Chapter 7

Wesley's POV

"Fuck, that feels so good.." I mumble as I take a drag from my cigarette. I haven't had one since I met Melanie and she couldn't know that I was having one right now.

"Dude, just tell her that you smoke. Big fucking deal." My friend Jack says, and I roll my eyes.

"It doesn't work that way.. I told her I've stopped doing shit like this and if she found out... She'd leave me and I can't lose her." I say, and he starts laughing.

"Damn, you're whipped."

"I am not!" I yell, and he puts his hands up in mock surrender.

"Yeah, you are. You used to not give a fuck about what you did to girls and now look at you."

"Shut the fuck up." I say, and he laughs.

"Whatever, man. This girl must be pretty special."

"She is.. She really is. She's been through a lot and I guess I want to be her savior. I know, it sounds cheesy as fuck but it's true. I'm falling for her. Hard."

He continues to laugh and I roll my eyes again.

-

As I'm taking my morning run, I spot Melanie talking to some guy and I stop running. I watch from a distance, crossing my arms. She walks away and I catch up to her.

"Hey," I say, as I get to her.

"Oh, hey you!" She says, and kisses me on the cheek.

"Who the fuck were you talking to?"

"What? Oh, it was just an old friend. We were just catching up."

"Hm.."

"Wesley, don't worry about it. We've only ever been friends. Nothing more." She says, and I nod.

"So, where are you headed to?" I ask, as I wrap an arm around her waist and she pushes me off, laughing.

"You're sweaty! I still don't understand how you get so sweaty in 50° weather." She says, and I laugh with her. "I'm headed back home to get ready for our dinner that we're having with my family."

"Okay, I'll come and pick you up when it's time?"

"Yep." She says, and I kiss her quickly before continuing my run.

-

"You look gorgeous." I say and give her a long kiss as she gets in my car.

"Yeah, well.. Gotta look nice for family dinner." She says once we pull away and I smile.

"So.. Do your parents know that someone is coming over with you?"

"No, I'm surprising them."

"Okay.." I mumble and I drive to her parents house.

When we get there, she holds my hand tightly as we walk up to the front door and I'm nervous as fuck. I can feel my palms sweating and thankfully Melanie doesn't notice. We walk in and she calls her parents to us.

"Mel- who's this?" Her mom says as her parents and brother greet us.

"Um.. Mom and dad.. This is a very important person to me. This is Wesley Stromberg, my boyfriend." She says, and I smile nervously at them as her mother's smile drops. Her dad gives me a firm handshake and I go to give her mom a handshake but she looks at Melanie and shakes her head, walking off. I shake her brothers hand warily and he gives me a bro hug instead.

"So.. This is Mel's new boy. Let me show you around the house, get to know you a bit." Her father says and I give Melanie a panicked look and she smiles at me while I get pulled off to somewhere in the house.

"So.. What are your intentions with my baby girl?" Her father says immediately and I take a deep breath.

"Um sir, I promise to take very good care of your daughter. She's my everything right now and I promise to never hurt her. She's means everything to me." I speak nervously, and he nods.

"You better not hurt her, Wesley."

"I know.. I won't, sir."

"Good.. Now let's go eat dinner." He says and I smile at him as we go back into the dining room. I sit down next to Melanie and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"So, how did your talk with my dad go?"

"Good, I guess."

She nods and our food is served. Melanie rests her hand on my thigh as we're eating and I almost choke on my food.

"You okay, Wesley?" Matthew asks and I smile.

"Yeah, just fine." I lie and take a drink of my water as I look at Melanie, putting my hand over hers, trying to move it off of my thigh but she doesn't budge. I continue to eat my food as Melanie begins to speak.

"Yeah, I'm actually almost done with first semester college work. I just have a few assignments left. But I'll get it done before Christmas break." She says and leads her hand up to the top of my thigh and my breath hitches.

"Wesley, what are you studying in college?" Melanie's dad asks.

"Uh.. I-I'm studying to be in the police force.. It's interested me ever since I was little." I stutter as Melanie puts her hand over my crotch and I cough loudly, standing up. "I'll be right back."

I walk into the kitchen, trying to walk my arousal off and after a few minutes it does. Melanie walks in and I give her a glare.

"Oh no you don't." I warn, and begin to walk out.

"I can cause another one just as easily, you know." She says, meaning my arousal and she grabs my hand.

"Mel, we're with your family. It's not appropriate."

"Whatever." She says, and we walk back out into the dining room and sit back down. I sit down and I can feel her mom burning holes into my head and I avoid looking at her.

"I don't think your mom likes me at all." I say as we're heading back to my apartment.

"She just needs to warm up to you.. She's heard bad things about you and she doesn't want me to be with you. I honestly don't care what she says, I'm 18."

"Mel, I highly doubt she's gonna let you go to Cali with me.. We should've done this dinner thing sooner."

"Why do you want me to come to California with you, Wesley?" She asks and I look over at her and she's already looking at me.

"I don't know.. I want you to meet my parents and I just thought you'd like to spend Christmas with me.. Would you?"

"Yeah, probably. I just doubt my parents will want me to miss Christmas with them. I can make my own decisions and go with you if I want, but my parents would be angry at me."

"How about you have two Christmases? I can see if my family Christmas is on a different day than yours and maybe we can work it out."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll check."

I nod, and continue to drive. Once we get to my apartment, we end up making out for most of the afternoon, and obviously I enjoyed that.

-

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Drew asks as he opens the door to his apartment.

"We need to talk." I say and walk past him into his apartment.

"We have nothing to talk about." He obviously lies and I roll my eyes.

"Drew.. Yes, we do. I don't get why you're so against me dating Melanie? There's obviously a connection between us two and I'm not gonna let that go to waste."

"Because, Wesley.. I'm her best friend. I've seen the stuff she's been through and she doesn't need you hurting her. Eventually, you will. I've seen the things you've done to girls. You don't know how many times I've had to tell a girl you're not interested in them. That it was just a one time thing. I don't want to have to tell Melanie that."

"I'm not going to hurt her. I know I could care less about other girls but Melanie is special to me. I'm not gonna hump and dump her, okay? I.. I'm falling for her and she has me wrapped around her finger. Drew.. You just need to give me a chance. She trusts me."

He sighs and looks at me. "Fine, but if you ever hurt her.. You'll be dealing with me, Wesley. I trust you, fucking take very good care of her."

"And I will. Ever since Misty, I've been in a slump and that's why I would fuck girls every other day and get high. But that's over now. Mel is helping me get out of that."

"I know that you got high with Jack the other day."

"What the fuck?! He told you?"

"Yes, he did."

"Please don't tell Mel." I panic and he laughs with no emotion.

"I won't.. Just don't do it again because I will find out and I'll tell Melanie immediately." He says, and I rub my hands over my face.

"I'll try, but fuck.. You know how it feels, man. That was my first one since I saw her again at the cafe five months after the funeral."

"Yeah, I do. But if it's for the sake of Mel, then it's okay. You can control the urge to, I've done it before."

"Yeah, I guess.. Why is she so hard headed about that stuff?"

"Because her brother used to do that and once got too high and almost killed himself because he was so out of it. Don't tell her I told you that, she'll kill me."

"I wonder why she hasn't told me yet.."

"Because that's a very deep secret she likes to keep. Not even her other friends know."

"Oh.. Well, I'm gonna get going. See you later, man."

"Yeah, you too." He says and I walk out of his apartment and get in my car. I wish Melanie would tell me more about herself. I hate having to hear all of it from Drew.

"Hey Mel." I say into the phone, getting a call from her a few minutes later.

"Hey! So I asked about when I'm having family Christmas and they said that it'll be the first week of break."

"That's great! My family Christmas is the second week of break."

"Okay, good. I'll book our flights then?"

"No, let me do that."

"Uh okay.. Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye, babe."

She hangs up and I toss my phone onto the passenger seat, and continue to drive.

-

"Mel, what time do we need to go over to your parents house for Christmas tonight?" I ask, as Melanie gets up from my bed to go take a shower.

"Around 2.. My family should be arriving to my parents house around 1 but I don't want to have to deal with fighting for places to park." She says and I get up and wrap my arms around her. "Do you wanna take a shower with me? It'll be quicker."

"Uhhh, no.. I'll just take one after you."

"Okay, weirdo. Be right back." She says, looking at me confused and I give her a kiss before she walks into the bathroom and closes the door.

As I'm waiting for her to get done with her shower, i sit on the bed and instantly get nervous about meeting her whole family. I'm so stupid for being nervous about it but I want to make a good impression on her family. I already know her mom doesn't like me and if she tells anybody bad things about me I want to prove them wrong. Melanie comes out a few minutes later in just her towel and I bite my lip at the sight. She's just so fucking beautiful.

I walk into the bathroom, closing the door and take my shower. When I'm done, I wrap the towel around my waist and head back into my room. I don't see Melanie so I expect she's in the living room or kitchen. I get dressed quickly and go to brush my teeth and put cologne on. I decide not to wear a snapback today because it would probably come off as rude. I walk into the living room and see Melanie and she just takes my breath away. She has a sweater dress on with leggings and high heels.

I walk over to her and wrap an arm around her waist and she leans into me as she looks at the family pictures I have on the mantle. I kiss her cheek and she smiles up at me.

"We should go now." I say and she nods as I take her hand and we head out of my apartment and to my car.

When we get to her parents house I see a bunch of cars and get nervous again. Melanie can tell and she leans over and kisses me softly and I kiss back as she cups my cheek with her hand reassuringly.

"You'll be fine." She whispers against my lips and I nod.

"I know.. Let's go before I can let myself get anymore nervous and shit my pants." I say and she starts laughing.

We get out of the car and Melanie wraps a hand around my arm and we walk to her parents house and walk in.

"Ah, here they are!" Melanie's dad says as we enter because he happens to be by the front door and I smile nervously as he wraps an arm around me in a friendly hug. He gives Melanie a hug and I wrap my arm around her waist after he walks back to wherever he was. Everyone's eyes are on us who see us and I bite my lip, nervously.

"Calm down, Wes. There's nothing to be nervous about." She whispers and kisses my cheek and I take a deep breath. We walk around, Melanie introducing me to her family and I try and be as friendly as possible. Apparently it's working. Melanie goes to talk to her cousins after we've talked to everyone and I sit down next to her grandpa on the couch.

"So you're Melanie's new boyfriend, huh?" He asks, and I smile.

"Yes, sir."

"Call me Phil." He says and I nod. "Have you been treating her right? Ever since Jace died I've heard she hasn't been herself."

"Yes, we've been dating for a few weeks now.. I actually met her at the funeral so we've known each other for awhile."

"That's good, son. I hope good things come for you two. You seem to make Melanie very happy."

"We are happy." I say and he nods and I look off, tapping my leg quickly.

It's finally time for dinner and I can't be more thankful so it's not awkward anymore. Melanie walks over and I kiss her forehead as we go and get in line to get our plates and food. Once we're don't with that I sit between Melanie and her brother. When everyone sits down, we all begin to eat. Melanie takes my hand and holds it under the table and I grin to myself. I start talking to her brother and she rests her hand on my thigh once again and I freeze as she leads it up to my crotch and presses down and I try to suppress the moan that forms in my throat. I've never realized how good her touching me felt and I wasn't gonna stop her now even though I should. I cough a bit as she rubs her hand against me again and continue to talk to her brother, trying so hard not to moan.

"Fuck.. Melanie, stop." I whisper into her ear and she giggles.

"Fine.." She rolls her eyes and moves her hand away from my crotch and I sigh in relief. She leans up to kiss me passionately and I wouldn't have pulled away as quickly as I did if it weren't for her whole family sitting around us.

"Presents time!" Melanie's mom calls after everyone has finished their lunch and all the kids roar in happiness. I get up with Melanie, holding her hand as we walk back into the family room with everyone.

"Don't do what you did at lunch around your family again. I still have a hard on and I am trying to make it not noticeable." I whisper in Melanie's ear and she starts laughing.

"Don't worry, Wes." She says, and I eye her carefully before kissing her forehead.

-

"Well, that was fun." I say as we get in my car, following behind people out of the neighborhood.

"Yeah, it was.. Sorry if my family seemed weird to you."

"Are you kidding?! Your family isn't weird at all, I enjoyed it."

"You sure?"

"Yes, baby." I say and she blushes immediately. I smile to myself and drive to Melanie's apartment. Once we get there, I walk her to her apartment door and she turns around to face me.

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Sure." I say and she smiles real big and I return it.

"Awesome, let's go inside and go watch movies and get under the covers. It's freezing." She says as we walk inside and I laugh a bit and grab her hand, leading her to her bedroom.

As we get under the covers, I wrap my arms around Melanie and she cuddles into me. We turn on a movie and I end up passing out half way through.

The next morning I end up waking up before Melanie and I get up quickly and go grab a cigarette and go outside on her balcony. I light it and take a drag from it, inhaling and exhaling the smoke. I watch the sun come up and I sigh as I finish my cigarette a few minutes later.

I go back into Melanie's apartment and see her in the kitchen and I go up to her and give her a kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. Did you?"

"Yep."

"Wes, why do you smell like smoke?" She asks and I swear my heart stops for a second.

"Uh.. I didn't know I did." I try and lie and she looks at me suspiciously.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Wesley?"

"No.. I have no clue why I smell like smoke. I don't even smell it." I lie again and she raises an eyebrow before continuing to cook breakfast. I sigh in relief as I walk off to go take a shower.

When I finish, I get out and dry off, wrapping the towel around my waist. I walk out and see Melanie sitting on her bed watching tv and I smile at her.

"Oh yeah, I talked to Drew the other day." I say while getting some clothes of mine that she keeps here for me when I stay the night.

"You did? What did you guys talk about?"

"About us, and I finally got him to be okay with it."

"Okay, what else did y'all talk about?"

"Uh.. Mel. This has been bugging me since he told me but he.. told me about what happened with your brother."

"He what?!" She yells and stands up.

"Mel, calm down."

"No! He had no fucking right to tell you about that!"

"Mel, plea-"

"No, Wesley! Leave!" She yells and points to her door and I walk over to her and she backs away from me.

"No, Melanie. Listen to me."

"I don't wanna hear it." She says and I see her bottom lip start to tremble. "Please leave."

I sigh and walk into the bathroom to go change. When I walk back into her room, she's still in the same place but she doesn't look at me.

"Call me soon, please?" I ask and she doesn't answer. "Please?"

"Fine!" She snaps, and I frown at her before heading towards the door and leaving.

"Fuck!" I yell, hitting the steering wheel after I get in my car. I sit there for a few minutes with my face buried in my hands as I think. I shouldn't have even fucking told her. Drew told me not to.. I'm so fucking stupid.

---

Hey, guys! So, here's the new update! Things may be a bit confusing like who Misty is or more about what happened with Melanie's brother, but I'm sure y'all will find out eventually.😉 lol. I'll update soon.. I'm going out of town for Easter break until like Sunday or Monday so I don't know how much time I'll have to write this weekend.. but chapter 8 will be up soon! talk to y'all later.😘