Wildest Dreams

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Jai, what's wrong? You've been shaking like nonstop." Imani worriedly asks, placing her hand on her boyfriend's forearm.

"I'm just really worried about meeting your family. I mean, what if they don't like me?" He partially lies. He is nervous about meeting Imani's family, but he's more nervous about the fact that Casey is practically blackmailing him. 

"Oh my gosh," she rolls her eyes, "I told you they were gonna like you. Baby, stop worrying about it."

Jai looks around and sees that most of the people on the plane around the couple are sleep. He then leans forward and whispers, "do they know I'm white?"

Imani contains her laughter by placing her hand over her mouth and Jai just furrows his eyebrows. She thinks it's funny and he's being dead serious. There is nothing more unsettling than knowing the family of his girlfriend does not approve of him because he is white. If he is being completely honest, it has been on his mind ever since Imani told him he could fly back home with her for Thanksgiving break. 

What if they think he is not good enough? What if they think he does not like her for her and he has a fetish for black girls? What if they think he is a spoiled white kid because of his expensive clothing? He does not know what to expect and that is another reason why he has been on edge.

"What's funny? Imani, did you tell them I'm white?" He asks again, rubbing his hands together.

"No, I didn't." She shakes her head.

"What?" He frowns. "Why not?"

"If you were black, would I announce that my black boyfriend is coming home with me for break?" She raises her eyebrows.

"I'm not black."

"I know that, silly. You're not getting my point. I'm not gonna announce that my white boyfriend is coming home with me. You're just a regular person, so why announce your color like it's a big deal?" She places a hand on his leg that is bouncing up and down.

"I suppose you're right." He nods his head.

"Shoo, I think they'll be more worried about if you're on drugs or not from the way you keep shaking like something's wrong with you." She looks at him oddly. "Relax."

"Sorry." He closes his eyes and leans back into the seat.

"You sure everything okay?" She quietly asks him.

"Babe, I'm fine. I swear." He fibs.

Imani cannot help but think the worst. Something seems off about Jai and it is bugging her that she can't pinpoint exactly what that something is. There is only so many times she can try to assure him that her family is going to adore him. Jai is a nice guy; he's never done anything wrong to her and he's been nothing but supportive. So, she can't see why he is so nervous about meeting them. It shouldn't matter that he's white because skin color does not determine who she is attracted to. It shouldn't determine whether her family likes him or not either.

~

Jai keeps fidgeting in the backseat of Imani's parent's car. He doesn't know how he should act with both of her parents sitting in the front seats. He's afraid that if he places a hand on Imani's knee or hold her hand that her dad is going to look at him some type of way. So, when Imani tries to put a comforting hand on Jai's knee, he softly moves it away from him.