Chapter 1
It was early. There was a ringing. Vanessa groaned, realizing that the ringing was her cell phone. Did I not turn it off last night? I usually do… she thought to herself, confused, and then smiled to herself when she realized why she forgot to turn off her cell upon returning home last night. She was distracted. Very distracted. They'll leave a message; I'll call them back she told herself, rolling over to find her distraction from the previous night.
She had been missing her boyfriend lately. With her being in Vancouver and him traveling all over America promoting his latest movie, they hadn't seen much of each other. They did have this past week when he came and surprised her, but since she didn't know he would be there, she hadn't been able to get out of working and he, being the gentleman he always was, gently told her to not worry about it, that he could entertain himself, and that he'd have her all to himself soon enough (he did join her for dinner with their friends and dessert by themselves behind closed doors afterwards one night while he was there, but made sure she followed through on her plans the rest of the week). After hearing this, she was even more adamant about making it back home with him for her birthday.
Her 21st birthday party was last night. Today was the day of her actual birthday, but the party that she'd wanted for several years (and finally got thanks to Zac and their families) was planned for last night. Their families started a family birthday dinner tradition since they started dating and the two families became close, hence the reason for the party being the previous night. She'd had a great time last night, and between all the dancing and the few Cosmos she'd consumed after midnight and the amazing food, she felt the need to properly thank her long time boyfriend. Vanessa had almost literally attacked Zac when they walked through the door, and he was a willing participant. As they made their way upstairs to the bedroom, her purse had been dropped and her cell phone fell out in the process landing on her bedroom floor.
As she was curling back into Zac's arms, laying her head on his bare chest, she felt him tighten his arms around her out of habit pulling her closer to him. She heard him sigh and felt him kiss the top of her head as he tangled their legs together.
"Hhhmmm," she sighed contently. "Can I wake up like this every morning on my birthday?" she mumbled.
"Only if you promise to tell everyone we know that if they call your phone this early in the morning they will be shot," he replied sleepily. "And when did 'Scream' become your ring tone? Not cool, Hudgens."
"I'm sorry, Babe, but in my defense, first of all, it's my birthday, so you're not allowed to be mad at me today. Stella changed my ring tone when she and Mom came to Vancouver and I didn't know it until after they'd left. You know how she and Dylan are always playing tricks like that on us. She told me that she picked that song so that I'll think of you whenever my phone rings. Secondly, it's really not that early. It's almost 9:00. And lastly, if I need to remind you why I forgot to turn off my phone, then something was done wrong!" she told him as she lazily traced patterns on his bare chest before leaning down to place several kisses on his tight pectorals.
"Oh, no ma'am. You did everything right." He let out a grunt when he felt something fall on his stomach, causing Vanessa to fall into a fit of hysterics. He picked his head up slightly off the pillow and looked into the eyes of his girlfriend's dog. "Shadow, what the hell?!" he exclaimed as Vanessa picked up her dog, setting her gently back on the floor.
"Shadow, be good!" she reprimanded, as her precious toy poodle looked at her with her ears falling over her eyes, before running out of the bedroom leaving the two lovers alone.
"How do you feel, by the way? Hung over?" Zac continued.
"Me? Hung over? Please. There are benefits from being one of the youngest among our friends. I've had the advantage of watching all of you make fools of yourselves on your 21st birthdays to know what not to do on mine and I've been out with you enough times to know 1, not to mix my liquor and beer and 2, to drink lots of water throughout the night and take Advil before going to bed. I am, if nothing else, a very fast learner."
"But I seem to recall neither one of us taking anything before bed last night."
"Speak for yourself, Efron. I carried a bottle in my purse and took two before we left the party. What about you? How are you feeling?"
"A slight headache, but I've had worse. Nothing that some coffee won't fix. Speaking of, I know you want to check and see who was calling, so why don't you do that while I start your birthday breakfast."
He placed a loving kiss on her lips and crawled out of bed, grabbing his boxers from the night before and slipping them on under his sweatpants, bending over when he reached Vanessa's phone on his way out the bedroom door and bringing it back to her in bed. He leaned down to give her one more kiss, this one a little longer than a moment earlier, while she placed a hand on his cheek and held him there, and he whispered against her lips "Happy birthday, Baby" only to give her one more kiss before standing back up and making his way out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
"Thank you!" she called back, causing him to grin to himself. She tapped the screen of her phone, causing the picture of the two of them at the hockey game they attended in Vancouver for Zac's birthday almost two months ago to appear. She saw the envelope in the corner, signaling a voicemail. She promptly called her mail box, entered her code, and was greeted by the sound of her father's voice on the other end.
"Baby V, why aren't you up yet? It's almost 9 in the morning. I need you and Zac to come to the house. We've got an emergency and I need your help. I think you two will be the only one's who can solve it. Call me ASAP. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot! Happy Birthday! I'll talk to you soon!"
Vanessa chuckled, shook her head, and rolled her eyes as she deleted the message from her loving father.
"Poor Dad. You wouldn't even remember your own birthday if Mom weren't around. I bet she was standing right next to you when you called."
As she began to make her way downstairs, the smell of bacon and her boyfriend's French toast made its way to her nostrils. There are many things he tried to learn from his mom when it came to cooking. Not a lot of them stuck with him, but her French toast was one of the few that did and Vanessa was absolutely in love with Starla's French toast. Zac's may not be exactly the same as his mom's, but he sure did try hard!
"French toast, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, bacon, orange juice? What did I do to get all of this?" she questioned, snatching a piece of bacon from the stack as she approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist and placing a kiss on his bare shoulder, while he kept watching the French toast that was in the skillet.
Zac looked at her with a smirk while he brought his left arm around her shoulders. "You were born. Isn't that enough? And by the way, that piece of bacon cuts into your serving size."
She gasped. "But it's my birthday! I should be able to eat all the bacon I want to today."
Zac just smiled at her. "I'm kidding. You can eat all the bacon if you want it. Today's your day and you can do anything you want."
"Anything?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Within reason!" he warned, as her phone began to ring again. "And change your damn ring tone!"
"But I like this one! The singer of this song is sssooo hot and I can't help but think of him whenever I hear my phone ring," she told him. He just glared at her, unamused. "Fine," she scoffed as she disentangled herself from him and made her way over the counter and picked up her phone, climbing onto one of the bar stools.
"Hello?" she answered.
"I need your help."
"Stella, what's going on?"
"Why would you think there's something going on?" the youngest Hudgens asked.
"Well, Dad leaves me a voice mail saying there's an emergency and he needs my help and now you need my help. What's going on?"
"It's not an emergency. Dad's just being dramatic as always. But I do need your help keeping him off my back."
"Why? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything."
"Then why do you need me to help you get Dad off your back?" she asked her younger sister while shooting a look at Zac, who was watching her with curiosity on his face. She shrugged her shoulders in answer to his unspoken question.
"Because he's driving me CRAZY, Nessa! I can't take it!" Stella told her older sister.
Despite the age difference, Stella has always looked up to Vanessa. When Vanessa found herself in the midst of a scandal several years ago, Stella told Vanessa that she admired the way she handled everything and thought that it only made her sister stronger in her eyes. After Stella admitted this to Vanessa, the two became even closer than ever before and Vanessa made a promise to herself that she would not only always be there for her sister, but would always try to talk to and treat her as an adult and make sure she's as informed as Vanessa feels she needs to be about everything the older Hudgens sibling encounters. Vanessa told Zac once that she feels like she owes it to Stella. She's afraid that Stella feels like she's living in her shadow and is always being compared to Vanessa, even if she won't admit to it. Because of this, Vanessa makes it a point to set aside an evening every week (when she's home and not on location somewhere) for what the two now refer to as Sister Date Night. She even felt that it was important for Stella to have her own room at her house, in case she ever needed to "escape" from their parents for a night. At first, Greg and Gina didn't like that too much, but when Vanessa promised that she would make sure Stella got her homework done and made it to school the next day, they finally relented. They too realize how strong the bond is between their two daughters and feel it's important to play their role in making sure that bond stays in tact, whatever that would entail.
"Stellz, I really need more information in order for me to help you."
"Oh, my gosh! I forgot! I'm so sorry! I'm such a crappy sister!" Stella exclaimed, causing Vanessa to pull the phone away from her ear.
"Okay, now I feel like I'm talking to Ashley the way you're jumping topics. Chill out, Spaz!"
"I'm sorry. Happy birthday, Nessa!"
"Thank you. Now continue on our previous topic, please. You've got me curious. What happened to have Dad all freaked like he is?" she asked, getting up from the bar stool and walking into the other room. "Five minutes. I'll be right back," she whispered to Zac before popping a grape in her mouth on her way out into the living room.
Vanessa talked to her sister for a few more minutes. As she made her way back into the kitchen, she shook her head in disbelief. "You'll never believe this one," she tells Zac while accepting a cup of coffee from him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said placing a kiss on her lips. "What's going on?"
"Okay, so the phone call this morning? That was from Dad. He was talking about how "Why are you not awake, it's getting late. There's an emergency. I need you and Zac to come to the house. I think you two are the only ones who can help". So on an so forth. So when Stella called, she goes into how she needs my help because Dad's apparently driving her crazy. Come to find out, last night at the party, she met this guy-"
"What?!" Zac interrupted.
"Will you stop?" she asked him exasperated at the thought of entering into the same conversation they always have when her sister and boys are brought up. "Listen, I love that you're all protective older brother to Stella, but Zac, you need to let this go. She's growing up and she has boys in her classes at school. She's a very beautiful young lady and boys pay attention."
"But Van, she's too young for a relationship!"
"She's only one year younger than I was when I met you!" she pointed out.
"Exactly!" he shouted, and then stopped when he realized what just happened. "Wait, you set me up for that one. That's not fair!" he pouted.
"Zac," she began taking his hands in hers, "I love you. Okay? And like I said, I love the fact that you're really protective of my sister and you look out for her. But I think that if Mom and Dad are okay with her talking to boys and maybe even going out with someone, then you need to be okay with it, too. Alright?"
"Fine. I'm sorry I got spastic. Now, tell me about the emergency. Stellz met a guy…"
"Yeah, so she met this guy at my party last night. The two talked, danced, whatever, and by the end of the night, they had exchanged phone numbers, email, face book info, all that fun "I'm a teenager and I want to flirt some more" stuff. Apparently, she was up until almost 2 this morning-" she stopped when she saw Zac trying to hold in his laughter. "What?" she asked.
"We were up until almost 2 this morning, too."
"But for different reasons! She better not be- whatever. Get your mind out of the gutter and let me finish my story!"
"Okay, continue," he said.
"So anyway, they were up until almost 2 this morning talking-"
"Phone or internet?" he interrupted again.
Vanessa let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know! Can you please finish my French toast while I finish the story and save your questions until I'm done?" She waited until she saw him turn back to the stove before continuing. "Anyway, the were up really late or early or whatever talking somehow. He had at some point in the conversation asked if he can take her out and she said yes. When Mom woke her up this morning, she waited until Dad was in a good mood before bringing up the whole "I have a date" topic. Apparently, Dad freaked and called me saying that there's and 'emergency'," she said while using her fingers as quotes.
"So there's no emergency? Greg's just freaking out? And he thinks you and I can help? How?" Zac asked as he set a plate in front of her and carrying his own plate to the bar and taking a seat in the barstool next to her.
"I don't know. I'll call in a few minutes after I eat my birthday breakfast. Hey!" she exclaimed suddenly, startling Zac. "Did you hear? It's my birthday!" He rolled his eyes smiling at Vanessa's excitement.
"You're so funny," he told her. "Eat before it gets cold."
Zac took pleasure in watching her enjoy the breakfast that he lovingly made for her. After a few minutes of hearing his girlfriend's sounds and watching her looks of pleasure, he had to say something. "You know, sitting here watching you make those faces and hearing you make those sounds is a real turn on. What do you say we…" he trailed off, nodding his head in the direction of the stairs.
Vanessa smiled at him and shook her head. "Zac, we have to be at my parents for the family stuff in 2 hours."
"That's plenty of time for me." Again, she just looked at him and laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Eat!" she playfully scolded him as she took the last bite. She then stood up, crossed around the bar to the sink, and rinsed her dishes, putting them in the dishwasher. "I'm going to get in the shower. Thank you for my birthday breakfast. It was delicious," she said as she walked back around the bar and into the waiting, open arms of Zac. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Happy birthday," he said as he kissed her back. The two stood there for several minutes enjoying the feel of their lips on each other. "Go," he told her when he pulled away. "Shower. I'll be up in a few after I clean up down here," he told her, swatting her on the bottom as she turned away.
"Hey! It's my birthday! Don't abuse me! You'll pay for that!" she yelled as she ran out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
"I'll hold you to that!" he yelled back.
AN: I forgot in the first chapter to make my little disclaimer. By the way, it's not mine. None of it. I just wanted yall to know that.
This is absolutely amazing. My first story that I've ever shared with anyone (not the first I've written; just the first I've shared) has been accepted by lots! There have been quit a few of you who have added me and my story to alert lists! I'm so excited! Thank you all so much for all of the support! My story only gets better… I hope you enjoy the rest as much as you have the beginning.
Chapter 2
About an hour and forty-five minutes later, Zac was pulling Vanessa's Lexus into her parents' driveway. As they arrived, they noticed his parents Equinox already there.
"Oh, good, everybody's here and they're waiting for me on my birthday!" Vanessa exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Zac just shook his head in amusement.
"You're such a kid," he told her, laughing.
"I'm allowed to be today."
As they got out of the car and started up the sidewalk, the door flew open and Stella came running out. "Thank God you're here!" she yelled throwing her arms around her sister.
"Hello to you too. Can I breathe?" Vanessa asked.
"Sorry," Stella apologized, loosening her grip from around Vanessa's neck. "Dad will not let up on this!" she told them, grabbing Vanessa's hand and pulling her toward the front door.
"Yeah, I'm great, Stellz. Thanks for asking!" Zac called after the two.
"Sorry, Zac," Stella apologized for the second time in the less than five minutes that they'd been there. "I missed you. How are you?" she asked, dropping her sister's hand and running into the arms of the man who has become a big brother to her within the past four years.
"I'm good. I'm glad to be home for a while. I missed everyone, but especially my favorite Stellz Bellz."
"What do you mean your favorite Stellz Bellz? I better be your only!"
"No one could hold a candle to you!" he reassured her.
"Hey, you two, as much as I love you both and enjoy watching you two together, um, can we go in now?" Vanessa interrupted, as Zac came to stand beside her once more and put his arms around her waist.
"No! I need to fill you in on the latest with-"
"Stella Teodora! Get in the house!" All three jumped when the voice of Greg Hudgens rang out through the front yard.
"She must have done something. Stella never gets the middle name," Zac whispered in Vanessa's ear.
"Hey, Dad!" Vanessa called as she ran up to her father, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on his cheek.
"Hey, Baby V. Hey, Zac," Greg called out to the other man in his older daughter's life and held his hand out to him.
"Hey, Greg. How are you?" he asked as he took Greg's hand and gave it a firm shake.
"I'm doing well, I suppose. How was-"
"Dad, I can't believe you! You're only being nice right now because you want them on your side!" Stella interrupted her father.
"On his side for what?" Vanessa asked. "Is anyone going to tell me what's going on? Dad, you said this morning that there was an emergency?"
"If you had called me back-" he began.
"Dad, that's really not the point here. Please be nice to me. It's my birthday," she told her father, turning on the charm that Greg swears both girls got from their mother. The charm never fails to melt his heart regardless which of his women gave it to him.
"Fine," he sighed. "Let's go inside and I'll fill you in." The group began to file in the house with Zac and Greg bringing up the rear. "Hey, Zac. Can I borrow you for a minute?"
"Yeah, Greg, what's up?" he questioned the man who can intimidate him like no one else in the world.
"Listen, I know you already think of Stella as your sister and I'm really grateful for the way you look out for my girls. I, uh, I need your help when we get in there."
"Yes, sir. What can I do?"
"Stella is trying to talk me into letting her go on her first date. I don't think she's ready. I need her big brother to speak up."
"Um, Greg, I, uh, I- I really truly want to help, but I, um, I- I just don't feel very, um, comfortable speaking up when I, uh, don't know the full story," Zac stuttered, beginning to sweat under the gaze of Greg Hudgens. Why, after four years, does this man still get to me like this? Will it be like this my whole life? he wondered to himself. As Greg continued to stare at Zac, Zac continued to fight off the sweat he felt appearing on his forehead, despite the December temperatures. This isn't fair. I should already be immune to his stare. It's not supposed to still affect me like this! "Uh, Greg, should we go inside? I'm sure everyone's waiting on us."
Greg gave one last gaze at his Baby V's boyfriend. I've got to hand it to him. The boy sure does at least try to keep his cool when he's around me. I remember that feeling whenever I was around Gina's dad.
He opened the door and signaled for Zac to enter while he followed. When the two men walked into the foyer, Zac immediately spotted his father and made a beeline for him while Greg made his way upstairs. The elder Efron gave his son a manly hug, slapping him on the back.
"Son, how are you?" David asked.
"I'm okay, Dad. Glad to be home and get at least some time off. The movie's done well so far. I just wish it were open in more areas. I've heard of some fans not being too happy that they're not able to see it."
"Your mom and I were able to catch it. I think this one's my favorite."
"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot."
"Greg getting to you again?"
"How can you tell? Is it that obvious? You don't think he can tell, do you? I don't want him to think I'm weak." Zac asked his father, panicked.
"Son, it's called 'the curse of the girlfriend's dad'. It's been going since the beginning of time for all men, regardless of how strong he thinks he is. The girlfriend's dad will always bring the boyfriend/ fiancé/ husband into a pool of sweat and running for cover, no matter how well the two get along. And yes, he knows. That's why he does what he does."
"It's true, Zachary. Just ask your grandpa. Your father still gets in a panic when he even thinks Grandpa will be anywhere near by." Zac turned in the direction of his mom's voice and went to greet her.
"Hey, Mom," Zac said as he gave his mom a hug followed by a kiss on her cheek. "Where's Van? I thought she'd be with you?"
"She's upstairs with Stella. Apparently, there's a crisis and Stella's picking her brain and getting advice."
"Yeah, we still haven't gotten all the details about this crisis, but there's something going on between Stella and Greg and they're trying to get me and Van involved. Where's Dyl-" he stopped midsentance when he heard someone yelling from the other room.
"Damn it! You're going down, ass wipe!" Dylan Efron called out. Zac stuck his head in the living room and saw his brother's attention turned to the game he was playing on the Xbox.
"Dylan! Language!" Starla called into the other room.
"Hey, Dylan. What's up?" Zac asked, only to receive a grunt and a head nod in response. "Nice. I missed you too, Bro. Good to see you."
"Dad, she's not too young! What does Mom say about all this?" the three non distracted Efrons turned their attention in the direction of the sound of Vanessa's voice as she came down the stairs, followed by her father.
"Where is Gina?" Zac asked his mom.
"We just got here about ten minutes before you two did. Greg said something about the grocery store and that she'd be right back. I really don't know," Starla told her son. Zac nodded.
"She says that I should just let it happen," Greg answered his daughter's question.
"Then, Dad, I think you should just let it happen," Vanessa told her father.
"You're on her side!" Greg accused.
"I'm not on anyone's 'side', Dad. How can I be on a 'side' if I still haven't even been told the whole story?" she asked, stopping in front of the television where Dylan's game was being played.
"Hey, Van-" Dylan started.
"Fine, you want the whole story? I'll give it to you," Greg told her, also stopping in front of the TV.
"Mr. Hudgens?" Dylan tried again, a little timidly this time. It was, after all, Greg Hudgens he was trying to talk to. This was the same man who makes his strong, confident, older brother sometimes crumble under pressure. So, of course, that makes Dylan a little shy when talking to him as well.
"Finally! We're getting somewhere!" Vanessa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"Um, guys?" Dylan, who had paused his game so nothing was missed, tried again with a little more confidence this time. The other three members of his family stood in the doorway separating the living room from the kitchen, watching the scene play out in front of them with interest, wondering how long before either Vanessa and Greg got into a full out argument, or Dylan would loose his cool because he can't continue his beloved video game.
"Tell me, dear Father, why are you so against Stella going out with this boy?"
"Because he's a boy, Van! Need I say more?"
"Excuse me?" Dylan, raising his voice a little bit yet trying to contain his cool at the same time, spoke up once more while lifting his hand, trying to catch their attention.
"Dad, you're all boys when you start out. Look at you, look at David, look at Zac," she said, gesturing to each of the men as she spoke their name. "You were all boys when you started dating Mom, Starla, and me, but you aren't boys now!"
"Thank you for what I think was a compliment there, Babe," Zac cut in, while David snickered.
"You're welcome. Dad, just because he's a boy, as you say, doesn't tell me anything," Vanessa continues without even breaking her concentration.
"She's my daughter!" Greg tried again to reason with her.
"So am I," Vanessa said, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion.
"Thanks for reminding me of that. I had forgotten," he said sarcastically, walking past her and cutting through the group of Efrons who were still in the doorway and watching the scenario. Vanessa rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh before following after Greg.
"Thank you!" Dylan called out after the couple, resuming play on his game.
Zac and David chuckled and Starla rolled her eyes as they all three turned around to continue watching the interaction between Vanessa and Greg.
David leaned in towards Zac and asked him softly "Do you think they're getting anywhere?"
"Knowing Van like I do and if I know Greg as well as I think I do, then no, I don't think either one of them will be budging soon. They're both very stubborn."
"So why can Nessa date and I can't?" The whole group turned their attention to the owner of the new voice which joined in on the conversation, who was standing in the other doorway connecting the kitchen to the formal dining room, with a curious Dylan, who had paused his game to see the action, standing near his own family at the other door.
"Stella, you're 14. She's not. She's 21," Greg told his youngest daughter.
"You remembered! Aw, thanks, Dad!" Vanessa said sarcastically.
"Don't get smart with me, young lady!" Greg told her, pointing a finger in her direction. "I'm still your father."
"Yes, Dad, I know. You won't let me forget. And by the way, that's the first mention of my birthday you've made since Zac and I got here. I was beginning to wonder if that's why we were really here after all."
"What's going on?" the group heard the voice of Gina Hudgens and all turned to see her walk in the room through the garage. Zac and Starla immediately went to help her by taking the grocery bags that she was struggling to hold onto. "Thank you. Hello, Zac," she said, as Zac leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, just as he did his own mom.
"Hey, Gina. How are you?"
"I'm doing good. Although I do feel strangely older today, for some reason. I can't imagine why," she said, with a look in Vanessa's direction. Zac chuckled at her joke as Gina approached Vanessa, giving her a hug. "Hi, sweetie. Happy birthday."
"Thank you, Mom," she responded as she returned her mom's hug. "Please tell Dad he's being unreasonable-" she turned to look at her father "-as always."
"I am not being unreasonable. I just think Stella's too young is all."
"Greg, how old was I when we started dating?" Gina asked him.
"Eighteen."
"How old was Starla when you two started dating, David?"
"Twenty?" David looked at his wife for confirmation, who shook her head. "No, nineteen, right?" Starla nodded.
"And, Zac, how old was Vanessa when you started dating?"
"Sixteen," Zac answered without hesitation, while moving behind his girlfriend and putting his arms around her waist.
"Where are you going with this, Mom? I don't understand," Stella asked curiously.
"Greg, Starla and I were older than Vanessa, yes, that's true. However, I honestly feel that Stella is ready to at least date. I'm not saying that whoever she goes out with will be the one meant for her like Zac was for Vanessa." Vanessa sneaked a glance at her father to see his reaction, only to see him looking at her as well. When he caught her looking at him, he gave a little wink and smiled at the sight of Zac protectively holding on to Vanessa and Vanessa smiled back. He really does love her. He takes good care of her, too, he thought to himself.
"It was magical for the two of them. We didn't have to worry about all of the first dates with the hooligans that she could have brought home.
"Dude, you're not a hooligan! Way to go!" Dylan whispered in Zac's ear, holding his hand up for a high five from his older brother.
"Shut up, Punk!" Zac whispered back, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Ow!" Dylan let out as he lowered his hand to rub the offended area on his stomach while moving to the other side of the room to stand next to Stella, as he lifted his arm to rest on her shoulder.
"Boys!" Starla exclaimed, giving both of her sons a stern look.
Vanessa tried to hold her laughter at bay, but failed miserably. "Sorry," she whispered, putting her hand over her mouth when she saw both of her parents looking at her.
"I'm sorry, Gina," Zac started, holding his hands in the air. "Please, continue."
"We both knew it wouldn't be that easy for both of them and that it was bound to happen that eventually we'd have a few boyfriends coming through these doors. Now, are you ready for it to happen now, at fourteen, when you still have even a little bit of control, or when she's sixteen, possibly resents you even more and can drive a car anywhere she wants?" Zac looked at Gina with raised eyebrows.
"Wow," he whispered in amazement. Vanessa let out a soft giggle. "She's good," he told her.
"Mmm-hmm," she agreed softly, rubbing her hand along his arm as she leaned closer into him.
"Anywhere?" they heard Stella ask hopefully.
"Within reason and with permission," Greg answered, pointing a finger in her direction while keeping his gaze fixed on his wife. "Don't push your luck."
"Yes, sir."
The room fell silent as they all watched Greg ponder his wife's little speech. He first looked at David.
"I feel for you, my man. I'd hate to be in your position right now. I'm glad I never had a daughter. All I have to worry about is unwanted babies."
"DAD!" Dylan and Zac both yelled, shocked. Zac moved his hands from around Vanessa's waist, as if afraid that just touching her would get her pregnant, while Starla smacked her husband on the back of his head and Vanessa blushed the deepest crimson she's ever worn, while covering her face with her hands.
"Sorry. I deserve that, don't I?" He asked looking into the angry face of his wife. "We'll discuss it later?" He asked again, as she nodded. "I love you?" Another nod from Starla.
Greg then looked at Vanessa, who raised her eyebrows at him giving him a slight nod and wink. "C'mon, Dad. You can do it. Here I'll say it with you," she started, moving away from Zac and approaching her dad and putting her hands on his cheeks, trying to move his mouth as she said the words. "Stella, I give you my permi- Dad, you're not saying anything," she said as she dropped her hands to her sides.
He then turned his eyes to the hopeful eyes of his younger daughter. In them, he saw not only hope, but also the little girl she once was and, in many ways, still is.
"Stella, I love you very much. You're still so incredibly young, but like your mom said, I guess it was bound to happen eventually."
"What are you saying, Daddy?"
"I'm saying that he will come in doors and meet your mom and I, face to face. We will know where you're going and what you're doing. You will have your phone with you and it will be turned on at all times. I will know what kind of car this boy has and will check it out myself to know what kind of working order it's in. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir," Stella told him.
"Do you have any questions?"
"Does this mean…?" Stella started.
"This means that your mom and I hope you have fun on your date."
The kitchen broke into chaos. David and Starla moved into the living room to protect themselves. Gina began moving about the kitchen so she could put the groceries away. Dylan covered his ears as Stella gave a loud shriek and flew into her father's open arms.
"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down in his arms.
Zac was led out of the kitchen and through the door leading into the garage by his girlfriend.
"He has a car?! Van, did you know this boy has a car? He can drive! No way is she going out with a kid who drives and has his own car!"