IT WAS A relief when the press conference was over and the news was officially out. Keeping everything under wraps had been more difficult than I’d imagined. Letting it go wide was another giant step toward a different kind of life, and I was ready. Still, I knew the next few days would suck. We’d be a story until the next big thing broke, and there would be cameras galore between now and then trying to document what we considered “normal.”
As expected, I found my father and my grandparents sitting with Cole’s parents, so Cole and I made our way over to their area. We hugged and talked while the photographers and journalists in the room broke down. This core group of people was my family, the people who meant the most to me. I loved Gavin and Tyson as well, but as best friends instead of family. After my mother died, it was Cole’s mother and my grandmother who stepped in and became the dominant female forces in my life. I adored them both, and I knew my mother had made it clear before she passed that was her wish.
Looking around, I found Tess standing with Devon and Ian as she finished packing up her equipment. With a wave of my hand, I got her attention before calling out for the three of them to come over and meet the family.
Aside from my high school girlfriend, I had never intentionally introduced a woman to my family and had never even been tempted to do so. Sure, they’d met some of them, but it had always been something that happened if my family turned up at my house while one of the girls was there.
When Tessa got close enough to me, I reached out to take her hand. She pulled back nervously and shook her head at me. I tried not to take it personally. We’d only known each other less than twenty-four hours after all, but I felt the rejection of her action.
Putting my feelings aside, I introduced her to my family. Her smile lit up the room as she laughed and conversed with the people I loved best. I puffed up with pride when I saw how taken my father and grandparents were with her.
My grandmother asked her a million questions about what her dreams were for her photography, and Tessa answered them all with a smile. The two of them were going to be thick as thieves, I could tell already.
It was great how taken they were with her. My family was very protective of me, and I had to admit, I’d always been spoiled by their love and attention. My grandmother almost died giving birth to my father, so he was an only child. I was an only child because my mother passed away before she and my father could have any more children. They’d actually been trying for at least a year or so before my mother was diagnosed with cancer, but it never worked out. That meant my grandparents and my father doted on me more than they otherwise might have. They had never made any secret that the rock star life was not what they ultimately wanted for me. I could see introducing them to Tessa had made them very happy.
Clearly my grandparents were in the know about her, which meant my dad had already started spreading the news. It occurred to me with anyone else I’d have been panicking, but because it was Tessa, I liked it. It was an interesting turn of events in and of itself. I was even happy when my family had immediately dispensed with the formalities and had insisted Tess, Ian, and Devon called my father Todd, my grandfather Mason and my grandmother Sylvia. The Hayes’ had also instructed everyone to call them by their first names, Janice & Steve. It was all very comfortable, and it felt right.
The meeting and the conference were over and I had no excuse to keep Tessa with me, but I was reluctant to let her go. Our dinner date wasn’t happening until tomorrow night but that wasn’t working for me. I decided to finagle my way into an evening with her and I figured I’d help make Cole’s life a bit easier, too.
“Hey, how about all of us meet for dinner? Everyone standing here is invited. It’ll be great.”
I could see Tessa, Ian, and Devon were worried about accepting the invitation, probably because they thought they might be intruding. My dad and Cole’s parents saw it too, and they jumped right in and insisted they join us. It was agreed Cole and I would pick Tessa, Devon, and Ian up in two hours and we would meet the rest of our family at a local Mexican restaurant.
“Dress casual. By casual, I mean real casual. This is not some fancy wannabe Mexican food place. This is a down home authentic Mexican restaurant. We’re all going to eat far more than we should, but trust me, it’s going to be well worth it,” my dad said with a laugh.
I had to laugh along with him because it was certainly true. Over the years we’d been known to spend hours at the restaurant. Their food was out of this world delicious and the margaritas were top notch.
It pained me to let her go even just for a few hours, but I had no choice. I’d never wanted someone so badly, and it shocked me.
Everyone went his or her separate way and I drove home with a smile on my face. I’d be spending another night getting to know Tess, and that pleased me no end. If luck were on my side I’d get to kiss her again. I knew not to push her too far too fast, but kissing didn’t seem to be off limits.
When I got home I found I’d gotten a text message from my dad and I spent a few minutes texting him.
Dad: I see why you like her. She’s beautiful and very down to earth.
Me: She really is. Did Gram and Pop like her?
Dad: Are you kidding? Gram’s already announced you and Tessa would have beautiful children. Pop agreed.
Me: Whoa dad. Slow your roll. I can’t even get her to hold my hand in public.
Dad: You and I both know you wouldn’t have introduced her if you didn’t know this could be big.
Me: True but it’s not me I’m worried about. It’s Tess. She’s not into me pushing too fast.
Dad: I swear I love this girl already. You’ve had it too easy your whole life where girls are concerned.
Me: Hey! Mary didn’t make it easy on me.
Dad: Mary didn’t count as a relationship, and if you think she did—then you’re an idiot.
Me: Ouch dad. Ouch.
Dad: Fighting every day and breaking up every four seconds does not a relationship make.
Me: I know, Dad. I’m just kidding. You’re right. I don’t know anything about having a relationship.
Dad: Son, you learned at the knee of the master. You’ve got it in you. Now you just need to access it.
Me: Damn Dad. Inflated ego much?
Dad: I worshipped your mother. Still do. It had to have rubbed off on you. But I was talking about POP, smartass.
Me: I learned from you both, Dad. I remember how you were with Mom.
Dad: That means a lot Flynn. I’ve got to get changed before I pick Pop and Gram up. If I’m not there on time Gram will tweet about it.
Me: She scares me with her Twitter account. Last week she put up a pic of me naked in the bathtub when I was a baby. #myprecious I swear to God, I choked when I saw it. All the gossip sites copied the pic, too.
Dad: Of course they did. Gram’s got a million followers. She takes her legion of fans seriously.
Me: I swear to God, it’s Gram who’s the real performer in the family. She’s a nut.
Dad: Yes she is! But she’s the nut you insisted on giving a computer and an iPhone to, genius.
Me: I just wanted to be able to talk to her all the time! Who knew she’d get into trouble?
Dad: It’s Gram. Of course she was going to get into trouble!
Me: When you say it that way, I see what you mean. Ha! See you at dinner. I love you Dad.
Dad: Love you too, Kid.
I spent some serious time getting ready and choosing my outfit. I wanted to smell and look good for her. I’d never given a shit about looking good for anyone. We had stylists to take care of our tour wardrobe, but in real life I really didn’t give a shit. I’d sure as hell never taken a shower, flossed, brushed my teeth, used mouthwash, shaved, dried my hair, and then put on cologne to go on a date. Or, a non-date I guess, since it was a family dinner. In any case, I did it for Tessa because I wanted to impress her.
My drive to her hotel seemed to take entirely too long. I had missed her. I couldn’t even explain why, but I had. I’d never been excited about seeing a girl. Even with my high school girlfriend, we’d been more of a thing because of proximity. Our ‘relationship’ had been one big piece of bullshit drama after another. We argued at parties, broke up every few weeks, cheated on each other and, over the course of two years, never once managed to have an in-depth conversation about anything. We were young and dumb, and our relationship reflected as much.
When I stepped out of my car, I had some extra spring in my step. My heartbeat sped up when I saw Tessa sitting in the lobby waiting. She smiled when she saw me, but I’m pretty sure I stared at her like a total idiot as she walked toward me. She had on a pair of khaki shorts, a black tank top, and a pair of black Converse sneakers. You’d think casual attire would have made her beauty easier to handle, but it didn’t because she looked amazing. I’d never have guessed a pair of Converse sneakers would look so damn sexy I’d have trouble staying calm. Who knew?