for convenient timing. Or rather, inconvenient timing.

Biting the inside of my lip and trying to force away the fresh blush that has risen to my cheeks, I use the opportunity to avoid my grandmother's inquiry, "I, um, I have to get the door."

I make my way out of the dining room perhaps a little to quickly, and a few of my relatives laugh at me as I trip on the edge of the upturned rug, making me even more embarrassed than before. I reach the door and curse myself for not telling him to come in through the basement. Of course, the front door is in direct sight of the dining room where the majority of the adults are sitting, so there's literally no chance of sneaking in unnoticed.

It's not that I want to hide Harry; that would be silly. I'd just rather have a less obvious entrance, because with the way my house is set up, I'm basically going to be parading him past every single relative I have. They are for sure going to embarrass both of us with their banter and mocking tones, and I am not ready for it. I just hope Harry is.

When I open the door, I slip outside and shut it again before Harry can even take a step. He looks at me very confusedly with that cute little smirk he often wears, and suddenly, as I am in the sight of him, I forget why I was so nervous. Though I am worried about what he will think of my family, I do not doubt that they will love him. He is stupidly gorgeous, ridiculously funny, and uncommonly kind, so what's not to like?

"Is something wrong?" Harry questions, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. When he does this, I realize that this is the first time I have seen him in blue jeans instead of his typical black jeans or other outrageously colored dress pants. I gotta say, those jeans with the crimson flannel button-down he is wearing really does make him look so damn fine. He has a few buttons undone, so I can just see the swallows tattooed on his defined chest. And he has the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, exposing the assortment of tattoos on his toned forearms.

Oh, fuck me. He's too damn hot for me to have to be with family right now. The last thing I want to do is act appropriately, if you know what I mean.

Leaning against the door, I shake my head with a smile, "No, I just wanted to warn you that everyone is in the dining room as soon as you walk in, so they might bombard you. I don't know though, hopefully the mashed potatoes are distracting them."

Harry perks up, noticeably more excited, "You made mashed potatoes?"

I feel ya, man. Food excites me like nothing else.