Getting to Know You // Braddison

Sixteen.

~ addison pov

"You don't have to come Bryce, it's okay, I know you're busy.." I told him over the phone as he had called me during one of his breaks. He had been in meetings all day for Sway, but he had taken the time to call me and let me know he would be coming over as soon as he could. He had promised Jacob last night that he would play with him today and he intended on keeping that promise.

"I'm not breaking any promises with Jacob ever." he stated, making my heart flutter. I giggled as I finally gave in. I felt bad because I knew he had been out all day and I didn't want him to feel forced to come. But it was cute that he cared that much about showing up for Jacob. Jacob has asked me about him as soon as he woke up, but I had told him he would stop by later. That answer had kept him content for the day, but I knew Jacob would explode with excitement when he actually saw him.

I heard Josh call for Bryce in the background, knowing that he had to go back to his meeting. "I'll let you go.. I'll have dinner for you when you get here okay!" I said before we said our goodbyes and hung up. Dinner was the least I could do for him if he was making such an effort to come over. It was also the perfect moment for him to meet my parents.

I got up from my couch as I walked outside to where my parents were. They laid by the pool as they watched the kids inside the water. I sat on a chair next to them as I smiled at them. They looked at me with confused looks as they asked me what was up. I had spoken about Bryce pretty frequently with them but they knew we were both taking things slow. They were surprised when they learned that I had introduced Jacob to him, something I had never done with a boy in the past. They were the next ones to want to meet him, especially after learning that Jacob loved him.

"Bryce is going to be stopping by for dinner!" I told them, catching both of them by surprise. I smiled at them nervously, not having brought home a guy in a long time. But I truly thought they would like Bryce, there was no reason for them not to.

"Oh, I didn't know we were cooking dinner tonight?" my mom said, joking. I shook my head as I playfully pushed her. I told her I would make dinner and they were all just invited to join. That made them happy, but they both also assured me that they were excited to finally be able to meet the infamous Bryce Hall. He had quite the reputation, but my parents were open to meeting him and making their own judgements.

***

"Bryce is coming okay, but you cannot play until after dinner!" I warned Jacob as I was changing him after his bath. He jumped up and down with excitement as soon as he heard Bryce would be coming over today, but he also promised to behave throughout dinner. I smiled seeing him so happy, the little things really did matter with children. Bryce completing this small promise to Jacob would go a long way.

I finished dressing him and walked downstairs with him to meet the others. I set him down in the living room with my father as I joined my mother in the kitchen. I had made chicken alfredo with some pasta tonight, obviously hoping to impress Bryce. As I checked my phone, I saw that he had just messaged me saying that he was five minutes away. I smiled as I set it down and looked over at my mom.

"I have high expectations for Bryce, you know?" She said as she began to set up the dinner table. I gave her a nervous smile as I asked her why and began to help her  with setting up. "He just makes you so happy and obviously already cares for Jacob, so I'm expecting him to be pretty great." She said with a smile. I couldn't help but blush, she was right. He made me the happiest girl in the world, the happiest I had been in a really long time.

"I really like him mom." I confessed as I put a plate down. She paused at the table and looked at me, giving me a genuine smile. "I know you do baby, I am so happy for you and I truly wish you the best with him." She said before pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back, loving that I had her full support. She already loved Bryce by just having to constantly hear about him from me, but I hoped she would learn to really like him after meeting him as well.