It had been almost two weeks since John and Tay had first hooked up, nearly every night they had spent together at one of their flats. The sex was frequent, but the companionship made John feel like he hadn't felt in a long time.
He found Tay interesting and exciting and loved spending hours talking to her about anything and everything. Lucy would roll her eyes at their antics as they sat at the kitchen table, talking late into the night or cuddling on the couch while Tay sighed in John's arms. "You two are the cutest couple. You do know that, right? It makes me sick."
The first time Lucy had said that, Tay looked panicked, but Lucy caught on quickly. "No, not actually sick. It's a saying, Jesus, you need to learn local terms."
Since that night, Tay had gotten more used to Lucy's caring jibes. John could tell she cared that Tay was happy, and so did he.
"So Tay," John said one night while they were at his place, having dinner, traditional pizza, Italian style. "I have a question to ask, and it's kind of a big one."
"Going to ask her to move in here?" Ronny asked as he poked his head into the room. He was still pressing buttons as he continued to kick Carlos' arse at their latest fighting game. "I promise me walking in on her in the shower was a complete accident, and it won't happen again."
John rolled his eyes. "I have dinner with my family once a month. It's this Sunday night. Would you like to meet them? I normally spend the night and leave Monday morning." he asked. He could feel a lump in his throat for multiple reasons; introducing his girlfriend to his family was certainly a big relationship step, and it hadn't been very long. But more than that, his family was quite religious, well, his parents. His brother and sister weren't sure they went to church; all of them did, but it wasn't such a thing to those two.
Ronny leaned back into the room, and Carlos quickly grabbed his shirt and pulled him away. Tay laughed. She had taken a liking to both of them and their banter. "Meeting your family is not a big deal in my culture, but I understand it is in human culture, is that right?"
"Well," John began, "yeah, I suppose it is. Would you like to?"
Tay nodded enthusiastically, "I would. Do you think they will like me?" she asked.
John set his jaw, "Well, when they get to know you, but they always had thoughts about how I would settle down, so please don't take it personally. My parents always wanted me to settle down with a Catholic woman. I don't even know if they know I'm not a virgin."
"Catholics? They don't have sex?" Tay asked, leaning on the table in interest, her cleavage pressed together as she continued to talk.
John couldn't help but look. Tay had a habit of wearing revealing tops, and this one was no different. A halter neck where the straps crossed but left much of her sternum and the inside of her cleavage exposed. "Well, they do, but they aren't supposed to before marriage."
Tay laughed, "Then how do you know if you will enjoy your time in bed with a partner?" she asked.
John shrugged, "Never really made sense to me either."
Tay smiled, "Ok, I will meet your family on Sunday. I know it is a custom to bring something. What should I bring?"
John shook his head, "I'm sure you don't have to do that. My parents are fine without."
Tay frowned, "No, I should bring something. I can bring something chocolaty for desert?" she insisted.
John's eyes went wide, "No, I do not need you getting all horny while we are at my parent's place. I know how you can't resist yourself when you have had chocolate."
Tay smiled and laughed, "I will bring something to drink then. My family sent me a bottle of gratha, proper gratha from home," she almost drooled.
"Alright, a bottle of gratha it is. I will tell them we are bringing something to drink," John replied. "Now, would you like to watch a movie tonight or..." he let the sentence trail off as he tilted his head to the side. Tay had taught him some of her kind's ways of talking. It still felt strange, but communicating that there is more to the message than what is on the surface of the message was a useful tool.
"Or?" Tay asked, understanding the motion.
"Or, I bought some chocolate-coated coffee beans," he finished.
Tay smiled, "You've been promising me those for weeks, and if I remember correctly, you wanted to tie me down while you fed me the chocolates?"
John blushed as he saw his roommates in the next room look in his direction. Marco tapped Ronny on the shoulder, "How about I shout you to a beet at the pub?" he said.
"You kidding me?" Ronny shot back, "you've heard them. I just wish we had a video to match the audio."
Marco grabbed him by the ear and started pulling him towards the front door. Ronny dropped the controller as he said, "Ow, ow, ow. Come on, man. I just got that piercing. You're just pissy cause I was kicking your arse."
Tay watched them leave through the front door before she stood up. Slowly she stepped over towards John, "So, I take it you do want to tie me up," she said. He lifted her leg to rest it on his knee, her short denim skirt rising enough for John to see where her fur transitioned from coarse to soft.
John ran his hand slowly up her leg, "I have ropes. I also have soft cuffs. Fur lined, I tried to match them to your fur tone."
Tay moaned at his touch, "I like that idea," she said, "so, chocolate and some time together?"
