Sweet on You

Chapter 23

Lydia could tell Xander was nervous. He tried to play it cool, as if he wasn't, but she could tell by the way he tapped on the steering wheel and his lips remaining in a tight line as he drove. They were one their way to her Aunt Julie's for Christmas. Lydia herself was nervous because she hadn't seen her aunt and uncle in a while, distancing herself from not only her friends, but her family as well when her dad died. Her nerves, however, were lessened when she noticed Xander's.

He turned into her aunt's roundabout style driveway, his eyes wide as he inspected the house. He looked to Lydia, his expression grim. "Is everyone you're related to rich?"

Lydia laughed a little bit at his question. Her relatives were fairly well off, yes, she and her father, however, were anything but. She shook her head. "Not really. Just Kelly and Aunt Julie. Audrey, Nathan's wife, had a trust fund left to her when her parents died but she doesn't touch it because she wants to save it for Jules'."

Xander exhaled deeply. "Your cousin probably hates me for how I treated him when we first met."

"Nathan isn't the type to hate people, you'll be fine," Lydia rested her hand on Xander's. "Just maybe try not to look like you're going to kill him this time."

Xander released a small chuckle. "I didn't know he was your cousin! If I had known, no murderous thoughts would have been had."

"Right," Lydia drawled slowly, teasing him.

They unbuckled their seat belts and ascended the front steps, before Lydia could even knock, Darian, her other cousin, swung open the door. His sandy blond hair in slight disarray, his blue eyes wide. "Thank God you are here. Maybe Mom will get off mine and Justin's back." He glanced briefly at Xander, his lips twitched upward as he looked back to his cousin. "Nice work."

Before she could respond, Darian pulled her into the house, Xander following silently behind.

#

Her aunt and uncle, as well as Audrey, Nathan, and Jules, were in the living room while Darian and Justin were in the kitchen fussing over the food.

Before Lydia could hear more of Darian's rant about why he and Justin were not interested on having children at the moment, she pulled Xander beside her. She raised her hand to gesture Darian to stop for a moment. "Dare, I love you, but can I introduce you and your husband to Xander?"

Darian stopped mid sentence and offered Lydia an apologetic smile. "Sorry." He looked to Xander and outstretched his hand. "It's nice to meet the man my brother wanted to punch, I'm Darian."

Justin dropped hid his head in his hand, shaking it. "Babe, really?"

Darian simply laughed before he brought Justin over, pulling him from his spot by the fridge. Lydia had to admit, where Darian lacked in formal dress, Justin flourished. The burgundy suit he adorned complimented not only his dark skin, but the warmth in his brown eyes. He shot both Xander and Lydia an apologetic smile. "My husband has no filter. I'm Justin, it's nice to meet you."

Xander looked dumbfounded, taking in all that is Lydia's family. He took Justin's hand, shaking it firmly before he spoke. "Nice to meet you both, Lydia has told me a lot about you two."

"Is that my darling niece I hear?" Lydia's uncle sounded, approaching the kitchen.

When he came into view, her breath got caught in her throat. Her uncle was younger than her father and they didn't really look alike, until now. Now, her Uncle Steve wore his hair similar to her father's, it graying as her father's did before he died, he even donned glasses similar to the frames of that of her father's, which she left in the drawer of her night stand. Before she could react or utter a hello, he pulled her in for a hug. Tears threatened to escape, but luckily they stayed in place. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Steve."

Her uncle pulled back, his eyes glistening too. "Merry Christmas, sweetie." He glanced over to Xander, his features straightening. "You must be Xander. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, let's all go to the living room."

Xander offered his greeting before they were swept away to the living room, where Audrey held Jules in her lap and Nathan sat right beside her, arm slung over her shoulders, looking at his little family with a smile. When he noticed everyone had come to join them, he smiled at Lydia, ignoring Xander completely. "It's nice to see you, cousin. Would you like the honor of holding my son?"

"Our son," Audrey chided as she handed Jules over to Lydia. When she sat back down, Nathan kissed her temple and whispered something in her ear that made her blush.

Lydia looked down at the baby in her arms. He was so small. His eyes were wide and ready to discover all the world had to offer. Lydia smiled at him, playing with his fingers which wrapped around hers tightly. She looked up to see Xander inspecting her with the baby, whatever he was thinking, she couldn't tell.

Her aunt caused her to tear her gaze from him as she clapped her hands together. "Oh, Lydia. It's so nice to see you!" She quickly gestured for her and Xander to sit, a knowing smile on her face. "And it is so nice for you to bring a friend."

Xander tensed at the word a little, but quickly relaxed his demeanor. She and him sat on the couch across from the one Nathan, Audrey, and her uncle and aunt resided, while Justin and Darian shared the oneseater sofa by the glass case of books. Xander eyed the books, reading each of the spines. His eyes stopped at a series of bright, colored books. The font was too small for Lydia to read but Xander, it seemed, had no problems. "Is that a first edition set of The Wizard of Oz series?"

Her uncle's eyebrows raised. "You read?"

"A little," Xander said shyly.

Lydia shot her uncle a look. "He's nearly finished Dad's collection. A little is a severe understatement." She turned to Xander, trying to encourage more of a conversation. "Uncle Steve is a professor for English Lit. As you can see, the desire to read stops with me."

Xander chuckled a bit, his gaze not leaving the books. "Your collection is quite nice."

Uncle Steve grinned. "Well, once you're finished with my brother's collection, I have no problems with you tackling mine."

"That's very kind of you," Xander said, his voice thick. "Thank you."

Nathan inspected the whole exchange, his tight expression in regards to Xander relaxed. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Thoughts on Hemingway?"

Xander cocked his head thoughtfully. "Pretentious, but still impressive."

Nathan nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with Xander's opinion. Once the tension between Xander and Nathan subsided, the group continued on with their festivities with ease.