Chapter Seven - Thanksgiving and a Proposal Part One
It was Thanksgiving weekend, Chiara was so nervous she felt sick. Annie and Marc's parents were arriving any minute. She checked and rechecked her bag then went and looked at herself in the mirror again. Annie came up behind her and gave her a hug, kissing her on the cheek.
"Relax honey, Marc will be here soon. Mom and Dad will love you."
"But what if I fuck up? What if I let it slip about you and me too?" Chiara asked, feeling like she was going to cry.
Marc came into their room just then and exchanged a quick hug and kiss with Annie, then looked at Chiara and asked her if she was okay. She grabbed Marc and snuggled into him, shaking and shivering with jangled nerves. He caressed her back, calming her down with his reassuring words.
"Hey pixie-girl relax, it'll be fine. Mom and Dad will be here in five minutes then we're on our way."
That five minutes felt like five years to Chiara. Marc's folks pulled up right on time and they stowed their bags in the back of their MDX.
Marc's Mom almost ran to Chiara and gave her a big hug and kiss, "You must be Chiara, Marc's told us all about you! Aren't you just the sweetest little thing? You can call me Sarah. Brett, come say hi to Marc's young lady."
A big bear of a man came around the side of the car and took Chiara's hand in his massive one, "Well hello little lady, Marc speaks quite highly of you." He said with a deep Texas twang.
Chiara couldn't help blushing at what Marc's folks were saying. She hadn't know that he'd been telling them about her.
"Thank you Mr. Montgomery, it's a pleasure meeting both of you."
They all piled into the car, Marc sat up front with his Dad while Chiara, Annie and her Mom sat in the back.
Marc's Dad looked in the rear view at Chiara, "So you're Dan and Kristen's girl, how are your folks doing?"
"Uh, yeah. They're fine, Dad has a conference in New York so Mom tagged along. So, ahh, how do you know my parents?"
Brett and Sarah laughed and she patted Chiara's knee, "We used to go dancing together, but when we moved that kind of stopped our fun."
Chiara felt kind of weird, finding out that her parents knew Marc and Annie's folks yet she'd never met the twins before. She shared a look with them and they looked just as baffled as she felt. Brett pulled out of the lot and they headed for the highway.
Once they were on the highway Sarah turned to Chiara and asked how she and Marc had met, explaining that Marc had been kind of evasive about it on the phone.
Chiara laughed and gave Marc a pat on the shoulder, "He was probably just being modest. Marc saved me from an awkward situation at his frat house's Halloween party, and Annie introduced us. He was actually very sweet and caring."
Sarah looked between her kids, "So you two are finally talking again? Will wonders never cease."
"Thank Kiki for that Mom, a lot of things have changed between me and Marc since the pipsqueak came along." Annie grinned.
Brett looked at Chiara through the mirror and smiled warmly, "Well Kiki, if what Annie said is true Sarah and I owe you a huge debt. It's been hard on us with the kids feuding for so long."
Sarah nodded, "Yes, they never told us what happened between them, but it must have been bad for them to not make up."
"Well Chiara laid down the law and demanded that we play nice. She didn't want to deal with the drama of her boyfriend and best friend fighting, so we decided to patch things up. Right sis?" Marc said with a sly wink at the little redhead.
"Yeah baby brother, I'm glad we found Kiki, I don't know where we'd be without her." Annie said as she gave her friend a quick hug and peck on the cheek.
Chiara was sure she was blushing to her toes she was so embarrassed. Marc and Annie's Mom was actually crying and even their dad seemed a bit choked up. They drove on in silence for a bit, then their parents started asking how they were making out in school and just chatted in general.
They eventually made it to their home and Chiara was impressed, from the outside it looked pretty big and the inside reflected the outside size. The inside was very tastefully decorated, and Brett and Sarah told Chiara to make herself at home. Sarah said Chiara could either have the guest room or bunk in with Annie.
"Uh I thought she'd be in with me," Marc chimed in.
Brett gave his son a look, then he stared down at Chiara. Finally he looked at Sarah for a minute then cracked a big grin. "Well you are adults, and I doubt I could keep you two apart even if I put one of you in a bunker, so Chiara you decide where you'll sleep." At this point he gave the lovebirds a stern look, "Just try to keep it down because I need my beauty sleep okay?"
They all laughed and Marc led Chiara up to his room. It was pretty typical of a guy's room, Xbox and TV, computer desk, a dresser and queen bed. He also had some posters up of scantily clad girls on his walls. Chiara wasn't surprised to see that they were all of petite girls, not at all like the busty babes most guys would have had.
Marc's arms went around Chiara from behind and he kissed her on the neck just under her ear. Chiara felt shivers race up her spine and she smiled up at him.
"Whoa loverboy, no need to rush things we've got all weekend," she said in a slightly husky voice.
"I know pixie-girl," Marc said as he hugged her tight. "I just can't get enough of you. You're like a drug to me and I'm addicted."
There was a soft knock on Marc's door and Annie slipped into the room.
Chiara could tell that she was holding back laughter and asked her what was so funny.
Annie burst into peals of laughter, "You're funny shrimp, I almost couldn't keep a straight face when you told mom how you and Marc met. And you called me a lying bitch. Priceless!"
"But I didn't lie did I? I just didn't tell all of the truth."
Marc chuckled, "You do have a point Kiki, technically you were telling the truth."
Annie flopped onto Marc's bed and laughed again, "The funny thing was that she was so scared and nervous, but when the chips were down she pulled it off like a pro! God Kiki you should be an actress after that performance."
