Chapter Seven : Dinners and Teenage Burnouts

Crowley stood alone in his bedroom staring into the mirror above his dresser. He frowned straightening out the dark green paisley tie he had just put on. He let out a frustrated sigh as he untied the tie and took it off dropping it on the dresser in front of him. A tie was far too formal for tonight.

He shrugged off the suit jacket he was wearing throwing it over on his unmade bed, deciding that it was too formal as well. For the first time in a very long time he actually wished that he owned a pair of jeans. He wasn't a jeans and t-shirt type of guy though. The only t-shirts he owned were reserved for sleeping or the gym. He hadn't worn jeans and tennis shoes since he was a teenager.

Expensive designer suits were what made up most of his wardrobe. He was careful with his money but his suits were the one thing he had always allowed himself to splurge on. Canali, Prada, and Valentino were always a few of the brands he went for though Armani was probably his absolute favorite.

He undid the two top buttons of his black dress shirt trying to make it look a little more casual before he reached up feeling the slight stubble along his cheek. He really should have shaved. He probably didn't have time to do it now, and besides he had already dressed. If he shaved now he'd have to undress, redress, and probably reapply his cologne.

Crowley knew that meeting Elizabeth's aunt was a pretty gigantic deal considering Ellen was the only maternal figure Elizabeth had known from the age of five on up. He felt that he should have the woman's approval.

He worried that Elizabeth's and his age difference would be an issue for Ellen Harvelle.

He knew that once their relationship was all out in the open that the people in their life's and even complete strangers were going to judge them. Him being eighteen years her senior. They would call him a cradle robber and try to say that he was taking advantage of her. Or they would say she was trying to take advantage of him, dating him for the money. They would say that she was obviously just looking for a father figure because why else would a girl in her twenties have any interest in an older man.

The fact that he was technically superior to her at work didn't help either. They would assume the worst that he was using his place at work to seduce her or that she was trying to sleep her way up to a raise or a promotion.

In a perfect world their age difference wouldn't be such a big deal, people wouldn't make assumptions, but he knew that they didn't live in a perfect world.

Elizabeth stood leaned against the door-frame watching Crowley. He looked nervous, he was probably just as nervous as her.

She really didn't have the heart to tell him that he was probably overdressed for dinner at her aunt's house. She had worn a pair of jeans, a plain white tank top, a loose blue cotton hooded jacket, and worn out white converse sneakers. Thankfully she had the time after breakfast this morning to stop by her apartment and grab a suitcase with some clothing and other necessities.

Crowley had talked her into bringing some of her belongings to his home. It had surprised her how willingly she had done it. She hadn't taken time to obsess over the decision. It had been comforting after all that she had reveled to him, that he wanted her to be a part of his life.

She watched him as he ran his hands down the front of his shirt as though he was smoothing out wrinkles though there was obviously none on the shirt. It had come fresh pressed from the cleaners with the rest of his finer pieces of laundry.

To be honest now that she thought about it she was pretty sure that her boyfriend really didn't own anything other than nice suits, pajamas, and gym clothes which consisted of sweatpants and t-shirts.

She smiled a bit feeling giddy at the word boyfriend. She would never get sick of thinking about him being her boyfriend. She couldn't wait for the day when she could say it out-loud to anyone and everyone without worrying about the wrong people finding out about them.

She knew that they would have to tell her dad eventually ,especially before Bobby Singer figured it out on his own. They had been making excuses and putting it off though, trying to avoid the horrible reaction they would get. She knew that her father would be furious.

She just wished things could be easier. In a perfect world her father would put aside his dislike for Crowley and just accept that Crowley and she loved each other.

She didn't know how she could even begin to explain her relationship with Crowley to her father. How Crowley treated her like a queen, how he was gentle with her and so understanding of her past.

Elizabeth entered the room flinching a little as she moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. She was still so sore from their activities the night before and most of today. It was a good sore though.

She couldn't help but to feel her cheeks flush as she thought about last night and today. She could admit that she was pretty impressed with his stamina, once last night and three times today.

Once this morning in the bed, wonderful sleepy half paced lovemaking. Then again this afternoon in the living room, it had been so playful though a little difficult attempting to make love on his sofa. Then a final time in the shower before they had gotten dressed which hadn't been an easy task either. She had spent the entire time he'd had her pressed against the shower wall, a little worried that they would slip and fall.

He was so amazing. The way that he looked at her in their most intimate moments was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. He didn't see what she saw when she looked at her nude body. All she could ever focus on were the scars and the extra weight that she thought she needed to drop.

When Crowley looked at her though he saw a gorgeous and sexy young woman that he still couldn't believe could even want him. Being with her had made his confidence soar higher than it had been in years. Elizabeth was slowly repairing the damage that his relationship with Lilith had caused.

He finally turned to face Elizabeth giving her a unsure smile hoping that his nervous energy wasn't rubbing off on her. She stood up and embraced him in a loving hug not helping but to enjoy the scent he always seemed to have. It was a mixture of soap, laundry soap, and his cologne which was a mixture of citrus and a spicy smell cinnamon maybe.

He returned her embrace not helping but to smirk as he noticed the hickey along the side of her neck. She had done her best to cover it up with concealer, but there was still a bit of a dark place left over. Thankfully her hair was long enough that the darkened area wouldn't be too noticeable unless you knew that it was there.

She pulled away from the hug and stared down at her plastic lime green watch. "We better go if we want to have time to stop at the grocery store and pick up dessert."

He nodded his head as he let out a nervous sigh. He just hoped that this would turn out well.

Crowley looked up from his half eaten cherry pie as he glanced around the round dinning room table. Thankfully it was just Elizabeth, him, Jo, and Ellen at this dinner. Elizabeth was sitting beside Crowley and across from Jo which placed him across from Ellen.

They'd had a large meal, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and dinner rolls. They had moved on to dessert soon after and he was beginning to get a little stuffed. Though it was a nice change from the usual dinner he had. He usually just ordered out or had ready to cook microwaveable meals from the grocery store.

He couldn't help but to keep noticing the cautious very parental looks he was getting from Ellen. He couldn't tell if she liked him or she hated him. At least Jo no longer gave him sour looks.

He glanced up at the wall spotting a large painting. He spoke up trying to put an end to the awkward silence at the table. "That's a really beautiful painting."

"Oh thanks, but you should really be complimenting Liz, She did that." Ellen pointed out giving her niece a look that could only be described as proud.

"Really ?" he asked staring over at his girlfriend and then back up at the painting.

It really was very intricate, the details were all so fine as though she had done it with the smallest brush possible applying layer upon layer of paint. He could imagine that it had taken her a very long time to paint something so complex. The painting was of a small brick cottage with a winding cobblestone road, that was surrounded by a field of colorful wildflowers.

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush as she spoke up trying to deflect the attention away from her art. "It's really not that good. I mean it was just for some stupid art class."

"You took an art class ? " Crowley asked noticing her pink cheeks.

Jo spoke up clinking her fork down against her plate. "Yeah in high school. She was the art teachers favorite student."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she responded to this. "I was not her favorite student."

"Oh please you were in all the art fairs and you won like what... six ribbons. You should see her other stuff. She still has some of it stored away in her closet at her apartment." Jo blurted out arguing with her older cousin.

"Really?" He asked looking at Elizabeth.

"Yeah It's good. Some of it's a little dark, but still good." Jo answered for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes sighing. "It's not that dark."

Crowley spoke up putting an end to the girls argument as he looked at Ellen. "So what was Elizabeth like as a child ?"

"So sweet, but hyperactive. She would not keep quiet for anything or anyone, just talked and bounced around constantly. She was a pain to take a road trip with. Then when she reached her teens she got a little rebellious. It was an ordeal to keep her in line." Ellen stated giving her niece a somewhat stern look that could only be described as motherly.

"If by rebellious you mean a pot head." Jo blurted out jumping a little and dropping her fork as Elizabeth gave her a firm kick below the table.

Jo rolled her eyes before she narrowed her eyes at Elizabeth. "Well it's true, it's amazing you still have brain cells."

Ellen spoke up stopping from Elizabeth from kicking Jo once again. "I actually have a photo album with some pictures of her."

As soon as Ellen left the table and the dining room Crowley spoke up clearly amused as he looked at his girlfriend. "Pot ?"

"Oh yeah a ton of it. She was a stoner, a total burnout." Jo stated as she pulled her chair back avoid Elizabeth's kick.

Elizabeth resorted to giving Jo an irritated look. She turned to look at Crowley as he spoke. "How did your dad react to that ?"

"Not well, a lot of calling me an idjit." Elizabeth said rolling her eyes slightly.

The didn't have time to discuss the matter any farther since Ellen reappeared in the room carrying a massive photo album. She sat back down as she slid the album across the table.

Crowley moved his plate of half eaten pie aside as she began to flip through the album. He stopped at the first photo of a young woman holding a tiny baby in a frilly yellow dress. Ellen spoke up a sad smile on her face. "My younger sister Karen."

He nodded his head not helping but to notice how much Elizabeth resembled her mother. They both had the same small frame, the same nose, the same rounded face, the same smile.

He turned the page stopping at a photo of her in a bright pink bathing suit standing in front of a kiddie pool, she had to have been about six or seven one of her front teeth was missing and she had a face full of freckles. Ellen spoke up laughing slightly. "She would not keep that bathing suit on. She had the worst habit of trying to wonder around naked."

"I was six and I had the worst adhd...It wasn't like I was doing it in public." Elizabeth exclaimed completely embarrassed.

He flipped through a few more pages before he stopped at some photos of a teenage Elizabeth. Her hair was long and it had a distinct bright green streak right down the side of it. In the photos she was wearing baggy Nirvana t-shirts, tie dye shirts, ripped jeans, cutoff shorts, and a worn oversized leather jacket.

He stopped at a photo of her standing proudly beside a bright cherry red car, she was wearing matching red sunshades and bright red lipstick. She had to be about twenty or older in the photo.

He glanced over at Elizabeth spotting the look on her face. She looked like she was going to be sick. He frowned when it suddenly hit him. This was the car that she had wrecked.

He quickly turned the page stopping at a prom photo. She was wearing a black velvet mini dress , a pink corsage, and the same leather jacket that she seemed to have on in every other teenage photo of her. He raised an eyebrow at her date. Her date looked a bit older than her.

Jo spoke up making an indistinct noise before grumbling. "Ugh Dean."

Elizabeth spoke up noticing Crowley's slightly puzzled look. "My on and off again boyfriend through my teen years. We weren't quite going out yet in that photo though. Our relationship was short lived...you'd have to meet him to get it...he's a flirt...a huge flirt. He tried to start a thing with Jo a while back."

He nodded his head turning another page a photo of her as a young child in overalls, standing beside her father holding out a tiny fish on a pole. Ellen spoke up sighing. "Bobby and she were so close when she was a girl. They started having issues when she became a teen."

She paused before giving her niece a stern look. "Miss Bob Marley here couldn't stop skipping classes and sneaking out at night."

"Oh please if dad had his way I would've gone to an all girls school." Elizabeth pointed out.

Crowley spoke up smirking a bit. "I still can't picture you as such a bad girl darling."

"I had a lot of friends who were a bit of outcasts, it went with the territory. I wasn't as horrible as these two would like to believe." Elizabeth said trying to defend herself.

He took her hand in his not helping but to press a gentle kiss to it before he leaned over and whispered in her ear holding his hand up in front of them, making sure no one else heard him. "I happen to like it when you're naughty."

She pulled away feeling her cheeks flush before she leaned in kissing his lips gently hoping that no one had just heard what he'd said.

They pulled away as Jo let out a disgusted noise before speaking. "Seriously guys just go ahead and ignore us...why don't you just climb in his lap Liz ?"

Elizabeth responded by sticking her tongue out at Jo who stuck her own tongue out in response. Crowley couldn't help but to smile at this. Jo and Elizabeth reminded him of himself and his sister Bella.

He pressed a kiss to Elizabeth's cheek before he turned his attention back to the photo album.

Ellen gave the couple a pleased smile. Crowley was respectful of Elizabeth and very affectionate towards her. She wasn't planning on telling Crowley or Elizabeth, but she approved of him. She knew that she better keep her approval to herself though. She didn't want him to get too comfortable just yet, She needed to still leave a little fear in him. Keep him in line.

That night back at Crowley's house the couple laid in his bed trying to fall asleep. Elizabeth laid pulled over practically on top of him, her head resting against Crowley's chest . He rested his hand against her back, rubbing gentle circles against it.

He could tell when her back was giving her a little bit of pain. She would flinch off and on through out the day and unconsciously reach back rubbing her lower back. She had started to rub her back before they had gone to bed so he'd known that it was giving her trouble.

She spoke up as she began to feel sleepy. "Thanks for doing that for me."

He gave her a confused look not getting what she was talking about before she spoke again clearing up her statement. "Every single one of my exes wouldn't have gone to a family dinner like that and if they had they would've been jackasses about it."

"I like your aunt and your cousin. Your aunt reminds me of my mother." He responded wanting to tell her that he wasn't like her exes and that he would never treat her the way she had been treated by just about every boyfriend she'd ever had.

She nodded not helping but to be curious. "What was she like ? Your mom?"

"Strict, but she had reason to be, I got into a bit of trouble of my own as a teen. At the end of the day she was proud of me. She probably would've really liked you." He said as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

He decided that he should probably leave out the part about how his mother had hated Lilith. His mother had practically begged him not to marry Lilith, told him that he was making a huge mistake and she had been right about that.

He wished that his mother had lived long enough to meet Elizabeth. He wasn't lying when he said that she would have liked Elizabeth. His mother probably would've adored Elizabeth.

He smirked slightly knowing that if his mother was still around she would've probably already started pestering him about giving her grand-babies even though Elizabeth and him had only been dating for a month and a week so far.

Elizabeth gave him a tired smile as her eyes finally fluttered shut. Crowley could tell by her deep soft breathing that she had fallen completely asleep.

He felt his own eyes begin to shut as he thought about how perfect this entire day had been. He wasn't looking forward to work tomorrow.

Elizabeth sat at her desk and stared straight ahead at her computer. She was trying to ignore the occasional raised voice that was coming from behind Crowley's closed office door.

Bobby and Crowley were discussing an issue with business, and from the yelling she guessed that they were disagreeing.

Crowley's office door shot open as Bobby stormed out.

Crowley started to follow him as he spoke an exasperated tone to his voice. "We have to get tougher with Dick Roman, Robert. He isn't budging on the damn thing. We need to up our sells or we're going to need another loan. We can barely pay off the loans we have out now."

Elizabeth's father said nothing in response as he stormed down the hall leaving Crowley and Elizabeth alone.

Crowley gave his girlfriend an apologetic look. He couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she probably felt about her father and him arguing so much.

Bobby Singer and him had been at each others throats for weeks now. Every little thing sat them off into another loud very angry disagreement. He was almost sure that they were never going to agree on anything ever.

Crowley knew that this whole issue with Bobby Singer proved one thing loud and clear. Elizabeth's and him had to keep their relationship a secret for a little while longer.

As much as he hated to admit it, telling Bobby about them anytime soon would only equal disaster.