A/N- Sorry for the long wait. Disney and then moving into my dorm has kept me pretty busy. Well, I have some good news for you. I have finished writing this story. So, the breaks might be long, but I can promise you updates till the end. There will be no sequel after this one, just an epilogue. Hope you enjoy!
a rose by any other name71591- Jason is the college version of Aaron… so of course he has to have something up his ass.
Niffer01- Reid went down the alley, thinking he was following the person when really Jason and his friends had already gotten out and were going after everyone else. They didn't know Reid had decided to follow them.
Reid pulled his Impala into the front of his house. As he turned off the car Dena got out and looked around the estate. A few bushes needed to be clipped, but that was probably because the gardener was coming in a few days.
"Reid!" The high pitched shrill of Ellen Garwin screeched.
"Hello Mother." Reid grinned. He walked over to his mother and gave her a hug. "I believe you should remember my girlfriend Dena."
"Of course. How could I forget someone as charming as her. Hello darling, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, thank you. How are you Mrs. Garwin?" Dena asked.
"I perfect now that both of you have come to see me. Now what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. Garwin? Please call me Ellen."
"Of course. I'm sorry."
"It's not a problem. Now I was planning on having dinner in this nice little Greek restaurant. A friend of mine told me about it and I have been wanting to try it."
"Do we have time to rest for a bit. The drive has tired me out." Reid said with a yawn.
"Of course. I was going to call Joseph and see if he wanted to join us."
"Who's Joseph, Mother?" Reid asked.
"He's my… um, he's my friend." Ellen said with an uneasy smile.
"Sure Mom. Just let us know when you want to leave." Reid said.
"How about we plan on six? That will give you a few hours to rest and me time to call Joseph." Ellen said.
"Alright, we'll see you later." Reid said. He pulled Dena up the stair case as she gave his mother another smile. Reid quickly found his room and ushered Dena in.
"Why are you so ready to get away from your mother?" Dena asked.
"I just am." Reid said. He fell heavily on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Dena just shook her head and walked over to the balcony. She leaned on the railing and looked out over the vast backyard. "Why don't you come lay down? I know you didn't get much sleep last night and none on the way here."
"I will. I just love your backyard though."
"I told you it casts a charm over all of the women who come here." Reid said. He got up from the bed and walked up behind Dena. Reid wrapped his arms around his girlfriend laid his head on her shoulder. "You've seen the backyard, now let's get some sleep before dinner. I want to be awake to interrogate this friend of my mother's."
"You're so protective over her. You might not act like you love her usually, but this is a time when it shows." Dena said with a smile. "And I like it." She turned around in his arms and slung her arms around his neck as she leaned in for a kiss.
"Hm… maybe I'll show it to you more often then."
Reid and Dena were able to get a few hours of sleep before they had to wake up and get ready for dinner. Dena took a shower as Reid staid in bed longer. She slipped into a red dress that fell to the middle of her thigh. It hung around her neck in a halter that tied to the dress near the arm pits. Reid was just coming out of the shower as Dena was trying to clasp the lock to her golden whale tail necklace.
"Where did you get that necklace?" Reid asked as he did the clasp for her.
"Lucy got it for me for Christmas the first year I knew her. In Hawaii a whale tail means good luck so I've kept it for good luck to." Dena explained. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed?"
"I'm going." Reid muttered.
"I'll meet you downstairs." Dena said as she stood up from her spot at Reid's desk.
"I'll be down in a minute." Reid said. "O, tell my mother that she can't show you any photo albums!"
"I'm not promising anything!" Dena yelled back with a laugh.
A few minutes later Reid was walking down to the sitting area when he heard Dena's laughter followed by comments from his mother. He groaned when he realized what they were doing. Sure enough Dena and Ellen were looking at old photo albums. "Dena, I thought…"
"I said I didn't promise anything." Dena said with a smile. "You look good tonight."
"Like I don't always." Reid gave Dena a devilish grin. He had on black slacks and a dark blue button up shirt.
"You both look lovely. Now we're just waiting for-" The doorbell rang interrupting Ellen. "Never mind, I believe that will be Joseph. You two wait here and I'll bring him in." Ellen disappeared, but could be heard as she greeted her guest. A minute later she walked in on the arm of a tall gentleman with thick grey hair. He had dark brown eyes and a wide smile. "Joseph, I'd like you to meet my son Reid and his girlfriend Dena. Reid, Dena, this is Joseph Mann."
"It's nice to meet you." Reid said. He offered his hand, which was readily accepted by the older man in front of him.
"It's nice to meet you as well. I have heard a lot about both of you."
"Well, we should get going. Joseph, are we taking your car?" Ellen asked.
"We can." Joseph nodded his head. He took Ellen's arm again and led everyone outside. A silver Mercedes was in front of the door waiting for someone to occupy it. "Is that your Impala, Reid?"
"Ya, I fixed it up a few years ago." Reid said.
The car ride was sent with questions going between Reid and Joseph, mainly Reid asking and Joseph answering. Dena and Ellen just staid quiet and enjoyed the ride. A few times they would shake their head at a question or have to interrupt, but they let the men rule the conversation. When they arrived at dinner Reid and Joseph both raced to the other side of the car to help the women out. A valet took the car as the couples walked up to the restaurant. A young woman took everyone to a table in one of the dining rooms. She gave them menus before leaving them.
"So Ellen tells me that you two go to Harvard."
"We do. We're underclassman." Dena answered before Reid could say some smart-ass reply.
"My son goes there. He's a senior and will be graduating this spring."
"What's his name again?" Ellen asked.
"Jason, he's majoring in law. Just like his old man." Joseph said proudly. "He was going to join us tonight, but was unable to make it. There's been some trouble there."
"Is everything alright?" Ellen asked, concern filling her voice.
"He is, but he got into a fight with some other students." Dena choked on her water and Reid patted her back. "The dean has asked him to stay on the campus for now till everything has been dealt with. I'm sorry, but Dena, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Dena coughed. She looked over at Reid, but he just had a stern look on his face.
"We'll just have to set up another date so we can all meet." Ellen said with a smile.
"We will, don't worry." Joseph patted Ellen's hand and smiled at her. Their food was placed before them, stopping the conversation as everyone started to eat.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been told how you two met." Dena said. Ellen looked up at Joseph with a secretive smile.
"We met in London." Ellen said.
"A pub actually." Joseph said.
"I didn't really give Joseph a second look, but the next night I met him again at a party a friend was throwing. We talked almost the entire night."
"I asked for Ellen's number and we went on a few dates in London. We've kept in touch and gone to dinner, plays, movies, and parties together since then."
"But Mother hasn't been to London in almost six months."
"I know I didn't tell you immediately, but I wanted to make sure this was serious. Like you did with Dena. I didn't meet her for almost a year after you met her." Ellen said. Reid grumbled, but agreed with his mother and staid quiet.
"I assume you two met at school?"
"We did. I transferred to Spencer Academy last year and I met Reid there. I moved back to California to stay with some friends at the end of the year, but Reid came out as well. We've been together for over almost a year now."
"Three and a half weeks till the date." Reid said proudly.
"I'm surprised you remember Reid. You used to not be able to meet any dates." Ellen said. Reid just shrugged and finished his lamb.
The rest of the dinner was finished mainly in silence. Reid had finished his interrogation of his mother's boyfriend and Dena and Ellen were just happy to have some silence. The group decided to ski the desert in favor of getting home at a reasonable time. Reid and Dena told Joseph good night as soon as they were home. Dena was a bit more courteous than Reid who tried to escape to his room like a baby racing away from his medicine. Dena at least mentioned it was nice to meet Joseph before she let Reid drag her away.
"That's Jason's dad?" Dena said as soon as Reid's door was shut.
"They better not get married. I am not going to be related to that ass hole in any minor way." Reid grumbled. He sat on the bed and put his face in his hands. Dena climbed up behind him and started giving him a massage. "That feels so good."
"Well we need to relax as much as we can now. This year's going to get crazy."
"No kidding." Reid agreed. He pulled Dena around to face him, where he started to make sure Dena knew how much her massage and her presence was appreciated.
