Family reunions are always an ordeal. They don't happen like they do in the movies. They aren't joyous gatherings of long lost family members who are just so happy to see each other. In real life, it's a girl like me surrounded by a hoard of aunts screeching at each other and laughing, drunk uncles playing pool and talking about sports and pretentious cousins competing over who was a better job or a more prestigious degree. With family like mine, I am constantly amazed that I can survive these gatherings at all, amazed that I don't just die of irritation the minute I walk through the door.
Usually, I wouldn't be bothered coming to them, but I'd missed the last two and had promised my mother that I would fly back to New York from L.A. for this one. "I hope she appreciates that I missed out on a fucking interview with Josh Homme for this shit," I cursed under my breath. None of these family members ever thought that I would make it as a journalist and when I had added music into the equation, they were doubly skeptical. Perhaps the only good thing about these reunions was that I could show them all how wrong they were. I could show them that I had a great career going and was living my dream, writing for Rolling Stone, interviewing my idols and spreading the word about great new music. But then one of my cousins just had to become a fucking brain surgeon and steal my thunder. Asshole.
Lost in their self centered yapping, the ringing doorbell fell on deaf ears. Grateful for an excuse to take a breather, I went to the door and opened it to find my least favorite cousin of them all: Junior. A cocky, loud, misogynist prick. I put aside my dislike of him and politely greeted him before I went back to close the door. "No, wait Lina! My friend is coming right behind me," he called out.
"Oh great, another asshole that I have to worry about. I'm in for a long fucking night," I thought to myself as I reopened the door and just as I did, he walked in.
He was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. He was much taller than me, which is hard to do considering that I'm six feet tall myself. His body was incredibly chiseled and defined with thick, muscular arms peeking out from underneath his charcoal colored t-shirt. It was a band tee, Queens of the Stone Age. Seemed like he had to have pretty good taste in music if he liked QotSA, which in my book is always a definite plus. His naturally dark hair was sun-kissed and pulled back into a short ponytail. His tan, olive tinted skin was glowing in the light of the hallway. He looked like a model. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he had just walked off of a runway. His eyebrows were thick and dark and he sported a scruffy beard. His lips were fat and juicy and his eyes looked like dark pits that you could be trapped in forever. I fought to keep my jaw from dropping as he walked by, his dark eyes fixed on me as he moved away.
"Well, at least he's a hot asshole," I laughed to myself. I pulled out the food and liquor Junior had brought with him and set it out on the table with the rest of the food and drinks. As I walked back into the living room where my cousins had all been lounging, Junior had just started the introduction process.
"This is Ian. He's one of my surfer buddies." I figured as much. Though I really did dislike Junior, he was an excellent surfer and he was always with a friend, ready to check out the waves wherever they ended up. None of them had ever looked like that though. I watched for what seemed to be an eternity as Ian made his way around the room, shaking hands with my family. Finishing up, he turned to me with an outstretched hand. It was big and warm and rough and though it looked somewhat menacing, it shook mine with the perfect combination of firmness and gentleness. His eyes were even more incredible up close and they stared into mine with an intense, penetrative quality that made me uneasy.
"Your name's Lina, right?" His voice was deep and dark and beautiful. No matter how attractive or unattractive a person physically was, a nice, deep voice could turn me on like nothing else and his was definitely having that effect.
"Yes." I was feeling weak and it was all I could muster. I let go of his hand and abruptly excused myself before I quickly walked away.