Chapter 17

After school on Friday, my family and Grayson's family were going to have yet another family dinner, but this time, we were going to a fancy restaurant.

Mom expected me to dress up. I didn't really want to, but I was too tired to object. So, Mom grabbed a simple black dress out of my closet and handed it to me.

"First impressions are important," Mom told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "First impression? Mom, we've had dinner with them many times." Not to mention one of them is my boyfriend.

My family didn't exactly know about Grayson and I. I did tell Tony but made him promise to not tell Mom and Dad. Dad would just be worried because of what happened with Ben and Mom didn't really like Grayson.

"Yes, but Gary's daughter will be there since she's on spring break," Mom said before leaving my bedroom. I wanted to ask her what that had to do with anything, but I decided to just leave it and get changed. After I was changed into the dress, I went down the stairs where the rest of my family was. Mom looked at me and gave me a sigh. "What?" I asked.

"You could have at least fixed your hair," Mom pointed out before shaking head. "There's no time now. We have to get going."

We all got into Dad's car, with me sitting in the back with my arms crossed. My hair was just fine. It wasn't a mess at all.

"Chill, Poppy," Tony said quietly so Mom and Dad wouldn't hear our up coming conversation.

"I don't know why she's stressing out about all of this," I said with my voice just as quiet. "It will be the first time our families are having dinner with Grayson and I dating."

"Speaking of, when are you going to tell them?" Tony asked.

I shrugged. "Mom already doesn't like him. Grayson and I decided to tell them when the time is right."

We got to the restaurant our families were going to be eating at. Grayson's family were waiting by the door for us. Out of everyone, Grayson probably stood out the most. The rest were dressed up nicely, but Grayson had his everyday look on; jeans, t-shirt, and a leather jacket. And for some reason, he looked a bit angry.

A young woman was with them and I guessed she was Grayson's older sister. She looked a lot like him, but she had a smile on her face, unlike Grayson.

"Shall we go in now?" Gary asked my parents. Mom nodded and we went in.

The restaurant was very classy. Even though my dress was formal, I felt a bit underdressed.

While the adults waited for the table, I pulled Grayson aside. "Are you okay?" I asked. "You seem angry."

Grayson sighed. "My brother's just being stupid. Remember how I told you how he's going to try to get your parent's approval to date you? Well, I heard him talk to his friend and apparently, he's going to ask them tonight."

I scoffed. "So?"

"So my brother knows how to get parents to allow their daughter to date him," Grayson said. "Even if the girl doesn't want to, her parents make them and she later falls for him. It's kind of going to be a problem if my girlfriend has to go on a date with my brother."

"Then we'll tell them about us if my parents make me," I told him.

Grayson still didn't seem convinced, but he couldn't say anything because we were going to sit at our table. Grayson quietly told me to sit at the end and he sat on the other side of me so Graeme couldn't sit beside me at all. However, Graeme decided to sit across from me.

A waiter soon came over and took our order. While we were waiting for the food, Mom started talking to Grayson's sister, Gale. She seemed really nice and genuine, unlike Graeme.

"Hey, Grayson," Graeme said suddenly. "How exactly close are you to Poppy?"

Grayson furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"No reason," he said, though the tone he used made me believe he actually did have a reason. "It doesn't matter anyway. You haven't been really close to a girl since, well, ever."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Grayson asked. I could tell he was ready to snap, so I slipped my hand into his under the table.

Graeme shook his head, then faced my parents. "I would actually like to ask the two of you something important."

"Anything," Mom said.

"Well, I've grown a liking to your daughter," he said. "And I would like to ask your permission to take her on a date."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Mom beat me to it. "It's very polite your asking our permission for this. Why not?"

"Woah," I said. "Shouldn't he have my permission first?"

"Poppy, you do need to get out more," Mom said. "It will be good for you."

"With all due respect, I don't think it's ideal for your daughter to go out with my brother," Gale spoke up. "It's all just part of his game."

"What game?" Graeme asked in a shocked and innocent voice.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Gale said. "And obviously Grayson knows too since it affects him a lot."

"Gale, if Graeme would like to take Poppy on a date, let him," Gary said. "And certainly this 'game' you think is just a misunderstanding."

Grayson scoffed and squeezed my hand tighter. "In your eyes," he muttered.

I face Mom and Dad. "Mom, Dad, shouldn't I decide who I want to date?"

"That is true," Dad said. "If you don't want to go on a date with Graeme, I'm sure he'll understand."

"But going on a date will be good for Poppy," Mom said. "It can help her forget about Ben."

"Mom, please don't bring up Ben," I said. "But I agree that a date will be good for me."

Grayson gave me a weird look as Graeme said, "Is that a yes?"

"Nope," I said. "It's a no."

"Poppy........" Mom began, but I interrupted her.

"I really appreciate the offer, Graeme, but I can't," I said, hoping the emphasized really would hint the sarcasm.

"Of course you can," Mom said.

"No, really," I said. "I can't."

"And why not?" Mom asked. "Graeme is a great guy."

"I know, but........"

"He'll treat you right."

"Mom, can I......."

"He's very caring."

"But he......."

"Give him a chance."

"I have a boyfriend!" I blurted out, a bit too loudly. Some people in the restaurant looked at me, but I ignored them. "Mom, I have a boyfriend, okay?" I lifted my hand that was holding Grayson's.

Everyone seemed a bit shocked, except for Tony who already knew. The one who seemed the most shocked had to be Graeme.

Mom cleared her throat. "And why haven't you told us?"

I sighed. "Because......I thought you wouldn't have approved of it because of the whole incident." That was part of the reason. I didn't really want to say it was because she didn't approve of Grayson in front of his dad.

"Poppy, we would never think that," Dad said. "If you're ready to date, then you're ready to date."

"I still don't approve of it," Mom said.

"Come on," I said. "Grayson would never hurt me, Mom. I really like him and he likes me. Don't you want me to be happy?" I got up from the table and walked outside of the restaurant. I was tired of Mom constantly disapproving of everything I did or had. Why couldn't she just let me be me?

Grayson ended up following me outside. "You okay, Flower?"

"Not really," I said. "I'm tired of my mom constantly being disappointed of anything I have or do."

"I know what it feels like," Grayson assured.

"What do you usually do?" I asked.

Grayson shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes I call my sister, other times......Hey, how about we head to the beach? Skip the family dinner? I drove here by myself so it's not like my family will be stuck here."

As much as I didn't want to get Mom mad, I agreed. Mom would be extremely pissed that I left during the family dinner, especially since the food had already been ordered, but I didn't care. If she wanted to be disappointed in me, I might as well give her a reason.

While Grayson drove to the beach, he said, "By the way, thanks for not falling for my brother's charm. You're the first one to do so."

"Really?" I asked. "The first?"

Grayson nodded. "I told you, every single girl that had ever been around me, whether we were friends or I felt something more for them, they all fell for him, and they realized it was a dumb thing to do because he just broke their hearts in the end."

"I can't believe your dad thinks your brother is perfect," I said. "No offence."

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "No offence? I agree with you, you know. In my dad's eyes, Graeme is the perfect one of the family, even though my sister has been far more successfully in life and she isn't a lying snake."

"You're sister seems nice," I commented. "She tried stopping Graeme."

Grayson shrugged. "She thinks it's stupid and it is."

My cell phone rang, so I pulled it out of my purse. I sighed. "It's my mom," I told him. "She's probably wondering where I am."

"Don't answer," Grayson said. "I know you're trying to make a point and ignoring her will make her think like you actually are mad."

"I am mad," I said.

Grayson was going to reply, but my phone rang again. This time, it was Tony. Since he was actually on my side, I answered it. "Hello?"

"Poppy, Mom is really worried," Tony said. "Dad went out of the restaurant to see if you were okay and both you and Grayson were gone."

"I'm fine," I said. "And it's not like Mom is actually worried about me. She's probably mad that I left during the dinner or that I'm dating Grayson."

"It doesn't help that you took off and ignored Mom's call," Tony pointed out. "Where are you anyway?"

"Grayson and I are going to the beach," I told him.

Tony sighed. "You're not making things easier, Poppy. You can at least try."

"Try what?" I asked. "I do try to make Mom proud of me, but nothing works. She hates everything I do."

"That's not true," Tony said.

"Okay, name one thing she's proud of that I did," I said.

Tony hesitated before answering. "Didn't you get on the honor roll last year?"

"Yes, and she said something about getting the higher GPA," I said. "Look Tony, Grayson is only taking me to the beach because I feel stressed. Can you tell Mom that I'm fine and Grayson didn't kidnap me if that's what she's wondering?"

Grayson snorted as Tony said, "Yeah, fine. Just expect to get grounded when you get home."

"Kidnapped?" Grayson asked. "Does your mom actually think that I would do that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know what she thinks these days. But that doesn't matter. Let's just enjoy the time at the beach."

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A/N: I was going to make this longer, but I will wanted to get a chapter up and I've still been busy lately. The next chapter will be a continuation of this chapter and I'll try to post it sometime soon.