a/n: ^^ summary manip! i made an instagram account for myself ... i felt like i needed to have one now haha. so if you'd like to follow me it's @aquarliamxx :)
I held the two bouquets in my hand as I walked up to Summer's building. The entire walk over, I held them carefully and made sure I didn't accidentally bump them into someone or something. I couldn't show up with a tattered bouquet of flowers.
They were only small bouquets because that was all I could really afford at the moment. But even though they were small, I hoped the flowers held enough meaning in them to make up for size.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to put in each bouquet. For Summer, I kept it very simple: a few red roses, a couple red tulips, and a few purple tulips in the center of the bouquet. According to the florist, the red roses and red tulips symbolized passion and love, while purple tulips symbolized royalty.
I'm sure it was more along the lines of a royal family or something, but Summer was royalty to me.
For Marilyn's bouquet, I spent far too much time figuring out what the hell I wanted to put in there. The florist almost kicked me out for taking too damn long to decide. I went with a few purple tulips, some yellow tulips, and a few white asters. Again with the royalty for purple flowers, yellow supposedly symbolized cheerful thoughts, and the asters were meant to symbolize patience and good luck.
I hoped the florist didn't lie to me about all these flower meanings. That would be a total disaster if I found out I gave flowers that symbolized death and doom.
Maybe I put far too much thought into this whole thing.
It doesn't hurt, I suppose.
"Good evening, Harry," Albert greeted me as he opened the building door. He looked from the several flowers in my hands up to my face and smiled. "Special occasion?"
"Summer and I are going to dinner with Robert and Marilyn. I'm hoping to start it off on a good note," I held the bouquets slightly forward and turned them side to side, examining them a little more. "Do they look alright?"
"They look great. Very nice choices," he smiled as he leaned down to look at the flowers. He pulled back and started to motion towards the elevator. "Shall I send you on your way?"
I nodded my head and thanked him as I stepped into the elevator car and was on my way up to the penthouse. The ride went by fairly quick, and I was wondering if either I hadn't been paying attention or that I was getting really used to this ride.
The doors opened up to the hallway, and I stepped out, walking down until I reached the living room. I didn't have to call out for Summer because as I stepped into the room, she was carefully walking down her set of stairs. She spotted me standing there, her eyes growing slightly bigger in size as she noticed the flowers.
"What's with these?" She asked as she adjusted her heels before walking over to me.
"Well, these ones are for you," I smiled, handing her the bouquet in my right hand. "I just thought I'd do something nice for you and your mom. Guys usually buy their date flowers when they go to dinner, right?"
Summer lightly laughed as she held the bouquet up to her nose, smelling the scents from all the flowers, "That's so sweet. You really didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to."
She smiled and leaned forward to give me a kiss, laughing as she realized some of her red lipstick left a mark, "I'm going to go put these in a vase before we go."
I watched as she walked towards the kitchen, her dark hair swaying side to side as she moved. There were cabinets being opened and closed, and I heard water running from the sink. Just a few moments later, Summer appeared from the kitchen with a vase, the bouquet of flowers now sitting in water. She set them on the table next to the couch and paused for a few seconds, seeming to admire the flowers.
"They're so pretty," she smiled as she turned to look at me.
I didn't even respond as Summer took my hand in hers and led me towards the elevator. As we were on our way to the ground floor, I took a second look at her. She had on this black and white dress that looked very elegant, which I suppose was a good look for a dinner with her parents. Compared to my black pants and button up shirt, she looked much better than I did.
Summer's brown eyes still seemed to shine under those dark lashes of hers, and the light freckles across her nose seemed barely there. She was just so beautiful; I'd never get tired of looking at her.
My eyes stopped at one area of her, causing me to smile as I nudged her in the arm, "You did a nice job covering up those hickeys."
She rolled her eyes and laughed, moving some hair to cover her neck, "I did the best I could with makeup."
We passed by Albert in the lobby, saying a quick goodbye as we walked outside and hailed a taxi. The two of us got inside the car and gave the driver directions to the restaurant, sitting back as he sped down the streets.
"So," Summer broke the silence as she looked at me. There was a silly little grin on her face, as if whatever it was she was going to say was so amusing. "What's with the shark doll?"
"What do you mean?" I laughed, knowing what she was talking about.
"I mean, where did it come from? I wake up this morning in your bed, naked and holding onto a stuffed shark doll. Now I know why I was naked, but the doll? Did I completely miss something from last night?"
I shook my head as I saw the confused look on her face, "No, I gave it to you when I left for the restaurant. You were holding onto me when you were asleep, so I tried replacing my body with the doll. It was just a lousy attempt to make it seem as if you were still holding onto me."
"Oh. It wasn't lousy; it was sweet," she laughed as she gave my hand a squeeze. "Why do you have it?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I tried to nonchalantly answer her question, "It's just something I got when I was a kid, just before my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I don't know, it kind of stuck with me all these years."
"Holds a lot of sentimental value," Summer softly smiled. She was quiet for a moment, looking up at me with those comforting eyes. "Does it have a name?"
"A name?"
"Yeah. Did you give it a name when you were younger?"
"I did, actually," I laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed. I couldn't believe I was sitting here telling my girlfriend about some doll I had when I was a child. I felt like it should have been reversed. "His name is Patrick. Named him after that starfish from Spongebob."
"I never watched that," Summer sheepishly bit her lip.
"What?" I stared at her in shock. Who has never watched Spongebob? That is a classic cartoon that everyone has seen at least one episode of. "Damn. You really were deprived as a child."
"Oh, shut up. Just because I haven't seen a silly old cartoon does-"
"It is not just a silly cartoon, Summer. Spongebob is the best," I shook my head and pushed back some of the hairs that had fallen onto my face. "This calls for an emergency. After this dinner, you're coming over to my place, and we're going to find some episodes to watch."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm totally serious."
She laughed at me as she agreed to the emergency Spongebob viewing. This was extremely important. I still couldn't believe she'd never seen it before. Good thing all of that was going to change.
A couple jokes and several fits of laughter later, we arrived at the restaurant. We paid the driver and got out of the cab, standing on the sidewalk as we looked inside the building. I couldn't even pronounce the name of the restaurant if I tried. It was as if it was in a different language.
The outside of the restaurant didn't look like anything special. There were a bunch of plants that lined the massive windows, and there were spotlights on the restaurant name. It was all so dull colored, like a burgundy and brownish grey. Honestly, it didn't look very appealing, but the inside was a different story.
As Summer and I walked through the doors, I could immediately see the stark contrast in decor from the outside. Everything was so fancy looking with the twinkle lights on the ceiling and the mini candles at the center of each white clothed table. I had never been to a place like this before, frankly because I could never afford it. I made a mental note to myself to pick up a few extra waiting shifts at di Lorenzo's.
When the hostess greeted the two of us, Summer mentioned meeting her parents here, to which the hostess led us over to a table. Robert and Marilyn were sitting together in the back corner of the restaurant. With the two of them already here, it made me worry that Summer and I had arrived late, and I prayed that this dinner didn't start off on a bad note.
"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," Summer spoke as we reached the table. Both her parents stood up from their seats as they moved over to greet us.
Robert gave me a firm handshake, and through his hard stare, I could tell he was counting down the minutes until this was over. To be honest, I was counting down the minutes as well. It wasn't that I didn't want to be here, it was just that I was freaking the fuck out. I couldn't mess any of this up. This was my one chance to prove myself to Summer's parents, so it had to be perfect.
Or, at least, as perfect as my luck allowed it to be.
"Hello, Harry," Marilyn greeted me as she side stepped Summer.
I made the polite gesture to give her a hug before I handed her the flowers, "These are for you, Mrs. Lutes."
She grabbed the bouquet from my hand, and instantly, there was a genuine smile across her face. Marilyn inspsected the flowers before she looked up at me, "Purple tulips. You know, they represent royalty."
"Particularly why I picked them for you," I nervously responded as she smiled.
"Well, you're a very thoughtful boy," she took another look at the bouquet, sighing in content and turning her attention back towards me. "They're beautiful, thank you."
I nodded my head before I took a seat at the table. I sat down between Summer and Marilyn, which meant that I was directly across from Robert. As he stared back at me, I could feel nothing but intimidated, even with Summer giving my hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.
The start of the dinner was a little awkward, to say the least. No one really knew what to say or who to speak to first. It was just this oddly silent moment at the table as we all looked over the menu. Only after we had ordered our food did the conversation really begin, with Summer obviously acting as some kind of mediator between her parents and me.
"So, Harry," Marilyn began, folding her hands at the table. "How long have you lived here?"
"I've been in the city for a little over two years now. I'm from Jersey, so I used to come over here a lot with some friends. I really like the city life, which was what had prompted me to move."
"The city itself is amazing," Marilyn nodded. "Good choice, though. I'd pick New York City over New Jersey any day."
The way she spoke to me and her actions around me were completely different from how they were just two days ago. Even more different than how they were when we first met in Summer's apartment. I wasn't entirely sure if it was from what they heard me say to Summer yesterday, or if it was from the flowers. I don't think I'd ever know.
"Well," Marilyn spoke up again, this time she was looking at her daughter. "Tell us how you two met. What's the story on that?"
"Oh, um," Summer looked over to me and smiled, her cheeks a pretty pink color under the lights. "I was on my way to meet Cambria at her apartment, and I just happened to decide to walk through Central Park. Harry was there, and we just kind of walked right into each other. Literally. Neither of us were paying attention to where we were going, so we collided with each other. I was holding a smoothie that spilled all over my dress. Harry felt bad about it and offered to take me out to dinner to make up for it. And, well, that's where it all began."
Robert stared back and forth between Summer and me, his eyebrows knit together as he spoke, "You bump into a complete stranger at the park and agree to go on a date with him? Summer, have we not taught you better than that? You don't just say 'yes' to a stranger like that! He could've been some kind of psychopath or murderer. What were you thinking? He could even be one right now!"
"Dad-"
"Robert, settle down," Marilyn spoke, interrupting her daughter. "You've already done a background check, so you know he's clean."
What the fuck? A background check? Did I really come off as that bad?
"You did what?" Summer gaped.
Robert rolled his eyes as he made some kind of hand gesture, "I was just trying to see if my daughter was getting into something she should be staying away from."
"Do you really not trust my judgment?" Summer snapped. She was slowly getting angrier, and Marilyn wasn't doing much of anything to come between them. I felt like I was in the middle of a family argument, as if I was supposed to excuse myself from the table for a few moments. "Harry was genuine when he apologized at the park. He was so distraught about spilling the drink, and I was in awe of how sweet he was. Everything turned out fine."
"Yeah, well your judgment with your last boyfriend didn't turn out so well now, did it?"
"Okay!" Marilyn interjected. She shot Robert a warning glare before she quickly put on a smile towards Summer and me. "Harry what do you do?"
I was confused for a second. They both knew what I did, as I recall they referred to me as a janitor, but maybe this was just to steer the conversation away from the argument between Summer and Robert.
"Erm, I work in a restaurant," I cleared my throat as my nervousness made my voice come out scratchy. "I prep and clean the kitchen before they open, and sometimes I'll work as a waiter."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"It's not too bad. The cleaning is a stress reliever sometimes. And now, I have someone working with me, so we keep each other entertained the whole time."
The conversation at the table continued on like that: measly questions from Marilyn about myself. It tended to just be the two of us talking because any time Summer or Robert spoke up, the two of them would start to argue about something. I thought Summer was going to be the mediator at this dinner, but it turned out that it became Marilyn.
With everything she asked me, I made sure to be one hundred percent honest. Maybe I wouldn't live up to their expectations of who they'd want to see their daughter date, but at least I wasn't lying to them. I was going to let them get to know the real me.
As our food came, the conversation died down just a little bit. Marilyn was still asking Summer and me questions about things that have been going on. When the subject of Isabella came up, due to all those pictures of her and me together in the magazines, I explained that she was only a friend and my roommate's girlfriend, and Marilyn actually apologized for calling her a two-cent whore. I was surprised by the apology, but I felt a lot better that she did.
It really rubs me the wrong way when I hear people shit talk about those I care about, especially when people label my friends as something that they're not. But now that Marilyn apologized, the air between us seemed to be a lot clearer.
On the other hand, the air between Robert and I was not so clear.
We were in the middle of eating dinner, having a pleasant conversation about the time Summer met my parents, when Robert decided to finally ask his own question. He was staring at me dead in the eyes as he set his knife down from cutting his steak. Pointing his fork at me, he nodded towards Summer.
"Are you having sexual relations with my daughter?"
"Dad!"
"Robert!"
I thought I was going to die from the amount of coughing I was doing.
Summer's cheeks were bright red in embarrassment, and I could feel my own face becoming really hot. I kept coughing, to the point where Summer was trying to pat me on the back. Even the waitress thought I was choking.
Marilyn turned towards her husband and set her napkin on the table, "Robert, that is not an appropriate dinner conversation, nor is it any of our business."
"Well she is our daughter. I believe that makes it our business."
"She is also twenty years old. In reality, she doesn't have to talk to us at all, so you need to settle down before she cuts off all communication. Our only child and you are very close to burning your bridge."
I sat there quietly as the two of them argued. This was pretty awkward for me to be sitting through, even Summer was trying not to shift uncomfortably in her seat. But Marilyn did have a point. Summer is over eighteen years old; she doesn't have to do anything her parents say because in all technicalities, she doesn't need a parent guardian anymore. I highly doubt she would cut off her parents like that, but it was always an option.
Robert seemed to take in what Marilyn said. His lips were in a tight line as he sat there and started cutting more pieces of his steak. Marilyn went back to eating her salad, and Summer had reached under the table to give my hand another reassuring squeeze.
This dinner wasn't going at all how I had imagined it to go. I thought that the four of us could have a civil conversation together, but it seemed as if someone had to make a snarky comment or start an argument every time something was brought up.
The rest of the dinner seemed to take forever. I felt like I was growing grey hairs at how slow it felt. It was just awkward every time Robert spoke, and he and Summer couldn't talk with each other without fighting. It was bad enough that the waitress was hesitant every time she came over to the table.
When the dinner finally ended, I felt relieved because I just wanted to get out of there. I felt trapped in a terrible situation that was going nowhere, no matter how much Marilyn tried to mediate.
Summer's parents ended up covering our dinner costs. I was completely willing to pay for both mine and Summer's meals, but Marilyn insisted that they pay.
The four of us walked out of the dining room and out into the night air. The streets were busy, as per usual, and people were bustling by.
"Well, it was a lovely dinner," Marilyn spoke up to break the silence between us. It was apparent in her facial expression that she was only trying to lighten the mood, but we all knew the dinner wasn't as lovely as she made it sound. "Harry, it was nice getting to know you better."
I nodded my head as I gave her a hug, "It was nice talking with you."
She pulled away and said goodbye to Summer as I shook hands with Robert. He didn't say much, only giving me a nod of the head and a lousy 'good night.' I couldn't tell if he disliked me even more than he did yesterday, but I knew for a fact that he didn't warm up to me at all.
I suppose with his strong dislike and Marilyn's apparent fondness of me, it somehow balances out between them. If anything, I could be happy that neither of them told me to stay away.
As the two of them got into their car and drove off, Summer reached out to hold my hand. I looked down at her as she flashed me an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry about that. The fighting between my dad and I probably made things worse, didn't it?"
"No no, it's not your fault," I grabbed her other hand and lightly smiled at her. "Things didn't go as I thought they would, but I'm sure with time your dad will warm up to me. Some people just take longer than others to come around."
She pouted her bottom lip and slumped her shoulders, "I was hoping that it would be all good by tonight."
"It's never that easy, babe."
I leaned down to give her a kiss, lingering a little longer than normal. When I pulled away, Summer let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around my body in a hug. She seemed more upset about this than I was, which was pretty clear in her facial expression: brows drawn together, nose wrinkled up, and lips pouted. I let out a light chuckle as I held her in my embrace.
"Can we go back and watch Spongebob?" Her voice was muffled against my chest as she spoke.
Pushing hair out of her face, I smiled and nodded in agreement, "Of course we can."
A/N: Hola just wanted to make a sort of side note since I've seen people comment about this towards the beginning of the story ... Yes, Summer is portrayed by Danielle Campbell. The only slight differences in their looks is that Summer has brown eyes (Danielle has blue/hazel), Summer has freckles across her nose/cheeks (Danielle doesn't), and Summer's hair is a very very dark brown color (Danielle has a medium-ish shade). I know that's random, but it's just how I picture her to be lol
Also, just for a reference, I imagine Summer's parents as Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig