Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Sunny

"Sorry, we are not buying. Thank you!" I told them as I pulled Steven out. "If you encounter something like this again, do not stop walking and entertain them. Just walk and go wherever you need to go. The moment you stop walking, the more you will be stuck with them, understand?" I shared.

He is nodding his head and listening carefully to what I am saying. As we walk, we can still encounter some staff trying to get our attention and show us their product. No one tried to touch him and only asked from a distance.

"This is easier than I expected. I thought you were facing a serious problem, but here we are, avoiding the sales staff." I commented as we walked to the escalator.

"This is not what I am talking about. What you should still do." He said, almost whispering.

"Huh?" I asked. "What is it then?" I turned my head to look at him. "What?" I asked. "Why are you whispering? I could not hear what you said a while ago. Come again?" I added, and came closer to him.

I can smell his sandalwood scent.

Does he usually smell like this? Why does he smell so good?

"My...parents are coming and they want to meet you," he replied, more louder than a while ago. "I know it is very uncomfortable for you, but if you can meet them today, it would be good for me and I will appreciate it." he added.

My eyes widened after hearing him.

His parents are here, and they want to meet me? Why? Why do they want to meet me?

"Did you say something bad to them about me?" I asked him. "What if they scold me later? I might cry there!" I warned him.

He lightly pushed my forehead using his forefinger. "Why should I do that in the first place?" he replied, lifting his eyebrow at me. "They just want to meet you because they know you are the one who I am always with at school and in our house," he shared. I told them you were busy and that we would bother you for doing this, but they insisted on meeting you. They even plan to visit your house. So, instead of them visiting you personally, I told them that I would fetch you." He added.

Ahh, that explains his effort to ask me early in the morning. I do not think that he would do this kind of stunt in the first place. He is not the type of person to do this. This is the reason why he asked me to go out.

I bobbed my head and looked at him. "This material thing? Is this really true or one of your tactics?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Fifty fifty. I do really need some materials, and this is one of my strategies to ask you out." he replied.

"Are they in a good mood today? Are you sure they would not scold me or what? Are you sure that you did not say anything bad about me?" I asked him continuously, afraid of his parents.

Meeting your friend's parents is so scary. Especially, now that I know a little about his family.

He sighed. "I did not," He said, giving an assurance. "Mavin already shared every piece of information he knows about you. I do not think you have to worry about them and they are in a good mood." he added.

Should I go with him?

What if they decide to visit our house? That would be more scary, right?

"Are you coming home with me or not?" he asked. "Let me tell you this again. If you do not like it and find it uncomfortable, it is alright to decline my invitation. We―no, I am not forcing you to do this." He explained his sides.

I shook my head and looked at him, "It is not that I am uncomfortable. Of course, it will make everyone nervous as hell when you are meeting your friend's parents, and I am one of them," I told him. "But on the other hand, I also want to meet your parents. We are friends now, you met my family already, and I need to do the same as well. So that your parents can trust me." I added.

He is looking at me confused. "I do not get it. Why does it look like we need to see and meet each other's parents'?" he asked.

I could not help but roll my eyes at him. "I am now sure that you are lying about having some friends in your town before," I commented. "By introducing your parents to your friends means that they can trust you now. That they will let you go wherever it is if you decide to go out for a day or more, as long as your trusted friend is with you. Don't you know about that? My mom would not let me go if I was not with Shiela." I shared. "Have you experienced situations like that before?" I asked him.

He nodded. "I did. Mom would do the same too." he replied.

"That's it. Your mom met your friends already, right?" I asked him again.

"Yes, she did." He said.

"That is what I am talking about. Have you ever tried asking your mom to go out with some of your friends that they do not know?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I did not experience that, but Mavin did. He told dad that he would go out with his friends. Dad said yes, but mom did not. Mavin had to call his friends for my mom to talk with them before he could finally go." He shared.

Clicking my hands, I said, "That is what I am trying to tell you. So that, your parents know that my intentions towards you are clean. That I would never put you in any danger. In this way, they are not going to worry too much when you are out." I explained.

"Okay, so shall we go now?" He asked.

"Are you sure you did not badmouth me to your parents? Are they really that kind? Are you really sure that they would not look at me with their scary glares?" I asked continuously. "You know already how scared I am when it comes to those kinds of people." I added, sharing what I am scared of.

He guided me to walk, "I did not, and they are not the kind of people you are trying to avoid. They are nice." he answered.

I quietly nodded and walked with him as we headed out of the mall. We rode in the taxi on the way to their home.

What should I say later?

Did I even wear proper clothes to look like a decent woman who they could trust?

He should have told me sooner, so that I could have thought ahead and prepared myself for this kind of event.

Why is this thing making me stressed? This is normal and I should not be this nervous. I have many friends and have met their parents already. So why is this still making me nervous?

After half an hour of riding, we finally reached their house.

I glanced at Steven and was about to say something when he started talking first and said, "They won't eat you alive and won't look at you as if they are judging you." he said. "Your face says it all. You think too much." he added.

I nodded to him after getting affirmation. I will just whack his head if he lies to me.

Now that we are nearing their house, I can hear some loud old music playing.

"Is your house clean?" I asked him.

"It is clean. Why?" he asked me back.

"Nothing. I do not want to hear that your house is a mess when your parents are here. They might think that we are not doing our work properly." I replied.

"You are thinking in advance again. Can you just calm down and see what will happen?" he asked, frustrated by my actions.

"Okay, okay. Calm down too." I told him and even signed off to breathe slowly.

I think we are both feeling on the edge today. Me, because of his parents and him, because of this situation.

When we entered their house, we were quickly greeted by the loud music and his parents dancing cutely together.

"Mom, dad." Steven called his parents.

Steven's parents quickly jerked their heads at us. His mom walked towards us and his dad lowered the volume of the music.

"You guys took so long." his mom said as she hugged Steven.

Looking at his mom closely, she looks like an angel. She is so pretty that it looks like there are lights in her surroundings, making her glow so much. She is also wearing a white floral dress, making her body shape stand out.

I stopped describing Steven's mom when I felt someone poking my hands. I turned my head and saw Steven poking me. "What?" I asked.

"You are in a space. Where does your mind take you? Come to your senses." he scolded.

I could not help but pout at him, and I also wanted to hit him with anything I could hold.

"You must be Sunny. I heard a lot of things about you. I am glad to meet you in person." Steven's mom said as she enveloped me in a hug. "Thank you for taking care of them for us. We are worried about their condition living here, since they do not know anything aside from the purpose of what they are really doing here." she added.

"Uhh, my grandma and I did not do much. They are doing well here, so you do not have to worry too much." I answered. "It was nice to meet you too, Mrs. Rendezcah. You are more pretty in person." I complimented.

I need to do that or else I will die of my feelings towards the beauty of his mom! I wonder what her secret is for keeping beauty and good body shape. I envy her.

"She is very pretty, right? That is why I took the initiative to ask her out the moment I saw her." Steven's dad commented and hugged Mrs. Rendezcah. "And you are pretty too." he complimented. That made me shy. "Do not be shy. I am not lying. It is good to see you. We are looking forward to meeting you and your grandma." he added.

"My grandma is out with her friends. I will tell her about this. My grandma would be happy to meet you too." I answered.

"Have you had your lunch already?" Mrs. Rendezcah asked.

"We have not had our lunch yet." Steven said.

"Okay, then," she said. "I will prepare our lunch for a while."

"Uhh, may I help you, Mrs. Rendezcah?" I asked before she left.

"Just Auntie. I would love to hear you call me auntie." she replied.

"Me too. Uncle would be good." Mr. Rendezcah also commented.

"Auntie...uncle...I will try to call you that from now on." I told them and received a warm smile from them.

Auntie held my hands as she guided me to the kitchen.

"A...Auntie, is Mavin at work?" I asked as I put out the plates.

Auntie shook her head and smiled sweetly. "He went out to buy cake and ice cream. He will be here in a few minutes." she replied. "It's a shame that your grandma is not here. I really want to meet her and tell her our gratitude." she added.

I smiled at her. "Maybe on your next visit. Grandma is also looking forward to meeting Steven and Mavin's parents. It is no wonder they are handsome, because their parents are good looking." I complimented.

"Thank you very much! Hearing it from you makes me feel some butterflies in my stomach." she said. "Are they making it hard for you to clean the house? How about the food?" she asked.

I shook my head. "They do not, auntie. We never had any problems cleaning this house. When it comes to food, they do not complain and search for some foods to suggest as to what they want to try. They really like my grandma's cooking skills."