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I don't know the last time that I was as nervous as I am right in this moment. Maybe it was on prom night when Max came to pick me up but instead ended up in tears, or when I went in for my interview with Victoria.
Calum and I are standing outside the door of the house I grew up in and I know that in the next couple of seconds my mother will yank it open and her eyes will scan over Calum thoroughly, but he will pretend that he doesn't notice her judgmental stare.
And that's exactly what happens. "You must be Calum."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Kraft."
"Oh please, it's Donna," she waves it off and it's not long until we are pulled into the house and then into the living room where a dozen of relatives and family friends are spread out. "Look who's home!"
"Is that Skittle?" I smile when I'm pulled into a familiar hug.
"Hey, Nana."
"Now who is this handsome young man you have with you?"
"This is Calum, my boyfriend."
"Does this mean there will finally be grandchildren?"
"Nana!" I blush. "We've only been going out for a few months."
"Can you blame me for asking?" She turns to Calum with an incredulous look on her face. "We never thought it would happen with this one."
"Nana!" I protest once again. "You sound like mom."
"Take that back, young lady," she scolds me and I laugh. "Why don't you go leave your things upstairs and then lunch will be ready in a few."
"OK," I chirp. "Let's go."
"I would say that was a success seeing as your mother did not make me cry," Calum says as he walks behind me up the stairs.
"So far so good," I sigh. "This is my old room."
I push the door open and we step inside the room where all walls are pink as well as the bed spread and rug, and every single pillow. "Wow, it's like a unicorn threw up in here."
"Yeah..." I put my bag down on the bed and take a seat beside it on the mattress. "It's a lot."
"I feel like I'm gonna wake up and my hair will be dyed pink."
"I can make that happen."
"You wouldn't dare touch my hair," he says and he steps over to stand between my legs, his hands holding my face up to look at him. "Hey, it's all good. Your mom doesn't even seem that bad."
"It's not...I think I don't really believe anyone could dislike you—I mean have you met you? I think it's more that I'm not so keen on having all the attention drawn to me. You saw how my grandmother reacted, and I can't take every person downstairs going on about how they never in a million years believed that I could be with someone. I just don't want to deal with the comments I guess."
"Scotty, they are your family, they're just messing around."
"I know," I sigh. "But it's true. And I've always been really insecure about it, because while all my friends landed guys so effortlessly I just wondered if I'll ever fall in love."
"But you're with me now, so it's not really true anymore."
"Thank you for being so...amazing whenever I turn into this over analyzing head case."
"I don't think you're a head case," he shakes his head. "I think you're fantastic."
"I think you're pretty fantastic too."
"Pretty fantastic?" he grins and I smile up at him and place my hands at his hips.
"You're absolutely, without doubt the most fantastic person I know."
"Right back at you." Calum dips his head down and presses a kiss to my lips. I pull him closer until I end up on my back with him crawling on top of me.
"Scotty, the food is ready!" I sigh as Calum pulls away.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," I chirp and I lightly push at his chest so that he gets off and we both can make our way back downstairs.
The herd of people all move to pile food onto their plates one after another and Calum and I follow suit. We manage to find an empty bit of space on the couch in the living room in company of my mother, Nana, and a handful of cousins along with uncle Phil—he once won a pie eating contest when he was in high school and he's the closest thing anyone in our family has gotten to being famous. He has a plaque hanging in the local high school and we're all very proud of him.
"So, Calum," my mother starts and I hope that she can feel my burning glare. "How long have the two of you been going out for now?"
"Um, we started going out back in September."
"Wow," she marvels, but I know it's a stab at me when she turns to look me in the eye as she speaks. "That's kind of a long time."
"I guess," I shrug.
"Are you spending Christmas together?" Nana jumps into the conversation and I can't thank her enough for it.
"No," I shake my head. "Calum's going to California with his sister."
"You're spending Christmas alone?" my mother asks me and I send her a look.
"No, I'll be here with you."
"But—"
"Mom."
"Oh yeah, right! I totally spaced there for a second. Of course you are spending Christmas with me here."
...
I am appalled by the fact that I skipped posting one day.
