Hey ya'll. Hope some of you read the edits I mentioned in the last chapter (and approved of them)

Anyways, just FYI, it's been a week since the last chapter by now- It's time for the double decker birthdayparty.

Love you- enjoy my shitty writing.

***

(One week later)

Frustration ran through my body as light began to spill in through the gaps between the curtains, and yet, I couldn't help but smile as I felt something softly grazing down the inside of my arm. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

I sighed and shook my head, my hair getting tangled against the pillow. "Haven't closed an eye."

Allen brought my hand up to his lips, a soft smile on his lips. "I'm sorry. But don't worry. I'll make sure that today runs smoothly- you just sit back and enjoy the birthday party, alright?"

With a nod, I returned my eyes to the ceiling, through the fabric of the bedsky.

"Do you think my dad will ever love me again?" I whispered into the air. Allen squeezed my hand.

"Of course- he never even stopped. He's just... you're just in a bit of a disagreement. However... I guess that it's more difficult when you've never tried that before,"

I shrugged, closing my eyes. "We need to get up."

"Yeah... do you..." he sighed, making my head turn towards him. His cheeks were pink. "I was thinking... do you... want to take a shower with me, Love?"

My heart skipped a beat, my mind leaving me in the second he finished speaking the words. With a deep breath I tried to regain the ability to speak "I... no, not... not yet..." I whispered, my own cheeks and ears turning red from embarrassment. He nodded with a smile.

"Fair enough, I just wanted to ask," he kissed my cheek, and then jumped out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, and I followed his example- albeit, I went to the bathroom connected to my own room. One that I hadn't made much use of for the past week- I'd mostly been in there to find clothes and books.

I let the water run over my hand until it hit a comfortable temperature and then headed in for my shower. The water cascaded down my back, soaking my hair within two seconds, making me reach for my shampoo, pressing some of it into my hair, the strawberry scent making a small smile spread on my lips.

Once I'd washed all of the shampoo out of my hair, I quickly washed my feet and armpits with my body wash -also strawberry scented- and turned off the water, wrapping a towel around my body and my hair.

I did my best to ignore the sucking, deep pit at the bottom of my stomach. My family was coming over at 3. Allen's family would be here by 6. I had to admit... I wasn't exactly excited.

Whenever I'd thought about their meeting, I couldn't help but imagine my nana getting into a fistfight with one of Allen's sisters for... whatever reason. No matter what, there was no way today would end well for anyone involved, something I had told Allen, several times.

With a sigh, I headed into my closet, immediately opening the drawer with my t-shirts, skimming over them. None of them looked particularly interesting. My eyes skipped over to the large, tall closet where I knew all of the dresses were.

I narrowed my eyes and went up to it, opening up the door. I smiled and ran my fingers over the fabric of the dress I'd worn on our date... the evening where we'd had our first kiss. My fingers kept moving to the side until an unusual color caught my eye- yellow. Most of the stuff I had was some shade of green and blue. I pulled out the dress, glancing over it.

It was pretty, really. Light, thin white fabric, with little yellow snapdragons printed all over it. A pretty, summer-y summer dress. The kind of stuff I'd always wanted to wear... I smiled and went to find some underwear.

I grinned as I went into the kitchen, Allen standing with his bag towards me by the stove flipping bacon. I took a seat by one of the kitchen stools, plopping my chin into my hands. "Morning,"

He chuckled. "Morning... again. You sound fres-" he turned around, his face splitting into a grin when he saw me. "Wow... I thought blue suited you... you look beautiful in that dress, my love. Really, truly beautiful," he smiled and scraped some bacon on both our plates, and placed one in front of me, and next to me, walking around the kitchen island and taking a seat on the stool next to me. "Bon appetit,"

"Thank you," I dug into the food, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as soon as it hit my tastebuds. However, I had to open my eyes again when I felt him gently wrapping his fingers around my wrist, bringing my hand up to his lips, kissing it. I raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanna get all the kisses I can before your family comes over, and you have to pretend to hate me," he winked at me.

I rested my chin on my fist. "Who's pretending?"

He rolled his eyes and leaned in, placing a kiss on my cheek, and returned to his food. I rolled my eyes in return and followed his example. I was finished sooner than I expected and went to put my dishes in the washer.

"Anxious?" Allen looked at me, his brows furrowed just slightly, lips pressed together in soft concern.

I sighed and hunched over the kitchen island. "Am I that easy to read?"

"An open book- to me, at least. Don't worry, Love. I'm sure our families are gonna get along... eventually, anyways. Just relax... I love you," he sent me a little, encouraging half-smile.

Just tell him. Just tell him, it's not difficult. "Thanks... I...I..." abort mission, abort mission. "I really appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but... this is going to be a complete clusterfuck and we both know it," I couldn't help but laugh, Allen laughing along with me. He got up from his seat, and the next second he was in front of me, looking down at me.

He placed his hands on each of my cheeks, slowly dragging them down along my arms, finally bringing my hands to his lips. "Maybe, but I'll be right here the whole time... and if you need a break from your family... just leave. Go to the bathroom or something. Or tell them you feel sick. They may be your family, but you shouldn't allow them to make you feel bad, alright?"

I smiled and nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Thank you... I wish my family life was as simple as yours,"

Allen let out a dry laugh. "My sisters are completely insane though. I wouldn't live without them... but trust me, you would," he rested his forehead against mine.

I closed my eyes and relaxed against him, the warmth from his body enveloping me. Finally, I sighed and opened my eyes. "What's the time?"

He forced his eyes open and glanced down at his hand -both of which were wrapped around my waist- and let out a growl. "They'll be here in half an hour... I better go get ready,"

I pulled back just slightly, my eyes traveling over his body. T-shirt. Dress pants. I looked back up at him and raised my eyebrow. He shrugged. "I'm just gonna put on a button shirt... this is perhaps a little too casual... especially considering that my mom is coming over... I gotta wear one of those goddess damn shirts..." he sighed with true despair, but I still couldn't help but giggle. He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose.

He finally pulled away and left the kitchen. I smiled and scraped the rest of his breakfast into the trash can and out the plate and the cutlery in the dishwasher.

A strand of hair fell into my eyes, and I blew it away, only for it to fall straight back. Goddamnit.

Within five minutes it has already pissed me off so much that I was back in my bathroom, rummaging through my drawers to find a hair tie. When I finally got a hold of one, I wrapped it around my hair in a lazy ponytail, pulling out a few strands to frame my face. I nodded at my reflection in the mirror and headed back downstairs, poking my head into the living room and joining Allen on the couch.

With a little smile playing on his lips, he tugged my head closer to his shoulder, and I followed his lead, leaning my entire body into him, a sigh escaping me as I did. "Calm before the storm," I mused, closing my eyes. Allen's shoulders shook as he laughed dryly.

We stayed like that. Just resting against each other, listening to the other person's heartbeat- or at least I was listening to his. It wasn't long until his hand slowly began running through my hair, my lullaby filling out the silence as he began humming it quietly. I forced my eyes open. "Stop, otherwise, I'll just end up falling asleep," I mumbled, pushing myself off him.

"Alright-they'll be here in a few minutes anyway," he said, stretching his arms and back when getting up from the couch, before looking at me, his eyes dark. "Any chance I can get a quick kiss before they get here?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

I gave him a deadpan stare and rolled my eyes with a groan. "Fine," I tilted my head up, waiting for him to lean in and place a kiss on my lips, but he just kept staring at me with that mysterious look in his eyes. I clicked my tongue. "Do you want that kiss or not?" I half-laughed.

His smile grew wider, and before I could ask him what his problem was, I was swept off the floor, my legs immediately wrapping around Allen's hips to keep me from falling onto the floor. Allen's lips were on mine, his tongue gently running over my bottom lip. I gave in and let his tongue enter my mouth, my heart speeding up as our tongues met. Oh, sweet Jesus. I gasped against his lips and pulled him closer, the spot between my legs becoming red hot and wet as his fingertips gently pressed into the flesh of my buttocks... dear god if my parents weren't coming over I'd happily let this man carry me upstairs and have his way with me.

And then the next second, it was over. He pulled back, separating our lips, both of our breaths coming out in hard gasps. He sighed, "If my family wasn't coming over in a few hours..."

I nodded. "I know," I whispered, a little perverted smile spreading on my lips when he gently sat me down, helping me keep my balance when my legs reconnected with the floor.

He raised his eyebrows, a surprised smile covering his face. "Oh do you?"

The tips of my ears and my cheeks become red hot, and I avoided his eyes. He chuckled lovingly, running the tips of his fingers along my cheek, down to my jaw, and under my chin, tilting my head up. My heart stopped when I looked back into his beautiful eyes. "I can hear your parent's car in the driveway... you should probably try to look normal, so your nana won't castrate me," he winked and headed out of the living room, towards the front door.

I giggled and followed him, looking out the window next to the front door- true to his words, the car Allen had gotten for my parents was parking a little to the side of the driveway, my heartbeat picking up when my dad got out of the driver's seat. Thank god he's here.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Allen's hand found its way to mine, giving me a quick squeeze. "Don't worry- it'll be fine," he whispered, placing a stolen kiss to my hair and taking a few steps away from me, getting into a military stance- hands behind his back, back straight and chin jutted up.

I opened the door, waving awkwardly at them as my grandparents got out of the backseat. This is gonna be a disaster. I can feel it.

They sent a halfhearted wave back, and I made my way out of the door, walking down to meet them. "Hey mom, dad... nana, pops," I took a deep breath and forced myself to smile.

"Hi sweetie," my mom smiled, her eyes warm as ever, and wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug, before basically passing me over to my dad.

"Hi there... Paige... sorry I couldn't be there last time I uh... had work," he mumbled and gave me an awkward, one-armed hug. I wanted to break down at that moment. If someone had told me that my dad would be an outright opponent to touch me a year ago... I would've laughed at them. The fact that it was now the reality I was living... I couldn't decide whether I felt more sorry for me, or more pissed at him.

I went on to hug both my grandparents at once, only my grandfather reciprocating. I gestured in the direction of the house with my head. "Come on, you gotta see this place- it's huge," another forced smile. Here we go.

"Paige?"

I whipped around at my nana's voice. "Yes?"

"When will ... his family be here?" her face was stone cold, her eyes almost... dead. My organs knotted together- and not in the way they did when Allen was around. This was the exact opposite- it made me want to curl up and die.

"Uh, they should be here around 6. Allen's gonna make us dinner at 7," I did my best to seem happy, but even I could hear how desperate to seem happy I sounded.

For the first time since their arrival, her face changed from its bitter mask, her eyes widening. "He's gonna make us dinner? Wouldn't they consider that your job?"

I laughed nervously as we finally got into the house. "No uh... Allen actually does most of the cooking..."

"My mom taught me to cook when I was younger. I'd help her with dinner every night from age 3 until I moved away for college. I still usually help out when I visit. She taught me that we all needed to eat- no matter our gender," Allen took a step forward, though still keeping his distance, and smiled.

Nana clicked her tongue and let out a huff. She ran her eyes over both of us, considering her words for a moment. "Your mother had quite the modern ideas, despite happily popping out puppies for your father," she finally said, making my heart stop in my chest.

My head whipped around to Allen. His fists were clenched at his sides, his eyes flashing between yellow, brown, and yellow again. Then his eyes settled on me, and they went back to their warm, familiar chocolate brown. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak of my mother in such a way, Mrs. White. I happen to love her a lot, and I don't exactly like you insulting her like that," he said, his voice surprisingly... calm. As if we were simply discussing the weather. He's so getting a treat for good behavior tonight. The tips of my ears reddened at the thought... but I couldn't help but clench my legs.

Allen's eyes switched between the redness of my ears and cheeks down to my legs, and I could tell the bastard was suppressing a dirty, albeit surprised, smirk.

Then he cleared his throat and turned to my mother. "Deary me, I'm almost forgetting. Diana- happy birthday,"

My mom visibly swallowed and nodded slowly, avoiding Allen's eyes. "Uh... thank you... Alpha- I mean Allen," she whispered.

Allen breathed deeply and pressed his lips together, and awkward silence falling over the room for just a minute until my grandfather let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh... Allen... and Paigy, can you perchance show us somewhere we can take a seat? My knees aren't exactly what they have been," he smiled at me first, and to my surprise... turned the smile to Allen.

"Yeah yeah, sure... sorry, my brain's a little slow today," I let out a half-laugh and led them all into the living room, my ears turning further red at the thought of what Allen and I had been doing in here just a few minutes prior.

They all took a seat on the massive sofa, my grandparents looking around the ridiculously large room, their eyebrows furrowed. "This place is... really nice. Have you uh... have you decorated it yourself, Allen?" pops looked at him, and he jumped a little at the sudden confrontation.

He smiled and looked around. "Uh... no. One of my good friends has a business with interior design, so I asked her to help me out when I moved in... hadn't it been for her, I would've just smacked a bed, an armchair, and my tv in here and called it home sweet home," he rubbed the back of his neck, and I couldn't help but feel a little happy that he was feeling just as awkward as I was.

Then he froze for a moment, his eyes moving towards my mother once again, a smile spreading on his lips. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning when he told us to wait for a moment, and left the room. Everyone stared at me, but I just shrugged. But the next second he was yelling from the hallway.

"Paige told me about your birthday tradition, the one with the cupcakes... so uh... I took the liberty of making these," he finally appeared in the doorway, a ... well, nervous smile on his face, and a platter filled to the brim with cupcakes in his hands. He walked further into the room, placing them on the table. There had to be at least fifty of them.

My mom straightened up, her facial expression changing rapidly. First, surprise, then... Well, endearment was the best word, then shock, then sadness, then back to surprised happiness. "Oh, wow Allen, this is... very kind. I mean, it's way too much, but... thank you," she smiled, staring at the platter in front of us. Then Allen's eyes widened again.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "What am I thinking, I'm forgetting the most important part. Paige has got a gift for you... or well, the two of you," his eyes moved between both my parents.

My dad furrowed his brows. "Why for the both of us?" his eyes darted to me, and I wanted to curl into a ball.

Allen headed over to the glass cabinet, pulling out the little ring box... and a little bag. I raised my eyebrow at him, but he didn't react. He handed the wrapped-in ring box to me, along with a little encouraging nod. I took a deep breath and leaned over, a real smile for the first time since their arrival spreading on my lips. "Here you go mom, happy birthday,"

She gently took the box from my hands, her lips pursed in confusion. She gently pulled aside the ribbon and was careful not to rip the paper when she pulled it off the box. She stared at the little box in her hand, the word Masons engraved in gold on the lid. She tilted her head to the side.

"You have to open it," I explain, and pointed at the little button on the front, my hands then going back to fidgeting in my lap.

Redness touched her cheeks. "Uh... right," she nodded and pressed the button, the lid popping open, my stomach darkening with anxiousness when it did. I hope she likes it.

Her brows furrowed for a moment as she examined the box. Then her eyes darted to me, and then back at the rings, the creases in her forehead becoming visible. She pressed her lips together and then settles her eyes back on me. "Paige, what...?"

I let out a half-laugh. "It's uh... rings. For you and dad. Real ones. I know that you were so sad when your wedding ring broke, and... I figured that I could give you some new ones. Some that won't break, that you can wear to work and everyday..." I shrugged, my teeth digging into my bottom lip.

She sucked in a breath and then pressed her lips together, her eyes turning glossy. "Thank you so much sweetie... so much," she whispered, gently picking up the smaller of the rings, slipping it onto her finger, and without looking, handing the box over to my father, who picked up the ring with narrowed eyes, and followed her example- both the rings fitted perfectly.

"Do you... like them?" The wait for their response was driving me absolutely insane.

She nodded silently, her eyes not leaving the piece of golden metal wrapped around her left ring finger. "I love it, thank you so so so so much sweetie," she turned her hand around, examining it from another angle, and I felt relief wash over me.