Forbidden

"How is it possible to not like Salt-N-Pepa?" "Who knows? I obviously don't have an appreciation for fine music and thoughtful lyrics." "Har-de-f*****g-har. I hope you're not going to be this sarcastic when you meet my parents." Parents. When Daniella agreed to spend a week of their break with Nikolas in his hometown, she had been drunk. It seemed like a good idea. "I'd love to!" she'd gushed. But now the thought of meeting his parents filled her stomach with dread. Since the moment they met at a Fresher's party at Uni just 6 months before, they'd been good friends. Their dry senses of humour and like of the same things - bar shitty retro music - had cemented their bond. For them, it had never been anything more than good friendship. Both of them had dated other people, but she knew how this would look to his parents. "You've told them we're just friends, right?" Daniella asked, her nerves getting the better of her. "No, and I shouldn't have to." "You're right - they'll know you couldn't pull someone that looks like this." Nikolas took one quick glance towards her, careful not to draw his attention too long from the road, and laughed. "I was going to say they should know I wouldn't go for an old bird like you, but whatever helps you sleep at night." "Oh f**k off! I'm still young." "They don't call you a 'mature student' for nothing." The 'age' thing never failed to make her uncomfortable. His 20 years seemed like infancy compared to her 25. Nikolas relished in her agitation, his straight white teeth blinding in the midday sun as he smiled. The drive from London to the outskirts of Colchester was full of traffic and long. The journey was all the more arduous than Daniella had anticipated. Trapped in the car with someone who knew the lyrics to every song on the radio, she had quite the headache coming on. Not even nails on a chalkboard would be comparable to the sound of his deep voice attempting to hit the high notes of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You', she thought. Urban, gridlocked streets of the city soon melted into country roads and fields, the road weaving through greenery as far as the eye could see. Nikolas visibly relaxed as they ventured further into the countryside, the vulcan-tight grip he had on the wheel loosening. The fresh, country air through the open window was like a welcome home. "I grew up around here. Went to secondary school just up the road" he told her as they approached a 'Colchester Town' sign. "It must be weird for London to be all you know." "You do know I've left the city before?" "I mean growing up... I can't imagine growing up without the fields, the wildlife, the quiet--" "Don't forget the smell of s**t. Manure and countryside go hand in hand." With every twist and turn of the road, Daniella felt more disconcerted and a little queasy. Nik had said his parents lived in a village, but this was something else. Nothing but an abundance of trees and grass surrounded them as they delved further into the sticks. As the roads begin to grow impossibly thin, the car arrived at a dead end, faced only with a gate and an intercom. Daniella reached for the Sat Nav to make sure Nik followed its instructions. The gates swung open, giving view of a detached house that could have featured in 'Country Living' magazine. Its limestone walls were lined with Ivy and dotted intermittently with large, white wood windows. The house itself was both large and beautiful, but it was the land it sat on that Daniella found particularly remarkable. Sweeping fields surrounded it, laying way to a calm horizon. With the spring sun high in the sky, casting its light over the grass and plethora of vibrant coloured flowers, she found it peaceful - an entirely different world from the big smoke. Nik's filthy 2008 Ford Fiesta looked out of place as he parked it on the gravel drive. He collected their things from the boot, dragging them noisily across the long drive to the oak front door. Rapping at the door with the brass knocker, he glanced at Daniella from the corner of his eye. "Are you ready?" He asked. "Not at all."