by Geri Watson
"Oh I see how it is, have her clean out our wallets and then scat!" Tony laughed loudly. "Real slick, Tristan."
"Hey, I didn't know she could play like that either," he said impressed and shook his head incredulously as he got up.
They all voiced how great it had been hanging out with the two of them and how nice it was finally meeting Star. Tony told him to make sure that they came back some other night. Roger said preferably not poker night since they had to recover first. Mark had told Star how entertaining it was having her around and asked if she'd ever considered becoming an EMT. Kevin had simply hugged her and thanked her for putting Tristan in his place by taking him out in poker for once.
"That was fun," Star giggled once they were driving back to the apartment.
"I don't think they were ready for a force to reckon with like you," Tristan responded, still a little in awe of what she'd pulled off at the table. "I know I wasn't."
"Are we still talking about poker?" Star asked. He waited until she looked over at him for a reaction and winked at her.
Once they got back to the apartment, they were welcomed by seeing Zack passed out on the couch asleep. His arm was dangling to the floor, and he was snoring lightly. Scout was curled up next to him and didn't budge when they walked in. Tristan looked over at Star to see what she wanted to do.
"They look pretty comfortable to me," she whispered. "I say leave them."
"Alright," Tristan whispered back.
They walked back to her bedroom, and as he was stripping, he noticed Star was staring at him and stopped as he unzipped his khakis. "Yes?"
A genuine smile spread across Star's face as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. A tender kiss followed. "Thank you."
He rested his hands on the small of her back. "For what exactly?"
She ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck, and he closed his eyes at the sensation. "For the rose, for dinner, for taking me to meet the guys you work with," she said softly.
Tristan opened his eyes and looked into her warm hazel ones. "You were pretty wonderful tonight. I'm sure you'll be even better tomorrow."
Her smile faded. "Oh yeah, I forgot about tomorrow."
"You don't want to meet my parents?" he asked, concerned. "I thought you were fine with it."
"I don't want them to make a big deal out of it or anything," Star mumbled.
"Ah." Tristan sighed, brushing the hair from her face and setting it behind her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll love you."
"How can you know that for sure? What if they think I'm not good enough or something?" she worried.
"Star, honey. I don't care what they think. You're my perfect person, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you whether they like it or not." He kissed her forehead. "Okay?"
She didn't answer him at first, and that worried him, so he pulled away to look at her. Star shoved him onto the bed and crawled on top of him, kissing him deeply. Tristan returned the kiss but was slightly confused what had brought it on. When she let him up to breathe, he looked at her quizzically.
"The rest of your life?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Forever and ever," he whispered.
CHAPTER 35
"Quit fidgeting," Tristan scolded in a hushed tone.
"I can't help it! This dress is uncomfortable!" Star winced, pulling the bottom hem further over her knees.
They were sitting on the couch at Tristan's, and his parents were still upstairs. Star didn't know why she bothered putting on a dress. Last night was one thing, but right now was another. She didn't usually wear dresses, but she wanted to make a good impression. Even if Tristan said he didn't care what his parents thought, she did.
Now sitting here on the couch, Star was having second thoughts. She felt so exposed. Maybe it was her nerves. Calm down; she told herself taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Tristan's hand wrapped around hers and squeezed it gently.
"You're gorgeous, you're intelligent and even as nervous as you are, you're completely adorable right now," Tristan whispered, tickling her ear with the closeness.
Setting her jaw, Star looked over at him annoyed by the "adorable" comment, but he smirked back at her and kissed her cheek. "Hm," he murmured before nuzzling into her neck.
Star's eyes closed against her will, reacting to his lips on her neck. You are so not doing this to me right now; she thought as he continued. His kisses went up her jawline and met her lips a minute later. As Star kissed him back, she felt herself relax against him. She was alright as long as she wasn't thinking about what his parents were going to be like. It was easy for her to get lost in Tristan. Like her own personal piece of heaven.
"Really, Tristan? You couldn't wait to do that later?" a familiar voice echoed through the kitchen.
Tristan's forehead met hers, and they both turned to look at Art as he walked into the room with his arms crossed. "Mom and Dad would love to see their innocent little pride and joy fooling around on their couch."
Star looked over at Tristan wide-eyed, and he leaned back with a sigh, laying his outstretched arms across the back of the couch. "I don't care."
"Clearly," Art retorted before softening and looking at her. "Hey, beautiful," he smiled. "Nice to see you again."
"You too," she said softly, glancing over at Tristan and seeing him stare out the window.
"So, you moved out now?" Art looked over at his brother.
"And what if I did?" he responded without looking back.
"You're acting like a child," his brother reprimanded him coldly. That got Tristan's attention.
"If that's what I'm going to be treated as when I'm here, then that's how I'll choose to act." He glared at his older sibling.
"Can you two please not do this?" Star spoke up shakily. "I feel awkward enough right now."
"Sorry," they chorused.
Art sat down on the loveseat across from them, and Tristan remained lounging beside her. The last thing Star needed right now was to have them arguing with one another. Something was going on between Tristan and his parents, that was obvious. But he hadn't said anything about it to her, so she didn't know what to think.
Whenever she had asked about home, Tristan had either changed the subject or remained tight-lipped about it. Star didn't want to be dragged into the middle of some family fight, and she was afraid that was what was going to happen.
"You didn't mention that Natasha was the new hospital administrator," Tristan quipped softly.
"How did you find that out?" Art asked with a stunned expression.
"I'm an EMT, Arthur. I do sometimes visit the hospital." His eyes met his brother's across the room. "Do Mom and Dad know?"
"As a matter of fact they don't, so I'd appreciate it if you kept that to yourself if you don't mind," he said haughtily.
"Tristan..." Star trailed off as he looked over at her.
"Fine," he said barely audible.
The three of them lapsed into silence for the next few minutes, and Tristan offered her a piece of gum, which she passed on and he started chewing. He looked so bored. It was like his entire demeanor had changed, and it made her even more uncomfortable. Art eyed the stairs as Star listened to the grandfather clock tick away in the corner. Where were his parents? They had been waiting quite a while now.
"They like to make an entrance," Art spoke up, probably sensing her unease. Tristan started swaying one leg absentmindedly.
After a few more minutes his parents finally started descending the stairs. Art stood up, and Star followed suit, Tristan stayed put on the couch. She really wished he'd knock off the attitude. It was more than likely only going to make things worse.
Tristan looked like his mother. They had the same sculpted face and chestnut hair. She was about 5'7, and her figure was what would be expected from any member of the country club set, although Star sensed something exotic about her. Tristan's oceanic blue eyes, however, were very much from his father.
Mr. Montgomery looked like the type of man that demanded respect. He had jet black hair and was well over six feet tall. Even dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, his physique was intimidating. They were both very tan, which Star guessed was natural considering how often they were out of the country and overseas. His mother was wearing white slacks and a blue and white striped sweater that looked cashmere. Suddenly Star felt overdressed. When his father saw Tristan still sitting, he scowled in his general direction. Tristan met his gaze evenly, with almost a challenging look.
"Father," he nodded. You could cut the tension between them with a knife. It was Mrs. Montgomery that broke the ice.
"You must be Star," she said kindly, walking over and hugging Star lightly. "It's good to meet you finally."
"You too, Mrs. Montgomery, Mr. Montgomery." Star nodded and cast her eyes downward.
"Call me Christine, please." His mother smiled at her. She shot a begging look at Tristan, who finally stood up and stepped over to stand next to Star.
"We need to talk," his father said sternly in his direction.
Tristan snapped a small bubble with his gum inside his mouth. "Anything you've got to say to me, you can say in front of Star."
"We want you to come back home," his mother said evenly as his father glared at him.
Tristan looked up at the ceiling as if considering it and shook his head briefly. "No, I don't think so."
"Then you're cut off," his father fumed.
Tristan broke into a sly grin. "You wouldn't do that."
"Daniel...I don't think this is the time and place..." his mother ran her hand down Mr. Montgomery’s back to ease him.
Heaving a massive sigh, Tristan's father looked over at Star. "I apologize. My wife makes a valid point. It's uncouth of me to air our dirty laundry in front of you." His eyes shot back over to Tristan. "Later," he said stoically.
"Looking forward to it," Tristan snarkily shot back.
Star kicked the back of his leg, hard. Enough was enough. Tristan jerked forward suddenly and looked down at her angry, but that changed to guilt when he saw the expression on her face. She didn't know what had gotten into him, but this was ridiculous. She tried to convey that with her expression and must have succeeded because Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes, giving in.
"Dinner should be ready," Art, who had remained silent up until this point, broke the silence again. "I'll go set it up if you want to take Star to the dining room."
The four of them made their way down the hall with the Montgomery's leading the way. As they walked out of earshot, Star grabbed Tristan's arm and pulled him aside. “What is with you tonight? You're embarrassing me!" she whispered harshly.
Tristan glanced over her head toward the doorway his parents had entered. "It's hard to explain. I'll tell you later."
"No!" Star said a little loudly. "Tell me now. If you're sucking me into your family drama, then I deserve to be filled in." Her bottom lip jutted out slightly as she scowled up at him.
"If you want to know that badly, then fine," he spat. "The whole reason they came home was to try to parent me when they've flat out never been there for me when I needed them. Art raised me, not them, and yet my father seems to think that because he's my elder, I'm supposed to bow down to him. I'm done, Star. I'm not doing it anymore. I'm an adult, not a child. They failed to notice that because they weren't here when that transformation happened," he voiced agonizingly, his face inches from hers. His breath had started coming quicker, and her eyes had widened at his outburst. No wonder Tristan was so mad. Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't know what to say.
Tristan closed his eyes briefly and calmed down. "It doesn't matter. Let's go eat before I get in more trouble for not listening."
Dinner was a formal affair, all the way down to Star not knowing which fork to use during what course. Apparently, his family ate like she and Tristan had last night all of the time. The best way for her to express the atmosphere would be to say it was cold.
The table was long and could comfortably seat sixteen. They were spread out on each side. Every once in a while, Star would catch Tristan and his father staring each other down but neither said anything more to the other. His mother was quiet and kept to herself. Nobody said anything to each other, and the only sounds were the occasional fork scraping against a plate.
It was such a change from the way that Star was used to her family having a meal that she felt homesick. If her parents were like this, she wouldn't have wanted to come home either. Zack wasn't going to believe this. He'd thought Tristan had been over exaggerating.
After they were finished eating, Tristan and Art cleared the table and left Star alone with Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery. Her skin crawled. Now that she knew what she did, her attitude toward them had been altered. She was pretty sure she looked like a spooked deer sitting there in the middle with each of them at the heads of the table. Inwardly she cursed Tristan for leaving her when she needed him by her the most.
"So you're a Psychology major?" Mr. Montgomery asked.
"Yes," she answered meekly.
"What do your parents do for a living?" his mother asked.
"My father is a retired Naval Pilot Captain, but he still teaches and does consult work. My mother runs her own business." Star looked at each of them.
There was silence again. She'd never been more uncomfortable. Luckily, Tristan returned about five minutes later. He looked like he wasn't going to start anything anymore. Star was grateful for that. Maybe he and Art had talked while they were cleaning up. Nudging her, Tristan nodded his head for her to get up. She got out of her chair and stood next to him.
"We're heading out," he stated dryly and took her arm to guide her from the room.
"It was nice meeting you!" Star called out as he yanked her into the hallway.
"Don't lie," he whispered. When Star looked over, he was smiling again. What a relief.
Art met them at the door. He shook his head at Tristan. "Well, that was memorable, little brother."
"You know I try, Art," he mock-sighed.
Star was taken aback when Art pulled Tristan toward him by the neck and hugged him tightly. "I can't believe you stood up to him like that." He ruffled Tristan's hair and released him.
Tristan ran his hand through his hair to fix it and half-smiled. "Yeah, well it scared the hell outta me to do it."
"You couldn't tell," Art laughed. "You looked like you were going to battle him or something."
Tristan shrugged. Next, Art pulled her in for a tight hug of her own. It was so tight; Star could barely breathe. "Take care of my brother," he said meaningfully. When he let go, and she looked up at him his eyes were a little glassy.
"I'll miss you, you jerk." He hit Tristan's shoulder.
"If they leave I'll be back...don't get all girly on me now," he barbed back.
"Goodnight guys, drive safe." Art smiled as his hand reached out to close the door.
"We will," Star answered, smiling back. "Night, Art."
CHAPTER 36
"This apartment is too small," Zack frowned. "I'm starting to regret this idea."
"Hey, I wasn't even there when you made these plans, don't look at me," Tristan said as he set up a plate with toppings for the burgers Zack was working on.
"I guess I didn't think it through. I think Alyssa invited herself, to be honest," he mumbled.
Tristan chuckled to himself. "That does sound like something Alyssa would do."
After checking the burgers, Zack turned around to face him. "Can I tell you something and have you not tell Star it was me that told you?"
"You know I can't blanket answer a question like that," he clarified, eyeing Zack. "What's going on?" Tristan asked as he brushed his hands off.
Zack's forehead creased as he thought about what he was going to say. Looking over with a severe expression that was foreign for Tristan to see him with, he shook his head. "I think Emily is going to start something with Star."
Tristan grabbed a
small handful of corn chips and popped one in his mouth. "What makes you say that?"
"Because they were fighting the other day." Zack smiled lightly. "How's it feel to have girls fighting over you?"
"That's preposterous." Tristan shook his head and glanced over the counter to see the girls sitting on the couch talking together. Emily wouldn't do that, would she? As if she sensed he was thinking about her, Emily looked over at him and flashed a brilliant smile. Tristan looked back at Zack, who had returned to the burgers. "Really? They were fighting?"
"Oh yeah. If I hadn't walked in, I'm sure it would have been a catfight to remember." Zack adjusted the settings on the macaroni and cheese but didn't look over.