Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) (21 page)

My head was spinning as we both
sank to the ground in a heap, but this time not from the effects of alcohol. No
this was the effect of Justin Parker, and I never wanted this feeling to go
away for the rest of my life. 

Christmas Eve dinner hadn’t been as
bad as I thought it would be. My mother and dad had been cordial, even talking
about some of the memories they had when we were still a family. Grams and
Grandpa hadn’t been so welcoming to my mother, but they had at least been
polite. Justin, well, everyone liked him, it was hard not to. He was so
charming and really had his future all planned out, which everyone loved about
him.

Mia was just Mia. Well, the new Mia
anyway. She had shown up in a practically see through white dress, clearly with
a black thong underneath it, and no bra. Flirting was putting it lightly as to
what she had done with Justin and even my dad, which was more than gross to
see.

The only time that I think everyone
wanted to kick her out all together was when she made a comment about me not
drinking any wine with my dinner. “What’s the matter, Della, are you knocked up
again?”

Had she really forgotten that I had
been pretty much waster the night before, or maybe she was just trying to
embarrass me in front of Justin. I wanted to sink through the floor right then
and there. Everyone fell silent, except for Justin who quickly told her to shut
the fuck up. I winced at his choice of language, but everyone nodded in
agreement, my dad smiling at him for handling the situation.

Justin had held onto my hand
tightly the whole time we were there, avoiding Mia as much as he could after
that as he ran his finger lightly over the ring he had given me that morning
when we had woken up. No, definitely not an engagement ring, although I could
see that happening with Justin, just not now. No way in hell.

This ring was just an ‘I love you’
gift and a good reason for him to be able to pull that bubblegum ring off of my
finger. I had tucked it away in a tiny baggie, knowing that I would want to
hang onto it even if it wasn’t on my finger anymore. He had done perfectly at
picking jewelry out for me. The silver band was thin and intricately woven with
another and three pink stones were placed in the center. Not too flashy but
just enough. It was so…me.

My mother had pulled me out to the
porch, a glass of wine that she had brought along in her hand as we sat down on
the swing. “Thank you, Adelaide, for dealing with Mia last night. I can only
take so much of her.”

I snorted in response, “Yeah, me
too. Is she always like this?”

“Yes,” she rolled her eyes, taking
another sip of her wine, “unfortunately. She brings a different guy home with
her almost every night to the guesthouse, and Gerald just ignores it. I really
don’t know what to do.”

I remained silent because I really
didn’t have any advice for her. Mia was on a downward spiral from where she had
once been, and she didn’t seem as if she wanted to change.

“I’m so proud of you, dear,” she
said, her tone switching to soft as she reached over to twirl a piece of my
hair, something she hadn’t done since I was a little girl. “You’ve grown up so
much and come so far. I know I haven’t always been there for you, but I promise
I’m going to try more. I’m glad you found Justin. You two seem like a perfect
fit, and I can see he has a good influence on you. You better not let that one
get away.”

“Thanks, mom.” I smiled as her
eyebrows shot up at me using mom instead of mother. I hadn’t felt like she
really had been a mom to me until she had just said that right there. To know
she was proud of me, for once, really was a little overwhelming, but it felt
good. “It means a lot to me to hear that from you. I think I just needed a bit
of change to get my life in order. Maybe that’s what Mia needs.”

“Hmm…maybe,” she said before
pushing off the swing and hobbling to her feet. “Well, darling I think we
should get going. Gerald’s meeting us at the airport so we can head to Aspen.
Are you sure you don’t want to come along?” I shook my head, all ready having
told her no earlier in the day. We were spending tomorrow with Justin’s family,
and I wasn’t about to bale on that.

 She kissed each side of my cheek
before going inside to say the rest of her goodbyes and to pull Mia out of
there, who of course, had attached herself to Justin’s side while I had been
gone.

We stayed for a little while
longer, exchanging some gifts and playing board games before my eyelids started
drooping close. “Time for us to head out I think,” I heard Justin say as he
pulled on my hand. I gave hugs and kisses to my family, Grams shoving a bag
into Justin’s hands that was loaded down with containers filled with leftovers.

I slept the whole way back to Justin’s
house. By the time we got back, I was feeling a little more awake. We curled up
onto his couch, watching old Christmas movies while eating leftovers.

He pushed aside my hair, kissing my
neck after I finished off the rest of the cheesecake and buried my head in his
chest, breathing in his spicy cologne. “I had a good time today,” he murmured
into my ear. “Minus that evil step sister of yours.”

I laughed into his chest, his title
for Mia perfect in my book. “I can’t wait till you meet my family tomorrow. They’re
going to love you just as much as I do.” I smiled even though I was a little nervous;
I think pretty much everyone was when meeting their boyfriend’s family for the
first time. But if they were anything like Justin, I’m sure they would be more
than easy to get along with.

                                                                      
***********

“C’mon Della, that sexy ass of
yours needs to get moving. We need to beat Jeremy there so we get first dibs on
the eggnog pancakes. I’m not missing out on those,” he yelled into the bedroom
where I was changing into my third outfit choice of the morning. I guess this
was going to have to do.

I sucked in a breath as I looked
back at my reflection, smoothing down the crème sweater dress I had pulled on
with a pair of brown leather knee high boots. I had woken up extra early to
curl my hair into soft ringlets and apply my makeup, choosing to use a softer
hand than I normally did.

I puckered my lips as Justin walked
in, pulling at my arm. “Della,” he said in a whiny voice and I pierced him with
a stare. “Don’t you know that you aren’t supposed to interrupt my primping
time, especially when it comes to meeting your family.”

“Sorry, princess,” he replied in a
soft voice, pulling me in front of him. “You look more than perfect. Like I
said, they are going to love you.” He kissed my forehead, reaching for the hem
of my dress to inch it up. “Please tell me you aren’t wearing anything under
this.”

I slapped his hand away right
before he could find out. “Of course I am, do you really think I would show up
to your parents house without any underwear on, you ass. Don’t even think about
trying anything with me while we’re there, because it’s so not going to
happen.” He followed me into the living room, helping me pull on my coat before
grabbing our overnight bags and opening the front door.

His parents only lived about thirty
minutes away, but we were spending the night, so we wouldn’t have to worry
about driving home. Apparently, his mom made a strong egg nog, and she insisted
everyone spend the night if they were to even have a sip of it.

“Oh, you just wait. I’ll get you
all liquored up, and you won’t be able to resist this body,” he said cockily
before slamming my door shut. I rolled my eyes, knowing that I was going to
have to keep away from the egg nog or what he had just said would end up being
true.

Justin’s parents’ house wasn’t
anything like I had expected. He had always complained about having to share
space with his two older brothers, but I found that hard to believe as I stared
up at the two story brick house that looked like it could easily house at least
ten people. “I thought you said you had to share a room with your brothers,” I
whispered as he led the way up to the front door.

“Yeah, because my mom forced us to.
She thought it was some bonding experience for us or some shit like that.”

“Aw, you poor thing.” I kissed the
corner of his mouth that was turned into a frown right as the front door opened
and a petite woman with dark brown hair, almost the same shade as Justin’s,
stepped out onto the porch, wrapping us both into a hug.

“I’m so glad you two are here! I’ve
been bothering him for some time now to bring you over, Della.” She pinched Justin’s
cheek before turning to me once again and giving me another hug. “Its so nice
to finally meet the girl who has settled my baby down. Thank you for that,” she
whispered into my ear before ushering us inside.

“Thank you, Mrs. Parker.”

“Oh no, it’s either Leann or mom
honey, that’s all I want to hear from those pretty lips.” I smiled as she
pulled us into the kitchen and pointed to the only two chairs that weren’t
occupied.

I was quickly introduced to his
dad, Dan, his brothers, Jeremy and Jared, and their wives, Molly and Sarah. I
felt like I was instantly welcomed into the family as they all teased and joked
with everyone, me included. I could see where Justin got his personality from.
I was expecting his dad to be a hard-ass since I knew he was a lieutenant, but
I don’t think a smile had disappeared from his face the whole time we sat there
and ate the huge breakfast Leann had made for everyone.

The boys deserted the kitchen
quickly when it was time for cleanup, so I stuck behind to get to know his mom
and sisters-in-law. “So, please tell me how you got
him
to settle down?”
Sarah asked, tilting her head towards the living room where Justin was arguing
with one of his brothers.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I have any
kind of control over him, Justin really does what he wants.”

Molly snorted politely as she
handed me a towel to dry the dishes. “Yeah, right. I can all ready tell he’s
whipped. Did you miss the way he kissed you before he left the room? Our
husbands have long forgotten the romantic part of the relationship. I can’t
imagine being with Justin, I bet he’s wild in bed. You’re one lucky girl.”

I choked on the sip of orange juice
I had just taken, not believing that they actually thought about Justin in
that
way. My cheeks blazed as Sarah and Molly both stared at me looking like
they were day dreaming about my boyfriend. Sure, Justin’s brothers were
attractive in more of an adult, mature way, but these girls definitely saw
Justin as serious eye candy.

“Girls, leave her alone and quit
fantasizing over my baby. I really don’t want to hear about
that.
He
talks about himself enough as it is,” she added, giving me a knowing smile that
she was definitely clued in about how cocky her son tended to be. “But he did
quit that bad smoking habit he picked up since you two started dating. I think
you should be giving yourself more credit.”

It was true, Justin had never said
anything to me about smoking, and I had never mentioned that I really didn’t
like it much. So I didn’t see how I had factored in on his quitting, but if
Leann thought I was, I guess that was one point for me. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon
preparing a large Christmas lunch together. Justin kept popping in to sneak
kisses while I was helping out but would quickly leave once his mom caught him
stealing food. Gifts were exchanged right before lunch, and I was surprised to
see a large stack at my feet by the time we were done opening them.

“Here, I saved this one for last.”
Leann handed me a square package, wrapped expertly with a large white bow. I
looked at Justin who had a wide smile on his face as he watched me open it, and
I pulled out a scrapbook that was filled with pictures of Justin and me
together. “Where did these all come from?” I asked as I flipped through page
after page, the last containing pictures from our one night stay at the beach.
I smiled when I saw a picture of me staring out at the ocean that I didn’t even
know had been taken.

“Justin’s never told you how much
he loves his photography?” Leann asked, a puzzled expression on her face as she
looked at her youngest son, who shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not that great,
mom, Della’s just a good subject. Perfect actually.”

I think all of the women in the
room let out a collective sigh at the same time, while the guys groaned.
“Definitely pussy whipped,” Jeremy muttered before standing up. “Let’s get some
food, I’m fuckin’ starved.”

“Watch your mouth, young man,” Dan
scolded. “You might be grown, but I can still take you over my knee.”

“Funny dad. Pretty sure you never
punished us, if I remember right,” Justin piped in as we all headed in the
dining room.

The rest of the night was spent
just catching up and reliving memories of past holidays. It was funny to hear
about Justin as a younger kid, especially when he started to turn into a
trouble maker. Leann amazed me by being able to talk about it with a smile on
her face, shaking her head while Jeremy told the story about the time that
Justin stole his dad’s police cruiser. How that could ever be funny, I would
never know. I was just glad he hadn’t gotten in a ton of trouble.

I shook my head fiercely when Leann
offered me a glass of eggnog that she passed around to everyone, but by the
third round, everyone was encouraging me to drink some. “Don’t worry,” Sarah
whispered into my ear in a giggly voice telling me that she was already buzzed.
“You two are staying out back in the guest house, so it’ll be all right if you
get a little crazy.”

“Um, thanks,” I said as I took a
small sip, the rum instantly hitting me. I was pretty sure that was all that
was in there. This family was definitely open about pretty much everything. If
I even mentioned the word sex in front of my family, my mom would have pissed
her pants.