"Hello?" I say into the phone with a smile on my face. Nick's calling, of course. It's been about a month since we've started dating and things are better than ever. We have at least two dates a week (usually more) and we talk on the phone almost every night and text basically all day.
"Okay, don't freak out, just hear me out okay?" is the first thing Nick says, which of course makes me freak out.
"Okay..." I say confused. I have no idea what he's going to say. Oh my God, this could be awful. He's a drug dealer. He's a convict. He wants to take a break. Oh, my God, he's breaking up with me! I'm completely freaking out.
"So, I'm heading to my parents house in Texas this weekend..." Nick starts. Oh that's it? Does he think I can't spend one weekend without him? Wow, that's cocky. "I know we haven't been dating that long... but I was just wondering if maybe, you wanted to, uh, come with me? And meet them?"
I'm speechless. Oh my God, he wants me to meet his parents. Um, wow this is a big step. I'm not sure if...
"You don't have to," he says panicking at my silence, "I mean, I don't want to pressure you. They're nice, I swear. But you don't have to. I mean really. Things are just kind of tense at my house, I thought maybe bringing you might ease some of it, but really don't feel pressured to..."
Aw. He wants me to be there to help him out? How can I say no to that? And if Nick's family is half as nice as he is, it can't be half bad.
"Of course, I'll go," I say without giving it another thought.
"Really?" he breaths sounding shocked and surprised, but relieved and happy at the same time.
"Really." I say and next thing I know I'm packing for a weekend in Texas, not knowing what to expect.
After riding Nick's private plane, yes private plane, to Texas from LA, Nick rents a car to drive us to his parents house.
I'm super nervous to meet his parents. First impressions are everything and guys tend to look to their parents for approval, especially ones that are as family oriented as Nick.
I look down at my outfit. I have no idea what to wear to meet someones parents. This is the first time I've been in a relationship serious enough to. Except with Jake, but that was high school so it's completely different. I'm wearing dark straight jeans that aren't too tight and a pretty pink top with a black jacket and black boots. My hair is straightened and smooth.
I'm so nervous, but the smile on Nick's face when we pull up at the house is enough to relax me.
"You ready?" he asks me and I gulp and nod. He opens the door for me before going to the back and popping the trunk to pull out his suitcase and mine. He waves off any attempt I make to help him.
He brings both of our suitcases to the door and opens it without knocking. He places our bags in the foyer before grabbing my hand and leading me into the kitchen.
At his touch, my breathing becomes more regular and I feel ready to meet his parents.
We walk into the huge kitchen and everyone is standing around just hanging out and eating chips and salsa, very casual. I'm the most dressed person there, but I've always been taught it's better to be over dressed than under dressed.
"Hey guys!" Nick says coming into the room and everyone turns to look at us. I can already feel my face turning red.
"Nick!" his mother cries, and instantly engulfs him in a hug. He dropped my hand to give his mom a hug back and kiss her cheek. You can tell that they're very close which is adorable. I've never heard a guy talk about his mom the way Nick does.
"Hey mom," he says after pulling away, he takes my hand again, "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Miley."
"Hey," I squeak out and give a small wave to everyone in the room. Mr. Jonas is sitting standing around the island and he smiles at me. Kevin, Nick's older brother, and his wife of two years, Danielle, also smile and Kevin gives me a wave back. Nick's younger brother, Frankie is also there. The only person who is missing is Joe, I wonder where...
I'm pushed out of my thoughts when I feel arms wrapped around me in a tight, motherly hug, something I haven't felt since my own mother died.
"Hi, Miley. It's so great to finally meet you," she says smiling at me.
"Thanks. You too, Mrs. Jonas," I reply shyly. She seems like a really friendly woman, someone I could get used to easily.
"Oh call me Denise," she says as if it's absurd that I would call her Mrs. Jonas, "This is Nick's father, Paul and his two brothers, Kevin and Frankie. That lovely woman is Kevin's wife, Danielle."
It's adorable how close they all are and how comfortable they are with each other. They're like this big happy family, just like in TV and movies.
There's a moment of nice to meet yous and then a small silence settled over everyone.
"Well," Denise says breaking it, "Why don't you show Miley to your room and bring your stuff up?"
"Oh right," Nick says and turns to me, grabbing my hand again, "Later guys."
We make a quick stop to grab our bags and this time I convince him to let me take my own. We walk up the stairs and I'm kind of nervous. Nick and I are sharing a room? I know that I shouldn't be a baby about this, I'm twenty four after all, but it just seems kind of soon and awkward. I don't want to say anything though lest he thinks I'm a prude.
"Now," Nick says seriously as we get to the end of the hall, "You're about to go where no other girl, besides my mom, has gone before."
I giggle, "Aww, Nick you've never had a girl in your room?"
"Nope," he says, "This is serious. I never let anyone in my room unless they're really special."
I smile at him and he opens the door. The walls are a dark blue-gray color and his furniture is dark stained wood. A huge bed with a giant head board is in the center and there's a desk on the left and a dresser on the right. There's also a door in the back that's open and leads to a bathroom with gray tile. In the corner there's a single acoustic guitar on a stand.
"So here it is," Nick says gesturing grandly to the room.
"Impressive," I joke walking around taking it in. On his desk are pictures of him and his family and a few of him and his brothers from when they were first starting out. I blushed when I came to a picture of his brothers and Hannah Montana. Nick's arm is around Hannah's (my) waist and her (my) arm is around his shoulder.
He notices me staring at it and comes over. He's smiling as he takes it off the shelf of his desk. I freeze wondering if he's going to spot a resemblance or something. Not that we look that much alike anymore since I'm much older.
"Ah, Hannah Montana," he says smiling at me teasingly, "The second prettiest girl I've ever met."
"Oh yeah?" I ask him flirtatiously, "So who's the first?"
He puts the photo down and turns to face me and pulls me close and places a chaste kiss on my lips that still leaves me breathless, "You" he whispers and my heart is in a puddle on the floor.
Dinner with Nick's family seems completely natural. It's so unlike how my family dinners were, seeing as there were only three of us and didn't have that much in common.
Nick, Kevin, and Frankie have to turn everything into a competition, from who likes their mom's pasta the best to who can eat their food the fastest. Paul tries to get them to stop while Denise laughs at their antics.
Danielle, who is sitting next to me, keeps looking at me and smiling. Finally she says something to me.
"So they're a little crazy, but I really, really do love all of them."
I smile at her sincerity. I can see why and I can see myself falling in love not only with Nick, but with his whole family.
"How long have you and Nick been going out?" she asks me.
"Um, almost a month now," I say blushing because I know that's not a long time at all.
"Wow, seriously?" she asks looking surprised, "I never would have guessed that. You guys look like you've been going out forever. I've never seen Nick like this around the girl and I've been friends with their family for a long time."
I smile at her, "Thanks, I really like him."
"Danielle!" Kevin yells suddenly, ending our conversation, "Tell Nick how I did like 100 push ups the other day!"
"Oh he did," Danielle said smirking, "In the span of the whole day. How much did you average Kev? Like five in a row?"
Kevin rolled his eyes, but grabbed her hand, "It's okay, I'm going to forgive you for that one. But only because I love you."
She smiles at him and he smiles back and I wonder if Nick and I look like that. In love. We've never said 'I love you' to each other, but sometimes I feel myself almost letting it slip. Do I love him? I know that I really, really, really like him and it seems as if he feels the same way. I mean, I'm not going to get upset over it or anything, but I'm not going to lie, it would be wonderful to hear those words coming from his lips.
Nick catches my eye from my left and he smiles at me and squeezes my knee gently under the table.
"You're doing great," he whispers, "They love you. I told you they would."
That night after dinner and dessert and just hanging out watching his family rag on each other, but still love and respect each other, I changed PJ bottoms and a plain white T shirt before I walked back into Nick's room. He's sitting on his desk checking his email on his MacBook.
To be honest, I think he's somewhat addicted to the computer, but it's not like I'd tell him that. He's a true workaholic, but in the best way possible.
He looks adorable, as always, in plaid pajama bottoms that are low on his hips and a faded grey T-shirt that looks so soft I want to rub my face against it.
"Hey," I say softly just to let him know that I'm in the room.
"Hi," he says smiling and looking up at me after logging off his computer, "I was just about to head downstairs," Wait, what?, "Good-night" he pulls me into a hug and kisses me on the cheek.
I think he noticed my confused expression because he blushed and started to explain himself.
"I just thought it might be weird to share a bed," he stumbled out, "I didn't want to move too fast... we've only been going out like a month, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea..." he rambled adorably.
He turned around and got ready to leave. Suddenly, even though I was freaking out about having to share a bed with him I don't want him to leave either. All of the sudden all I want to do is kiss him. And not like the simple pecks that we've shared in the past, I mean really kiss him just like that night on the dance floor when we had just met.
"Wait," I said and rushed next to him, "Don't leave," I grabbed his arm and leaned up to kiss him straight on the lips, hard.
When I started to pull away, Nick wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me in for an even more intense kiss. It's like he knows exactly what I'm thinking.
My head is spinning and my blood pressure is rising drastically, I can hardly breathe. His kisses are unlike anything else in the world. When he slides his tongue into my mouth I can't even protest because I want him so badly. Somehow even though we're going fast, he's kissing me slowly and it's so hot I can't even believe it.
When we finally break for air we don't let go of each other. He's looking straight into my eyes and I swear for a minute the world just stopped as we drank in each other.
In a matter of seconds I made a decision.
I raised my hands into the air and he looked at me in awe.
"Are you serious?" Nick whispered even though there was no need to.
I nod my head and he slowly peels my shirt over my head and I'm left in a plain white bra.
If I had known we would be doing this I probably would have worn something a little sexier, but somehow it doesn't matter because Nick's looking at me like I have the most expensive lingerie from France on.
He kisses me again, so slowly I can hardly bare it. How can he be so calm when all I want is to devour him?
Now, I've only had sex with one other guy before and that was Jake Ryan, my highschool boyfriend. I loved him, but having sex with him felt like doing him a favor more than a pleasurable experience for me.
That was so not the case with Nick. I found myself kissing him back roughly and pulling his shirt off before pushing him onto the bed. He let me take control for a minute, but soon he was flipping me over so I was on my back while he hovered over me. My bra was soon forgotten on the floor. Nick slowly started placing hot, wet kisses all over my torso. He's going so slow I think I might go insane, how does he have so much self control?
"Nick," I gasped out, but he still doesn't stop his relentless oral attack on my body, "Nick," my voice is ragged and hoarse from lack of breath, "Nick, please," One syllable words seem to be the only thing I can manage at this point.
"Are you sure?" he mumbles against my skin while sliding his hands into my pajama bottoms.
"Yes!" I cry out and finally he stops going excruciatingly slow. In a matter of seconds, we're both naked and he's pushing into me.
Every millimeter of movement is insanely pleasurable, he's going slowly again, but now it feels good instead of torturous.
I don't know how long we're going at it, but soon, too soon, my face is buried into his neck and I'm moaning his name into his ear and his face is pressed into my hair and he's making some pretty interesting noises of his own.
We both finish off around the same time, crying out onto each other to muffle the sound from his family. He rolls off me and we're both breathing heavily before falling asleep exhausted.
I wake up to the feeling of soft lips on my back.
Nick's body was curled around mine from behind and he was leaving light kisses on my shoulders.
I opened my eyes and turned to look at him.
"Wow," he says breathily looking at me, "You look beautiful."
I want to make a joke about how I look beautiful all the time, but he looks so sincere I can't open my mouth. I start blushing like crazy because I know that he really means it by the way he's looking at me.
"Thanks," I say softly and peck him on the lips, "I should shower."
I got up and walked towards his adjoining bathroom. I can feel his eyes all over me, but instead of being embarrassed or nervous, I feel confidant and sexy.
I almost gasp out loud when I look into the mirror. Small purple-y marks dot my upper body. How could something that felt so amazing leave bruises?
Although I'm sure I must look like crap, I'm surprised to find that I look, well, radiant.
Maybe I really do look good or maybe Nick's compliment had gone to my head, but I'm practically glowing. My eyes are bright even though I've just woken up nad my skin looks great. My hair is tousled and messy, but it looks like it's supposed to be that way.
I smile at myself before getting in the shower. It's almost a shame to wash Nick off of me like this, but then again, he's right out in the other room. Once I'm done we could always...
Oh God. What am I thinking? I can't believe we had sex! I've barely known him a month! He hasn't even told me he loves me. This is so awful! How could I have let his happen? And in his parents house? That is just wrong. What have I always been told? Why buy the cow when you can have the milk for free? Seriously, I was not raised this way.
Even as I'm thinking this though, I'm not really believing it. Being with Nick felt natural and perfect, not awkward or scary. Besides, he treats me well and I really, really like him, maybe even love him. Last night was perfect, he's perfect, we're perfect.
When I emerge from the bathroom in a white towel Nick is once again checking his email. He's at his desk in just his boxers and I'm practically drooling. He looks up and I smile involuntarily.
Nick smiles at me, one of those cute little ones that starts off small, but then becomes huge. Those smiles that I die for.
"Let's go out for dinner tonight," he says softly, "Just you and me."
I crinkle my face, "What about your family?" I ask. I'm not going to be the one who they had for dragging away their son when he comes to visit them.
"They'll understand," Nick says smiling and getting up. He pulls me into a quick embrace and kisses my head before stepping into the bathroom himself.
I change quickly into simple jeans and a T-shirt before heading downstairs to see if I can help with breakfast.
I walk into the kitchen to see Denise making pancakes on a griddle while the Beatles are playing through the kitchen's sound system.
"Good morning," I say to her and she looks up smiling at me, "Can I help you with anything?"
"Now Miley," she says with a smile, "What kind of hostess would I be if I made my guest make breakfast? Nick would never forgive me."
"Please," I say to her, "I grew up with just my dad and brother, cooking is something I'm used to."
"Ah, another one who was surrounded by all boys," Denise says laughing, "Alright, you can watch the bacon."
Denise and I actually have a lot in common considering we are both used to being around all guys. She's funny and nice which is a relief since I've heard so many horror stories about girls who have met their boyfriend's mother and of course there are all those "mother-in-law" jokes and cliches.
"So," she says adding cooked pancakes to the stack on the counter, "You and Nicholas seem pretty close."
I blush and say "Mmm" in non-committal way.
"He really likes you," she says looking at me and smiling, "I've seen my Nicholas with lots of girls, but he never looked at them quite the way he looks at you."
"Thanks," I say blushing even more at her compliment.
"And more importantly," she says turning to me and smiling, "I like you too, Miley Stewart. You're a great addition to our family."
Okay, it should not be possible to blush this hard. I can literally feel my face heating up. I must be red as a tomato at this point. Tears are forming in my eyes, just being accepted this way makes me so emotional.
Denise looks over at me and sees my tears even though I'm trying to hide them, "Oh Miley, what's wrong?" she asks putting down the spatula and coming over to me.
"Nothing," I say trying to wipe my tears away with my wrist. She pulls me into another motherly hug which only makes the tears fall faster, but they're the good kind.
All you need is love, all you need is love, love is all you need... the radio plays softly in the background.
Denise continues to rock me gently almost as if she was my own mother, not just my boyfriend's mother.
"It's just- My mom- I didn't- I miss her," I blabber out as if that's an explanation, but Denise seems to understand completely.
"Shh," she comforts me, "It's okay to miss her, it's okay to cry."
I'm falling for Nick's family even faster than I'm falling for him
although at this point I'm almost convinced that I'm in love with him.
Soon, my tears are subsiding and only then does Denise let go of me.
"Sor-"
"Don't apologize," Denise interrupts and she smiles at me, "You're a wonderful woman, Miley. Nick is lucky."
I smile and wipe away the last remnants of tears from my face before turning back to the food while humming along to the background music. My emotions are all over the places this morning, sometimes that happens when you just feel too much, but maybe it's a good thing to feel this much. It proves that you're real.
"Oh look," Nick says coming into the kitchen in jeans and plain white t shirt, "My two favorite women in the kitchen together."
He walks over to his mom and kisses her on the cheek and gives her a hug. It's completely adorable. Then he comes up to me and wraps his arms around my waist while I flip the bacon. When I'm finished he pecks me lightly on the lips.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Denise smiling at us. I'm so lucky. I have it so good with Nick. His family seems to really like me and they're so nice it's easy to be around them. I can't believe that it's only been a month that we've been dating and just a little over a month since I met him.
Danielle comes down shortly and we shoo Nick out of the kitchen for some girl time. Of course, I've always had Lilly and other girl friends, but I don't really remember having a mom and I've never had a sister, so this experience is completely different. Once we're done cooking we place all the food out on the table and call the guys.
Everyone sits down and we all clasp hands while Mr. Jonas, I mean, Paul, says a quick prayer. We all say Amen and dig in eating.
"This bacon is perfect, Miley," Frankie says complimenting me, "Mom, always burns it."
"We'll maybe," Denise says shaking her head at her youngest son, "If you would help me with breakfast, I wouldn't have to be watching about three things at once and it wouldn't get burnt."
Everyone laughed, including Frankie. That's what I've noticed about the Jonas family. They joke around and tease each other, but you can still tell that they really love and respect each other. I love my daddy and brother, that's no lie, but my brother and I never had this kind of effortless relationship, we always fought, and not necessarily in a good natured way.
Nick squeezed my knee again, just like the night before but his hand lingered there a little longer and he winked at me. I smile back at him and rub his leg gently under the table.
He puts and arm around me shoulder and pulls me in kissing my temple. His whole family is smiling at us and all of sudden all I want is to be welcome at this table forever.
