a long way from home ; g.d.

s e v e n

For the next hour and a half, we ate our pizza and talked about anything that came to mind. I talked more about my home life, and he told me more about his friends and family. It felt good to just be able to relax and just talk to someone like this. Everyone back at home turned every little thing I said into a lecture.

After we finished our pizza and our drinks, we paid for everything and tipped the waiter, and headed back out onto the street.

"So," I began. "How do you think Ethan is handling Emma and James?"

He sighed and blew out a breath of air. "I'm scared to find out. Let's call him real quick."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing what I assumed was Ethan's number. He then pressed the facetime button. After about 3 rings, he answered. "Hey guys! How was your date?" I instantly felt my face turn red.

"It was great. How are the kids, honey?"

"Not so great, sugartits. James is in the corner ordering new brushes and Emma is laying here next to me trying to wash the marker stains off of her Doc Martins." He turned the camera screen towards a girl with dark brown hair, frantically scrubbing a black shoe. Emma, I guess.

She looked up at the camera and held up her middle finger.
"Grayson get your ass home now and strangle your boyfriend!" She yelled. She squinted her eyes at the camera and tilted her head. "Who's that, Gray?" He looked over and smiled at me. "This is Chavelle, E and I met her a few hours ago."

"She's pretty. Like, really pretty. Both of you get your fine asses here so I can stare at her in person."

Grayson and I laughed. "Alright, be right there." He hung up his phone and slid it back in his pocket. "So, wanna meet the infamous Emma and James?"

I hesitated at first. I barely knew this guy. Yes, we spent a few hours talking and hanging out, but I didn't know know him. I was a vulnerable girl in a big city, without a familiar face in miles.

"What hotel are you guys staying in?" I asked, hesitantly.

"The Freemont," he responded. "If you're not comfortable with it, I understand. You've been through a lot these past couple of days."

"No, I'd love to go. I just hesitated for a second, sorry. You said you're staying at the Freemont?" I explained. He nodded. "No kidding, that's where I'm staying!" I exclaimed.

He laughed. "Well I guess it'll be an easy walk home."

We finally arrived at the door, and before Grayson opened it, he turned to face me. "Before we go in, please be prepared for them. Like they're super nice and everything, but they don't understand personal space at all and are really nosy."

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm used to that, and they sound great. Now stop stalling."

Their room was a little bigger than mine, and a little prettier than mine. It had two beds, a flat screen TV, and nice, polished floors.

Grayson shut the door behind us, and we were immediately greeted by Ethan walking towards us from the kitchen. "I've tamed the beasts, they're over there."

I didn't even notice Emma and James, I was so busy admiring their room. Or a suite, I'm guessing. "Guys! Grayson and Chavelle are here!"

Surprisingly, James was the first to speak to us. For a guy, he was gorgeous. His makeup was flawless, his outfit was flawless, his smile was flawless, he was just flawless.

"Hey daddy," he said to Grayson. Grayson closed his eyes and sighed, dropping his head. "We have company, James, not now."

James laughed and turned towards me. "Um, wow. Emma said she was pretty but I did not expect this. Hello beautiful, I'm sister James." He engulfed me in a hug, and even though he caught me off guard, I hugged him back.

"It's so nice to meet you, James. Ethan and Grayson have told me so much about you," I said. Wow, I sound like a nervous fifteen year old meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time.

He must've noticed I was nervous, because he laughed again, and elbowed me. "Girl stop talkin' to me like you're meetin' someone's parents. Relax." I smiled and nodded, like telling me to relax was supposed to automatically make me do it.

All of a sudden, Emma was standing in front of us. "Move, cockslut, I wanna meet her now. I'm Emma." And I'm swallowed in another hug. Again, I hugged back, but I was still nervous.

I kept smiling. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you, too. Ethan would not shut up about you when we met in Forever 21."
She blushed, and turned to face Ethan, who was standing in the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm pretty fun to talk about," she said jokingly, then walked into the kitchen to stand with Ethan. They were all really nice, and I immediately adored all of them, but something tells me that Grayson is still my favorite.