The Story of Jaylor

Chapter 12

I rummage through my horridly oversized closet, trying in vein to find something appropriate for the evening. Joe's taking me to meet his parents for the first time and it's safe to say that I haven't felt this terrified in a long time. I mean, the chances of them having preconceived notions about me are high, despite what Joe tries to tell me. I feel a presence behind me so I whirl around quickly, facing the man who I have fallen in love with. 

"Love, they're not going to care what you're wearing." I'm not quite sure how it's that obvious what I'm fretting about. I turn back around, continuing to sort through my clothes. Not even a moment later, I feel his arms snake around my waist, pulling my body close to his. 

"Joe, I need to find something." I murmurs as his lips begin making their way up and down my neck. I feel my body give in for a moment before my brain reminds me I don't have enough time for it, so I tug myself out of his arms quickly before things can escalate. Joe sighs and I watch him pull a dress of a hanger and hand it to me.

"Wear this." I look at him for a moment before letting my eyes fall on the dress and I have to admit, it is kind of perfect. Begrudgingly I take it from his hands, moving to go change into it. "See! It's really not that hard." I just roll my eyes at him before making my way to the bathroom to fix my hair and do my makeup.

Finally, half an hour later, I'm ready to go. I hurry down the stairs, knowing that if we're going to make it on time, we need to leave now. Joe grips my arm, pulling me in for a quick kiss.

"You look beautiful love, and they're going to love you. I promise." I feel my cheeks redden at his soft, comforting voice. Most of the time, I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him. Who on earth would willingly choose me? But he did, and I love him for it. We hop into the car and Joe sets off, pointing out random landmarks as we make our way to his childhood home. I feel myself fiddling with the rings on my hands, unable to just sit still. I can't do this, what was I thinking? Joe's family are normal, they live normal lives. I have the furthest thing from a normal life, and they're sure to judge my recent decisions, or drama or whatever you want to call it. I feel a wave of anxiety wash over my whole body, but in the same moment, I feel Joe grasp my hand, entwining our fingers and gently rubbing my hand with his thumb. I look over at him and he grins,

"I love you." He says with a twinkle in his eye, "They will too." I give him a small smile, his words lightening the heaviness in my chest. I reach up to fiddle with the pendant around my neck, the one he gave me for my birthday not even a week ago. 

Not much later, and we're pulling up outside of his parents house. Joe turns off the car, sitting with me for a moment as I take a deep breath, staring intently at the house. I feel his hand tuck my hair behind my ear.

"Taylor, I promise it'll all be okay." He pauses for a moment, "Love?" I meet his eyes, offering him a gentle smile,

"This is such a beautiful neighbourhood." I murmur, trying to focus on anything else but the terrifying feeling that I was about to be thrown out of that house, or gawked at, or warned to stay away from their son. Which are all valid points, what parent would let their kid become involved with everything surrounding my life? 

"It is, I can't wait for you to get to know it." He says softly, pressing a kiss to my hand. I take another deep breath, I'm doing this for Joe, I trust him. He knows his family better than I do, so hopefully this will be okay. I smile at him once more before turning to open the door, climbing out of the car. I smooth out my dress, walking around to link hands with Joe again as we made our way to their front door. 

"They're so curious to meet the person I've fallen deeply in love with, you're going to love them so much." He knocks on the door as I basically melt at his words, I always feel so much love for him when he confesses his love in that way, so casually, so sincerely. The door swings open and I feel my heart stop beating for a moment as we're met with his mother. She has the widest grin on her face as she greets us.