Chapter 20: Meet the Parents: Part Two
We're in the car. It's stopped. Parked in the Lopez driveway.
"My mom is home." Santana says from the driver's seat. More like whispers actually.
"Okay." I mumble. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse.
"Are you ready?" She asks and looks over at me.
"No." I whisper and look down to my hands. My fingers playing with each other nervously. I don't know why I am so nervous right now. Everything went well when we told my parents that we were together. Maybe it has something to do with all of the things Santana has told me about her mom. They make her sound sort of scary and intimidating. That's probably it. Plus, there the fact that Santana's mom has all of these strange visions of how her daughters life should go. It's a little overwhelming.
"Brittany."
"Hmm." I hum.
"Brittany." Santana says again and I see her hand reach over and she places it on top of my fidgety hands. "It's gonna be fine. I know I might have made my mom sound kinda scary but she's not a monster. She loves me and wants the best for me but she just has a weird way of showing it."
"Okay." I say not convinced.
"And if it isn't okay, I'm not going anywhere. You and me, no matter how this goes, we'll be together."
"Okay." I say again. I feel a little better about that.
"Britt?"
"Yeah." I finally look up and over at her. She is a lot closer to me than I expected. Like her face is inches away.
"I'm gonna kiss you now." She gives me that cute little smirk of hers.
I nod and lean in closer to her until our lips connect. Her hand comes up and cups my neck behind my ear and pulls me closer. I feel her tongue graze along my bottom lip and open my mouth in response. Santana's tongue slips into my mouth rolling around with my tongue. A moan rolls up the back of my throat. I snap my eyes open when I hear it.
"Santana." I gasp and pull my face away from hers. She's looking at me with that scrunched up confused face. Her thumb rubs across the skin on my neck and I sigh. "We can't make out in your parents driveway. Not right now, at least."
She nods and sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. "You're right." She agrees. "Okay. So- let's do this."
"Okay." It's my go to response apparently.
"Don't worry, Britt-Britt." She releases her hand from my neck and pokes me on the nose.
I smile big. "Okay." I giggle. "I think I'm ready."
"Great. Let's get this over with and then we can make out, in the car, in the driveway." Santana waggles her eyebrows at me.
I shake me head at her. "Right." When did she get so bold?
We are sitting on a very expensive looking leather couch in the living room of Santana's house. I knew it was big. I could tell just by looking at it from the outside but now that I am inside it seems even bigger.
Santana is sitting on my right with about a foot of space in between us. When we arrived Santana let us in and called for her mother. The woman came into the entrance hallway and stopped when she saw that Santana wasn't alone.
After a somewhat awkward welcome Santana told her that she wanted to talk. The older Lopez insisted on getting some lemonade and told us to go sit in the living room.
So here we sit waiting for Santana's mom to return. A few minutes pass in silence and I look around the room curiously. There's a giant fireplace across the room from the couch with family pictures up on the mantel. I want to stand up and go over and look closer at them but resist. Maybe I can see them another time.
Mrs. Lopez returns with a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses with ice in them all on a fancy tray. "Here we go." She says and sets the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch. The woman then goes and sits in the armchair next to the couch that is closer to Santana then myself.
"So, Santana what did you want to talk about? And why did you bring your friend with you?" I don't like the emphasis she puts on the word friend.
"Is dad home?" Santana asks.
The older Lopez woman shakes her head. "No. He should be home within the hour, though."
"Oh, okay." Santana murmurs. I take my attention off of Mrs. Lopez and look to my right. Santana is looking down at her hands. I don't know if she wants to still go through with our plan or not.
"Santana." I whisper and she looks up at me. I narrow my eyes trying to see if I can figure it out without words. She smiles and shakes her head.
"Santana, I don't have all day." Her mother says sounding impatient.
I see Santana rolls her eyes and huff out a breath of air. "I have something to tell you. About me and Brittany." She looks from her mother to me and smiles and then looks back to her mom. "We're together." Santana says and holds her head high.
Mrs. Lopez narrows her eyes and looks between the two of us. She shakes her head after about a minute. "Well, it's about time that you settle down."
"That's all you have to say." Santana shoots back immediately.
"Well, no, but I didn't think this would happen so soon. I had hoped that you would find somebody and settle down but realistically I didn't think that would happen for a while." She shrugs and then continue. "I am happy. Happy for you and Brittany. I am elated that you are finally maturing and getting some things in your life together. This is the first step to a very successful life for you."
Now I understand why Santana can't stand her mother sometimes. She is indeed very intimidating. I understand and can tell that she only wants the best for her daughter but she says things that seem contrary to that.
"Gee, thanks, mom." Santana says sarcastically.
"Santana." Her mom scolds.
It's quiet for a while and I think that Mrs. Lopez is probably taking in this new information. She looks me over, head to toe. "Is Brittany the girl you have been spending your nights with?"
Now I feel a little uneasy. This woman makes me nervous.
"Yes. She is." Santana confirms.
Her mom eyes narrow on me. "We haven't slept together." I blurt out. I can feel Santana whip her head around at my side but my eyes are focused on her mom.
"Brittany." Santana whisper-yells. Her mom doesn't say anything though.
"It's all been very PG-13." I say.
"Brittany." Santana whispers again. "Please. Stop talking."
I nod. "Okay." I whisper.
Her mom starts laughing. Like, really laughing. Head thrown back in laughter. I wait until she is done before I ask my question. "What's so funny?"
"You, dear." Mrs. Lopez tells me.
I knit my eyebrows in confusion. "I don't understand."
"Nevermind, dear." She turns to her daughter. "Santana." The older Lopez smiles. "I assume that this is a serious relationship?"
"It is. Very." Santana confirms her mother's suspicions.
"Good. I'll admit that I was a little apprehensive but meeting Brittany and seeing how great she is, that apprehension is washed away. Brittany, my dear, you are a ray of sunshine, a absolute delight, I can tell already. You make everyone around you smile, don't you?"
"I- I guess." I stammer.
"She makes me smile." Santana speaks up. I look over to her and she is smiling that big brilliant smile. The one I love the most. I reach over and find her hand with my own. Santana smiles that little bit bigger when I squeeze her hand, our eyes locked together.
"I love your smile." I whisper to her. "I love making you smile."
"Ahem." I am pulled out of my Santana stupor when her mom clears her throat. I snap my attention back to her.
"Sorry." I whisper.
"It's fine, Brittany." Mrs. Lopez says and turns to Santana. "Does this mean you have made a decision about work?"
"Uh?" Santana says unintelligently.
An awkward silence falls across the room. Mrs. Lopez looks expectantly to Santana. Santana looks to me. I shrug my shoulders. I don't know what she wants me to do. Santana hasn't told me anything about her job. Whether she is going to quit or stick with it. She looks back to her mom and so do I. "No." She finally says after what feels like minutes. "I haven't. I'm still thinking about it." I can tell that she is uneasy about it, still. You would thinking after telling her mom that she wanted to possibly think about quitting and some time passing that she would feel better about the whole situation but I guess not. I don't blame her though. It's a tough decision. Whatever she decides will effect the rest of her life. That's huge.
I scoot over a little on the couch until my thigh brushes up against hers. I squeeze her thigh with my right hand and lean in and kiss her temple.
Santana ducks her head in embarrassment, I assume, because her mom is sitting a few feet away. I can see the slightest hint of blush on her cheeks but she tries to hide it.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about Santana. I am your mother. I changed your diapers as a baby. Remember that. You have a very thoughtful, caring girlfriend. That is the very last thing to be embarrassed about."
Great, with Mrs. Lopez's word now I'm embarrassed. I duck my chin to my chest too.
"Mom, please." Santana whines.
"Okay, okay, dear. Seriously, though, Santana this is great news. But I do have one more question for you ladies."
"Okay. What?" Santana sighs. I look up from my lap and see Mrs. Lopez smiling at me.
"It's for Brittany, actually."
"Okay." Santana breathes out and turns to look at me.
"I'm ready." I tell Mrs. Lopez and she closes her eyes and chuckles briefly. "So, Brittany, are you the one who influenced Santana to think about her future?"
I'm not quite sure what she is getting at but yeah I have talked with Santana about her future a little bit. "Yeah. I guess so." I shrug.
"Hmm. Who woulda thought? Well, I commend you. I've been trying to get Santana to think about her future for the better part of the last year. Ya know, find a nice girl, settle down, prepare to take over the insurance business, maybe start a family, and stop spending her free time out and about drinking and whatnot."
"Uh-" I have no clue what to say to that.
"Mom. I'm sitting right here. I can hear everything you are saying."
"I know Santana."
Santana huffs out an annoyed breath. "How about some lemonade now?" Her mom offers.
"Sure. I'd love some." I smile over at the older Lopez. She smiles kindly back at me and gets up to pour the lemonade. I nudge Santana in the side with my elbow. "Don't you want some lemonade?"
Santana scowls at me. "No. I'm fine." She huffs and slumps back into the couch.
While her mom is pouring me my glass of lemonade in lean close to Santana and whisper in her ear. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing really. I'm just- just- I don't know. Nothing. Alright."
"Okay." I say. I know it's not nothing but I would pester her about it right now. I'll wait til later to ask her about it.
Mrs. Lopez hands me my glass of lemonade. I take it with my left hand, my right resting on Santana's leg. "Thank you." I take a big gulp of the drink. "Holy cow, that's delicious. Did you make this yourself, Mrs. Lopez?"
"Oh, please, dear, call me Maribel. And, yes, I did make it. I'm glad you like it."
"Thank you." I say probably too eagerly.
"Your welcome, dear. So tell me more about yourself."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you." She chuckles again. Am I that funny? "I'm not talking about Santana. I know all about her."
"Again, gee thanks mom." Santana mutters.
"Oh. I don't know. What do you want to know?" What am I suppose to tell this woman? I should tell her something that will impress her and get her to like me even faster.
"Anything. Your family. Your job. What activities you like to do? That sort of thing."
"Well, I work at the bar." Maribel tilts her head to the side. That's not really impressive, it's kinda the opposite, isn't it? "Uh- my family owns a bar and restaurant." I explain further. "My grandpa started it and then my mom took over when he retired and I will take over when she retires."
"Is that so?" She smiles and looks at Santana.
"What?" Santana questions.
"Nothing." Her mom says.
"Anyway. I work mostly nights like five to close except for Saturdays. We are closed on Sundays and I have Mondays off. So, yeah, that's pretty much all about work. I love it though. It's fun and I love interacting with people. I might not be book smart. I didn't go to college but I understand people. That, I do know."
"Wow." Mrs. Lopez seems in awe of me. Or something similar.
"Uh- yeah. My mom and dad have been together since they were in high school. Like seventeen, I think. I was born when my mom was twenty and I have a little sister. She's sixteen and a typical teenager. My parents run the bar but my mom is there most of the time. My dad works as a repairman during the week. I don't know if you know this but-" I look over at Santana to make sure it's okay and she gives me a nod and I know that it is. "-my dad is the one who came and fixed the hole in your hallway wall."
Mrs. Lopez eyes widen ever so slightly. "I didn't know. Santana never told me."
"I don't think she wanted anyone to know. She actually swore my dad to secrecy that he wouldn't tell me or anyone in my family that he came and repair the wall at your house."
"I didn't want Brittany to find out. I wanted to tell her myself- about what happened." Santana so of explains her reasoning with a shrug.
"I understand." Maribel says with a nod of her head. She isn't looking at us anymore. The Lopez matriarch is looking off into the distance. I can see the wheels turning in her head as she puts all of the piece together. Me and Santana and the information that we have told her today. She is putting every piece in the correct stop.
A silence falls around us. I take another drink of my lemonade and offer it to Santana. She shakes her head. "Are you sure?" She shakes her head again and then takes the glass from my hand and brings it to her lips. I giggle next to her as she takes a drink.
"That is good." She comments and hands the glass back to me. "Thanks mom. I haven't had your lemonade in a long time."
"Thank you, dear." She smiles warmly at her daughter. "Brittany, I am guessing that you and Santana met at the bar?"
"Yep. She doesn't tell you much, does she?" I joke and nudge Santana with my elbow.
"Hey." Santana grumbles.
"I'm just kidding. It's fine. You are a private person."
Santana rolls her eyes and sighs. She knows I'm teasing and that I'm right. "But, yeah, Santana came in, it was a Friday night and she was angry, I think." I look to Santana and she nods her head. "Yeah, and asked for something strong to drink. She didn't say hardly anything all night as she drank herself into a stupor. I had never seen her before. Like I said, I am good with people and usually remember someone after I see them once and spend some time serving them drinks. I knew that I had never seen or served her before. She was drunk and I wouldn't let her drive home so I called her a cab. I cut her off and she was mad about that and started yelling at me. Finally the cab came and I helped her out to it and that was that. That's basically how Santana and I met."
"What is it embarrass Santana day?"
"No." Her mother and I say at the same time and giggle a little bit at our timing. "That's very interesting first encounter." Maribel says.
"It is, isn't it. And then she came in the next day. She came in and started yelling about me putting her in a cab. I'm actually pretty positive now that she wasn't really angry about that but about something else and just projected it onto me."
"That's true. I had anger issues. But I am working through them now."
"I was intrigued and wanted to know more about Santana but she left in a huff. A couple of days later she came in and apologized for all of her previous terrible actions and for yelling at me. That's when I knew. I knew that I needed to get to know Santana and be her friend, at the very least."
"Wow, I just can't believe it."
"Me either sometime. It was a strange way to meet someone but that doesn't really matter now." I lean over and kiss Santana on the cheek.
"Well, I guess not. And even though it will probably bring further embarrassment I am glad that you two met and are together. I can tell that you care very much for my daughter and from very early on accordingly to your little story. And by the way Santana's attitude is changing in recent days and weeks and from the way she is acting today I can tell that this is serious for her as well."
"It is." Santana speaks up. I squeeze her thigh and she gives me a cute half smile.
"I'm gonna go get dinner started. Are you staying for dinner Brittany?"
I don't know. Am I? I turn to Santana for an answer. But before she can give me one we here the front door open.
"Honey, I'm home." A deep male voice echoes through the house.
"In the living room." Maribel shouts to her husband.
A few seconds later a tall slim man strolls into the room that we are sitting. "Oh. Hello, ladies." He goes over to his wife and kisses her on the cheek. Mr. Lopez then stands in front of the couch that Santana and I are sitting on. "And who do we have here." He glances from Santana to me and back to Santana.
"Dad. Have a seat. Please."
"Okay." He says and sits down on the couch right next to Santana. In between where his wife sits in the chair and where Santana sits in the middle of the couch.
"Santana and Brittany have an announcement for you." Maribel says from her spot.
"Wonderful. What is it?"
I like how happy he sounds at the news that we have an announcement and he hasn't even heard what it is yet.
"Dad." Santana addresses her father. I can't see her face because she is turned towards him but I know that she is smiling. "I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Brittany."
"Well-" A brilliant smile, similar to the one Santana has, lights up his face. "-look at my little girl bringing home a girlfriend to meet the parents." He chuckles. "Come here." The man stands up and holds out his arms. Santana stands up and falls into her dad's arms. He hugs her tight and kisses her on the top of the head. I see him lean down and whisper something in her ear. It's too low and I can't hear what he says but whatever it is it makes Santana smile.
He holds Santana at arms length and looks her over and then his eyes flicker over to me. "You too." He raises his eyebrow at me and nods for me to stand up.
I stand up and step into the mans arms. He gives me a bone crushing hug. "Brittany, I don't know anything about you but I would love to find out. Also, I trust that you will treat my daughter right and with the utmost respect."
Mr. Lopez isn't at all intimidating, like his wife, and makes me feel welcome.
"Yes, sir." I mumble.
He pulls back and cocks his head to the side. "Don't call me sir." He shakes a finger in my face. I hear Santana giggle behind me.
"Dad, leave Brittany be."
He spins around to face his daughter. "No. I will not have your girlfriend calling me sir. It's weird. It's far too formal for my ears. Someone else, maybe, but I don't want that. Not from someone so- so-" He stammers for the right word. I don't know exactly what that word is and it seems that neither does he. "Just call me Antonio. Or Tony."
I nod. "Okay. I think I can do that."
"So, Brittany are you staying for dinner?" Antonio asks me.
I look over to Santana. "No. I don't think so. I should get home." I want Santana to have time with her family tonight. I think she should spend some time with her dad seeing as he doesn't seem to be around too much.
"I'll drive Brittany home and then I will be back." Santana tells her parents. Everyone nods and agrees. "Should we go now?"
"Sure." I say.
"It was very nice to meet you Brittany. I hope to see you around, a lot, now." Antonio winks at me.
"Yes, dear, it was nice to meet you and to hear the wonderful news that you guys shared with us today."
"Mom, stop it." Santana hisses.
"Santana." I whisper and she hangs her head. Her dad and I laugh.
"You two are gonna make a perfect couple." Her dad says and shakes his head like he is in disbelief. "Opposites attract." He whispers to me and walks out of the room. "See ya soon, Brittany." Antonio shouts over his shoulder.
"Bye, Antonio." I yell with a big grin.
"Let's go." Santana says, suddenly at my side, she grabs my hand, and starts to led me out of the living room.
"Bye, Maribel." I say over my shoulder and wave with my free hand.
"Bye, Brittany. Santana, will you be back for dinner?"
"I don't know." Santana says and pulls me into the hallway. "I might just grab something to eat later. Don't make me anything. I'll be back though."
"Okay." I hear Mrs. Lopez say as we reach the front door. Santana pulls it open and smiles at me and gestures for me to go first. I return her smile and step forward onto the porch now pulling her behind me.
We hop in the car and Santana starts it up. "I'm glad that's over." Santana chuckles.
"Me too. Actually." I sigh. "I was nervous about meeting your mom. She's very intimidating but after the more we talked the more at ease I felt."
"I could tell. But, it goes both ways. I was nervous about meeting your parents as well."
"Yeah. I guess it was all for not. Everything worked out wonderfully."
"It did." Santana agrees. She backs out of the driveway and starts off in the direction of my apartment. "My mom likes you, ya know." Santana says after a few seconds of silence.
"Really?"
"Really." She glances over at me briefly before returning her eyes to the road. "She does. I know she does. She didn't say it but I can tell she does."
"Hmm." I hum and process the information. "Well, that's good. She can be a little scary but I really like your dad. I see a lot of him in you."
"Britt." She sighs.
"I'm serious. And you look like him a little bit too."
Santana exhales loudly but doesn't say anything. The rest of the drive back to my apartment is in silence. And that's okay. I am thinking about today and how I met Santana's parents and she met mine. It all went well. Better than I expected actually. My parents were weird and embarrassing as usually. Santana's mom definitely made me nervous but I understand her and the relationship she has with Santana a little better now. Her dad was super nice and seemed super excited about Santana and me and meeting me. He seemed genuinely excited to get to know me, even though that didn't happen today. I am excited to spend time with him and get to know him more too.
"What are you thinking about?" Santana's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
I shake my head and turn to look over at her. I realize now that the car is stopped and we are in front of my apartment building. "Oh. We're back."
"Yep. So, what were you thinking about?"
"Just today." I shrug. "How everything played out. There is one thing that I was wondering about though."
"What's that?" Santana shuffles a little closer to me. As close as she can get before the center console gets in the way.
"You were really quite today at your house when we were talking with you mom and even with your dad a little. What was up with that?"
"I just-my mom and I- we don't really share things with each other. I don't really like the idea of my mom knowing all about my relationship and what's going on with it."
"Hmm." I frown.
"Britt. It has nothing to do with you. I don't like talking about myself especially in front of my mom. We don't have that kind of relationship. That's it."
"Okay."
"Okay?" She asks. I nod and it's quiet for a few seconds. "Britt, I don't want to go back. I want to stay here with you." Santana whines eventually.
God, that sounds so good. "I don't want you to go either." I admit. I want her to stay over like she did last night after our date. I want to fall asleep with her, holding onto her. I want to wake up in the morning and see her beautiful face still in my bed. I sigh. "But you can't. Not tonight."
"I know." She reaches over with her right hand and puts it on the back of my neck and rubs her thumb up and down there. It's one of my favorite things that she does. She rubs over the little hairs there at my hairline. It's so calming and comforting. I think I could honestly fall asleep if she kept to doing it for a long time.
Her eyes are so soft and I wonder if mine are in a similar state as I stare into hers. She stares back, a little smirk crosses her features, and she leans forward, closing the gap between our faces.
When she kisses me, I sigh out. I rest my hand on the center console to steady myself and lean further into the kiss. I kiss her back harder and with more urgency. A moan escape Santana and I can't help but smirk into the kiss. I made her moan. My other hand goes up and grips onto her arm. It's kinda awkward but whatever, we're like two horny teenagers making out in the car. I run my tongue along her bottom lip and she gets the hint and opens up her mouth and I dip my tongue in. She moans again when our tongues start rolling around each other and battling for control.
When I pull back after pecking her lips a few times, I rest my forehead against hers and try to catch my breath. I look her straight in the eyes. Santana's eyes are somehow darker then their usual chocolate brown and full of lust. I can tell that she is smiling as she breathes hard. Or maybe it's a sexy smirk.
Santana tilts her head and disconnects our forehead. Her lips meet the corner of my mouth before moving over to my cheekbone and then my nose.
She kisses across my cheek all the way to my ear and then down my neck. It's very distracting and if I let her continue I know I won't be able to stop myself from jumping her bones right here in the car. "Santana- go home and spend some time with your parents- your dad." I stutter out. I tighten the grip I have on her arm and pull her arm so that her hand comes off the back of my neck and work up the strength to gently push Santana back so that her lips leave my neck.
"But-" She whines and pouts. And damn it.
"Just go. If this goes any further-" I point to her and then to me. "-I will have to drag you upstairs and completely ravage your body." I shiver a little with my words. "And you wanted things to go slow so- I want to honor that."
She giggles. "How very gentlemanly of you."
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna go now." I reach for the door handle and pull it and the door swings open. "One more kiss though." I lean across the center console and grab her bottom lip between mine kissing her gently before tugging a little and pulling back letting her lip pop back when I let go with a little pop. "Bye, babe." I whisper and go before I kiss her again.
"Bye, Britt." She manages to say before I shut the car door. She looked a little stunned after that little kiss and the fact that I was leaving. But I can't stick around because we will never say goodbye and I want her to go home and spend time with her parents.
I came in the house and feed Lord Tubbington his supper. I got myself something to eat and took a nice calm bubble bath. I'm now in bed watching the little tv I have set up on my dresser. The news is on. The weather is on and they are talking about the next work week. I thought runs through my head as the weatherman talks about how it might rain on Tuesday.
I grab my phone off the nightstand and open up the text message thingy. I type out the message and hit send.
To Santana: have a good work week
I put the phone back and turn my attention back to the news. It's only a few seconds before I get a text back.
From Santana: yeah right. But thanks.
I smile like an idiot at my phone. That message is so Santana. I send another text message.
To Santana: Goodnite San xoxo
A few seconds later she texts back.
From Santana: Goodnight Britt-Britt
I hope she had a good evening with her parents. I think she really needed it. To spend some quality time with her family. I go to sleep thinking about her and the next time that I am going to see her. Whenever that may be.