My Starry Eyed Wolf

That Wasn't Awkward

**Arianna's POV**

The next day, I couldn't shake the nervous feeling. What possessed me to agree to dinner with Ian's parents and Uncle? I have only known him for about 5 days. Things seemed to be moving quickly. A part of me was hesitant, but another part of me kept saying that this was right. It was meant to be this way. I don't know what part of me that was, but it grew with each day that I saw Ian.

It was midday already. Ian hadn't shown up for a coffee break yet. I wondered if he would. I know we were supposed to have dinner tonight. With each passing hour, my nervousness only increased.

"Arianna, are you alright?" My father asked. He must have sensed that something was off with me. I was unusually quiet today.

I took a quick breath, I might regret this. "I am having dinner tonight with Ian and his parents." I wasn't looking at my father, but from the corner of my eye, I could see him stop his movement of dusting the shelf he was currently working on.

"Isn't that a little soon?"

"I am not sure. I know in my head it seems too soon, but.." I trailed off. I don't normally talk about matters of the heart with my father. He came to the counter and stood on the opposite side of me. I slowly raised my gaze to meet his.

"If deep down you feel like it is right, then no one can tell you different. The only thing that I ask is, you figure out how you truly feel about it. I don't want you to get caught up in the romance of it all. But like I said, if you decide it is what you want, you know that I will support you." My father spoke quietly. Not his normal authorative tone with me. I was taken aback.

"How was it for you and mom when you first met?" I know he had told me when I was younger, but I hadn't heard the story in a while.

"Your mother and I fell hard and fast. We met in a book store, go figure. Like you, she loved her romance novels. I was into astrology at the time. We talked for a while and had dinner. When I got back home to my apartment that night, I told my roommate that I had found the woman I was going to marry." My father looked far off. Recalling the memory of my mother. "From there, we were married within 6 months and were inseparable. So if anyone does not have the right to tell you not to move fast, it is me." He gave me a lopsided smile. "I just want you to be sure."

With that, my father turned and went back to his dusting. When he talked about my mother, he usually got quiet for a while. My guess was he was thinking about her. I left him alone to replay his memories. My heart ached at his loss as well as my own from growing up without her.

Quite a few hours later, I found myself in my car. Driving on an unfamiliar road. I hardly ever used Oak Street. Of course, I knew where the house was. Everyone in town knew where the house resided. As I neared the impressive-sized mansion, it did nothing to calm my nerves. My hands had a hard time gripping the steering wheel due to the amount of sweat on them. My stomach was in knots. I pulled onto the gravel driveway that led up to the large home. Most of the town had an old-style feel to it. But once you passed that front gate, you were transported to a page from a modern home magazine. Don't get me wrong, the home was beautiful, but it was very out of place with its neighborhood.

There were a lot of flat roof tops, windows lining most of the house and geometric shapes. The sun was setting beautifully behind the house, giving it a warm atmosphere, and then I was sure it was normally portrayed. I pulled my car near one of the many garage doors. I walked to where the front entryway was. The front walkway was invited with the small bushes and floors that lined the sidewalk. There were also a few statues in the rock landscaping near the side of the house.

I took a few steady breaths to calm my racing heart. It did not help. Well, no time like the present. I knocked on the front door. I was wondering if anyone could even hear me inside. I was sure to get lost. The front door was swung open, and I was met by the most beautiful woman in her mid to late 50s. She had chestnut brown hair and striking grey eyes and seemed to see into your soul and anything you were hiding. She was a little shorter than me, but I noticed she wore heels to make up her height.

"Hello Arianna! My name is Theresa. I am Ian's mother and I am happy to meet you." I held out my hand to her out of respect, but she surprised me by pulling me in for a hug instead. She was incredibly strong for being a smaller woman.

"Nice to meet you as well, Theresa." I gave Ian's mother a smile as we stepped away from each other.

"Let the poor woman inside. You could have given her a moment before you assaulted her." This came from a man behind her. He shared the same brown hair and silver eyes as Theresa. That must be Ian' Uncle Nicholas. Theresa moved to the side to let me through the door. The inside of the house was just as modern as the outside. Everything was clean and a lot of white marble with black or gold accents. There were a few tall green plants in random corners.

"Welcome to my home, Arianna." Ian's uncle extended a hand out to me. As I shook it, he said, "Please make yourself at home." That wasn't likely to happen. I walked through to the living room area to the left. I felt someone behind me. I didn't have to turn around to find out who it was. I could feel him enter the room. I could feel his eyes on me. I had decided on wearing a white springtime dress with blue flowers. Something different than my normal attire of either jeans or leggings.

"You look beautiful." Ian said, coming to stand directly behind me.

"Thank you." I blushed. I looked over to my right and noticed another man standing in the doorway to what I guessed was the kitchen.

"This is my stepfather, Marcus." Ian seemed a little irritated as he made the introduction. "Marcus, this is Arianna."

"I would like it if you all called me Ari." I looked at all three of Ian's family members, giving them each a smile. "It is very nice to meet you all."

"Dinner is almost ready if we want to move into the dining room." Theresa held out her hand, directing me to follow her. We walked through the doorway that Marcus had been standing in. He shifted himself to the left to let us pass. I felt like I was being sized up. I wonder if I met up to his standards. He seemed like the kind of man who had higher standards than most.

As I followed Theresa through the kitchen, I noticed all the windows and the beautiful sunset that was behind the house. I took everything in as I caught up with Theresa to the dining room. The dining room was past the kitchen to the right. It was clean like the rest of the house. A large black wood table in the center of the room with white cushioned chairs with black legs. The lighting was dimmer in this room than in the rest of the house, but of course, it had big windows to the outside. I took the chair that Ian had pulled out for me and thanked him.

"What would you like to drink? Water, lemonade?" Ian asked.

"Do you happen to have something stronger you can put in that lemonade?" I whispered to Ian so softly I was hoping he heard me. My whispering skills must be lacking because Ian's mother from the doorway chuckled.

"I'll see what I can whip up for you." Ian winked as he scooted my chair in for me. Ian's stepfather sat at the head of the table to my left and Ian's uncle sat at the other end of the table. Leaving Ian to sit next to me and Theresa to sit on Marcus's left.

"You have a lovely home, Nicholas." I said, turning slightly in my chair towards Ian's uncle.

"Thank you Ari, and please Nick is fine." He gave me a small smile. Ian came back into the room and put what I could guess was a strawberry lemonade down in front of me. I took the glass and tried a sip. It was delicious.

"Did you add anything?" I asked him as he took the chair next to me.

"Yes." He smiled with his teeth at me. I couldn't help but return the smile.

"Thank you." I mouthed to him and took another sip. Theresa entered the room with a couple of dishes in her hand. Ian quickly got up and grabbed them from her and put them down in the center of the table. She walked back out of the kitchen but returned shortly after with 2 more dishes in her hands. Ian helped again and sat them down. His mother finally took her seat next to Marcus.

"I hope you are hungry Ari. And please call me Tessa as well."

"We always let the women dish up first." Marcus finally decided to break his silence. I looked at him for a moment. Understanding what he meant. Tessa had already taken a spoon in hand and was putting food on her plate. I followed her actions and took a spoonful from each of the dishes.

It looked like Tessa had made a pasta dish with chicken and cherry tomatoes, the most elaborate salad I have ever seen, asapargus, and a side of dinner rolls. "It looks and smells amazing Tessa." I could help but say as I grabbed a dinner roll.

"Thank you."

"She makes everything from scratch," Ian said with a quick smile to his mother. After Tessa and I had dished up our plates, the men started taking turns loading up theirs.

The dinner followed with Marcus and Nick asking questions about my childhood. They each said their condolences on the passing of my mother. I knew they were curious about the woman that Ian was seeing, but it did start to feel like an interrogation. They wanted to know what I studied in college. If I had gotten good grades. They also wanted to know how my relationships had gone in high school. That one was a little hard for me to answer.

"She doesn't need to answer that." Ian seemed irritated.

"It is okay. There isn't a lot to tell. I only dated one person in high school and it ended after two weeks." Now that the embarrassing thing was out of the way, maybe they would stop with their questions. It is not that they were rude, but I felt like they were trying to find answers to their questions by seeing my reaction to other questions. I was never really good at poker, but I could read people to a point.

After we had finished eating, Marcus and Nick excused themselves to Nick's office. Tessa asked if I would like another "lemonade", she had said with a wink, the same as Ian. I smiled and nodded. With the drink in my hand, I went outside the back slider to where Ian was sitting on the patio furniture. Looking up at the sky.

"I think you do that about as much as I do." I said as I walked over. I took a quick glance back at the house. I couldn't see his mother in the kitchen windows so I thought we were safe from prying eyes for a little bit.

"What is that?" Ian asked.

"Look up at the night sky." I said as I sat down next to him and put my drink on the table in front of me.

"Do you do it often?" He asked me.

"All the time." I smiled and looked up as well. Before I could stop him, Ian scooped me up and set me on his lap facing him. I stole a quick glance back at the house again. Still no movement.

When I looked back at Ian, he had a knowing smile on his face. He knew that I had to look to see if anyone was watching first. "Dont worry they will give us our privacy." He chuckled. His teasing tone did things to my inside. Before I could think, I put my lips to his smiling ones. How quickly that smile turned. His hands were on my thighs. His thumbs doing cicles. I put my hands on his shoulders. Heat was building inside me again. It was crazy how quickly my body responded to Ian. My body had a mind of its own. My legs began to move by themselves. I found myself rubbing my core against Ian's. He growled low in his throat. The sound so deep it made my speed pick up slightly.

Ian quickly broke the kiss. "We may want to slow down. As much as I would love to further this, my family is still just right inside." He leaned his head into my chest to catch his breath. My own breath pushed some of his hair around. My face started to feel a little warm. I put my hands to my cheeks to cool them down. I did not think the lemonades were that strong. Casey made sure that my tolerance was a little greater than most.