After the month I’ve been having I am beyond ready to have a break. The fact that I’ve been working nonstop on appearances, rehearsals, and every day shit is taking its toll on me and I have no idea if I’m going to be ready for this stupid tour. Half of me just wants to quit and spend the rest of my days just waiting for Lauren to come home from making the donuts.

Truth be told I am pretty excited to spend a semi-romantic two days in Worden with her and her parents. I’ve never met them before but I’ve heard that they’re almost as crazy as Lauren is which is pretty bad since Lauren is fucking nuts. 

I’m just glad I get to be with her. This is the first time we’ll be able to spend time with each other alone in a long time. Granted her parents are going to be hanging around, but I’m sure that they aren’t going to be around all the time.

There won’t be Trace; there won’t be Marty, no dancers, no personal trainers, no Johnny, and no Maura on this trip. Granted I find myself sometimes missing my new personal assistant because she is bomb ass titties good. She was an absolute godsend in New York. Things were going wrong left and right but she kept her head and managed to get things done without seeing me turn purple. I have to say she is probably the best personal assistant I’ve ever had (behind Lauren) and I silently thank my girlfriend every single day for sending Miss Delaney my way because without her I’d be fucked three ways to Sunday.

It’s funny because since I’ve been with Lauren I seem to have a conscience when it comes to the crazy shit I should be making Maura do. I’ve gotten to know her as a person and not just a personal slave I can order around and she’s a pretty cool person, I’m not going to lie. Maybe having Lauren around to check me and make me treat her like a human being is helping me get to know her better.

“I keep forgetting how long this stupid drive is,” I moan as I lean back into my seat. We’re en route to Worden and I’m pretty excited I guess. I mean everyone in this town loves me and I’m sure since the last time I’ve graced their town with my presence, they’ve actually crawled out of their tractors and listened to some of my music. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they haven’t.

“You know we can turn around and you can go back home. I mean if I were you I wouldn’t want to be going back to a place where everyone knows you can’t turn off a stove,” she quips and it’s my turn to give her a little punch on the shoulder. She grins and lets her head lean against her window.

“Are people still talking about that?”

“Are you kidding? People will be talking about that until you set something else on fire, the Christmas tree maybe?”

“Haha you are so funny. Really you kill me,” I grumble as she turns off of the highway. I can see the ghost town of Worden in the distance and it is completely covered with snow. I let my hand rest against the window before I immediately take it back. It is freaking freezing out there. How does she expect me to survive two days in this frozen hell?

Half an hour later, we’re pulling up into her driveway and unfamiliar knots are starting to form in my stomach. I haven’t experienced this emotion since…good God have I ever felt nervous in my life?

“I don’t think they’re home,” Lauren comments and I let out a pent up breath. She looks over at me and raises an eyebrow, silently questioning if I’m actually nervous. I’m not going to tell her I’m anxious; I won’t give her that satisfaction.

Ten minutes later sees the two of us standing in the front hall of her house with luggage in tow. She’s already started looking around the house for any sign of her parents but thankfully they aren’t around. I need time to get myself together before I’m subjected to the insanity that is supposed to be her parents.

“They went out with Clyde,” Lauren explains as she comes out from the kitchen. I give her a quizzical look and she quickly explains that Clyde is the farm hand that watches after her place while she’s off in California and her parents are running around the world. “They always take him out Christmas Eve day for an early dinner.”

“Oh.” Why did this visit suddenly get so awkward? I grab onto Lauren and hug her tightly before I grab onto our luggage and start up the stairs towards her room. I can hear her following me and I completely walk past the guest room I stayed in the last time I was here and go for Lauren’s. She clears her throat and I turn around to look at her. “What?”

“My parents will freak out if we stay in the same room together,” she explains, “They’re old fashioned that way.” I want to point out that we’re practically married anyway seeing as, aside from work, we’ve been inseparable for the past month but I swallow the comment and go to put my stuff in the guest room.

Once my suitcase is safely stored in the closet I turn around to see Lauren leaning against the doorframe. There’s a certain calm hanging around her and it seems like she’s almost happy to be back home. I almost expect her to wear her hair in braided pigtails and run around the house in a plaid shirt and jeans, but she’s still wearing her giant parka, hair stick thin. “You going to wear that thing inside all day?" I ask indicating to her jacket.

“No. I figured I’d show you around the outside…” she walks forward and smiles at me when she catches my grimace. She knows how much I hate the cold. “You don’t want to?”

“If your parents lived in Tahiti, then yes. But since they decided to base themselves on the frozen tundra…”

“Need I remind you that I’m from this so called tundra that you hate,” Lauren says her voice swimming with mock anger as she walks up to me and grabs hold onto either side of my jacket lapels.

“Well yeah, but you’re the only good thing that came out of this place,” I mutter in response. She giggles at the compliment and I respond by kissing her lightly on the lips. I can tell the girl is about to delve further into our mini make out session but the sound of a car door slamming outside makes her jump away like a scared little rabbit.

“They’re home,” is all she’ll say. I can tell she’s probably nervous as all hell. Maybe she thinks I’m going to embarrass her or they’re going to be complete morons towards me. The last time I checked, her mom didn’t really like me. But that was when I was an ass towards her only kid and made her do impossible errands day in and day out. It’s different now. Her mom has to understand that I’m absolutely and without a doubt in love with her daughter. “Come on, we should go meet them downstairs,” she states before she takes my hand and leads me towards the first floor.

Before we even hit the top of the stairs I can hear the door fly open and the sound of heavy boots hits the hardwood floors. “Hello? Laurie are you home!” a female voice cries, the sound carrying up to the wood beam rafters of the house. “Laurie where are you?”

“I’m up here, ma!” Lauren hollers back before she starts to walk down the steps with me in tow. The result is deafening. We aren’t even on the bottom stair and a blur of tan, blonde, and denim is wrapping her arms around my girlfriend, knocking her hand out of mine. I press myself against the banister to keep my balance as mother and daughter continue to hug the shit out of each other. I don’t know what the big deal is but then I realize that it’s probably been years since they’ve seen each other.

Her mom pulls away and that’s when I get a good look at her. She has short blonde hair and small features that Lauren no doubt inherited. Where Lauren is tall and lithe, her mother is short and stocky. The woman could probably wrestle a bear and give it a good ass kicking.

“I am so happy you’re home,” her mother whispers, “I think this is the last time I go so long without seeing you, I forget how much I miss you.”

“Thanks mom,” Lauren says calmly. I’m glad someone is still keeping their head through this whole thing. She slowly turns her mother towards me and before I know what I’m doing I’m throwing my hand out and shaking hers profusely. Way to go, Justin.

“This is Justin, mom,” Lauren explains with a huge smile on her face. I notice the perplexed look on the older woman’s face and I can only hope that she’s trying her best to look past all the bitching Lauren must have done when she first started working for me and see the prince charming I truly am.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she states in a lukewarm voice.

“All good things, I hope,” I crack and she raises an eyebrow in response and lets my hand drop unceremoniously.

“Maybe,” she adds with a shrug, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Did Lauren show you where you’ll be sleeping?”

“Oh yes, she showed me her bedroom and then I proceeded to fuck her brains out on her childhood bed,” at least that’s what I want to say but I merely grit my teeth in the best smile I can muster and nod enthusiastically.

“It’s a lovely room, I’ve stayed there before,” I actually say as the three of us continue to walk down the stairs.

“That’s right, you came with Laurie right after she and Neal broke up. How is he doing by the way?”

“Jesus, mom I don’t have a clue. Last time I checked he was getting married to some stupid Amazon Woman and that’s where the talk of Neal stops. So get over that stupid bridge and realize that I’m not with Neal anymore but with Justin. Okay?” Her mom stops for a moment and sighs begrudgingly before she nods.

Damn my girlfriend has got some hefty balls.

We make it downstairs and I notice a man in a heavy fringe jacket pulling off a cowboy hat. He’s got a head full of dark hair and has the exact same build as Lauren. She rushes forward and leaps into his arms. It’s really a heart felt moment to witness and I wish I had a camera or something so I could take a picture. But then I realize I would probably look like a complete freak so I abstain.

“So are y’all ready to go?” her father, Dean Walters, questions as he jams his hat back on his head. I give Lauren a skeptical look before she smiles warmly and grabs onto my hand, yanking me back outside into the frigid cold.

“Where are we going?” I question as her parents jump into the backseat of our rental.

“Tradition. Every night on Christmas Eve, whenever we’re together, we go into town and ice skate in the town green.” Really this place has a fucking town green? Since when did I go back in time and decide to visit George Washington and the rest of the colonial United States? I nod hoping I look excited. The last thing I want to do on Christmas Eve is skate around in circles and freeze my ass off. I would much rather sit inside their house, wrapped up in a blanket with Lauren and sipping hot chocolate while her parents talk about their adventures around the world. But no, I guess that isn’t going to happen.

The ride into town is littered with conversation. Two days after Christmas her parents are heading towards Mexico to follow the migration of humpback whales. Her parents try their best to convince us to stay an extra day but with both of our schedules, it’s impossible to have any wiggle room. I can feel Mrs. Walters’ eyes digging into the back of my head. I’m sure she’s blaming me for her daughter’s early departure from Worden but the woman doesn’t realize that Lauren has a job and a life that actually doesn’t revolve around me.

The somewhat awkward car ride ends as we park in the middle of a field that’s located next to the center of town. Apparently all five hundred inhabitants of Worden are out because the place is packed. It takes us nearly twenty minutes to get to the ice skating rink since everyone is rushing to see the Walters who the rest of the town hasn’t seen in years, or in Lauren’s case, months.

The family quickly rents their skates and it isn’t until we step onto the ice, Lauren’s had cemented in mine that I finally realize…

I have never fucking ice skated before.

My feet hit the ice and I immediately pitch forward almost bringing Lauren down with me. She starts laughing hysterically as she tries her best to pull me back up onto my feet. I can feel the blush starting to form in my cheeks and I can only hope she’ll allow me to keep my dignity.

“You’ve never done this before have you?”

“Well seeing as I’ve been working since I’ve been twelve, no,” I say my voice laced with frustration. I hate it when I’m not good at something right off the bat and right now ice skating is my mortal enemy.

“Let me show you,” she adds with a restrained giggle. And soon Lauren is skating backwards, holding onto my hands and trying her best to show me how to not fall on my ass and make a complete idiot out of myself.

My lesson is cut short when Lauren’s old friend Gretchen almost knocks her off her blades. The woman is followed by her four crazy children who look like they’ve grown miles since the last time they were crawling all over me. We stand in the middle of the rink and I keep trying to ignore the ‘I so told you that you and Lauren were going to end up,’ glances Gretchen keeps throwing at me.

After some more conversation, the two of us continue with trying to keep me from falling on my ass. She spins me around as a joke and that’s when I see a flash coming from the side of the rink. I stop mid spin and try to keep my balance as Lauren continues to flail around. She yelps in protest as she lands smack on her butt and I help her up as I continue to stare to my left.

How the hell did they find us here?

“What’s wrong?” Lauren asks as she holds onto my shoulders to keep her balance. I calmly jerk my head in the photographer’s direction and I watch as he starts to take pictures of a few families pausing only slightly to check the pictures he’s taken.

“Do you think he followed us up here?” she asks fearfully. I shrug and turn my back towards him. The douchebag might have gotten a few good pictures, but he isn’t about to get any more. This is my vacation and this is my time with Lauren and I’ll be damned if anybody tries to screw that up.

“Just do evasive maneuvers,” I mutter into her ear. She looks at me with a bewildered expression before I start to skate away from her…and fall directly on my ass. “Dammit,” I whisper to myself as I hear Lauren’s peels of laughter escalate over the ice. She glides over to me and I respond by reaching up and grabbing her by the waist, pulling her down next to me.

“You ass!” she proclaims with a squeal as she slaps my shoulder. She stops when I lean over and kiss her cheek and hug her tightly to me. Reaching out, she yanks the beanie on my head over my eyes and squirms out of my grasp. Once I pull it off my eyes I can see that she’s on the opposite side of the rink. Grinning, I manage to get to my feet and I try my best to stumble after her.

Yeah…I’m the luckiest mother fucker on the planet. Merry Christmas to me.