Two Seconds

Forty-Nine & Fifty

PART FORTY NINE

"So we'll give you your house back," Aston's mum declared once we'd eaten and cleared things up from the cooking marathon that had taken up most of the afternoon, "Conor and I should be heading off anyways, don't want to be driving in the dark."

"You sure?" Aston asked.

"Yup, looks like you two have plans for the evening, don't want to spoil them," she winked, not so subtly. I was beginning to understand where Aston had gotten his cheeky streak from, just a little bit.

"Alright," Aston conceded, "Thanks for coming round. And for the food."

"Not a problem sweetheart," his mum replied, enveloping him in big motherly hug. I hung back and watched the familial exchange, still feeling that tiny pang of jealousy as I watched them all interact. 

"Jessica," Aston's mum beckoned once she'd released her son. I wandered over to her and was surprised when she pulled me into a tight embrace as well. "It was lovely to meet you, good luck this week."

"Thanks," I said, gently returning the hug before pulling away a bit.

"The pair of you will have to come up soon so Jessica can meet the rest of the family," Siobhan declared as she released me and went to grab her things.

"Sure," Aston replied, "We'll find a time once the Tour is all over and Jess' racing quiets down a bit."

"Sounds fantastic," Siobhan smiled, "Now we're off, have a good night you two."

"Bye," Aston and I chorused after a quick goodbye to his brother. We hung by the open front door until their car had left the front drive and disappeared down the street.

As the door snapped shut I watched Aston heave a huge sigh, "I'm so sorry about that."

"I said earlier, it's fine," I told him, touching his arm gently as I indicated we should go sit down in the lounge. Together we plopped down on the couch, Aston's arm around my shoulders as we put our feet up on the coffee table.

"I know you said its fine, but I feel bad. We spoke all week about the different things we could do with our day together and then my mum and brother have to show up and ruin it all."

"They didn't ruin it," I asserted.

"But..."

"Aston!" I laughed, "I enjoyed meeting them! Just chill."

"Ok, sorry," he sighed.

"You know my Counselor and I were talking about us meeting each others' parents last week."

"Yeah?" Aston asked, his fingers starting to play with the ends of my ponytail.

"Well, we were more discussing you meeting my Dad," I said, "But yeah, families in general."

"And how do you feel about me meeting your Dad?"

"Honestly?" I said, "Not yet."

"Why not?" Aston asked a slight frown on his face.

"Well I've definitely got to get through this whole Germany thing," I sighed, "If it goes poorly my Dad is going to be on the war path, I can just feel it. Don't think you want to get involved in that... Could get pretty nasty. And I think he still needs some time to get used to me being with someone regardless of how this week turns out."

"You'll be fine in Germany," Aston said quietly, his lips close to my ear as he cuddled me tighter. "You've got to quit talking yourself down."

"I know," I replied, reaching my hand across his torso to link with Aston's free hand.