Aria

Patrick was frantically searching for a radio station that played some music he liked, while I tried to paint my nails, which turned out to be more difficult than I thought in a moving car.

"Oh come on, that one was good!", I exclaimed in protest, after he skipped a song I really liked.

"There has to be a better one!" he simply stated and nervously fumbled with the buttons of the radio.

"You better watch the street or you'll get us both killed. I don't wanna die with a bad soundtrack, you know?"

He smirked and stopped pressing random buttons, so we were stuck with a song by ABBA.

"Not exactly with that one, either…" I mumbled, but I really didn't care that much as long as he continued to look out of the windshield.

"I'm sorry, Aria", he said, "I'm just a little nervous to introduce you to my parents. The last time I brought someone home, it was a disaster."

"Oh, thanks for the heads-up", I said sarcastically, "You're really making me look forward to this."

"No, they're not that bad! They just weren't used to piercings and tattoos and black lipstick on a girl."

"Who on earth did you bring home?" I asked surprise, because I heard that story for the first time.

"Her name was Natasha Halligan and she was a girl from my high school. We just dated for a few weeks… I don't even know why I wanted her to meet my parents, I guess it was my rebellious phase."

He caught my astounded expression and laughed, "I was sixteen! Didn't you do something stupid as a teenager?"

Yes, I did. I did a lot of stupid things as a teenager and one of the worst and at the same time best things was to date my high school teacher for two whole years. But that was a secret I had kept from Patrick and I didn't know if I was ever going to tell him. Ezra and I had always been a secret and I wanted to keep it that way. It was my little secret and no one could take that away from me.

"Yeah, I guess I did", I said vaguely.

"See? Now don't worry, they're gonna love you. You're perfect, you know that!" he brushed a strand of my hair out of my face and leaned over to kiss me.

"Watch the street!" I shouted angrily, but I smiled when he turned his face back to the road and I knew he noticed it.

Patrick and I had been dating for eight months, when the invitation for his grandmother's birthday arrived and there was no good excuse not to attend. For me this meant meeting his parents for the first time or rather meeting a boyfriend's parents for the first time in my whole life. I had never met Ezra's parents for obvious reasons and after he left I didn't have another serious relationship for years. There were some flings, some little crushes, but I had to meet Patrick to be able to fall in love again.
So he wasn't the only one that was nervous, I guess I was just better at hiding it.

It was already getting dark, when we arrived at the mansion. I knew Patrick had a rather wealthy family and with his father being a senator I always figured they would live in a pretty posh space, but I was still left openmouthed when we parked in front of the luxurious building. I suddenly felt so small and ordinary, there was no way I could make a good impression on people who used to live this lifestyle.

"I'm sorry it looks so decadent", Patrick said, noticing my bewilderment, "but we're really not that bad. It's just a big house…"

I just wanted to turn around and drive right back to my little apartment in Boston, but it was clearly too late, as a smiling woman, who apparently had been waiting for us strode down the stairs in front of the pretentious entry.

"Patrick!", she shouted happily and gave my boyfriend a big hug.

"Hi mom", he said, kissing her on the cheek, "this is Aria."

"It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Braxley!" I wanted to shake her hand, but found myself in another big hug of hers.

"So we finally get to meet the famous Aria! It's about time." She stated and smiled at me, "Let's get you inside, you two must be starving!"

I went back to the trunk to get my bags, but Mrs. Braxley stopped me, "Richard can do that later."

Confused, I looked at Patrick, who mouthed "servant" and took my hand to lead me in, before I could run away.