"Turn here," Tina instructed.

Steve pulled the silver Camaro into nearly-hidden driveway.

"Almost missed that," he remarked as the gravel crunched under the tires.

"Yeah, that willow has been getting really big. My dad loves it too much to cut it though."

The car came to a stop and Steve examined the house. About two hours from the big apple, the small neighborhood in New Jersey seemed very quaint. The house had white siding and ivy threatening to overwhelm it on the left side. Near the ground it looked as though someone had tried to beat the ivy back, but had given up when they realized their fight would be in vain. There were trees everywhere, mostly weeping willows and oaks. In some places grass grew, in others, flower beds, mulch, or pebbles. The undergrowth of small bushes and little plants took over at the small property's edges. It seemed like a different world compared to the busy city Steve was used to.

"Nothing like the Tower, huh?" Tina smiled self-consciously. "It's little, but hey, there's no place like home."

Steve put his arm around her shoulders.

"It's beautiful. I love it."

He opened the trunk and lifted both of their bags out of it.

"Those probably would have fit on your bike," Tina whined. She loved the motorcycle. The speed! The excitement! The snuggliness!

"Maybe this is the modern world, but I really doubt that pulling up on a motorcycle is a good idea when meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time," Steve reasoned. He looked back at the car. It's such a pretty car. Brand-new, too. Very nice of Tony to let me borrow it, but I like my bike better. Steve shifted both bags into one hand and reached out for Tina with the other. He swallowed nervously and tried to look calm. Tina smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze. The door seemed to open in slow motion.

"Chrissy!"

Tina ran up the two steps to the door and hugged her dad.

"Hi dad!"

Her father studied Steve over Tina's shoulder. His eyes were exactly the same shade of green as hers. His graying hair was cropped short, which might have made him look severe if it weren't for the laugh lines and look of perpetual boyishness in his face.

"Dad, this is Steve," Tina stepped back and gestured to him.

"Nice to meet you sir," Steve shook his hand with some trepidation.

"Nice to meet you, too. I've heard a lot about you," Mr. Adams studied Steve closely.

"All good things, I hope," Steve responded with a nervous smile.

Mr. Adams laughed, eyes crinkling.

"Come on in."

They barely got in the door before Tina was mobbed by family members.

"Christina! My daughter!"

A petite woman shoved her way through the crowd of people. Steve instantly recognized her as Tina's mother. Though her curls were shot through with gray, they still had a lustrous shine to them. Her eyes were ice blue, but framed with lashes and the same shape as her daughter's.

"Mom," Tina grinned widely, thrilled to have been recognized and remembered. She hugged her mother gently.

Steve smiled at Tina's obvious happiness. At that moment, he began to feel the eyes in the room turning to him. He tried valiantly, but couldn't stop the blush from coming to his cheeks.

"Oh, honey. Who is that? I like him. He's hunky, sweetheart!" Tina's mother whispered conspiratorially (and loudly).

The room exploded with giggles. Tina blushed slightly, but didn't even come close to Steve's current shade of stop-sign crimson.

"Oh, yeah. Mom, remember I said I wanted you to meet someone special?"

Mrs. Adams smiled blankly, while the rest of Tina's relatives continued laughing themselves silly.

"I like meeting people," she said simply, soft smile still in place as she examined the soldier.

"Well, this is Steve."

Mrs. Adams sauntered up to Steve and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Hello Steve," she smiled almost flirtatiously.

He couldn't help laughing a little.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh, and he's polite. Oh, Christina, I like him. Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, mom. He is," Tina smiled sweetly up at Steve.

"Is he a football player? My Jeffy is a football player," she smiled lovingly at her husband, "Best receiver on the team!"

"Not for a long time, Deb," he reminded gently. Turning his gaze back to Steve he asked, "What do you do? If it isn't football," he laughed.

"I'm in the, uh, Special Forces." Steve's right eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, the way it always seemed to when he was lying. Tina caught it and smiled just a little.

"Wow," one of Tina's cousins replied, "Isn't that, like, super scary?"

The girl wound a piece of blonde hair around her finger in a way that was surely meant to seem attractive. Steve couldn't help but notice that it was the same shade as Tina's but somehow not half as pretty.

"It's not exactly a picnic," he hedged.

"We're having a picnic!" Deb announced suddenly, his comment jarring her memory.

She grinned hugely and gestured towards the hall.

"Out back!"

The crowd began filing onto the grassy lawn. Toward the end of the property, Steve could see a dock. The sun sparkled off the lake. Suddenly, he felt something grab his leg. He looked down to see a chubby toddler clinging to him with a huge, mostly toothless grin.

"Hi, little fella," he laughed and impulsively scooped up the brown-haired baby.

He hadn't been around babies too often. Steve got frozen in the ice before his friends had any. The only experience he really had was taking pictures with them after shows. The child's eyes were green, and his nose shaped like Tina's. Steve loved being here with her family. He liked them so far, and liked picking out all of her features from the crowd. The baby pointed to Tina and giggled.

"Wisss!" he squealed.

"Yeah!" Tina gushed, "Chris! That's me. Where's mommy?"

The child looked about for a moment and pointed out a tall brunette woman obediently.

"Where's Carter?"

He laughed and raised both chubby arms.

"Yes, that's you!"

Steve laughed with Carter and snuggled him a little closer.

"Well, they're kind of nutty…but so am I, what could you really have expected?" Tina commented, surveying her family.

"I love your mom," Steve responded, "And your dad seems really nice, too. I was so worried he'd hate me."

"Hate you? Steve, you're a dreamboat, of course he likes you!"

Steve shrugged.

"Okay if I abandon you for a minute?" Tina asked, "I'm going to say hi to all my aunts."

"Sure," Steve responded. "Carter and I will…chill here."
Tina laughed at Steve's usage of modern lingo and tweaked the toddler's toe.

"Are you two gonna be buddies then?"

"Yeah, we're…um," Steve wracked his brains for just a moment, "We're bros," he responded triumphantly.

Carter laughed in agreement and grabbed Steve's nose. Tina flounced off on the lawn and began chatting with a group of motherly-looking women.

"Heyy, Steve."

Steve jumped at the sudden noise. The same blonde-haired girl was smiling up at him.

"Oh, hi."

"I'm Macy," she grinned, flipping her hair out of the gentle breeze.

"Nice to meet you," Steve smiled nervously.

Something about her set him on edge. For some reason, she reminded him of the girl he had a crush on in second grade. Said girl had curb-stomped him when she found out that a loser like him was interested in her. Steve examined Macy a little closer. She appeared to be the same age, but was much taller than Tina, standing at about five foot eight. Her eyes were a rather dismal shade of grayish blue that reminded Steve of cold metal. Though their hair was the same color, Macy's was pin-straight and only came down to her shoulder, a good foot and a half shorter than his girl's. Tina's skin was almost always colored by a blush, but Macy's was tanned much darker. She looked lean and strong, like an athlete, but was simultaneously a lot curvier than Tina, who was petite in every way. Even her clothing choices showed off their differences; Tina wore a neat skirt and flowy top that made her eyes stand out while her cousin wore a tank top and very short denim shorts.

"So awesome to meet you, too. You are like, the hottest. My cuz is sooo lucky," Macy flashed another bleached-white smile at him.

"Thanks."

Macy took a step closer.

"Are you guys FBO? Like, are you serious?"

"Huh? Um, yeah, I-uh, we're serious."

Steve fought the urge to take a step back. FBO? Does she mean UFO? Oh, gosh, I have no idea what that means…

"Aw that's sooo sweet."

She gave a simpering grin and placed her hand on his arm.

"That's like, so awesome. I just gotta know though: is she still on about that whole old-school thing?"

"Um-"

"You know, how she like, doesn't wanna do it until she gets married? Is she still such a prude?"

Steve's eyes widened and he shifted Carter in his arms as an excuse to wriggle out from under her hand. He felt redness in his cheeks. And I thought Tina was modern…who just talks about…that during a family gathering?

"Tina is very firm in her beliefs," he hedged, quite unsure of what to say and feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Wow, that sucks so bad for you," Macy sighed sympathetically. "There's no way I'd ever do that to a guy. Especially not a hottie like you."

She looked him up and down. It was creepy…Steve felt like a piece of meat being surveyed by a hungry wolf.

"Well, I agree with her. I feel the same was as she does about-about…that," Steve replied defensively. He took another step backwards, holding Carter a little like a shield.

"OH HELLO MACY," Tina announced quite loudly from behind her cousin.

The soldier sighed in relief.

"Oh, hey, girl!" Macy smiled and patted her on the head degradingly, like you would a dog. She threw one last smile at Steve and sashayed over to the picnic table.

"Oh God, I hate her," Tina said grumpily, folding her arms.

"Yucky!" Carter added, pointing at Macy.

"Pretty much, buddy," Steve agreed quietly. "If it makes you feel better, she's not half as pretty as you are. Not an eighth as pretty. And she talks…strangely. She's kind of a…"

"Slut? Desperate ho? Queen of harlots?"

"I was going to say 'trollop', but queen of harlots does the job pretty well," Steve chuckled. "Are you jealous?" he teased.

"No!" Tina growled vehemently. She reached up for the baby, who went to her happily, and began promptly tugging on her curls.

Steve put an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"Now you know how I feel when men look your way."

"Which doesn't happen all too often."

"Oh it does. You just don't notice the heads turning in your direction."

"They do not!"

"They do. I don't lose my mind, though, because I know you love me."

Tina smiled up at her hero.

"I do."

"And I love you."

"Good. But that doesn't make my dumb cousin any less of a bimbo."

Steve laughed and mussed Tina's hair. Does she know that my world turns around her? Does she realize that the sun rises and sets with her? She grabbed his hand and led him off to the table for hamburgers and hot dogs.

"It's an all-American meal for an all-American holiday," her father explained.

"Oh, good," Steve replied, "I'm definitely a patriot."

So this ended up turning into a much longer scene than I'd originally planned...I ended up splitting it into two parts. Part two will be posted Tuesday, fo sho! Because that'll be the first day in a week that I haven't had swim practice!

Review, my lovelies!