A/N: perfection04224 this one's for you, for not abandoning Rage on this journey. We're finally at the second to last chapter now.
Julio's Uncle Matteo's house was almost two hours away, despite what he'd told me earlier about it being an hour out of town.
By the time we pulled up into the driveway of the large house, it was 7:30 pm and my stomach was rumbling. It, thankfully, wasn't audible but it did nothing to reduce my nervousness.
Julio's uncle was the only family member, apart from Javier, whose opinion he cared about. Javier had been easy to win over, but I wasn't sure Julio's uncle would be.
If he hated me or had some doubts about me, I knew Julio loved and respected him enough to hear him out. Besides, even if Julio didn't listen to him, I'd still want the closest thing my boyfriend had to a father to like me.
"You're nervous." Julio observed, watching me amusedly as I rubbed my sweaty hands against my jeans, just as soon as I got off the motorcycle and given the helmet to Julio. He had told me to dress casually, so I'd elected to wear black jeans and a slightly dressy blouse, in an attempt at appearing both casual and serious.
"Of course I'm nervous." I snapped, not attempting to hide my anxiety as I spoke. I didn't even feel bad for snapping at him— he snapped at me often enough.
"Why?" Julio, as expected, brushed off my tone and focused on the fact of the matter.
"Because I'm meeting your uncle! You told me yourself that he's the only person you respect. What if he hates me?" I said anxiously, watching as Julio put the helmet I'd handed him on the seat.
He placed his hands on my shoulders comfortingly and bent down slightly, so that he could look me in the eyes.
"You're Taylor fucking Channing." He said, in an attempt at encouraging me. He succeeded slightly, as I cracked a smile. "You can conquer this whole goddamn world. Why wouldn't he like you?"
I giggled, my frustration immediately evaporating. My nerves weren't entirely held at bay, but they'd dissipated momentarily.
"Besides," Julio added, slipping an arm around my waist as he led me towards the front door, "He isn't going to judge you. He only wants to meet the girl who was awesome enough to get me to fall in love with her."
I blushed, smacking his arm softly. He only chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of my head before ringing the doorbell.
"You're adorable." He commented, and just as I was about to retort, the door opened, revealing a woman who looked to be in her late thirties wearing dark blue jeans and a thin, caramel sweater. She wore barely any makeup, but she was still pretty, with clear olive skin and shining hair.
"Julio!" She greeted, her eyes alight, "How have you been?"
She hugged him before he had the chance to answer. "I've been good, tía." He replied, and she turned her gaze to me.
"And I'm sure it's all because of her." She said knowingly, holding a delicate hand out for me to shake. "I'm Julio's aunt, Gabriella."
"It's nice to meet you." I replied, shaking her hand, and feeling at ease. She seemed really nice. "I'm Taylor."
"We've heard a lot about you, Taylor." Gabriella spoke smilingly, and Julio looked away, embarrassed.
"Yes, my nephew is smitten." She teased, before adding, "Oh, where are my manners? Come in, come in."
She ushered us inside the house. It wasn't as fancy as my mother's, but it was still large and it screamed wealth. Everything was decorated tastefully, and nothing was over the top, as it was in my mother's house.
Julio's uncle was waiting in the living room, which his aunt led us into. He was handsome, and would definitely be a silver fox in the future. I hadn't met, nor did I ever plan to meet, Julio's father, so I assumed that this was where he'd gotten his looks.
"Taylor, I presume? I'm Matteo, it's nice to meet the girl who proved that my nephew is straight." He held out his hand for me to shake. He'd worn dark blue jeans and a white button up shirt, and looked casual yet sophisticated.
I laughed, shaking his hand. The environment was peaceful, homely and calm, and I loved it. "It's nice to meet you too, sir."
"Please, call me Matteo." He ordered, gesturing for me to sit down. He hugged Julio quickly, and Julio took a seat beside me on the dark leather couch.
Gabriella brought us drinks herself— Coke for Julio and I, and wine for the two of them. My mother wouldn't have deigned to do something like that, and she would have made a maid do it. Not all rich people were bad, it seemed.
They eased us into a conversation about school, and our plans for the future. When I said that I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with my life, they didn't judge, and only asked me about my interests. Julio was mostly silent and, at some point, he slid his hand over mine, lacing our fingers together, as he watched me converse with his relatives with a smile.
They asked me questions about myself and, once in a while, the attention was transferred to Julio, who gave short answers and, somehow, turned the attention back onto me.
I learned a lot about him. I knew almost everything about what kind of a person he was, but his aunt and uncle told me many stories about his past and his family, including a very amusing one involving a young Julio's dream of being a ballerina; he'd even bought a tutu.
"I'm sure there's a video somewhere!" Gabriella, as she'd insisted I call her, had exclaimed, almost standing up to get it before Julio begged her not to, saying that he wanted his girlfriend to have some semblance of respect for him.
"I think it's time for dinner." Matteo said, at about 8 pm. I was starving, so I thanked the powers that be instantly. "Sweetheart, is it ready yet?"
Gabriella, I'd since learned, was an amazing cook. She made the best Mexican food that left you salivating. Matteo, she'd said, was hopeless in the kitchen and that was part of what made them work. Both of them had vastly different jobs, with Matteo being a lawyer and Gabriella being an English Literature teacher at a nearby private school, and their personalities contrasted sharply, but their values were the same, which made them gel well together.
This explanation that Gabriella had given to me sort of stood for my relationship with Julio as well. He had a much more abrasive personality while I believed I was calmer. Julio was also antisocial, while I enjoyed making friends (with most people). I could only hope that our relationship lasted as long as Matteo and Gabriella's.
Dinner was tacos, and it added to the relaxed atmosphere. If it had been something fancier, I probably would have been thrown out of my depth.
Just as we finished off our tacos, Gabriella and Matteo exchanged a look. She immediately asked me to join her in the kitchen to help with dessert, and I nervously stood, following her. She obviously had something to talk to me about.
"So, Taylor." She began, as she sliced the cake, "How did you and Julio meet?"
"Uh, we have Physics together, and we got paired up for a project. Things just took off from there." I explained, and she smiled.
"The classic story. Matteo and I met in a very similar way, too." She informed me, before asking with a sigh, "Taylor, I like you. I'm going to hold off on the questioning, and only ask you one thing. What are your intentions with my nephew?"
"I'm in love with him. I want to be with him as long as he'll have me." I tried answering as straightforwardly as I could, hoping that that was enough for Gabriella.
It seemed to satisfy her. "I'm glad you were honest with him. Please treat him well." And that was that. She didn't ask me any uncomfortable questions, and only demanded my help in plating up the dessert that, quote frankly, smelled amazing.
We took the delicious dulce de leche cake into the dining room, where it looked as if Matteo and Julio had just finished off a conversation of their own. Both of them seemed normal, apart from the smug smile Julio wore. After we demolished the cake, we went back into the living room, where Gabriella brought out the coffee.
I wasn't used to drinking coffee after dinner, but I was always ready for the bitter godsend of a beverage. The night ended on a happy note, and I genuinely really liked Gabriella and Matteo, and I was grateful for the fact that they seemed to like me, too.
"It was lovely meeting you, Taylor." Gabriella said, hugging me. Matteo shook my hand again, and both of them embraced Julio fondly.
We left soon after, and it was nearly midnight by the time we got to my place.
"Do you think that went well?" I asked insecurely, hoping they'd liked me, as I pulled out my earrings and set them down on the dresser.
"Princess, they loved you. I can guarantee that." He assured me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and pressing a kiss to my neck.
We hadn't even had to hide the fact that we were coming in together from my mother. She was home for the weekend, but we'd still been open about our relationship.
She'd realized that, since Jack liked me and didn't seem to care what I did, I could do whatever I wanted. She only had a problem with things that directly affected her relationship with Jack. Fortunately, that would come to an end once I left for college, as Jack had assured me last time we'd spoken.
It was finally nice to stop sneaking around.
"Perfect." I beamed, turning in his arms so that I faced him. The people I cared about liked him and the people he cared about liked me. That was the ideal situation for any relationship, wasn't it?
"Now you can sleep easy, at least." Julio teased, and he was right. I'd been worried ever since yesterday afternoon and I hadn't been able to sleep properly, nervous about tonight's dinner.
"True enough. Speaking of, I think it's time for us to go to bed." I said, a sultry look in my eyes as I winked at him.
He groaned, and I pulled him with me, letting him land on top of me, right where I wanted him.