The Academy 2

17

Nicola's POV

"I love you too." She smiled widely. "Oh, one more thing." I hummed in reply. "My grandparents are in town, would you like to join us for refreshments?"

My eyes bulged out. Her grandparents?! She wanted me to meet them?! She must've noticed my panicked expression.

"Don't worry, they're actually really sweet and will love you." She took my hands and moved closer to my ear. "I came out as bi to them when I was younger." She pulled away and smiled. "So, they're quite accepting."

"What if they don't like me?" I got nervous.

"Please, if they can tolerate my personality, then they'll fall in love with your sweetness." I blushed at her compliment. "I am their favorite, though." I laughed.

"Okay."

"Okay?" She became excited when I nodded.

X

Ali drove me to a country club. My eyes roamed over the hilly golf course. If we are playing golf, then I'm screwed. I'm decent at putt putt. And by decent, I mean that I always hit the ball into the pond. Ali glanced and noticed my terrified face as I stared at the golf course.

"Don't worry, we aren't playing golf, even though my grandfather would've preferred that. We are playing croquet."

"Crochet? Like knitting?"

"No." She giggled. "Croquet as in the sport." She noticed my confused expression. "Come on." She giggled and took my hand.

Ali led me through the building, waving at familiar faces. We walked through double glass doors to a field. Small rectangular arches were lined along the ground. A mallet rack was perched on the side of the building. We continued walking until we stopped in front of an elderly couple who looked to be in their late 60s.

The woman had shoulder length blond hair that was permed to perfection. This was the first person in Ali's family that I had seen with curly hair. Her body was filled out, so she clearly didn't survive off salads. Her eyes crinkled from a lifetime of smiling.

The man had filled out his sweater vest as well. His white hair was brighter than light. He had the outline of a scruff that was neatly kept. Like his wife, his eyes crinkled in delight.

"Mausebär." The woman said and hugged Ali. She released her granddaughter to look me up and down. I started to get nervous under her gaze. "Is she the girlfriend?" She excitedly asked my girlfriend.

"She is." Ali beamed with pride.

"And how did you manage to convince such a stunningly, beautiful woman to date you?" Her grandmother was perplexed.

"She must've brainwashed the poor girl, Diane." Ali rolled her eyes at her grandfather's teasing.

"Are we to pretend that we do not know her name?" She looked to her husband. "All our little mausebär talks about is her precious Nicola whenever we speak with her." Ali blushed at the confession.

"Hello, I'm Edward and this is my wife, Diane." Edward shook my hand. "You are free to call me Ed. Edward is way too long and formal." I chuckled with him.

"We are so happy to meet you. We've wanted to meet you for so long, but it's been difficult with traveling around Ali's schedule. We've been trying to convince her to visit Germany, but she's had every excuse in the book to avoid it." She crossed her arms and pouted at Ali. Now I understand why I detected a light accent.

"They live in the countryside of Germany, not near the city." Ali rolled her eyes. "It'd take a couple of hours by train to visit them." She explained.

"Nevertheless, let's play." Ed groaned at Diane's words. "Don't mind him. He wishes to golf, but I rather croquet and a happy wife..."

"Happy life." Ed reluctantly finished. "Although, that's not what we say in Ireland." She muttered.

"What did you say?" She raised a brow.

"Nothing, my dearest stout. Just how much I love to do anything that will make my wife smile." He plastered on a smile, causing Ali and I to laugh. I can't believe he compared his wife to alcohol.

"One of the companies he ran was an alcohol distribution company when he lived in Ireland. He sold the company and acquired a new one when he moved to Germany to be with my grandmother." Ali whispered as she handed me a mallet. "Know how to play?" I shook my head.

Ali smiled and got behind me to demonstrate how I should hit the ball. It was hard to focus when my body was pressed against hers. There were not so innocent thoughts that passed through my mind. She pulled away, causing me to miss the heat from her body.

I got to know her grandparents better as we played. Apparently, Ed had grown up in Dublin, where his family was partners with the Irish Distiller company. He met his wife when she was on holiday with her friends. She left him so smitten that he travelled all the way to Germany to be with her. And they've lived in Germany ever since. 40 years of marriage has served them well.

We waved goodbye to her grandparents, who reluctantly allowed us to leave. Ali smiled the entire drive back to my dorm. She was ecstatic that her grandparents loved me as much as she did. She did grumble that they may love me more than her.

I dragged Ali into my bed for cuddle time when we got back. She didn't protest and pulled me into her as she spooned me. I let out a content sigh as I leaned back into my love's arms.