“You need to stop freaking out.”

My head jerks away from the window and I look at Justin as he puts his hand on my knee, halting its bouncing movement.

“It’s not going to be that bad.”

“You aren’t allowed to say that because you don’t know them.”

“It’s your mom and stepdad, Cass. How bad can it possibly be? They came all the way out here to see you.”

“They came out here because Grant has a business conference here and my mom hates to be alone in the house.”

“You said your mom’s been wanting to see you so I’m sure she came out for that. This really won’t be as bad as whatever you’ve cooked up in your head.”

If his hand weren’t still firmly on my knee, I probably would have started bouncing it again. Instead I resorted to running my fingers through my hair. I’ve been dreading this night ever since Justin and I started dating. Having your boyfriend meet your parents can always be a bit stressful but that stress is multiplied by a million when it’s Justin meeting my parents.

I’m too worried about Grant because he’s most likely going to be his usual disinterested self. As soon as he figures out that Justin has no real knowledge in banking, he’ll lose interest in him and not bother with conversation. It’s my mom I’m stressing out about. She has very specific ideas in the type of guy I should be dating and I know Justin is none of those things. I’m hoping she’ll at least be civil to him but that could be a stretch.

I’ve been trying to gently let Justin in on this fact ever since we arranged this dinner with my mom and Grant but he doesn’t get it. He’s very much under the impression that he’ll be able to win them both over by the end of the night and I know it’s not going to happen.

“We’re here.”

I jump a bit at his words and focus my eyes out the window to see that we’re approaching the restaurant we’re having dinner at. The drive here did not take long enough.

“Can you just…circle the block once?” I ask.

“Sure.” He goes past the entrance and picks up my hand in his as we continue driving. He doesn’t say anything even though I know he’s dying to tell me for the hundredth time that it will be okay and to stop freaking out. All he does is give me a questioning look when we near the entrance again and after taking a deep breath, I nod and we turn in. He pulls up to the entrance and looks over at me.

“Ready?”

No. “I guess.”

He gives me what would have been a reassuring smile if I weren’t so tense and then he lets go of my hand so we can both get out. He gives the keys to the valet and then waits for me to join his side. Weaving his fingers through mine, he gives me a gentle pull and we walk towards the restaurant.

“So is there anything that I should avoid talking about?” he asks as we walk through the door.

I run my fingers through my hair and shake my head. “Politics and Religion. Grant will eat you alive if disagree with him on either of those things.”

“Politics and religion. Got it.”

We reach the hostess, who is busy staring dreamily at Justin and I clear my throat to pull her eyes to me.

“We’re joining the party of Grant and Isabelle Reyna.”

“Follow me. They’re in the back.”

I was hoping they wouldn’t be here yet but I guess I’m out of luck. We’re led through the restaurant and I sigh a bit. Figures Grant would chose the most obscenely over the top restaurant. He loves to let the world know he’s rich and having dinner at a place where a meal costs the average person’s mortgage is just one of his ways of doing that.

My mom and Grant come into view and I start to lag behind until Justin’s hand gives me a yank and pulls me back to his side.

“It’s going to be fine,” he manages to get out in a whisper just before Mom catches sight of us. She pushes back her chair and gets up.

“Did you get the time mixed up for the reservation?” she says. “It’s already ten minutes past seven.”

This is the greeting I get after not seeing her for seven months. I force a smile onto my face. “No I was just running a bit behind.”

She leans towards me to give me a hug. “Cassandra, dear, what is going on with your hair?”

My hands immediately fly to my hair which was previously in loose curls but after running my fingers through it a million times, is now probably a frizzy mess. I smooth it down and decide not to respond to her. Suddenly realizing Justin is just standing beside me, I make introductions.

“Mom, Grant, this is Justin. Justin, this is my mom, Isabelle and my step father, Grant.”

Justin has his most winning smile on his face as he stretches out his hand to shake theirs. “It’s so nice to meet both of you,” he says.

My mom barely returns his handshake and then gestures to the chairs across from her and Grant. “Well sit. We don’t need to spend the entire night standing here.”

Not seemingly affected by my mom’s rudeness, Justin pulls out my chair and waits for me to sit before sitting beside me. A waiter comes by and fills Justin and my glasses with wine and I immediately take a large gulp of it, receiving a disapproving look from my mother. She takes her own dainty sip of her own wine and clears her throat.

“So how is the store going?” she asks me.

“Really good. The past couple weeks that it’s been open have been running really smooth.”

“I’d like to go see it tomorrow while Grant’s in meetings.”

That’ll be fun. She’s going to point out every single flaw with the interior decoration of the store. “I was planning on going in the later morning if you want to come then.”

“Sure. I’d also like to see this little house that you’ve bought.”

I’m sure there will be more shots about my lack of knowledge of interior design during that. “Okay.”

Her gaze abruptly leaves me and moves to Justin. “So you’re the singer.”

He sits up a bit straighter and nods. “I am.”

“And how exactly did you meet Cassandra?”

“We met in New York during Fashion Week. We both had shows on during it.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you said you were a musician.”

“I am. But I also have a clothing line with my best friend, Trace. It’s called William Rast and-”

“So you sing and have a clothing line? How exactly do you find time for a personal life?”

Justin seems to be taken back a bit at her rude interruption but he covers it pretty well. “Trace handles most of the business for the clothing line and I’ve learned to manage my time pretty well.”

Grant decides at this moment to speak up. “Doesn’t sound like a career like that has long jevity.”

Justin turns to him. “In what way?”

“People’s taste’s and interest’s change and if you can’t adapt to it you’re shit out of luck.”

Ouch. Grant doesn’t speak up much but when he does it’s brutal. My eyes slide to Justin and try to read his face but I find it impossible to gauge his expression.

“I’ve always thought I’m pretty good at adapting to the changing world,” he says evenly. “And being in the business for so long has opened doors for career paths in the future.”

“Such as?”

“Producing for starters. I’m just finishing producing an album for an up and coming artist.”

Grant waves him off and I feel my defenses rise. I can take my mom and Grant but Justin doesn’t deserve this. Especially when he’s so unprepared for it.

“Don’t you think it would be a smarter move to learn some skills that would give you some guarantees for the future? The arts don’t provide a solid future.”

So now he’s not only insulting Justin at this point but me as well. “Don’t you think it’s better to do something you love doing than to hate your job?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Cassandra, sweetie, sit up straight,” my mother interjects and I roll my eyes and pull myself into a straighter position. It’s easier than arguing with her.

Grant leans back in his chair and picks up his wine glass. “There’s something to be said for financial security. I wouldn’t expect you to take my advice, Cassandra.”

If I took his advice, I would be sitting in a stuffy office in some huge building working twelve hours a day. In other words, I would be hating life. I’m about to say that when I feel Justin’s hand clasp onto mine under the table. He gives it a squeeze and rest our joined hands on his leg. That simple action lowers my anger a bit and I take a deep breath. “Can we please talk about something else?” I ask. “How’s the interior decorating going, Mom?”

I know that’s a safe topic and we’re good for at least the first course. As Mom starts chattering on about some decorating job, Justin lets go of my hand and brought his hand up to rub at my lower back. I felt some tension leave my body at his touch. Hopefully we’d have a bit of a break before my mom started ripping into Justin’s past. I know that she keeps up with gossip magazines and I can’t even begin to think about what she’s going to ask him.

I don’t feel any bit of real relaxation until we’re back in Justin’s car two hours later. The last thing I want to do is talk after that torture and he doesn’t push for conversation as we drive back to my house. He’s probably too busy trying to figure out how he managed to get involved with a girl whose mother just spent a good forty minutes picking apart his previous relationships. She actually asked him why he thought moving in with his first serious girlfriend when he was so young would be a good idea. I don’t know where her audacity even comes from.

The dinner with my mom and Grant has taken everything out of me and when we arrive at my house, I immediately go for my room. Justin seems to be on the same page and follows me up. Neither of us say anything as we separately get ready for bed. It’s not until he gets into bed beside me that anything is said.

“I think I get what you were saying about your family.”

I shake my head slightly as I stare up at the ceiling. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for them. That’s not your responsibility.” He sighs in the dark. “It was only the first time we met. You could invite them over here for dinner and we could try it again. Now I know what I should expect.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I cannot handle them. They were so horrible to you and they don’t even know you.”

“Hey.”

His hand on my cheek prompts me to open my eyes and I turn my head to face him.

“I’ve had people say worse things to me. I’ll be fine.”

I turn onto my side and curl into him. Justin has the gift of acceptance and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he isn’t running for the hills after this disastrous dinner. It really is an impressive trait.

His arms go around me as I press against him and he leans down to kiss me softly. It’s exactly what I need after the past few hours. I melt into his embrace and let his kisses lull me into calm.

“You can’t choose the family you’re born into,” he says when he pulls back. “It’s not your fault they are how they are.”

I offer him a small smile and shut my eyes as he reaches up to brush his thumb across my cheek. “I know.”

“And any consolation to you, you turned out amazing if that’s what you were working with growing up.”

Slipping my arms around his bare back, I lean my head down on his chest, giving his shoulder a kiss. “Thank you.”

We both fall silent and his lips press into the top of my head. Within a few minutes, his breathing is slow and steady in my ear. I envy how easily he can fall asleep. After a night like this, I know I’m going to end up laying awake for at least another hour, rehashing every single word that was said in my head. Hopefully it won’t last for too long and I’ll be able to fall asleep. Sometimes the ignorance of sleep is the perfect end to a rotten day.