Even now, I despise winter.
The tips of my fingers and toes, and even the inside of my head goes numb and my bones start to ache like they're old. Just the thought of it being frostbite, made me riddled with anxiety. As a kid, I liked the cold, because when the streets were slippery, my dad would hold my hand and we'd find patches to slide on together. It used to make me really happy.
But I couldn't have ever predicted that it would come to a sudden end.
I had gotten extremely sick for the first time and needed breathing treatments and medicine. I was still alive, but hospital bound, and when I opened my eyes, dad wasn't there because he had to earn money to help me survive. It was so extremely cold at the time that I felt it in my bones. There was only Vincenzo's hands to wipe the tears that wouldn't stop and I remember his hands being very warm.
I loved those hands that knew how to treat me gently. He felt like my only family in that moment. He was my everything, and having decided that I didn't want to lose him, my anxiety grew larger and larger. Whether it was romantic love, familial love or obsession, I genuinely couldn't tell. All that while, I'd thought that he was mine, but that was just the beginning of losing everything I have.
From that day on, the way I viewed everything changed. Desperate from the loud voices in my head telling me to seek out just a sliver of that warmth, my resistance was completely drowned out. I didn't want to go back home, for shame of how I was running my dad ragged, and I received compensation for those foolish decisions.
I was ground into the dirt by lukewarm lust and violence, and it's still strange to me how much I was falling deeper and deeper into despair, as if I was just being dirtied no matter what. I felt, like everyone else thought that I was worth absolutely nothing.
I would've died had it not been for Ashton. In a time when I had just wanted to die, I was lucky to meet him. The affection I craved while drowning in my despair, but he really exceeded expectations and made me dedicate myself to living happily as I realized that I wanted to love him.
I've never been one for mushy things. In fact I'm downright brought up feeling of disgust in me. But, I suppose once in a while, so long as I'm used to him, it's ok if Ashton does it. And every lovely word he tells me becomes irreplaceable in my heart. Either way, the fact that my mind was changed so damn easily by him, meant that I wasn't normal anymore.
One things for sure, Ashton's a rare type that I'd never get bored of. And his knack to handle someone using violence was really hot. If it had been me from a short time ago, I would've had no way to defend myself at all and I'd find a way to blame myself for it. Luckily, Ashton restored the crazy me to sanity. Still a part of me hoped that he wouldn't have to all that much in the future. After all, I had a way of attracting weirdos. Over the years, there were many of them, and the more people saw me the more rumors started to fly. People were drawn to me because of the endless rumors about my attention grabbing appearance, both guys and girls.
Even if Ashton appeared in my life because of the rumors, as soon as I look at him, it's like I'm engulfed by his warm shadow. In reality, Ashton seemed like and angel to me....almost like a god. The slow process of falling deeply in love, like eating an apple bite by bite, was completed in a matter of days. Being with him feels unbearably good, the two of us make the best couple....he's extremely hot.
I can't pinpoint the exact moment I started to love him, but I did remember feeling like he was an evil spirit of some kind just from the way I got sucked into his blue eyes and felt that I belonged with him. And when he said "I love you" I wondered if it was some kind of curse, because after that it became impossible to imagine letting him go.
As I grew cold, I can feel Ashton's large hands wrapping around me, sharing his warmth with me. How can I find the words to tell him exactly this? I should be extremely happy, but as I get happier, I get more afraid. The things I loved in the past are all broken and amount to nothing, so I'm terrified of losing the one I love the most in the world.
I mean, didn't I used to want to die? I had frightening thoughts about it everyday, didn't I? No matter how little happiness I received, I still wanted to cry. That's how I used to be! How long could he stand that? I'm still trying to figure out how to completely believe how someone could love me like Ashton did.
I know how he feels without him telling me. When I was little, I brushed off the hand that was holding me when I stopped crying, but that same hand is reaching out for Ashton. It's underhanded, unfair, dirty, unworthy....the truth is I feel the ugliness festering inside of me.
If I could have just had an ordinary life, if I had two parents as I grew up, if I hadn't made so many stupid decisions, if I hadn't met Vincenzo, maybe it would have been easier to accept the love Ashton gave me. But if I said "I had someone that I loved for years reject me and i fell into despair and allowed myself to be abused and humiliated to the point that I wanted to kill myself, but now I love you to the point that I'm not sure what to with myself," would he think it was ridiculous?
How do I tell Ashton that I love him so much that it feels like I'll stop breathing? How warm I've been this winter because of him. How my bones don't ache anymore because his body keeps me warm. I feel the best when I'm alone with him. That I'd quickly push my pride aside and get on my hands and knees and cling to him, as long as I can be with him.
"Mornin," he muttered with his eyes still closed. "What time is it?"
"Not sure."
"Whatcha thinking?" He inquired.
"If I have a future," I started to think out loud, "I'll have to have you there with me, because you are my everything. I love you more than anything in the world, and without you, there wouldn't be me. So don't ever leave me. I'm sorry I don't say it enough."
Ashton ran his fingers through my hair and pulled me closer to him. I could feel his fast heart beat against my back. "I'm glad you love me, because that means you finally love yourself. But I have to ask, are you alright?"
"I'm just.....I think I should say it more," because it makes him happy to hear it.
"Honestly, I like that you don't say it a lot. It makes it feel great when you do say it. If you spoil me too much, I'll get greedy," Ashton assured me. "You're not one to express feelings until you think it's necessary, and mushy stuff makes you cringe even though you like it from me. I've known this for so long and I'm ok with it. In fact, it's really cute."
"You think everything I do is cute." I pouted. Now I'm upset with myself for thinking so hard about it.
"Baby, I know it was hard to say all that and you're probably thinking a bunch of unnecessary things, but I'm telling you that it's fine for me. I love all of you as you are," Ashton's voice was getting smaller as he spoke signaling that he was falling back asleep. "Regret....even if you feel it later, I'm not letting you go. It's you and me forever, don't forget that..."
As Ashton drifted back off into sleep, his words echoed on a loop in my head. Just you and me. It's only me and you in this world. Nothing will happen to us, because it's just you and me. Intense dreams aren't easily forgotten, but they eventually lose their form and crumble over time. I see you clearly, and I pray that you aren't just another pleasant dream.
I love you more than anything in this world. I love you more than I can put into words. I love you so much it hurts.
I wiggled from Ashton's embrace, hauled myself out of bed and grabbed my boxers, pulling them on as I stumbled through into the living room. I should probably put on a T-shirt, or pajama pants, or something but, goddamn it, there was no way I could go back to sleep. No one could expect decorum from me right now. Luckily the house was warm and Ashton had washed me after putting me to sleep last night.
I opened the door of the stacked fridge to see what I could start cooking.
"You look like you had a very fun night, Sleeping Beauty. Get it slut," Soyoung was standing there, in her pajamas and her floor length robe, tapping her foot and holding a retainer in her hand. "Are you thinking of making breakfast? That's what the maids are for."
"But I can cook myself." I said taking what I needed from the fridge.
"We're here to relax, Dan. That means not doing anything and ordering people around," Soyoung argued. "You're a man kept by an elite family and you won't ask the maid to cook for you?"
"I'm sure they have other work to do," I rolled my eyes. Soyoung watched as I made up some French toast and a huge Western Omelet with home fries and sausage.
"Jesus. I wish I could do that," She commented. "Does he like it when you cook for him?"
"Yeah, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all," I told her as I served her a plate of food and ate some food myself.
"How long have you been cooking?"
"Since I was five. I had to take care of myself a lot and my uncles girls used to teach me how to make food with flavor. I learned from six different cultures, mostly Italian."
"Your so different from what your uncle sounds like."
"He's a good guy. Trustworthy and reliable. I better make some biscuits to go with this, and maybe some fries," I pondered. She scrutinized me as if I had just sputtered Gibberish.
"Fries? This early in the morning?"
"If that guy-" I pointed my finger accusingly upstairs at the sleeping Ashton, "-can chow down on enough bacon for an entire orphanage without anyone batting an eye, I doubt a basket of fries would be too startling."
"Fair point. Sam has an enormous appetite. Believe me, it isn't limited to food," Soyoung grinned. "This food is great, it's a more humble taste than I'm used to."
"Humble?"
"It's not professionally made, but it's still really good."
"Does everything in your world have to be up to par?"
"Yes. Image is everything, and you make Ashton look bad by cooking when it's not your profession. Just don't do that when there's other company around," she warned me. "Don't take it the wrong way, I like it, but future guests won't be as nice."
"I thought we were relaxing, now you're giving me princess lessons?" I rolled my eyes at her again before I started to peel some more potatoes.
"Morning, babe," I heard Sam enter the room in a half sleep state, not bothering to close up his robe. "Dan, leave the cooking to the maids."
"Do you know what time it is, Sam?" I asked, a little sharply. Quickly a made a plate of food for Sam to dig into.
"Well, hello to you too, Dan," he snipped back. I didn't say anything in return, wondering how long it would take before it drove him mad. He was silent for all of three seconds before he spoke again. I knew what was coming next since he was giving me a once over. "Are you going to tell me how it went or do I have to come over there and beat it out of you?"
"Fine," I said, smiling at the thought of him being able to beat me up. "It was good."
"Good?" I heard him huff on the other end of the line. "Is that all you're going to give me? It was good?" I could practically hear the steam coming out of his ears and decided to put him out of her misery.
"What you see is what you see," I sighed. "And be more respectful, there's a girl in the room."
"I don't mind," Soyoung immediately said. "Oh, why's that oil popping?"
"That just means it's ready for fries," I assured her throwing the potatoes into the oil to fry.
"Sam stop staring!" Soyoung snapped.
"I mean, everyone has their little secrets, right? He doesn't have to advertise it." Sam nodded his head and seemed to come out of his stupor. "Yes, yes of course."
"I mean, it's just like your dad who has a tendency to, ah, 'like' his maids. Nobody says anything because he and your mom keep a united front."
Sam thought it clever to add more input. "Or Mr. Beckley who's an alcoholic, but he does it in private and I only know that because I'm friends with his son."
"Ok, I get it, I'm covered in marks from Ashton," I huffed.
"He's a good lay, I reckon?" Sam asked.
"That's an understatement! You know that expression, 'he rocks my world'?"
He swatted my hair. "I'm a pervert, not stupid, boy."
"Yeah, well, he rocks my world, and even a little more than that if you know what I mean."
"Ew!" Soyoung squealed.
"What's all the commotion?" I heard Ashton enter the kitchen. I watched as he shuffled his slippers into the kitchen, yawning and his blonde hair in a ruffled state of bedhead. The blonde glanced up and wiggled his fingers at Sam and Soyoung in a small wave, which they returned with a smile.
"They think it's weird that I'm cooking," I lied.
"It's fine if you do," Ashton hugged me from behind carefully just as I took the potatoes off the stove to serve them to him. "I had a great dream that you were telling me how much you love me. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and you weren't there, even though we're on vacation."
"That sounds like a nice dream," I mumbled secretly disappointed that he was half a sleep when I said this.
"It felt so real though, like I was really awake. Ah, I'm not trying to say anything, it was just a nice dream to have," Ashton defended.
"It's ok, you weren't completely awake when I told you those things anyway," I confessed. When I looked at Ashton, his entire face was crimson red and embarrassing as he sported his signature big goofy smile. It made me have to look away quickly as I found this happy expression too cute to handle. "S-sit down for breakfast. I'll plate it now."
"Ok," he kissed my cheek.
I glanced back up to find Ashton staring into the refrigerator, his head leaning against the open door frame and cold air making the him shiver slightly. "What are you doing?" I asked him.
"Contemplating," came the quiet reply.
"Contemplating what?"
"What to drink," With a sigh, Ashton closed the refrigerator and repeated the process with the large pantry, stocked with enough food to feed a village for a week, which was saying something considering the giant family's appetite. I chuckled as I watched Ashton stand at the doorway, leaning against the frame, staring. After a minute or so, i began to wonder why he was so still.
"Ash? Ash. Ashton!" I called out. Ashton jolted a bit, surprised and turned to me.
"Hmm? Yeah?"
"Were you falling asleep?" I laughed softly. He leaned against the frame again and nodded.
"I didn' get to sleepin' till late. Late, late, late," he slurred, his tongue not able to wrap around the words correctly. I set his food on the table and went to him. Supporting his tired frame, I guided him around the counter and had him sit on one of the stools at the table.
"Here, sit before you fall over." Ashton grunted and complied, immediately digging into the plate of food I made for him.
"My dad passed some proposals along to me so you could send to your dad," Sam spoke up. "He thinks you two are close for some reason."
"Your family takes priority in all business proposals," Ashton said.
"Like, they'll make more money?" Soyoung asked.
"No, it just means we'll get the most benefit out of each other, so we'd work with him before anyone else. I'll forward them straight to my dad in a bit," Ashton said.
I think Ashton gained more muscle. He's kind of got this extremely sexy energy about him right now. "If you stare any harder, the paint will peel." Soyoung commented.
"Why don't you just eat, Soyoung," I smiled.
"So, Ashton, I have to ask, why do you leave so many marks on Danny?" Sam asked.
"Because....." Ashton chewed his food as we all stared at him waiting for the answer. "Because I can."
Sam pouted. "I thought you were going to confess how possessive you actually are...." Soyoung slapped Sam's arm. "Ah, I mean, I thought you were just marking your territory."
"Danny's ok with me being possessive," Ashton brushed off the comment.
Sam frowned. "It's not as fun to tease you anymore. What a disappointing reaction. By the way, I got the feeling we were all to loud last night. Is that going to be a problem with the help?"
"No, this team was sworn to secrecy," Ashton said. Apparently all of them signed an NDA before starting work here, ensuring that they will never disclose anything that they've seen while taking care of us four for the weekend. They also had to discretely incinerate all of the old, discarded contents. "Thanks for breakfast, baby. Come...there's something I wanted to show you since we got here," Ashton says with a straight face.
He took me by the hand and the two of us make our way up the spiral staircase, leaving Sam and Soyoung alone in the kitchen. While going downstairs was no issue, my poor legs and back were starting to give out as we climbed up, but that doesn't stop me from pressing forward.
At the top of the stairs, we take a right. Unlike all the times before that I've been up here, the door at the end of the hall was wide-open and bright florescent lighting spilled out of the room.
Hand-in-hand, Ashton and I walk past the threshold into an unrecognizable he didn't show us at first. The entire room smelled as if it had been freshly redone to be bright, cheerful, and out in the open. The room appeared large and more wide-open than the others. The walls are adorned with built-in bookshelves. In the center of the room is a huge solid oak desk with plush chair.
"This is going to be your study, Lovebug. You can fill these walls with all of the books from your job if you'd like, and the desk is out of the way enough for you to do tattoos by appointment," Ashton says with a hinge of pride in his voice, and the look in his eyes reveals that he was very happy that whatever room was here before is no more. Honestly, I'm happy that he feels at peace...but how long has he been planning this?
"But aren't we waiting until college to move in together, Ashton?" I ask, squinting my eyes in confusion.
"We are," he said with a furrowed brow. He gazed at me intently.
"So, why waste the resources and build me this study when we won't be here for much longer anyhow? Isn't this just a vacation home?" I ask. He smirked at my confusion as if I were missing something important.
"Baby, you and I will have offices in every home we have in the future. We are allowed to live in multiple places at once, you know. When we don't feel like making the almost two-hour drive to the house after work, we can always stay here at this home or another during the week," he says simply. That makes a lot of sense to me, it's actually a really thoughtful idea.
And just like that, I have another reminder that Ashton isn't just your average man. No, he's filthy stinking rich and can afford to have a home in each of the fifty fucking states if he so chooses. But still, why waste so much money? We can only sleep under one roof at a time. Geez.
We gradually release hands and I slowly separate myself from him to take a steady stroll around the room. On one of the walls, I see some of the books we had talked about over the months. I pick up a copy of 1984 by George Orwell and carefully opened the cover to observe it. Whoa, it's a first edition. Is this the copy from Ashton's library/bedroom?
I look at up from the book and directly at Ashton who slowly closed the gap between us. "That's your copy. My copies are still in the library," he said matter-of-factly. I gaped at him as I knew for a fact that these sold for over $1,000 on eBay.
"Ash, why? You didn't need to spend all that money on duplicate copies of first edition books that we already have here," I said in disbelief.
"I wanted something to occupy the walls while you gradually build up your own library over time. Perhaps you can even take these first editions to our other new house and we'll leave my copies here at the vacation home," he suggested. I didn't want to even ask about 'another new house' at this point. Still, I don't get it. I don't come from money. There's no rationalizing having two copies of very expensive first edition books. However, I felt that I should keep quiet since Ashton put so much thought into this and carefully placed the book back on the shelf.
I continued scanning the room. Hanging on the wall is a huge television set. It has to be like, what...65 inches? 70 even?
"You can put your computer here," he continued gesturing over to the large oak desk. He continues.
"If you want to see a presentation from a bigger screen than the monitor here on your desk, you can project it over here," Ashton says, pointing over to the mammoth screen up on the wall. I gasp. "I have one just like it in my study at home," he reminded me. Yes, and, just like I thought back then, it's a little too...excessive. But I know that's not what Ashton wants to hear from me. I have to remind myself that he doesn't think like I do and that to him, this was like buying a candy bar. Also Ashton doesn't think like the average human being does. He'll never know what it's like to be poor or worry about finances the way regular people do.
Accept it or don't.
I need to be more understanding of where he's coming from. Again, he's filthy fucking rich. No worries – as long as we are together, I'll take this man however I can get him.
"Ashton...thank you," I said with a shy smile, and I can tell from his stupid smile that this is exactly what he wanted to hear instead of arguing. Me seeing him happy, that matters more to me the many insecurities I had about money. Ashton and I reconnected in the middle of the room and he held me in a tight embrace and planted a sweet kiss behind my ear.
"Ah, baby, I'm ready for...for more than this. I'm prepared to live this unimaginable life with you. A life with no rules. A life with no limits. Before I met you, I never even saw myself living this way. You have completely opened my eyes. What was once before has now passed away. I am more alive now than I've ever been. I don't want any trace of my old life lingering in our new life together," he declares in a plea. "Marry me."
Before I can even respond to him proposing again, his lips swooped down and captured mine. I eventually just gave in because the moment was too sweet to handle. I'll never get tired of it being like this. We resurface. After few beats, I flash him a smirk.
"So when you tied me up to the bed last night and went all out until I lost consciousness, that action had no place in your old life?" I asked him teasingly causing Ashton to go a bit red.
"Hey, well maybe not everything would all go away. The rough stuff is here to stay because you like it so much. Can you handle that?" he says to me in a velvety, dark voice. Oh my. I may be sore from all of the sex in our room, but I could always stand for more with this man. Ashton was really good at what he does after all.
"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that, Ashton," I rolled my eyes. He kisses me once more, but briefly this time.
"So, do you like it?" he asks. From his expression, he's highly anticipating a good response.
"Yes...I do. It's wonderful, Ashton. I love it. Thank you," I told him sincerely. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and quickly pecked me on the lips.
"I thought you would feel uncomfortable, but I'm glad that's not the case! You finally accepted a gift without feeling bad about it!" Ashton giggled happily. "I was so scared you'd have a problem with this that I have another surprise for you!"
"What?"
"Your parents are joining us for dinner!" Ashton smiled. "Your mom especially wants to bless our union."
"What union? We aren't married!" I looked for a reason to be upset about this, but I couldn't find one.
"Well, it's really a sort of 'let's get to know you better while we are actually trying to find out whether or not your good enough for our son ' dinner. And they're bringing Mickey," Ashton covered himself. Of course, both my parents had already met Ashton and I liked to think they knew him and his character pretty well, but it's true that they had never 'cared' enough to get to know him personally let alone as my boyfriend. So now that I've been dating him for a while, they were finally going to sit down and have serious conversation...pfft!
Uncle Mickey was another story though.
"Are you okay with that?" I asked him nervously. Ashton looked at me with a reassuring smile.
"Of course. Your parents have no reason not to like me, as long as someone keeps Mickey quiet everything will run smoothly." Ashton, the ever confident one, replied smoothly squeezing my hand.
"Your right what reason does someone have not to love you, I mean your perfect for me," I almost whispered looking away shyly. It was more for my own sake than his. "I just don't want Mickey testing you again."
"Baby, I already passed his test. What is there to worry about?"
Naive! Did he really think Mickey will leave him alone now that Ashton sparked his interest? The fact that he wants to come here to meet Ashton again spells trouble clearly to me. As much as I love my uncle, he wasn't exactly a person that could be trusted to behave himself at any time.
"Mickey-"
"They should be here shortly," Ashton said. He gave a mind blowing smile that always left me breathless and pecked me on the lips, smirking at the profound blush on my cheeks. I quickly turned to the door when I heard the doorbell ring. "Or now, I guess. Let's get some clothes on."
After quickly getting dressed, we ran downstairs to see only Uncle Mickey with a glare so fierce it would make almost anyone fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness. Unfortunately, for him, I was used to the glare and Ashton wasn't that scared of him.
"Dan," Mickey started in an overly sweet tone, "my dear sweet nephew, could you not have just opened the door with yourself for me?"
I fought the urge to smile. "No, I couldn't because I had to get ready to come meet with you."
"Well...you could of used a butler to open it instead of making a lady walk all the way down-!" Mickey was interrupted by me sighing and pushing past him, pulling the laughing Ashton behind me.
"Oh, just shut up, you big drama queen!" I said somewhat irritably. "I should've let you open it yourself. Besides you need the exercise, your getting fat and old."
Uncle Mickey cocked an eyebrow, "Fat? Old? I would be offended if I didn't know you were just speaking out of jealousy of my god-like abs," Mickey said, voice dripping with confidence, as if he were ignoring his growing beer belly.
"I can guarantee that Ashton's not lacking in the abs department, so he has enough abs for both of us, in fact I'd even go so far as to say he is simply...god-like." I smirked as Mickey's eyes bugged out for a second before catching a glimpse at Ashton's red face.
"Aw, is wittle Ashton bwushing?" Mickey said in his best child's voice. "You got yourself a blushing virgin, Dan?" He laughed. Mickey seemed to pause for a second ignoring the glare I sent him. "Wait, you have lost your v-card haven't you? I mean you do spend a LOT of the nights at the things place." I sneered at Mickey's 'playful' teasing. Mickey was never one to let a chance to make fun of someone slip by, and he was unfazed by Ashton instead looking at me expectantly. "Well...?" Mickey asked after a moment of me just standing in front of him not answering.
I gave him the dirtiest glare I could muster up. "I don't see how that is your business!" I snapped before walking ahead and turning around the corner.
From the hallway, I could hear Ashton attempting to calm Mickey down a bit. "Nice, now he's probably going to be grumpy later on... I suggest you don't talk any more and piss him off or-!"
"You won't get any tonight?" Mickey quickly butted in sarcastically.
"Or he'll kill you and me, if I say any more. He's smart enough to get away with it."
"I don't quite like your tone or you."
"That doesn't bother me. I'm not a fan of you either, but Dan loves you so you're family, please be reasonable," I could hear Ashton plead.
I walked into the kitchen and what i saw immediately brought a smile to my face. There was dad trying to stuff takeout containers into the garbage can while at the same time arranging the Korean food into plates and bowls, while Teresa was reheating something in a pot.
"You two must of slaved all day to cook this much food for us," i almost laughed but managed to act as if i didn't see the leftover takeout bag on the table and a burnt...thing sitting on the stove, obviously a failed meal attempt.
Both of them shot up at my voice and beamed at me. "Y-yeah. It was h-hard work, Korean food isn't easy but it's your favorite," Teresa said nervously while nudging the take-out back 'inconspicuously'.
"When did you start cooking?" I asked, knowing full well that she couldn't cook well at all. Dad had told me time and time again about how her cooking gave him indigestion. And Teresa told me dad only knew how to cook fresh toast and eggs.
"A few days ago," she lied. "I-is Mickey causing any trouble? He insisted on coming."
I chuckled and shook my head as Ashton walked into the kitchen his eyes immediately drawn to the burnt...thing and take-out bags. He looked at me and watched me shake my head before saying, "Ah. It looks, and smells, wonderful." Ashton gave them his most charming smile.
"Thank you, Ashton." Teresa stated walking forward wiping her hands on her apron. "If you say it smells good, it feels so much better. How are you?"
"Very well...Miss Teresa," Ashton stumbled over his words for a second. Teresa smiled slightly, a surprise on the usually stoic woman's face.
"Just call me Teresa, please. Miss makes it sound like I'm an old maid."
"Okay, Teresa." Ashton returned her smile. Seems everything was going well.
"Why don't you two head back into the living room with your father," Teresa said to us as if she forgot this wasn't her home. "I'll finish up in here then call you for dinner?"
I nodded and pulled Ashton through the kitchen back to the living room with Uncle Mickey. As we entered the living room dad rushed for the comfortable black arm chair and sunk into it while Uncle Mickey look through the room curiously, leaving the matching red couch for Ashton and I.
"Hi Dad." I greeted.
"Hey! Ashton," my dad's eyes crinkled when he smiled at me, his smile radiating extra warmth and affection. Of course, dad had always been the warmest parent, always giving hugs more freely and always more open to how he was feeling.
"Hello, uh.....-!"
"Mr. Cunningham." dad interrupted.
"Sorry, Mr. Cunningham."
"I'm guessing you've already saw all the stuff we made and brought over. Your mom said she was preparing a pot roast for dinner." Dad smiled.
"So thats what that was?" Ashton asked probably thinking back to the burnt pot roast on the kitchen counter. I elbowed him trying to suppress a smile. "Uh, I mean, she makes good Chinese food."
"Korean!" I corrected.
"Right!"
After a few minutes of chatting with Dad, I noticed Mickey glaring at Ashton from the love seat. I sighed and returned the glare half-heartedly. "You know Uncke Mickey, I am not going to tell you any details so I don't care how creepy you act." I snapped knowing he was still upset about earlier. I knew he was just upset that I'm not dying to brag about my sex life like he thinks I should do.
Mickey's glare didn't even falter. "I'm just curious, you're always so moody I can't tell..." he defended himself huffing out a huge breath.
"What are you talking about?" Dad spoke cautiously, knowing what Mickey was like.
"Nothing." I answered quickly before Mickey could even open his mouth. He didn't get a chance to answer when dad raised an eyebrow demanding an answer as Teresa walked into the living room.
"Dinner's ready," she said before twirling gracefully out of the room. "This is a beautiful room Ashton. Thanks for letting me use it."
The dinning room had been completed changed. Instead of the voyage decor that had been there yesterday, it had been decorated with candles and fresh flowers a expensive looking red table cloth on the dark wood table. The lights were dimmed lightly not enough to be "romantic" but calming. The room with its dark red walls and dark wood furnishing lacked a certain warmth and atmosphere that usually surrounded places of family gathering, but now it looked happier to be in.
"Thank-you Teresa. The staff made sure to stick to your vision," Ashton said with a genuine smile on is face. By the way Teresa beamed at him, I could tell she rarely had company for anything but business, but when she did she took great pleasure in the company of others.
We sat down in the cushioned chairs Ashton and I on one side, Teresa, dad and Mickey on the other side. Dinner was quickly dished out and conversation gradually started up dad, Teresa and Ashton discussing a new style of business practice. I chose to just watch their conversations with a smile on my face as the topic held no interest for me at the moment. It wasn't until the Galbi-jjim was almost gone and Ashton had taken most of the fried shrimp to put on my plate did Mickey start probing me with the same uncomfortable questions.
"Come on nephew, it's a simple question I'm not asking for any details, in fact I prefer their were none. Men brag about their escapades though," Mickey shivered in disgust before looking at me expectantly. I ignored him the best I could taking some of Ashton's untouched boneless fried chicken from his plate. It seemed like I was going through a sort of picky eater phase since Ashton's been feeding me better quality food, much like my hot pink shoelace phase 3 years ago, so i always found myself eating what Ashton didn't like, and vice versa sometimes. "Dan, don't ignore me."
I looked at Mickey with a glare that showed my annoyance with him. Mickey glared back. I glared harder. Mickey bared his teeth menacingly. I turned my lip up at him in disgust. No one else at the table even realised that we were so obviously having a glaring contest to end all glaring contests right in front of them.
Luckily, Teresa was able to effectively pull the us out of our contest by asking Ashton and I a question. "So, do you boys have any plans for the future? I heard Dan seems to be spending a lot of time at your home lately." Boy, she wasn't one for subtlety anymore when she wanted to know something.
Ashton and I smiled at each other, dad rolled his eyes as Mickey seemed to perk up at the turn in atmosphere the dinner had taken. "Actually, I asked Danny to move in with me after graduation and to marry me after college."
Teresa giggled giddily and dad leaned over to whisper to her sternly, probably some type of secret parent talk to make it clear that they weren't as excited as the other. Ashton smirked as if he expected it. But the only reactions I really cared for was my dads. I had already said yes but was hoping to get his blessing in particular.
Dad and Teresa shared a look, silently communicating in a way only people. Teresa nodded at my dad who then picked up the round of questions. "And Dan I can only assume you said yes?"
"I did," I responded. "but I wanted to get your permission first, dad, I know realistically you can't stop me from moving out as I am already an adult but...I would feel better if I knew you were okay with it," I said all this shyly, knowing the tone would sway my dad. I feigned squirming in my seat and grabbed Ashtons hand under the table when all my parents did was look at each other and talk silently.
Finally, dad spoke in a strained tone. "Why would we have a problem with that? You are in love and we fully support any and all decision you make." Dad forced his biggest most fakest smile onto his face. I could literally see the vein on the side of his head pulsing from how upset he seemed.
"Really?" Ashton was dumbfounded.
"Of course dear, we BOTH think Ashton is wonderful and you are responsible enough to know what's right for you. Now, if say Mickey came up to us wanting to move out, we would say no immediately." Teresa laughed lightly when Mickey spluttered indignantly. "Oh come on now, you can't honestly think that you could possibly survive without one of us? Mickey, you forget how to tie your shoes or where your own home is on a daily basis, and I can only imagine the state of your future kitchen."
Everyone but Mickey laughed. "I throughly enjoyed the take out, Teresa." Mickey hissed much to her horror.
"Go fuck yourself, Mick! This is why you're fucking single!" Teresa snapped. "Yer lower than a snake's belly inna wagon rut!"
"What's the mean?" I asked.
"He has bad character," Ashton explained.
"Come on now, don't fight Mickey. He's just worried about Dan-" Teresa cut my dad off with a glare.
"Your brother is a pain in the ass! Ma' boys grinnin' like a possum eatin' a sweet tater, but Mickey's about as useless as a trapdoor on a canoe!" Teresa went full hillbilly as she spoke.
"That means she knows we're happy and Mickey is getting on her nerves," Ashton translated. Why couldn't she just say that?
"I'm just need to know if he wants my nephew for him or if he just wants to fuck him!" Mickey insisted. "Do you really believe this kid loves you, Dan? At his age? Or he is in love with your body, perhaps?"
"He's in love with me," I answered quickly and surely much to Mickey's dismay. "He proves it to me everyday."
"How long have you been sticking to my nephew?" Mickey turned his attention to Ashton. I had to say that I was very impressed with the way Mickey stayed seated. I guess Ashton still had his respect somewhat after his last visit to us, and he was just testing the waters now.
"Since the first time I saw him."
"And everything I told you before?" Mickey pressed.
"Everyone has flaws," Ashton countered.
"Ok, here's what you'll do. You will come to their home once a week, have dinner, at least to bond more with the family, and you are welcome at the club when you want to, I'll tell my guys not to touch you. But never forget he has family there too, and if, for any reason, he decides you aren't welcome there anymore, you aren't welcome anymore. If you hurt him, physical or emotionality, I am sure he will kill you, but if he doesn't, I will. You know all the bullets and guns I have are completely untraceable. I'm serious here," Mickey wiped his mouth after finishing his monologue. I looked at Mickey happily. In his own fucked up way, he was welcoming Ashton into the family.
"Um, ok," Ashton squeezed my hand.
"Don't talk to him like that, you troglodyte!" Teresa snapped.
"Shut up, woman! Im trying to tell him he's alright!"
"When the fuck did that happen?!" My dad jumped in. "And you better watch your mouth!"
"Yeah! Stop embarrassing us in this nice home!" Teresa yelled.
The three adults continued snapping at each other like children. During the commotion I turned to Ashton. "Congratulations. You've been accepted."
"Is that what that was? I feel it got overshadowed by him threatening my life, so I wasn't sure." Ashton confessed. "He looked like he wanted to murder me."
"That just means he likes you," I assured him.
"That's kinda messed up, but I'll take it," Ashton gave me a big smile and together we watch three grown adults argue with each other over us. As chaotic as this moment was, I felt truly at peace.