After opening gifts, we all worked together to make a giant breakfast. Nathan made French toast - something he is strangely good at, Darian made bacon and eggs, and Samara and I tried to make cinnamon buns. Emphasis on tried. Nathan ate them like a trooper and Darian kindly spit it in his napkin when he thought we weren't looking. Samara, on the other hand, thought they tasted great. She ate four.
When the breakfast was done, Samara had to leave because her aunt invited her to dinner. She tried to convince me to go, but I decided she should be with her family.
For the rest of the day, the boys and I watched Christmas movies. When three o'clock rolled around, Darian got up to get dressed for their family dinner.
Nathan stayed on the couch with me and I glanced over at him, his expression puzzled. "Shouldn't you be getting ready too?"
He sighed and scratched the back of his head, looking a little hesitant to speak. "I need to tell you something."
My heart picked up in pace as I studied his face. He looked like he was about to tell me he drowned a kitten. I swallowed some air and I said, "W-what's going on?"
"I-" Nathan began. He paused for a moment and muttered a curse under his breath. When he found the words he was searching for, he continued. "I told my parents I have a girlfriend."
I sucked in a breath and I felt my stomach sink a little bit. I didn't know he was seeing anyone. It kind of hurts that he didn't tell me, I thought he and I were closer than that. But maybe he wanted to wait until he was serious about the girl. That thought made my stomach sink even lower.
Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I gave him a small smile. "Who's the lucky girl?"
Nathan looked at me, clearly astonished and then he chuckled so loudly it filled the room. "No one! I just told my parents that."
I blinked a few times but I didn't speak. That jerk face had me worrying for like two minutes only to be single and lying to his parents. Shifting so I could face him completely, I licked my lips. "So...?"
"So..." He sighed and ran his hand through his silky hair and muttered, "I need you to be my fake girlfriend."
"What?" I jumped off the couch and looked at Nathan, bewildered. "Nate, I can't be your fake girlfriend! Do you know how weird that would be for Darian? Not to mention, me?"
Nathan stood up and placed his hands on both my shoulders and gave me his best pleading look he could muster. "Please, Audrey? You don't understand, all my mother has ever wanted was for me to find a girlfriend to bring home and that's all she talks about when I see her, eventually I just snapped and said I'd bring my new girlfriend over for Christmas so she would get off my back. I can't just tell her I lied, especially on Christmas."
I stared at Nathan and his hazel eyes poured into mine to the point I couldn't look away. Not even if I tried. Damn, he's good. I bit my lip and nodded my head slowly. "Fine. I can be your fake girlfriend."
Nathan's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.
"Just-" I breathed. "-this once."
He pulled away and gave me a quick peck on the cheek and then started for his bedroom door. "I promise you won't regret this! I'll be the best fake boyfriend you'll ever meet!"
I stood in the living room, stunned at his reaction. Absently, my hand made its way to my cheek where he had kissed me and I couldn't help but notice the tingling feeling it had left behind.
***
"Audrey, we're leaving!" Darian yelled from the hallway.
I sighed as I combed through my hair again. "Give me a minute!"
After finding out I had a little under an hour to get ready, I had rushed to my room and scavenge through my closet to find an appropriate outfit for tonight. Eventually, I located my red dress with lace sleeves and my black heels.
Giving myself one last look, I nodded my head in approval. I exited my room and met up with Darian and Nathan outside the apartment as they waited for the taxi.
When we reached Nathan and Darian's childhood home, I took a surprising breath in.
The house was big, with its own roundabout driveway and gate made of iron. Vines crept up the sides of the house made of white stones and lights twinkled on the roof and front garden.
"Don't be intimidated," Darian began as he studied me carefully. "It looks a lot cozier on the inside."
I rolled my eyes at my roommate. "I'm not intimidated. It looks a bit like my home back in Trillium, but mine had more of a lodge-y feel to it."
Darian laughed and Nathan rolled his eyes as the car came to a stop at the front doors. Darian got out first and Nathan followed. He rushed to my side of the car, opened the door, and held out his hand.
I blushed slightly at his action and placed my hand in his. "How chivalrous of you."
"Told you I'd be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had," he said with a wink.
We linked arms and started towards the stairs made of marble that lead to the huge black front doors that had been decorated with Christmas wreaths.
I gave Nathan a side glance. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, and his face no longer had his slight stubble, instead, it was clean-shaven. I smirked and said, "You clean up nicely West."
He looked me over and smirked as well. "Not as well as you, Holland."
Darian coughed awkwardly as we stood by the door. He too was wearing a suit, but this one was grey and he matched it with a blue tie. Despite looking fairly snazzy, he still wore one of the beanies Samara had given him. He scratched his head and said, "Maybe we should wait out here for a minute. I'm really not prepared for mo-"
Just as Darian was about to say the word mom, a petite woman swung open both doors and squealed, "My babies are home!" She ran over to Darian and gave him a big hug. "Oh, I missed you boys so much!"
Their mother pinched his cheeks and then quickly made her way to Nathan.
He broke free from my hold and gave her a big hug. "I missed you too, mom."
She let go of Nathan and looked at me with a huge grin.
When I finally got a good look at her, I tried my best not to gasp. She was absolutely stunning and you could see the striking resemblance between her and her boys.
Like Darian, she had piercing blue eyes, with hair much like Nathan's - silky and dark sandy colour - and much to my dismay, she had Nathan's signature smirk. Snapping out of my daze, I outstretched my hand. "H-hi Mrs. West, I'm A-"
"Audrey," she finished for me. She gave me a big smile and ignored my outstretched hand. Instead, she pulled me in for a hug. "Nathan has told me so much about you! And don't call me Mrs. West, please, call me Julie."
I blinked in surprise as she left my arms and I felt Nathan go tense beside me. Giving him a small look, he kept his eyes forward, not bothering to meet my gaze. What had Nathan said about me to his mother?
His mother jerked her head towards the doors. "Let's go inside, I have lots of food made."
Darian followed his mother and Nathan put his hand on the small of my back.
I looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "You talk to your mom about me? I thought you just told her you had a girlfriend."
His hazel eyes were gleaming with deviousness as he said, "I may have lied, just a little."
I opened my mouth but didn't say anything as we entered the house.
Darian was right, it was a lot cozier on the inside. The stairs looked like they came out of the movie Titanic as they were the first thing you saw as you entered the house. On the left, there was the living room, filled with bookshelves floor to ceiling covered in books and black leather couches, one of which was occupied by a sleeping golden retriever. On the right was the dining room with a large Ashwood rectangular table with loads of food on it.
As we entered the dining room, I could see the entryway to the kitchen, which was equally as large as all the other rooms in the house.
Nathan guided me to a seat, pulling out the chair for me, causing me to blush yet again. "For my princess."
I laughed a little and my heart picked up in pace as I studied the smirk that was resting on his face. He sat beside me and threw an arm over the back of my chair.
Darian sat across from me and their mom sat beside him. Looking around the room with a big smile on her face, she said, "I never thought I'd see the day where my Nathan would find the girl of his dreams."
Nathan let out a sigh. "Mom..."
"Oh, I am sorry, I don't mean to embarrass you in front of your girl!" She apologized, not at all sounding sorry. She rested a hand on Darian's arm. "Now, how's that boy of yours? And get that hat off, it's not polite at the dinner table."
Darian took his beanie off his head and scratched his head awkwardly. "Justin is good, he went to visit his dad in Vancouver."
"Oh, that's lovely!" Julie mused. "I just love that boy, he's so kind."
Darian nodded his head awkwardly and Nathan started twirling my hair with the hand that rested behind me. "Where's Steve?"
Just as Nathan finished his question, a man walked in. He looked like he was in his late fifties, maybe early sixties at most, with a well-kept, short salt and peppered beard, and styled hair to match. With a kind smile, he said, "Hello boys!"
"Steve!" Nathan boomed from his seat, with a genuine grin on his face. "How are you doing? Did you catch that match the other day?"
"You bet," he chuckled as he sat at the head of the table. "And I'm good, thank you. Darian, how's your school doing?"
Darian smiled at his dad and nodded his head enthusiastically. "It's great! Doing well with my scripts. My prof said they have great potential."
"Good," his father nodded. "I always knew you were going to go places with that writing of yours."
His gaze turned to me and he outstretched his hand across the table. "Steve West, you must be Audrey."
"Indeed I am, sir," I placed my hand in his. "It's nice to meet you."
"Please," he chuckled. "Call me Steve. Sir makes me feel ol- Nathan no comment."
Nathan put his hands up in surrender. "Wouldn't dream of it, Pops."
Darian chuckled and I let out a small laugh as Steve rolled his eyes and Julie shook her head.
After the laughter died down, Julie clapped her hands. "Let's eat!"
***
When the dinner was finished, Darian and his parents went to the living room. Nathan and I, on the other hand, went on a tour of the house. He led me upstairs, showing me everything from the library to the five guest rooms. Eventually, he showed me his room, well, his old room. The walls were painted a deep green, filled with posters of different famous boxers and other sports stars. I had no idea who any of them were. My eyes landed on one poster, in particular, a woman basically naked on the top of a yellow sports car. I raised an eyebrow and pointed at it. "Classy."
"Oh," Nathan muttered a swear word under his breath and then scratched his head, looking nervous. "That wasn't what I wanted to show you."
I laughed at his obvious sign of distress and patted his shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Nate. What did you want to show me?"
Nathan took my hand, it feeling perfect in mine, and led me to the other side of the room. He pulled open his black curtains which revealed a glass slide door, leading to a balcony. Once we were outside, Nathan took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. I shot him a grateful smile and leaned close to him. "Thank you, but I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Okay," Nathan shrugged and then wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. "I'll just cling to you for warmth."
I shook my head and laughed. Looking out at the scene in front of me, I sighed. Snow blanketed the whole backyard but between the stars and the tall outdoor lamps that lined the path, it was beautiful. I arched my head to get a good look at him. "So you grew up here, huh? It's beautiful."
"Technically, I didn't grow up here," Nathan said, his voice rumbled and I could feel it through my back. "My mom moved in when I was young, but I lived with my dad until I was six."
"What happened?" I asked, but quickly added. "With your dad, I mean. But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Nathan shook his head. "It's okay. My dad... he wasn't a good guy. He drank, gambled, brought home girls like it was nobody's business. I never told my mom how bad it was because I loved my dad, you know, I didn't want to hurt him and I certainly didn't want to hurt my mom by thinking it was her fault for the things that I saw." He held me tighter. "But one weekend when I came here for a visit, Steve and I were playing ball and he accidentally threw it at my stomach. He lifted my shirt to check for any bruising. He found bruises, just not from him... after that my mom got full custody."
I shook my head and turned to face him. "No one deserves to go through that, Nate." When he shrugged, I placed my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at me. "I mean it. You deserve the world."
Not waiting for a response, I pulled him in for a hug. At first, Nathan hesitated, but then, he wrapped his arms around my waist and sighed. "So do you, princess, so do you."
Trying to lighten the mood, I pulled back and smirked. "So, when did you tell your mom so much about me?"
Nathan groaned but I could tell he was trying not to smile. "I may have told her you were my girlfriend a couple of weeks before I asked you to be my fake one. Just to make it a little more convincing, I told her how sweet, funny, and smart you are. Not to mention beautiful."
"Wow, you make me sound perfect, Nate," I laughed, looking back down at the snow-covered backyard.
Nathan took my hand and gave me a dazzling smile. "That's because you are."
***
Later on, Nathan and I returned to the living room with the rest of his family. We were talking about anything and everything when I felt a sudden pang of sadness, thinking about how much I missed my parents. Nathan must've noticed my sudden silence because he leaned over and I felt his lips graze my ear as he said, "It's okay, princess."
I nodded my head slightly, so his parents wouldn't notice and leaned into him, finding his presence comforting. I played with the necklace he gave me with one of my hands and Nathan held the other absently playing the with rings that I wore.
When his mother noticed our closeness, she gave us a sly smile. "Oh, you two look so perfect together! Steve, don't they look perfect together?"
Steve nodded his head, agreeing with his wife. "Absolutely. I'm proud of you, son."
Darian looked at the floor and Nathan tensed slightly, no doubt feeling guilty about lying to his parents. He nodded his head, pulling his hand away from mine, he said, "Thank you, but there's something I need to tell you." He moved his arm away from me and leaned forward, looking serious, so serious his jaw tightened as he swallowed. "Audrey and I are-"
"Adopting a puppy!" I burst out, letting out a nervous laugh.
Darian smacked his hand on his head and his parents looked quite confused. Nathan, however, did really well hiding his shock at my sudden outburst. I felt like an idiot for it, but I didn't want to see Nathan's parents disappointed in him and I didn't want him to feel disappointed in himself.
"Sorry," I began slowly. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed, trying to regain my footing. "I'm just really excited, I've never had a dog before and I just love animals."
Nathan threw his arm around me again and gave his parents a grin. "She's adorable whenever we talk about puppies."
Julie placed her hand on my knee and said, "I think adopting a puppy is lovely, dear. Have you thought about what breed you wanted?"
Trying to quickly come up with a dog breed, Nathan beat me to the catch. "A golden retriever. She loves them."
Nathan's mom gave us a smile. "Good choice, they're adorable, aren't they?"
Nathan and I nodded our heads and Darian was looking like he was trying his best not to laugh at the situation Nathan and I have gotten ourselves into.