Chapter Twenty-Seven

Meet The Parents: Part II

I saw At Worlds End today! I'm finally one of the cool kids (who cares if it took me two weeks? LOL).

Thank you to my reviewers!

The first thing that Kate realized that morning was that there no power. Her bedside clock was still shut off. She had gotten up and put some jeans on instead of the pajama shorts that she had slept in and started walking to the living room, only to bump into Will.

"Sorry," she smiled, then walked to the living room and started opening the curtains to let light into the dim room. "The power's still out," Kate said over her shoulder to Will. "I'm not sure when it will be back on. But I'm sure that you're used to this."

"I actually rather liked the morning," he said. "I liked to go outside for a few minutes and catch a glimpse of the day before I started working."

"Let's," Kate said, taking his hand and going through the siding glass door. Kate noticed that it was a little cold outside for June. The grass had dew – or was it rain? – on it gathered in small droplets. There were a few birds chirping in the trees.

Kate felt Will go behind her and wrap his arms around her. His fingers found her's. He laced his through her's. Kate knew that she wouldn't want to be anywhere else rather than with Will, right here, on her deck, looking at the early morning sun.

"You're cold," he said softly.

"Yes," she said, equally softly. She cherished the moment between the two of them. Who would know when they would have this moment perfect again?

"Will..." she said. "About last night–"

She was interrupted by the voices she heard through the screen. She first recognized her mother's, than her father's. And judging from how loud they were, they were pretty close.

"That storm was scary, wasn't it,"she asked, wiggling away from Will, sending him a "play along" look. Kate leaned on the railing of the deck "All that lightening and thunder..."

"Kate?" her mother's voice cut through the air. "Are you outside?"

"Yeah," she said. She started to get a little nervous; what would her parents think of Will being here? She was sure that her dad would freak out.

Her mom, opened the screened door and squinted at the sun. Kate smiled at her mom. She looked tired. Understandably, if she slept a few hours at an airport.

"How are–" Her mom's green eyes caught sight of Will. "Kate...who's this?"

"Oh! Um..." She swallowed. "Mom, this is Will. Will, this is my mom, Jordana."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Sims," Will said, kissing her hand.

"Kate!" her mother whispered to her. "When did you get a boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Kate prayed that she wasn't blushing. "He was one of my friends from school. And his parents – vicious, really – they decided that the day he graduated he couldn't live in their house anymore. They thought he needed a dose of the real world. So, I hope you don't mind, but he's been staying here. He's been nothing but a gentleman the whole time."

"Apparently," she said.

"You have?" her father said.

Kate didn't know that he was even there. Was he listening in on the whole conversation?

"Yes, sir," Will said. She heard the slightest of a shake in his voice.

Come on, Will! Kate coached. Don't let him scare you!

Kate's dad really didn't look that intimidating, but he sure acted like it. Yes, he was tall (that's where Kate had gotten her height), but it was his tone and how he talked that made people run.

"Dad!" Kate said. "He means no harm–"

"What did you do with my daughter while I was gone?"

"Dad, this isn't fair–"

"Kate, this isn't directed to you. Now, Will, answer the question."

"Dad, you're being ridiculous! Will is very responsible and treated me well. He did nothing with me–"

"Katherine." His voice was stern. Kate knew to be quiet now when he used her full name. "Will, I will ask this one last time. What did you do with my daughter while my wife and I were in New York?"

She thought her father was acting immaturely over the whole thing. Why couldn't he just believe that nothing had happened between the two of them?

"Nothing, sir," Will said. "Your daughter was very cordial and nothing but polite. I'm quite grateful that she allowed me to stay with her, actually."

"But did you act the same way that my daughter did?"

"What kind of a question is this?" Kate interrupted. "Dad, stop this! You're being ridiculous. You don't even know Will, so stop questioning him like he's a prisoner! If he had laid even a finger on me, why I would I be defending him?"

Kate was looking only at her father, but she could feel Will's eyes on her. She didn't mind speaking out like this. She did have to defend Will, after all, since he didn't seem like he was going to do it himself.

"I'll be putting my things away," her father said, heading in the house, trailed by her mother.

She and Will went into the house, handed him a pair of flip-flops and putting on a pair herself, and silently slipped out of the house. They walked down the road, her holding onto his arm.

"I'm sorry. My dad hates when I bring a guy home. I swear, he's going to arrange a marriage for me," she half-joked.

"I thought you said that marriages weren't arranged anymore," Will said.

"They aren't. He's just so set that I marry someone that lives up to his unrealistic expectations."

"Has he always been that way? Controlling?"

"I guess. He just makes me live up to expectations, like getting good grades and honors classes in school and getting a good job. When I was younger, I thought that I was going to go crazy with all that he was trying to tell me what to be, until I just realized that this is my life, and no one will tell me how to live it."

They turned onto a paved walking path. It had a pond and some town homes surrounding it. Kate loved walking here, she always thought that it was beautiful.

"About last night..." she said. "It didn't come out right." She stopped walking and made sure that he was looking at her.

Kate was usually good at putting things into words, but even now she felt like she couldn't put a good sentence. She felt nervous and tongue-tied now.

"I love you, Will."

There. She had said it. She really did love him, he really did love her, and everything seemed okay right now.

She felt his lips against her's, his hand on her back. She put her arms around his neck. The feeling that she remembered having before slowly started coming back now: love.