Sam paused on the front stoop, taking a deep breath and mentally bracing himself for the long night ahead. He had been to Jessica's house before, met her parents and according to Jess, they approved of him. But this was the first time he would be meeting he older brothers, both of whom were on leave. Because they were Marines. Special Forces. Great, just fanfuckingtastic.
"Relax. You're going to be great. I'm sure they're going to love you." Jess smiled reassuringly and turned to open the door, but now it was her turn to pause. She looked at him over her slender shoulder and warned "But you probably shouldn't just how much you don't like fighting. They're pretty protective of me, and have kind of made being able to fight well to protect me a requirement for my boyfriends. Not that you couldn't protect me if you had to," she hurriedly added, "but they prefer someone more willing to jump in the fray."
She turned back to the door, but before she could open it Sam gently put a restraining hand on her arm and murmured, "Jess, my dad was a marine. I've known how to fight for as long as I can remember. Just because I don't like violence, doesn't mean I'm not good at it."
She turned toward him, a sheepish look in her face, and said, "That's right, I totally forgot. You're just so gentle its hard to imagine you ever fighting."
Sam chuckled, thinking how little she knew, gave her a quick kiss and gestured for her to open the door. Doorway to hell was more like it. He grew up avoiding probing questions, for good reason. He was a damn good liar, he had to be to survive his previous lifestyle, but that didn't mean he like doing it. And he was about to do a lot of it.