We’re on the home stretch here, everyone. Just one more part of this series left before Aiden We both do after all. However, I’m not going to lie, I’m actually nervous at the prospect that this could blow up in our faces but regardless of what their reaction is, you’ll still stay with me right?”
Aiden reached over and placed his hand on her’s “Of course. I’m in it for the long haul, remember? Besides, even if they end up disowning us for what we did, we’ll face it together. At the very least, we won’t have to hide it from them anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s true. We’ll no longer have to keep our love a secret from them.” Cassie grasped his hand.
Aiden smiled as he looked into her hazel colored eyes “Don’t worry Cass, regardless of the outcome, we got this!”
Cassie gazed back at him “Yeah, you know what? We do!” She leaned in and kissed him
“I love you, Aiden.”
“I love you too, Cass.”
******
Originally they were going to fly out to Seattle during Thanksgiving to reveal the truth to them, but then Cassie realized that she would most likely still be busy with coaching if her team actually made it to state. Plus the clinic had a lot more participants thanks to Aiden’s marketing efforts, so she would no doubt be busy with that if all else failed; As would Aiden, since he had been working non-stop for the past few months.
Instead, the chance came two weeks later during a bye week for the volleyball team. They both called up their parents and told them they were going to come visit Seattle for a couple of days. The plan was for Aiden and Cassie to meet up with their parent’s at Curt and Sarah’s place, which was where they were headed.
The two left SeaTac International in a rented Hyundai Sedan as Aiden drove north along I-405. To their right was Mercer Island, separated by Lake Washington, as the leaf colors on the trees were mostly a post peak mix of red Trees that still had leaves on their branches, that is.
The two cousins sat in silence since they departed SeaTac, their nerves were starting to get to them. The pieces had been set and now it was time to put their plan into motion.
“I’m scared, Aiden.” Cassie finally said.
Aiden glanced over at her and chuckled “Hey, isn’t that supposed to be my line?”
She giggled nervously “Heh, yeah I guess you’re not wrong about that. Still, I feel this is one of those situations where you make a decision while you’re drunk, thinking it’s the smartest thing you’ve ever done, only to discover after you sobered up that it is quite the opposite.”
“Well, even if this is a bad decision, we’re already here and it’s too late to back out now. Besides, I’m probably more scared than you are.” Aiden tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before continuing.
“This is going to sound cheesy but I feel like you and I are two skilled knights who are about to face a dragon with nothing more than a sword and shield. The dragon on the other hand, is a hulking behemoth, who’s fiery breath is enough to melt steel like it’s butter. The only way we’ll be able to beat this dragon is through sheer skill and determination.”
Cassie snorted and laughed. “You’re such a nerd. So what? If we lose, the dragon burns us to a crisp. But if we win…?”
“Then we get to claim the dragon’s hidden stash of gold and live the rest of our days happy and carefree.” Aiden smirked at her.
“Uh huh, okay Sir Aiden!” Cassie rolled her eyes.
They both shared a laugh and it helped alleviate the tension they were feeling just a little bit. As they finished, Aiden decided to drop a bomb on her.
“Oh by the way Cass, you know earlier when you asked if I liked the idea of you becoming Cassandra Schroeder? Well I don’t…”
She shot him a pained look “Huh? Baby, what do you mean?”
He looked at her “How about me becoming Aiden Novak instead?”
“You’d seriously do that? You’d take my kumköy escort last name instead of me taking yours?” Cassie gasped.
He nodded “Yep, I would. A name is a name; Nothing more than that. You welcomed me into your life with open arms when I was at my lowest point. It’s the least I could do.”
“Or…instead of doing that, we simply hyphenate our last names!” Cassie grinned at him “That way, everybody wins!”
Aiden nodded his head “Yeah, I like that idea! However, before we discuss that matter further, let’s handle the family first.”
She sighed “Yep, onwards and upwards, little cousin.”
–
The car pulled up into the driveway of Cassie’s parents’ place, which was an older rambler-style home with a two car garage on the far left. They again sat in silence as Aiden turned off the engine.
Cassie exhaled and turned to him “Here goes nothing.”
Aiden leaned over and kissed her on the forehead “It’ll be alright, Cass. Remember, we’ve got this!”
She smiled at him as she opened the passenger-side door and Aiden followed suit. Aiden wore a pair of blue jeans and a red-and-black plaid shirt while Cassie opted for navy blue yoga pants and an oversized white sweater, with her signature ponytail.
They had been planning on staying at Cassie’s during their visit but had not yet brought their bags in, just in case things got hairy during the meet-up.
Aiden rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, the door flung open and Sarah was there to greet the two.
“Aiden! Cass! You’re here!” She stood up on her toes to hug the two.
“Mom! I’ve missed you guys so much! Where’s Uncle Will and Aunt Claire?” Cassie asked as she broke the hug.
“They should be here shortly. The commute from Tacoma is a doozy today!” Her dad Curt walked into the living room with 4 glasses of red wine and handed a glass to everyone.
After Aiden finished college, his parents decided to spend the last years of their career out in Tacoma, having grown tired of the city life in Seattle proper.
Curt went to hug her daughter “Cass! So good to see you!” He turned to face Aiden and shook his head “Hey, there’s the marketing genius. Cassandra tells me business has been booming thanks to you!”
“Ah well, just doing my job. At least I’m having a lot of fun doing so!” Aiden beamed
Curt bellowed out a laugh “Still as humble as ever, I see!”
As they talked, the doorbell rang again as Sarah went to answer it “Ah, that must be your folks Aiden!”
The door opened up as Sarah squealed out “Claire!” She went to hug her younger sister. Like Sarah, Claire was a spitting image of her sister, with her dark brown hair and brown eyes. The only thing that set the two apart was that Claire was slightly taller than her sister.
Aiden stepped away from Cassie and Curt and walked towards the door. “Mom!”
“Oh my god, my baby boy!” Claire embraced her son since it had been close to two years since they had last seen each other in person.
She looked up at him and ruffled his hair. “I know I’ve seen photos of you online, but it’s so strange to see you without your long hair for a change! Ahhhh, but I love it though!”
“Well, Cassie here has been instrumental in making me look less like a Deadhead and more like a working professional!” Aiden grinned
A male voice came from the doorway “And what’s wrong with being a Deadhead?”
In stepped Will, Aiden’s dad. He was just about as imposing as his brother-in-law was. At 6′ 2″, he was the same height as his son. He had broad shoulders and salt-and-pepper curly brown hair with a pair of blue eyes. Like Cassie, Aiden inherited pretty much all of his looks from his dad.
“Dad!” Aiden went over to hug his father.
“Hey pal, good to see you! You’ve changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you! Sounds like Cassie has been taking good care of you!” kundu escort Will smiled.
Aiden laughed and gestured at Cassie “Yeah, she’s done an alright job.”
“I’ll remember that, Aiden!” Cassie sarcastically remarked at him.
The six shared a laugh.
–
Everyone sat down in the living room around the coffee table. Cassie and Aiden sat on one black leather loveseat while Aiden’s parents took over the red suede sofa. Curt and Sarah sat on an older brown Corduroy couch that had been in the family for as long as they would remember.
They discussed their trip, how work was going, Cassie’s perfect season with the volleyball team so far along with the happenings in Bellevue.
While they all talked, the two cousins were trying to figure out how they were going to break the news to their parents. They thought they were going to have to wait it out until Aiden’s parents got there but then Sarah decided to breach the topic.
“So Cassandra, my friend Michelle decided to do a speed dating session a couple weeks ago and she loved it! I know you’re a busy woman but I think you should really try it out!”
Claire interjected as she rolled her eyes “Sarah! Not this again!”
Cassie’s mom had been trying to get her to start dating again after she broke up with Gabriel. For once Cassie appreciated the gesture, as she saw this as an opportunity. Gathering all of her courage, she spoke.
“I appreciate the offer but the thing is, I’m already seeing someone. Isn’t that right, Aiden?”
Aiden finished taking a sip of his wine “Yeah, he’s pretty cool! I might not be the best judge of character but even I like him!”
Sarah’s eyes brightened up “Well that’s wonderful Cassandra! I’m so happy to hear that, especially after everything that happened with Gabriel.”
Will laughed.”You know Cassie is doing something right if Aiden likes him!”
“Uh…yeah!” Aiden had not been ready for that remark.
“Yes, he makes me feel very special and loved. He’s been there for me in so many ways and I can’t imagine my life without him!” Cassie smiled as she thought about Aiden.
Curt laughed as he took a sip from his glass “Well? Are you gonna give us a name, Cass? I’d certainly like to know more about this guy.”
For reasons unknown, Cassie suddenly started to feel nervous. She wanted nothing more than to tell her parents the truth but the words refused to come out. “O-Oh…ummmm… I’m a bit shy…”
Her dad laughed “C’mon Cass, you’re almost always bursting at the seams whenever you have a new boyfriend. Are you afraid we’re not going to like him?”
“Hey now, a girl can be shy sometimes, Curt! I remember when Sarah was all giddy about you when you two started dating. For the longest time, she didn’t want to disclose anything to me!” Claire once again chimed in.
Undaunted, Curt continued to goad Cassie as he smiled “C’mon Cass, don’t make me ask Aiden.”
Cassie’s voice was caught in her throat. Fear began to overtake her. Rather than say anything, she nervously looked around the room
Sarah finished taking a sip of wine “Honey, we’re not going to care as long as you’re not back with Gabriel.”
Cassie suddenly looked her mom directly in the eyes “Mom, even if Gabe came back with a million dollars and was on his knees begging for forgiveness, I would still reject his sorry ass!”
“I dunno about you all, but if I ever saw Gabriel on the street. I’d tear him a new asshole. No one messes with my niece like that” Will placed his wine glass on the table.
“William!” His wife looked at him with a disapproving look on her face
“Well…I’m glad to hear that, honey. But you don’t need to be afraid to tell us anything. Besides with the way your eyes lit up when you talked about him, he can’t be that bad.” Sarah smiled.
“I…uh…” Cassie’s voice was trembling. She glanced at kurtköy escort Aiden with a “help me out” look on her face.
“Shit, she’s in trouble!”
Aiden had been quiet during most of the exchange but he felt the need to come to Cassie’s rescue. He downed the rest of his wine and placed the glass on the coffee table. He eyed the doorway. If things went south, and it looked like that was a real possibility, at least him and Cassie were close to the door so they could leave. They had an escape plan.
“Fuck it, here goes nothing!” Aiden thought as he cleared his throat.
“It’s me.”
Everyone’s attention was directed at him as he heard Cassie whisper “Aiden!”
Curt looked at him with a bemused look on his face as he folded his arms. “What are you going on about? What’s you?”
“Yeah what’s this all about, Aiden?” Will asked
“It’s me. I’m the guy she is talking about. I’m her…boyfriend. I love her and she loves me.” Aiden looked at his & Cassie’s parents
The living room went silent.
Sarah brought her hand to her mouth while Claire’s face remained emotionless. Will leaned forward with his hands clasped. Curt, however, still sat there with his arms folded as he turned to his wife.
Finally after a long pause, Sarah spoke as she looked at Cassie. “Honey, is this true?”
She figured there was no point in hiding it “Yes Mom. What Aiden just said is true. We’ve been together for about a year now. We both…want to spend the rest of our lives together. I understand you’re both upset with us and I apologize for disappointing you, dad, Uncle Will & Aunt Claire…”
She looked her Mom in the face, with a renewed sense of courage “…but I’m not going to apologize for falling in love with Aiden. We’ve wanted to tell you…tell everyone for the longest time but we haven’t been able to. That’s why me and Aiden came up here in the first place.”
“So if you hate us, think of us as disgusting or tell us that we’re going to hell, get it out of your system now so we can move on with our lives.” Cassie finished as she exhaled.
There was more silence that followed as their parents were digesting the information they were given.
Finally Will looked at Curt with a big smile on his face “Well, that certainly took long enough.” Claire then let out a loud snort as she started laughing.
Aiden was confused “Wait…what do you mean? What took long enough?”
Finally Curt spoke. “Well if you must know, when me and your aunt found out you two were moving in together, I called your folks up and pretty much told them it would just be a matter of time before you two hooked up.”
The cousins couldn’t believe her ears.
Aiden shouted “Are you serious? You EXPECTED this to happen?”
“What are you all trying to say?” Cassie darted her eyes.
Sarah cleared her throat “Aiden…Cassie, you two were all over each other growing up. The way you two played house growing up, recreating those Disney Movie dances in our basement. Aiden here had a crush on you for as long as I can remember. He would seriously not stop talking about how ‘tall and pretty’ you were!”
Cassie turned to Aiden and blushed “Aww, you said that? That’s so cute!”
“I would argue that she still very much is” Aiden said as he looked at Cassie.
Sarah then addressed her daughter “And you Cassie, don’t think I didn’t notice you glancing at Aiden during our family gatherings. I saw you catching looks at Aiden as him and his old girlfriend played around on the boat and in the lake. Not to mention that you looked like you were about to smack Bailey at any given moment.”
“I couldn’t stand her because she was some ditzy shallow bitch with no original personality traits! Aiden could’ve done so much better than her!” Cassie blurted out loudly as Will and Curt howled in laughter.
“Somebody like you, mayhaps?” Her mom asked.
She had her there. “Y-yeah, Pretty much.”
“Busted” Aiden under his breath.
Curt shot Aiden a look “Not as busted as you, Mr. Schroeder. My trail cam caught something verrrry interesting one particular evening during that trip involving you, Bailey and my favorite lounge chair on the dock.”
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