Serenity's POV
I didn't know how many times Justin said no about meeting my mom again. I couldn't blame him, considering how the first time I had went. I didn't even want to wear makeup in fear that I would end the night in tears again. If I was going to cry again, the last thing I wanted was to look like a raccoon like last time.
I was believing things wouldn't be that bad. Things between my mom and I were looking up but that didn't make me any less nervous. Of course my dad was ecstatic to have Justin back over and Marissa seemed to have changed. I highly doubted she would try anything like she had last time.
I helped my mother set the table to try and calm my nerves. I was hoping she wouldn't be as judgmental as last time. She promised she'd be better but truly I was hoping it wasn't all just an act. I didn't want this to be pity due to my situation. I wanted her to actually want to mend our relationship as well as make things better between Justin and herself. I didn't want her to feel like she had to do this just because I was leaving soon—just because I had a problem.
I sighed to myself. I always managed to do a whole lot of overthinking even when I was trying to keep myself distracted.
When the doorbell rang I nearly collapsed into him. He chuckled as I wrapped my arms around him and hurried my face into his chest.
"Someone's excited to see me," he mumbled into my hair before kissing my head.
I pulled back up and look him in the eye. "I'm nervous," I said quietly.
He sighed. "It'll be fine. If you think you're nervous you can only imagine me. You know I," his voice dropped to a whisper, "don't even want to be here."
My lips flattened. He had way more to be nervous about than me. Last time she insulted him in every and any way. I knew he was a confident person but even the most confident people had their moments.
"Yeah, I know but you love me so you're here," I smiled up at him cheekily.
"You just think you're so cute," he rolled his eyes.
"I am cute," I said, leaning and kissing his cheek. "Now, come on. I'm sure they're wondering what's taking us so long."
"Well, can they wonder a bit longer," he asked, pulling me against him by the waist, "because I really want to kiss you."
I wasn't breathing but we both jumped away, startled at the voice.
"Justin, it's nice to see you again," my father said, moving towards us.
I wasn't sure if he saw us in the embrace and if he did, he didn't say anything.
"It's nice to see you again as well, Mr. Morales," Justin smiled warmly, their hands meeting in a handshake.
My dad looked at me. "Well, aren't you going to shut the front door? Or will there be other guests coming?"
I looked over to the front door quickly, actually shocked that I forgot to shut it. "No, no one else will be joining us. Silly mistake." I went and shut it.
"Next time shut the front door before you start canoodling. We don't want any unwelcomed guests or pests," he said pointedly.
I grew insanely uncomfortable as I stared back at him.
"We'll be in, in a minute," I managed to say through my blush.
"Good because I'm hungry," he nodded.
As he walked away, I grabbed Justin's hand and pulled him towards the dining room. He was stifling his laughter and I just glared at him. I didn't find it funny.
"Justin, it's nice to see you again," my mother smiled. She walked closer to us. "I don't know if she told you this or not but I wanted to sincerely apologize for the way that I treated you before. I don't have an excuse for it other than I was judging you before I actually got to know you. I can see now that you make my daughter really happy and I can only thank you for that."
Justin moved forward to shake her hand but she pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, Mrs. Morales," he said, smiling at her.
"Don't thank me," she waved him off. "You must be hungry, so why don't we start eating?"
Marissa plopped down next to my father and then, too, I was nervous. She knew what Justin did. She could spill at any given moment. She had no reason to lie for me or protect me. The thought was making my head pound. I had to have faith in her that she wouldn't mess things up for me but honestly, I didn't. I didn't even get to tell her beforehand to not go and blab it. I could only hope that she'd sit back, relax and keep her mouth shut.
"So you two are dating, correct?" My mother asked.
Justin nodded. "Yes."
"Since when?" My mother asked.
"Almost five months," I tried to say nonchalantly. It'd be five months in two days, but I didn't want to make it seem like I was counting or anything.
"Yeah, five months in two days," Justin nodded. I tried not to let my eyes widen. He remembered?
"How sweet," my mother smiled, looking between the two of us. "You've met his family?"
I nodded. "Yes, his mom is very sweet as well as his grandparents."
She didn't ask about his father and I was happy about that.
"So you two are pretty serious?" My dad asked.
I shifted a little. "I guess."
"So you're being safe?" My mother asked.
Both Justin, Marissa and I choked. In fact, Justin began choking and I began hitting at his back. He eventually calmed down and I swallowed.
"We're—We're not—" I tried.
"Oh, don't lie now," my mother deadpanned.
She was teasing us but I was on fire. Memories of every single sexual thing Justin and I have done replayed in my head.
"Safe, yes," I stammered out words. Justin couldn't even look at them. His posture stiffened even more when I put my hand on his knee. I was simply trying to get his attention.
"Don't torture the poor children," my dad was laughing. "The poor thing, he can't even look up."
I nudged Justin and when he looked up, I noticed that he was blushing. He rubbed the back of his neck and I couldn't help but stifle my laugh. He looked incredibly cute when he was uncomfortable. At least one of us did.
"Are you going to stay together throughout college?" My mom changed the subject which I was incredibly happy for.
"Yeah, we won't let that really separate us," I muttered, digging my feet into the floor.
The talk of breakup always made me nervous.
Justin cleared his threat. "I care for her too much to just let her slip away."
"Not to be the negative one but," Marissa started, "college is where you usually meet newer and better people. You might meet your soulmate there."
I rolled my eyes. "If you didn't want to be negative then you should've just kept that to yourself."
"Hey, I'm just being truthful. It's something you have to think about."
"No, it's not. I'm with him therefore I won't look at other people as potential replacements," I hissed.
"That doesn't mean they won't look at you as a girl to hook up with," she sang causing me to glare at her. "I'm just talking from experience."
"I don't care, Marissa," I said flatly. "Unlike you, I don't have a problem being faithful," i said smugly.
She looked like she wanted to rip my head off the second that left my mouth but she just pressed her mouth together. I knew I shouldn't have egged on her, knowing that she could reveal my secret but it was hard. When she finally did open her mouth, our mother cut her off.
"That's enough, no arguing," she said sternly. "It's pointless."
"I was just trying to give her advice but she got all snarky on me," Marissa bit.
"Enough," my father added in before the argument could begin again
The rest of the night passed with fairly light tension. Justin didn't seem much like himself for the remaining time. He was quiet and he talked only when spoken too. I didn't think it was because my parents asked if we were having sex either. He just seemed down. I didn't want to bring it up in front of my family and we didn't have anytime alone throughout the dinner. Even when my parents showed him my embarrassing baby pictures, he laughed but he still seemed off.
I couldn't wait for the night to end so that I could talk to him. I had a feeling getting it out of him wouldn't be easy. Sometimes it was easy for him to talk about things and then other times it wasn't. Other times he regressed back to the closed book that he was used to being. I was hoping tonight would be an easy night but I had a feeling it wouldn't be.
Since it was the weekend, my dad complied to our agreement and said that I could stay at Justin's house. I may have also added that Justin was upset and I didn't want him to be alone for my mother to say yes as well. Of course, she told me to be safe again and I assured that we wouldn't be doing anything.
It's not like she believed me anyway.
In the car ride back to his house, he was silent which further made me aware that he was, indeed, upset. I slipped my fingers in his spare hand.
"Justin, what's wrong?" I asked softly.
"Nothing's wrong," he monotoned, pulling his hand away from me.
I felt a pang in my chest. "Don't feed me that bullshit."
"Serenity, not tonight," he said.
"If you weren't upset you would have called me baby," I said knowingly.
He sent me a look. He knew I had him figured out. He couldn't help but be transparent to me at this point. "Fine then, baby. Not tonight."
"And you certainly wouldn't say it like that."
"Just leave it alone," he snapped. "I'm fine."
"Do you even believe what you're saying?" I asked.
He glared at me. "Enough."
"Do not talk to me like I'm your child," I crossed my arms over my chest.
He looked me up and down. "You're acting like one right now."
"You're the one who won't talk to me. Excuse me for being worried."
The awkward tension lingered in the car. Once we pulled up to the house, I was eager to get out of the car. Once inside the house, I groaned and followed him towards the kitchen. He took out a beer and I stopped short. He turned to look at me, with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" He asked.
"You're going to talk to me about what's making you upset," I declared, walking closer.
"Was it something my parents said? Because I was uncomfortable too when they asked if we were, you know."
He began laughing, harder than he had the entire evening. I simply stared at him. "That made me uncomfortable but it didn't make me upset."
"Then what are you upset about?" I asked. "Come on, talk to me. You know I'm asking because I care about you. I just want you to feel better." He pulled me closer as I walked towards him and he set me on the counter.
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fuck, I'm so in love with you," he muttered, before opening his eyes. I couldn't help the smile on my face. "What your sister said really got to me because she's right. I don't want to stop you from finding the person you're supposed to be with the rest of your life. I don't want to hold you back when there's someone out there better for you than I am."
I frowned. "Justin, you're not holding me back from anything. I want you and only you, okay? I can't fight this feeling that you're the only one that I want for the rest of my life, as scary as the sounds. Don't listen to Marissa. There's only one you and there's no one better for me."
"See, I disagree," he pursed his lips. "There's someone who will give you things, better things than I could ever give you. Someone who could provide you with stability and safety. I have that feeling too and I'm done fighting it but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone's who will love you better."
"But I don't want anyone else. Can't you see that?" I was nearly pleading. "Fuck them, okay? I love you. I love you, Justin."
He nibbled on his bottom lip. "I know you do."
I pulled him closer between my legs, hating the distance between us. I leaned towards him and kissed his lips. He sighed into the kiss, grabbing my face in between his hands. He began kissing me harder but in a way that I liked. I wrapped my legs around him and held him against me. We ended up viciously making out with him laying on top of me and my back pressed flat against the countertop.
"Let's do it," I whispered on his lips.
He opened his eyes and looked down at me. "Let's do what?" He asked.
"Make love to me," I said, continuing to stroke his hair.
"Baby," I liked the sound of that, "are you sure?"
I nodded. "Of course I am."
He kissed me again and lifted me from the counter. I couldn't help but laugh as he began to stumble trying to kiss me yet walk at the same time. He eventually laughed and gave up, walking us safely up the steps. I wasn't sure where anyone was but I was hoping they weren't coming home anytime soon.
I felt the bed under me and felt nervous yet excited tingles spread throughout my body.
He pulled his shirt off and when I went to remove my dress, he stopped me.
"Let me do the honors," he said.
My breath was stuck in my throat. I raised my arms as he pulled the dress over my head. I felt my hair tickle my back, the fabric now gone. Only my bra and underwear were covering me and I was chewing on the inside of my cheek.
He tucked my hair between my ear and I smiled softly at him.
"Don't look at me like that," he said.
"Like what?"
"Like that," he gestured. "God, you're so fucking beautiful."
His lips went to my neck and I gasped as he left soft kisses. My hands trailed down to his pants and I began unbuckling. I heard HIS breathing hitch and I couldn't help but snicker under my breath. I eventually got them down and he was only in his boxers.
I knew the next clothing to be removed would be own. He reached behind me but stopped. He looked at me. "Do you want to stop?"
I shook my head. "No, keep going," I breathed out.
He removed my bra and I gasped as he began kissing down his chest. He slowly pushed me back down but his body followed. I couldn't help but moan as he licked and sucked. His hand went down slowly and I held my breath in anticipation before he touched me. I was spreading my legs without even realizing it.
I didn't want my underwear on anymore. It was getting in the way. He chuckled when he noticed my frustration and took them off. He began kissing down my body and I shivered.
"I'm telling you in advance," his finger ran down my body. "Tell me to stop if it's too much. I don't want to hurt you."
I nodded. "Okay."
I looked away when he pulled down his boxers, my nerves getting the best of me. He rubbed me and I was temporarily distracted in pleasure before I felt it. It was an awkward feeling and it was slow. I shut my eyes and whispered at the foreign feeling. It was hurting, it was hurting but I wanted to suck it up.
When I hissed in pain, he stopped.
"Don't stop," I let out a strangled whisper.
He bit down on his lip. I could see he was trying to control himself. "Almost there," he grunted. When he was fully inside of me, he waited a few for me to get used to it. "I'm going to start moving. Is that okay?"
I nodded. "Yes."
The pain was pretty much still evident. He letting out breaths but he was going slow and being gentle. It was nice to know at least one of us was feeling something good.
When the pain subsided, which was slowly and gradual, my breathing increased. I moaned quietly, squirming underneath him.
"Faster," I told him.
He leaned down and kissed me before complying to my demand. It was an exciting feeling every time he moaned. I loved that I was making him feel good.
"Fuck, baby," he groaned. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." I giggled from underneath him and he looked down at me. "This is why I love you."
"You just sound so cute," I continued. I couldn't help myself.
"And you sound sexy," he muttered.
My eyes rolled back and I let out a louder noise in pleasure. I was grasping onto the sheets tightly, not wanting to scratch at his back. I knew I was going to orgasm but the closer I got, the more I felt as though I was losing control of my composure.
"I can't hold it anymore," he muttered.
I couldn't either. I was just going to lose myself. My back lifted off of the bed as I felt myself climax, stammering out every swear word I knew.
After we both calmed down, Justin nuzzled his nose against mine. "I love you."
I grinned up at him. "And I definitely love you."