Fire Meet Gasoline || Karl Jacobs

thirteen

Karl stood in front of his bathroom mirror, smoothing over his black button up. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his wet hair, hoping he looked good enough for this.

His outfit as a whole was last minute thrown together, a black button up with some jeans and a pair of nice shoes. He didn't really expect to be going to this dinner with Nadia's family, let alone openly invited.

He prayed he could play it off that they're dating. He did forget that part.

"Karl! Hurry up!" Nadia yelled, banging on his bedroom door. He rolled his eyes, put a small amount of cologne on his wrists and neck, and walked out of the bathroom. All he could do is hope and pray everything goes okay tonight.

He switched off the bathroom and bedroom lights as he exited, leaving the door ajar for Lana to walk in and out. Nadia opened her mouth to make a comment, but paused. Her eyes dragged up his figure, taking in every detail. Karl felt awkward for a minute, almost needing an insult from her in the moment to make things less weird.

"That'll do." She said before turning on her heel and walking down the stairs. He tried to hide the grin that started forming rather quickly. He could see the tips of her ears go a tad pink, but said nothing on the matter.

"Can I drive your car?" Nadia asked after filling Lana's dry food bowl. He was astonished. Not by the question, he didn't care who drove his car, but by the act she was doing. Why was she feeding Lana?

"Uh, no. I don't think so." He said, snatching his keys off the counter and walking towards the front door.

"But I know where I'm going." She complained, following him out the door as he held it open.

"And you have a mouth, use it." He spoke, locking up the house and walking to his car.

"You're so fucking annoying." She groaned, sitting down in the passenger seat, making sure her dress was covering her upper thighs properly. Karl reached in the back and grabbed a blanket to help cover herself. Nobody spoke a word as she covered her legs with the thick black material. He turned over the engine and made his way to her family's home, Nadia angrily speaking directions.

"It's the third house on the left once you enter this neighborhood. Karl, please just be mindful of your manners. You can't be an ass to me while we're here. My parents will be so beyond overbearing so just, ignore it all okay? Anything they say, just ignore it." Nadia said, desperation seeping into her voice. It's the first time Karl ever noticed pure, raw emotion from her.

"Yeah, okay." He said, parallel parking outside the house. He went to get out but Nadia slapped a hand down on his wrist to keep him in place. He turned his head and their eyes locked together. Brown met green and for the first time, Karl saw through whatever mask she held up at all times.

"Please, Karl, I'm serious. Just ignore everything." She pleaded. Her eyes spoke what she could not, and he read it as if it were his favorite book.

"I promise." Karl spoke softly with a small head nod. He slipped from her grasp and got out of the car, closing the driver side door. He walked around and opened her door, the motion making her jump in surprise.

"Let's go, shall we, M'lady?" Karl asked, getting into the role of her boyfriend rather quickly. To his surprise, he wasn't the least bit off put with the act. He extended a hand to help her out of the car and she grabbed it wordlessly. They walked up to the front door after Karl locked the car. Nadia knocked politely on the door and smoothed out her dress, pulling it down some although it already went just above her knees.

"Nadia!" A little girl exclaimed, hugging her tightly as soon as the door flew open.

"Hey, Via." Nadia laughed, hugging the girl back. They let go of the embrace quickly before Nadia walked inside, Karl in tow.

"Is this your boyfriend? Ma hasn't shut up about it."  The girl asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah. Octavia, this is Karl. Karl this is my little sister, Octavia. You'll meet my older brother Lorenzo and my older sister Maeve today too." Nadia said, smiling small at Karl.

"It's very lovely to meet you, Octavia." Karl said with a smile. Octavia smiled before running off into the house.

"Nadia? Is that you?" A male voice called out.

"Yes, papa!" Nadia said, grabbing ahold of Karl's hand and walking into the kitchen where her parents were. Her mother looked Karl up and down before swirling the red wine inside of her glass and looking away.

"You look beautiful darling." Her father complimented.

"Dress is a little short, no?" Her mother immediately asked, accent thick.

"Sorry, mama." Nadia said, subconsciously holding onto Karl's hand tighter. Karl took notice, why wouldn't he?

"Who's the boy?" Her father asked, eyeing Karl. He felt as if he was in court being judged, but he'd never act as such.

"I'm Karl sir, it's a pleasure to meet you." Karl said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Go help your sister's set the table." Her mother said, waving her hand at the both in a shooing motion.

"Yes, mama." Nadia said, turning around and walking outside where the rest of her siblings were.

"You look stunning as always, Nadia." Maeve said, a sincere look in her eyes.

"Thank you, Mae." Nadia said, a smile on her face. "Is Lorenzo here?"

"He'll be here soon, I think." Mae shrugged as she set the table. "I thought you hated Karl."

"He's alright, I guess." Nadia shrugged, dropping Karl's hand and walking to the table.

"Sure." Octavia drew out the word for emphasis as she winked at Nadia who just rolled her eyes.

"I won't blow your cover." Maeve said as she set the silverware very precisely. Karl took notice of how specific everything was. How when one thing was off, it was corrected within a second. How each girl worked very hard towards perfection for just a dinner table.

Karl knew then what to expect from tonight.