"you sure you're cool with taking care of the house yourself?" i ask asher as he gets my luggage out of his car for me. "you can't forget to lock the front door like you always do, turn the tv off before bed, and don't leave-"
"i got it, chica" he laughs, closing the trunk. "and before you ask, yes, my dad is still fine with driving his truck down with me to get my bike there."
i hate that he can read my mind when i'm on edge. he does it all the time.
jack, juliet, and i say our goodbyes to asher before he drives away and we walk into the airport.
***
a/n: time skip bc airports are boring af🙄
as the three of us board the plane, we remember we never decided who's sitting alone.
in first class, there's two seats per row, rather than three, like the rest of the plane.
i'm not sitting alone, and juliet certainly isn't sitting alone, so that means-
"you can take the window seat if you want" jack says to me as i watch juliet sit down next to a passenger.
huh?
my eyebrows knit as i look between them, then whisper to jack.
"why is jules sitting alone?"
jack shoves me into the row of seats and takes the outer one. "i'm scared of flying, so she insisted i sit with you since she's been on a million plane rides before and completely doesn't mind."
that's true. this must be like nothing more than a long car ride to her.
i lower myself into my seat and open the blinds to my window.
but jack leans over me and shuts it.
"you're that scared?" i tease. not that there's a problem with it, but as his sister it's my duty to make fun of him every chance i get.
jack mumbles something to himself and reaches into his bag for a neck pillow that he bought at one of the shops in the airport and plugs in his ear buds.
he also didn't sleep last night so he would be tired enough to sleep through the plane ride.
i pull out the tray connected to the wall beside me and pull netflix up on my phone.
obviously i wasn't flying without downloading a show beforehand.
i set my phone up on the tray and sit back, ready to binge my little pony.
god, i miss pip.
apparently i got way too into the show, because before i knew it, the plane had landed.
juliet sits up and kneels on her seat, turning around to talk to jack and i.
"you did it!" she cheers, looking at jack who seems quite grumpy. "how was your very first flight in first class?"
"i still hated every second of it" jack says, standing up with his bag.
juliet folds her lips in and shrugs, following jack and i off the plane.
once we collected our luggage and made our way out of the airport, the first thing i do is take in the warm california air.
it isn't insanely hot this time of year. it's more of a tame temperature.
much better.
"do you know where-" i start, but get cut off by juliet's scream.
she goes running towards a professional looking man who's standing beside a shiny black rolls-royce.
holy. shit.
"pierre!!" she squeals, hugging the tall man.
jack and i make our way over and smile to pierre.
"hi, sweetheart" he chuckles. "was your flight okay?"
she nods enthusiastically. "it was fine. this is my boyfriend and his sister, by the way." i wave, and jack kindly says hello. "but she's more like a sister to me, too" she adds.
love of my goddamn life.
"i'm pierre, the carter family's butler. it's nice to finally meet you, jack! i've heard exceptional things from miss juliet about you."
jack's cheeks burn the slightest bit of pink, and he smiles to juliet. "very nice to meet you as well, sir."
"you don't have to be all proper around pierre as long as my family isn't around" juliet giggles. "what's he gonna do? tell on us?"
i like pierre. pierre is cool.
shakes off some of the nerves of being introduced to juliet's life. but i'm here for her, not myself.
pierre open's the passenger door for juliet, then one of the back doors for jack and i. then, he loads all of our luggage into the trunk.
"i feel like i should've helped pierre with the bags..." jack whispers to me. "he seems really chill compared to what juliet explained her family to be like."
he's kinda right.
"morally, you're right" i whisper back. "but i doubt he would have let you help anyway."
"correct" juliet adds from the front. "as chill as he is, pierre still takes his job seriously. that's how he's been with us since i was a baby."
as soon as she finishes, pierre sits in the driver's seat and begins driving us to juliet's house.
she's never showed me any pictures of the house before or anything. all i know is that it's huge.
jack looks really on edge, but i'm almost positive everyone will like him. i know he has it in him to act classy, or however juliet would describe it. proper? i don't know.
but honestly, i think asher would be able to get it down quicker than jack. the way that man dresses for formal things, how charming he can be with adults...
it would be really fucking hot, too.
but asher doesn't really have much of a relationship with jules other than being her boyfriend's friend. i don't think he would be worth the extra guest.
obviously i would be more than fine with him coming along, but he doesn't even know anything about her home life.
it's not something you just introduce anyone to.
and it'll probably stay that way until jack and juliet potentially get married in the future and he sees her family at the wedding.
eventually we pull up to a large gate that leads into a private neighborhood.
pierre scans some kind of id and the gate soon opens.
holy shit... i don't think i've seen a house as big as these in person in my life.
perfectly trimmed hedges, healthy green yards, huge front doors, and don't even get me started on the cars.
someone has the balls to park a lambo on the side of the road?? i'd keep that bitch in my 6 car garage at all times.
i've never seen a 6 car garage in person until now either.
as we continue up the road, the houses get more and more spaced out, and more and more larger.
i'm gonna vomit. how the hell do people actually live in houses like this?
"oh my god! there's tina!" juliet exclaims, looking at a woman walking a little black dog down the sidewalk.
pierre chuckles. "she still walks otis every single day."
i have a feeling that just about everyone in this neighborhood knows eachother.
after awhile of gawking at all the houses we passed, we finally pull up to a house with a gated driveway.
pierre opens the gate and drives us up the driveway, then parks right outside the house.
oh my god.
this can't be real.
"do we have any visitors over right now?" juliet asks pierre once we step out of the car.
pierre shakes his head as he opens the trunk. "no visitors. just us and your father."
where's her mom? it's already around dinner time, i doubt she would wait until the day of the wedding to fly back.
but the last thing i'm doing right now is asking questions about juliet's mom.
"where's mother?" she asks.
oh. thanks?
"she ran to laura's house for last minute wedding preparing. she should probably be done soon."
lol this is terrifying.
waiting here to meet the multimillionaire that raised my best friend.
"let's go in then" pierre says, taking juliet and i's bags. jack grabbed his himself before giving pierre a chance.
probably on purpose.
the three of us follow pierre into the 'house' and... it's even more elegant than i had imagined.
jack and i immediately glance at eachother with wide eyes in complete shock.
i silently mouth, "holy shit!"
and jack also mouths in response, "i know?!"
"i guess i'll show you to your rooms" juliet smiles, walking towards a tall ass staircase. "we can take our bags from here, pierre."
pierre returns our luggage to us before we walk down a hallway on the second floor that looks down on the first floor and eventually enter juliet's room.
now this is how i imagined it.
king size bed, patterned tapestries on the walls, a full shoe rack that goes up to the ceiling, a chandelier, and a baby pink theme.
don't get me started on the vanity.
she has so much makeup it looks like i'm in an ulta.
"i'm just gonna drop my stuff in here quick and then we can go to your rooms" juliet says, placing a traveling bag on her bed.
"you have two guest bedrooms?" i ask stupidly. to be fair, i've never been to a house with two guest bedrooms before.
"five" she corrects, leading us into one of our rooms.
of course. how foolish of me to assume there were only two.
juliet turns the light on and walks around the room, scanning the area. "aria this one is yours."
it's nicer than the bedroom i have at home and the one at my house at school.
probably bigger than both of them combined, as well.
the bed is neatly made, and the floor is shiny clean, as are the windows.
we go over to jack's room next, and it looks just about the same. the comforter is a different color and there's only one closet compared to the two closets in my room, but otherwise the same thing i have.
"do i actually have to sleep by myself?" jack whines.
juliet walks over to him and cups his cheeks in her hands. "yes, you do. even though we're adults, i'm still a kid in my parents' eyes." she then sighs. "i guess it's more of a respect kind of thing, nothing against you."
"makes sense" i shrug, tracing my finger around a hanging pot with a succulent inside.
juliet lets go of jack and starts making her way to the door.
"but now that we're here, i'm talking to you, jack" she says, staring at jack for a couple seconds, "i need you both to kinda just follow my lead when we're downstairs, or around either of my parents in general. just remember what i taught you and you'll be fine."
as long as juliet believes in us, i think we'll do just fine trying to fit in. for the most part, anyways.
but i do disagree with one thing.
"you sure you think jack would be the bigger outcast than me?" i ask jules. "i feel like he definitely has better manners than i do."
i mean, it's true. i'm more of a 'do what i want' person. take the masquerade party for example.
i fucked that one up pretty well.
jack kinda just goes with the flow. that's how he gets along with everyone.
she smiles and leads us into the hallway. "you're definitely right. but it's way more important for my family to like my boyfriend rather than his younger sister. he represents both of you."
"can we have something to eat by chance?" jack whispers as we walk through the hallway.
juliet giggles. "yes, dear. i'm not gonna starve you guys."
once we get to the stairs, jack allows juliet and i to go down first.
i pull her hand slightly behind her to link our pinkies, and she doesn't hesitate to link her finger with mine.
as soon as we turn the corner at the bottom of the stairs, we spot a medium height man in khakis and a polo shirt standing at the marble island.
"hi father!" juliet greets, letting go of my pinky and approaching her dad for a hug.
'father'... i have a feeling it's gonna be weird seeing juliet act so differently for the next couple days.
"hi, peanut!" he grins, rubbing her back before turning to us. "are these the guests you said you were bringing from school?"
she nods happily before walking over to us.
"this is my boyfriend, jack" she introduces, holding onto his upper arm as she speaks. then, she walks over to me. "and this is his younger sister, aria, who's also my best friend!"
"pleasure to meet you, mr. carter" i greet.
juliet's dad smiles and nods to me, then walks towards jack before he can say anything.
he holds his hand out and looks at jack approvingly. "i'm glad to finally meet you, mr. marley."
ew. 'mr. marley.'
jack takes his hand to shake, then starts spazzing.
as expected.
"just jack is fine!" he says frantically. "or mr. marley, if that's what you'd prefer to call me. uh.. either is completely fine."
thank god we're meeting the less strict parent first.
"anyways!" juliet interrupts, "is pierre still here?"
juliet's dad starts walking back to the island and picks up the papers he was previously looking at.
"no, he just left to pick up your mother. did you need him for something?"
she shakes her head. "that's the reason i was asking. also because we're hungry."
"you two are hungry, too?" he asks jack and i specifically.
"yes, sir" jack replies quickly. "but if it would be a hassle, please don-"
i stomp on his foot quietly, shutting him up.
bro feels guilty for being hungry. i know he has anxiety sometimes, but he has never felt guilty for wanting food.
"we are" i answer instead, smiling. "we haven't had the chance to eat an actual meal since we got to the airport."
mr. carter hums, then nods.
"i was just about to go back to my office, but i can prepare some salad and steak for pierre to cook when he gets home" he offers. "i'd just ask alice to cook but she's on vacation this month."
i'm assuming alice is some kind of personal chef.
"that sounds delicious!" juliet cheers. "thank you, father!"
"yeah, thank you, sir" jack adds.
am i supposed to say something? i feel like i shouldn't drag it out.
"oh, do you think we could have some cola, too?" she asks.
juliet's dad looks at her skeptically, then nods.
"as long as you finish them before your mother gets home, alright?"
bet.
i wish i could savor it more before i have to live off lemon water, but soda is soda.
"don't chug it" juliet whispers to me before walking over to a cabinet full of glasses.
***
juliet and i are sat on stools at the island watching her dad and jack preparing dinner.
mr. carter is seasoning the steak while jack is slicing tomatoes for the salad.
thank god jack isn't touching the steak. we banned him from cooking at home for a reason, so cutting salad ingredients is the most he can do without the chance of something going wrong.
"father, what cut is the steak?" juliet asks, taking her last sip of coke.
"these are all japanese wagyu" her dad answers, still focusing on the food.
what the fuck? that shit goes for like $200 a pound?
and, for whatever fucking reason, juliet looks disappointed.
"but we usually have filet mignon" she says quietly.
she has to be kidding.
i didn't think about the fact that this is juliet's domain we're in, so she isn't the sweet little submissive quiet girl anymore.
i'm excited.
"if you really want that instead, tomorrow we-"
juliet interrupts, "no, it's okay. i'll only be here for a couple days..."
"honey, you know you aren't supposed to talk over your elders" he says, sounding like he feels bad for correcting her. "especially since i just heard your mother and pierre pull up the driveway."
jack and i instantly look at eachother, each of us alarmed.
alarmed, and frightened.
he's about to meet mrs. carter for the first time, and i'm about to witness him meeting mrs. carter for the first time.
before my brain can prepare for the situation approaching, we hear the front door open.
"i'll take this to your closet for you, mrs. carter" i hear pierre say from the entrance.
a feminine voice thanks him, then i hear high heels tapping the floor until the woman herself appears in the kitchen.
she has healthy long blonde hair like juliet's. her same wide blue eyes, too.
they look almost exactly like eachother.
...other than the fact that juliet doesn't dress like a fancy multimillionaire with a huge reputation.
mrs. carter smiles with her deep red colored lips and perfect straight teeth that are so white they could blind you, and pulls her sleeves up a bit.
okay. i'll admit it.
this woman is a fucking milf.
"hello, dear."
***
WE'RE IN CALI BABY!
i'm so very excited for this little arc oh my god
i'm also excited for you to meet juliet's milf of a mother‼️😌
i'll see y'all at the wedding🕺🏻
#bringbackpip