WOOHOO! We hit 450, guys! I'm so happy! YAYAYAY! I honestly cannot believe it & I'd like to thank each and every person for reviewing and reading this story thus far.
Thank you to Titania56, Rosietheactress, FindingSkyFan3, H-Musen, Finchy Benedict, Kiauna Gray, and all of my anonymous reviewers. I'm glad that you like netball, embarrassing moments & Will as much as I do, and I hope you like this chapter!
Also, on a side note, I had a nightmare last night that Joss Stirling sued me for copyright, so I feel like this is a good point to put a disclaimer in here! The Finding Sky world & all the characters that you recognise are Joss Stirling's, not mine! So, yeah, please don't sue me!
I'd also like to point out that this book is set directly after Seeking Crystal because I haven't read 'Misty Falls' as I was so disappointed at Seeking Crystal. So, if Will or any of the other Benedicts meet their soulfinder in that book then they won't be mentioned in this story, so apologies for that.
Anyway, now on with the story! Enjoy
37:
Grabbing the first set of underwear I found, I slipped them on, and pulled on an outfit over the top, settling on a black skirt, and navy top. I didn't want Will to see my underwear before we arrived, so I changed quickly, stuffing the bag back into my wardrobe when I was done. In all honesty, my undergarments really couldn't class as underwear- they were really nothing more than mere wisps of fabric, something that I hoped Will would appreciate, considering they weren't as comfortable as my usual, trusty, plain black knickers. Still, matching underwear gave a girl confidence. I'd already shaved in the shower this morning, so I was feeling prepared.
Whilst I waited for Will to finish showering, I finished getting ready, yanking out a pair of heeled boots to wear, and trying to style my unruly hair. I'd managed to clip half of it out of my face successfully when Will walked in with nothing more than a towel around his waist. Droplets clung to the ends of his hair and, as he walked, a few beads dropped off, rolling down his chest and disappearing under the towel.
"Lex, can you help me find an outfit, please?" He asked, oblivious to my ogling.
"Sure." I murmured, distracted by the way his muscles flexed as he lifted his suitcase onto the bed. He hadn't got round to unpacking yet, and as he was leaving tomorrow, there didn't seem much point bothering now. Besides, it was relatively easy to live out of a small suitcase only big enough for a few articles of clothing anyway. Standing beside him, I pawed through his case, settling on a pair of black jeans, and a long-sleeved, navy blue shirt which I passed to him. He pulled them on quickly, and turned to look at me for my opinion.
"What do you think?" He asked nervously, opening his arms wide so I could take in his outfit fully.
"I think that we match." I laughed, looking at the pair of us in the mirror, and realising we were colour co-ordinated.
"Should I change?"
"No, no. It'll be fine." I assured him with a smile. "What's got you so nervous all of a sudden?" I asked, flattening down the collar of his shirt with my fingertips.
"Nothing, nothing…" He murmured, distracted.
"Don't worry, you've only got to deal with my over protective brother, and even more over-protective father." I teased. His eyes widened at that.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! They'll behave themselves, I promise." I assured him with a laugh.
"Are you sure?" I wasn't, but I wasn't going to admit that. Every time I'd brought a boyfriend round to meet my family in the past they'd been given a baptism of fire by my father and my brother. I could only hope that they'd behave differently knowing that Will was my soulfinder, not just my boyfriend.
"They'll love you." I lied, leaning up and kissing him in the hope that it would take his mind off my tone. I'd never been very good at lying, and I didn't want him to know that I suspected that the male members of my family would be difficult tonight. But, as long as they weren't pig-headed enough not to get to know him, they would love him. Definitely. Well, at least I hoped they would.
XXX
We left for my parents' house soon after, accompanied by Monty. My family always liked to see him, and I was hoping that if he ran around enough in their garden he'd tire himself out, and I wouldn't have to take him on an evening walk, leaving me and Will free to spend the rest of the evening as we pleased.
We took Will's car to my parents', stopping at Tesco so Will could buy flowers for my mother, a crate of my father's favourite beer, and a box of chocolates. I picked up a bottle of rosé for myself while we were in there, knowing that my parents usually only stocked red wine. Normally 'Van would share a bottle with me, but since she was pregnant, it would be just me. And, seeing as Will was driving, I could have as much as I liked. Not that I'd drink the whole bottle to myself or anything, mind- between Van and I we'd never manage to drink the whole thing. It was only on netball nights out that I ended up drinking probably the equivalent of at least half a bottle, which was exactly why I was always in such a bad state the next day. No, a couple of glasses would be enough to take the edge off my nerves about introducing Will, and explaining just why I'd not told them I'd found him at the convention.
"Right here." I instructed Will, as we pulled onto my parents' road. "It's one with the white garage."
"Alexis, they all have white garages." He laughed, slowing the car to allow him to take a look at the houses on the street. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific, baby." I blushed at that, realising he was right- practically every house on the street had a white garage.
"It's number 5, and it's on the right." I clarified. "Keep going for a little bit. It's the one with a red, gravel drive." He nodded, and followed my instructions, pulling onto the gravelled surface I indicated. My parents lived in what was once an old farmhouse. In fact, all the buildings on this road were either converted farm buildings too, or were new builds, designed to fit in with the rustic, country style of the other properties. As a result, their house was rather large, complete with a thatched roof, and lots of timber.
We parked alongside my Dad's car, climbing out with bags full of our purchases. Well, Will carried our purchases. He had the flowers for my mother in one hand, and the chocolates, wine and beer in a bag in the other. I , on the other hand, had my arms full of a squirming Monty. I'd forgotten his lead, so I had to keep a hold of him until I could let him loose in their enclosed garden- I didn't want him running off into the road, or worse, an oncoming car. Climbing the porch steps, I was about to open the door, when Will interrupted me.
"Shouldn't we knock?" His eyes flickered to the door nervously.
"Will, I lived here for 18 years, excluding the time I went to uni. I think I'm good to walk right in."
"Oh yeah. Right." He nodded.
"It's going to be fine." I assured him with a smile. He nodded, grimacing slightly as he did so, his apprehensiveness still present despite what I kept telling him. Smiling, I reached for the door handle with one hand, whilst keeping my hold on Monty with the other. However, it seemed me opening the door was unnecessary, as it swung open before I could grasp it, revealing my parents stood behind it. They'd no doubt been stood there ever since we'd pulled up, and had overheard our entire exchange. I rolled my eyes: bloody typical. Mum couldn't resist ear wigging at every opportunity.
"Alexis, Will; do come on in." She simpered. I snickered to myself- I never usually got such a welcome when I returned home. I stepped in first, with Will following behind me. Setting Monty down once the door was closed, I hugged both of my parents in turn, lingering in my father arms to whisper a warning in his ear.
"Behave, Daddy." He simply grinned at that, winking at me, and making no promise to do as I said. Why didn't that surprise me?
"Mrs Anderson." Will greeted my mother, handing her the flowers he had bought for her.
"Oh, they're beautiful, Will." She gushed, marvelling at their colours, and inhaling their scent. "Thank you. Look, Brian- Will's brought us flowers!"
"Yes, I can see that, Liz." I snickered, and Mum raised her eyebrow at him in challenge before turning her attention back to Will.
"Do call me Liz, Will. We don't go for formalities here, and Mrs Anderson makes me feel old."
"You are old, Mum." I pointed out.
"I'm 54, Alexis! Do excuse her Will- she gets her cheekiness from her father, not me." She swatted me lightly on the bum with her bouquet for my remark, bustling past me to the kitchen, and leaving the three of us in her wake.
"Come on through, you two- I need to put these in water." We stayed where we were. Will was the first to break the silence.
"It's a pleasure to meet you sir."
"I hope I can say the same, son."
"Daddy." I growled. I only called him Daddy when I wanted something, and right now wanted him to stop acting like an arsehole. Taking note of my tone, he held out his hand for Will to shake, which he took, although I wasn't oblivious to the way his hand clenched far too-tightly around Will's to be considered normal. There was far too much testosterone in the room for my liking.
"Will brought you some beer, Dad." I said, trying to ease some of the tension.
"Yeah." Will echoed, producing the crate of Fosters from the bag he was holding, and handing it to my Dad. He grinned when he saw the brand, taking it from it eagerly.
"Thanks, son. Let's head into the kitchen, you pair- I need to save the flowers before your mother drowns them." We watched them go.
"You okay?" I asked, taking his hand and squeezing it.
"No. This is terrifying." He looked at me with genuine fear in his eyes.
"He's just testing you." I assured him.
"He hates me."
"Is this a bad time to remind you that you were the one desperate to meet my family?" He glowered at me.
"You're doing fine, Will."
"Liz, I told you not to put that much water in the vase!" Dad yelled from the kitchen, breaking our moment.
"They are going to love you." I leaned up and adjusted his collar. "Now, c'mon." I took his hand and dragged him through to the kitchen, where Dad was wrestling the flowers away from my Mum.
"Are you okay if I let Monty out into the garden?" I asked my parents, noticing Monty peering longingly out of the patio doors at their lush garden.
"Would you mind waiting until Jack gets here, Lexie?" Dad asked, re-setting the flowers. "Maybe he could have a word with him about not messing up my flower beds before we let him loose."
"Sure." I agreed. Monty trashing Dad's begonias had left a lasting mark, and I didn't want him to cause any more casualties.
"What do you want to drink you two?" Mum asked, pulling glasses from the cupboard as she spoke.
"I've brought rosé." I said, grabbing the bottle from the bag that Will had set on the table.
"What do you fancy, Will?" Mum handed me a glass as she addressed him. "A beer?"
"Please." She went to the fridge to grab him one, returning with it and a glass.
"Aren't you driving, son?" Dad questioned him sharply.
"He can have one and still be under the limit, Brian."
"I'm protecting our daughter, Liz."
"You're being an arsehole." Mum countered.
"A word Dad?" I asked testily, striding out of the kitchen and into the lounge next door. "Now." I heard him follow behind me meekly, closing the door softly behind him as he entered.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Dad?" My father was a quiet, gentle soul- the complete opposite of my exuberant, and somewhat overbearing, mother. Although he didn't always like my boyfriends- he was never as discourteous as he had been tonight.
"Nothing." He looked at the floor.
"Dad…"
"Nothing's wrong, Alexis."
"You've just interrogated my soulfinder, and implied he'd drink drive when he was having one beer!"
"I did not." He noticed my furious expression, and tried to backtrack.
"Okay, I might have done." I raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, I did. But I only want what's best for you."
"What's best for me is that you at least give him a chance! Dad, he was the one that wanted to meet you- I didn't force him. And now you're making him regret it by acting like an overbearing oaf."
"Alexis…"
"Don't even try it. What's really the matter, Dad?" My voice softened at the end of my sentence, detecting from his body language that there was something underlying his unwelcoming behaviour.
"You girls grow up so fast." He smiled. "I've already got one daughter in Paris, and my other one's going to be moving to America before I know it."
"Is this what this is about?" He shrugged, looking down at the floor again.
"Oh Dad!" I cried, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing him tightly. "Who says I'm moving to America?"
"He's your soulfinder, Alexis. Soulfinders can't be apart." I pulled away to look at him.
"So you're giving him the third degree because you think he's going to convince me to move to America with him?" He smiled with watery eyes.
"How can I like the boy who's stealing my little girl from me?"
"And how could his mother possibly like the girl that's stealing her little boy away from her, and making him move to the U.K?"
"Touché." He admitted with a rueful grin.
"Besides, we haven't even talked about moving- it hasn't even crossed my mind, so you don't need to worry! No one's moving anywhere yet."
"You say that now…"
"Oh, Dad!" I hugged him again.
"I remember when you were just a little baby- I could hold you in one hand. And now look at you- my baby's all grown up, ready to start a family of her own."
"Dad!" I blushed. "We're not having babies."
"But you will." He smiled, still glassy eyed. "It's just hard for me to accept that- I'll always see you as my little girl."
"And I always will be your little girl, Dad. It doesn't matter where I am- you know that."
"I know, honey." He whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
"I love you." I whispered into his chest. He smelt familiar, he smelt of home.
"I love you too, sweetheart- more than you know. I'd do anything for you, Jack, and Alice."
"So if I ask you to stop being mean to Will?"
"Then I'll do it." The sound of a car pulling up onto the drive outside broke our moment, the tyres crunching loudly on the gravel.
"That'll be your brother. You okay to let them in, while I go and freshen up?"
"Sure." I agreed, knowing that he meant he needed time to compose himself, rather than slap on some more aftershave and re-apply his deodorant. "As long as you promise to stop treating Will like a delinquent."
"I promise, although I can't say the same for your brother." I rolled my eyes. Of course Jack would be difficult; he always was.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Take all the time you need, Dad." I smiled softly, following him out of the door. While he took the stairs, I headed back into the kitchen to find Mum and Will happily chatting away to one another. Will was nursing a glass of water instead of a beer, however; the silly, sensitive boy.
"All okay?" Mum asked, spotting me as soon as I came through the door. Will swivelled in his seat to look at me, and I came to stand alongside him.
"We're fine. Jack and 'Van have just pulled up." I picked up the that wine Mum had poured for me, and took a swig.
"Oh good! You two stay here- I'll go and let them in." Mum leapt from her seat and ran to the door, leaving us alone in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry about Dad. He'll behave himself from now on." He shrugged.
"I'll be the same when our daughter brings a guy home." I blushed at the insinuation, taking a large gulp from my glass, and promptly changing the subject.
"That doesn't make his behaviour right." I pressed a quick kiss to his lips in reassurance, hearing the front door open as I did.
"You ready for round two?"I asked. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders as if preparing for battle.
"As I'll ever be."
"We'll be fine." I took his hand, and squeezed it tightly. "We'll get through it together."
I hope you liked this chapter; please leave a review to let me know what you thought! Hugs x