Pretty Girls ⇼ Luke Hemmings

Call Me Daddy.

As Luke pulled up to my house, I gave his hand a tight squeeze. I smiled at him, trying to show him how excited I was for this moment.

"Do they know I'm coming?" he asked, straightening his tie in the visor's mirror.

"No." I grinned, reaching back and petting petunia.

"What? Really? Val-" I cut him off.

"Trust me, the best way to meet my parents is without any warning." He got frustrated with his tie and I couldn't help but smile. "Here, let me-" I straightened it, staring up at him with a smile.

"Any advice?" He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, setting one in between his lips.

"For one, no smoking!" I scolded, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and giving him a stern look. "They'd kill me!"

"What? I'm stressed, okay?" I couldn't help but smile, placing the unsmoked cigarette back in it's pack. "Seriously, though. Any advice?"

"They're very old fashioned. So just shake their hands and agree to their opinions." He took a deep breath before nodding.

We walked up the path and to the door. As Luke raised his hand to ring the doorbell, I stopped him with a laugh.

"I live here, remember?" As soon as I opened the door, Parker ran up to me and jumped into my arms. "Hey, Park!" I laughed, picking him up. "I want you to meet someone." Luke stepped in the house, keeping Petunia out of sight. "This is my friend, Luke." Parker buried his face in my shoulder. "Say hi, silly!" I giggled as Parker whispered a hello before burrowing his face once again. "Parker, Luke brought someone with him that I think you'd like to meet." Luke stepped aside, allowing Petunia to nudge her way into the house. Immediately she looked up to Parker, who was squirming in my arms.

"A puppy!" He gasped, jumping down and running towards her, locking his arms around her neck.

"That's Petunia," Luke said, kneeling down. "She's my very best friend."

"Wow!" Parker gasped, falling into a giggling fit when Petunia licked his face. "I like her a lot!" He nuzzled his face in her neck.

"I think she likes you, too." Luke's voice was soft as he gave Petunia's head a pat before standing up. I couldn't help but smile as I reached out for his hand, pulling him towards me.

"Mommy! Mommy! Come look!" Parker yelled as I gave Luke a quick peck on the cheek.

"Parker, I told you to stop yelling! Mommy has a headache!" Gene complained, walking into the hallway with a glass of wine in her hand. "Oh." She stopped once she saw me, her eyes raking down my body as if to judge me. "I didn't know you were coming." Her eyes fell to where Luke and my hands connected before trailing up to Luke's face.

"Luke, this is Laura Gene." My eyes fell to the floor, watching as Parker ran in the other room, Petunia darting after her. Luke moved forward, setting a hand on my back and reaching the other one out to shake Gene's hand.

"Call me Gene," she said. If she was judging him, I didn't want to know. She looked down to Petunia, raising her eyebrows.

"Wow. The dog is... Fat," she teased.

"She's no more overweight than Warren is," I argued.

"And Warren is fat, too." Silence struck us for a long while before I tried to get past.

"Can we... um... get through?" I asked, my eyes slowly finding Gene's. She always makes me so nervous. "I'd like to say hi to mom and dad." Her lips curled into a fake smile.