Out of the Ordinary

Chapter 31

"So... anything I should know?"

"About..."

I shrugged. "Anything. Your family. Your house. The town. Do they drive on the wrong side of the road there, too?"

Harry chuckled, and gave my leg a squeeze. "We've been in the car for over two hours, Mads. You're still not used to it?"

It was a good thing we had a nearly three hour ride to Holmes Chapel. It gave me the chance to calm down from the plane ride, and to absorb the fact that I was in Europe—England—with the love of my life. But it also left me too much time to get myself worked up (again) about the imminent prospect of meeting his family.

"It's still weird," I said, glancing out the window at the gloomy gray sky up above us. The left side of the road still felt uncomfortable, wrong, like we were asking to be hit by another car. I realized that was only because I'd never left the States, but it didn't make it any less weird. "Not to mention the fact that you're driving from the passenger side of the car."

He laughed again. "You had to know that we don't drive on the same side of the road, or the same side of the car."

Harry pulled his hand from mine to make a turn, pulling onto an exit that only lead us onto another highway.

"Of course I did." His hand came right back to my leg, just like it had several times before in the last two hours. I couldn't help but smile. "I just didn't know how weird it would feel."

He gave my knee another squeeze. "You're safe with me, my girl. Promise."

I laced my fingers between his. The truth was, I'd never felt safer.

"So, nothing I should know?"

Harry smiled again, looking into the rear view mirror before glancing over at me. "Well, you still haven't been quite clear about what exactly you mean."

"You know... anything you want to warn me about?"

"Warn you about?" Harry smirked over at me.

"Yeah. A weird uncle? Really shy cousin? Strict mother or father? I can't be the only one with a ridiculously loud and invasive family. Now's the time to commiserate."

He was chuckling now. "I've told you about my family. You've got nothing to worry about."

I sat back in my seat, feeling anxious and excited and thrilled to have his hand in mine. He kept saying that though, and I don't know why I was having so much trouble believing him. "Were you this nervous when you met my family?"

"I was practically shitting bricks before meeting your family," Harry said, an easy smile dimpling his cheek now. He licked his lips. "I was still terrified just being around you, and then we had to go over to your parents' house..." He shook his head a little, his smile growing wider. "I was scared out of my mind."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked in alarm, bringing his hand up to my mouth and pressing a kiss to it. I felt terrible that he was so anxious, but, "You didn't seem nervous at all."

"Well, that's good. You were freaking out enough for the both of us. Didn't want to make you more nervous."

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Cause I should've known how nervous you were. We never should've gone that day, I didn't -"

"Mads, are we seriously having this conversation? That was almost six months ago."

"I know, I just... if you felt nearly as nervous then as I feel now, I just..." I sighed. "I should've realized it."