Pregame(30)

I paid for my drink and added some milk and sugar before heading over to Gabe.





"Hey," he said when I sat down across from him. He seemed surprised, like he hadn't expected me to follow through and come over.





"What's up?" I asked, taking a long, refreshing sip of my coffee. "How have you been?"





"I've been good," He replied, sounding like he meant it. "I met someone,  actually. So don't worry, I'm not trying to keep you away from Wes."





He smiled, and there was no sadness or anger in his expression. He  seemed to mean what he said, and whomever he had met was clearly making  him happy. I was happy that he had found someone to love him like  everyone deserves to be loved.





"I've seen you guys together a few times. You look happy. Both of you." I  nodded, smiling to myself, and he continued. "But I will kick his ass  if he hurts you, Brookelyn."                       
       
           



       





He was teasing and I giggled, knowing Wes would never hurt me. "I don't think you'll have to, but I appreciate the incentive."





"Hey, you called me Brookelyn," I said suddenly, realizing that it was one of the few time's he'd ever used my real name.





"Well, yeah, that's your name," Gabe laughed.





"But you always called me beautiful before," I pointed out taking a sip of my coffee.





Gabe smiled, understanding what I meant, "Ah, yes, well I'm not too sure that my girlfriend would like that too much."





"You do have a point, Harris," I smiled, "Now tell me about this girlfriend of yours!"





Gabe chuckled, "Well she actually likes me which is a step up from my last girlfriend."





My smile vanished into a frown and I instantly felt horrible.





"I'm just kidding, Brookelyn!" Gabe laughed at my reaction, "Don't worry about it!"





I gave him a mock glare but smiled, "Whatever. Tell me about her."





"Well, her name's Bethany and she is a senior as well, but she goes to  school in the city. We met a few weeks ago during thanksgiving break. My  father was doing business with hers and my parents invited them over to  dinner. We hit it off right away. She's great. She actually wants to be  an interior designer someday. So, she's kind of perfect for me," he  revealed a bit shyly.





"I'm really happy for you, Gabe. You deserve it." I told him and gave his hand a squeeze above the table.





"Thanks, Brookelyn. I appreciate. Really."





I smiled, "I've got to head home but keep in touch, okay? It was nice seeing you."





I got up and Gabe did too, leaning over and giving me a friendly hug. "Take care of yourself, beautiful."





Gabe winked and I rolled my eyes as I walked away, "As original as ever, Harris."





He chuckled behind me, and I smiled, making my way over to Elle's car and heading home only looking around me once. Baby steps.





NINETEEN


"Ready?" I asked Wes as we pulled up into the driveway to my parent's house.





"I think so," he replied, looking anxious. "Anything I should know before we go in?"





I laughed, it was cute how nervous he was to meet my parents.





"Everything will be fine! My parents will love you! You'll probably get  the third degree at first but once they see how much I love you  everything will be fine," I told him and leaned across the seat of his  truck to kiss his lips.





Wes let out a long breath, "Let's do this."





We walked up the pathway to the front door and I grabbed his hand and  gave him a reassuring squeeze. The door was unlocked so I walked right  in, dragging Wes along behind me.





"Is that my baby I hear?" I heard my mom call out as she turned the  corner from the kitchen and came towards us. She held her arms out and  pulled me into a long hug. "I'm so glad you're here. How are you,  honey?"





My mom held my face in her hands and searched my face, "I'm okay, Mom."





I could tell she didn't quite believe me. She and my father had been  freaking out since they found out about my run in with Jesse, not that I  could blame them. If I got a call telling me my daughter was in the  hospital badly beaten up, only to find that it was her boyfriend who did  the damage, I would be worried too.





My mother was a lot like me when it came to appearances. She had the  same dirty brown hair, and the same pert nose. She was about an inch  shorter than me and her lips were a bit thinner. I got my plump lips  from my father, as well as my eyes.





"You must be Brookelyn's boyfriend that we've heard so much about!" My  mom said, turning to Wes and pulling him into a hug that took him by  surprise.





"Mom, this is Wesley Walker," I told her, using Wes's full name which earned me a glare, "Wes, this is my mother, Debbie Lane."





"It's really great to meet you, Mrs. Lane," Wes replied when my mother finally released him from her hug.





"You as well, Wesley. You can call me Debbie," she told him, motioning  us to follow her as we made our way over the kitchen. "Come say hello to  your father, Brookelyn."





"Hi, Daddy!" I strolled over to where my father sat at the kitchen  table, a mug of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other.





"It's so good see you Brookelyn Bear," my father told me, standing from his chair and wrapping me into a tight hug.                       
       
           



       





"Daddy, this is my boyfriend Wes Walker," I told my father, doing more introductions. "Wes, this is my dad, Dan."





"Hello, Sir." Wes stuck out his hand and shook my father's. "It's great to meet you, Mr. Lane."





"I'm glad to meet you as well, Wes. Why don't you take a seat and we can  all chat?" My father recommended, and I braced myself for the million  questions my parents would be asking Wes.





My mother came over with two steaming coffee mugs and handed one to Wes  and me. She went back over to the counter and grabbed her own mug,  bringing over a plate of bagels and pastries as well.





"Oh, great I'm starving!" I said, kissing my mom on the cheek as I  grabbed a chocolate croissant. Wes grabbed a bagel and began to butter  it, sending out a sheepish thank you to my mother. I couldn't help but  smile at my boyfriend's worried reaction to being with my parents.





"So Wes, tell us about your family," my father said. "We know that your  brother was in prison with Jesse but Brookelyn here assured us that he  wasn't guilty of what he was accused of. We trust that she is telling  the truth. But that's all we know about your background."





I shot my dad a look for bringing up Reese being in prison but he just shrugged his shoulders.





Wes cleared his throat and took a drink from his mug. "Well I grew up  about an hour from here with my mother and my two siblings. Reese, my  brother, is a few years older than me, and our little sister Ariana is a  senior in high school at the moment."





"What about your father, dear?" My mother asked curiously.





"He took off after my sister was born. He wasn't ready to be a parent,  despite having already been one for seven years. He's remarried now with  two little girls. He doesn't live far from here actually. Only about  thirty minutes away. Ariana's living with him this year."





"Oh, wow. How does your mother feel about that?" I shot my mom a look telling her to stop asking questions but she was unaware.





"My mother passed away almost two years ago, ma'am."





"Oh, we are very sorry for your loss, Wesley. I apologize for prying." My mom told him, frowning about the loss of his mother.





"Thank you, Mrs. Lane. I don't mind your questions. Ask me anything  you'd like. I want you to be comfortable with me dating your daughter,"  Wes replied, and I saw both of my parents smile.





"Isn't he great?" I said, beaming up at Wes. He gave me a crooked smile  and shook his head. For the first time ever I was seeing Wes Walker  blush. It was beautiful.





"I have to admit, I was a bit worried about all of the tattoos," my dad  said, taking a bit of his Danish. "But you know that saying. You can't  judge a book by the cover."





I rolled my eyes at my dad's cliché. He was always quoting different saying to get his point across.





We finished eating and my parents asked Wes more questions about  himself. He told them that he was a business major with a minor in  accounting, which I could tell impressed them. He told them his plans to  work in a large corporation someday, hopefully making his way up to CEO  over time. My parents, as well as myself, were intrigued by everything  he told us. After the first few minutes of awkwardness past, there was  something fascinating about watching Wes talk about his future, and the  way his eyes lit up when he spoke. I had never realized how determined  Wes was when it came to his future. He had always struck me as the kind  of person who would rather live in the moment. His aspirations only made  me more smitten with him.