"Well, Dad, Chris is my boyfriend from Boston. We met at BU," I explain.

"And the ring on your finger means nothing?" Chris threw in. Dad threw him a look. To his credit, Chris didn't back down.

"Chris, I said I'd think about it," I reply. I turned to my father. "Daddy, listen, I'll come by the house later and talk to you and Mom, okay? I need to talk to Chris."

"Okay, but Emily, you had better come," Dad warned me. He left the room. I glared at Chris.

"What the Hell are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Emily you never even said you were coming home over spring break! I woke up and you weren't there!" Chris shot back.

"I don't remember having agreed to tell you exactly where I'm going to be every second," I retort.

"Excuse me, but it's usually polite to tell your boyfriend when you're leaving the state."

"Chris, you are being way too possessive."

"Look, Em, I was just worried, okay? So I dug out your address book and looked up your parents. Your sister told me you were here, so I hopped a plane out here."

"Chris, it's like you're suffocating me. I look behind me, you're there. I look next to me, you're there. Everywhere I look, you're there!"

"Excuse me, I thought you liked attentive boyfriends!"

"Well, I don't!"

"Obviously."

We're silent for a few minutes. His arms are crossed.

"I'm sorry, Chris. It's just that I got into this huge fight with my family, and I've been really cranky lately," I apologize. He moves across the room.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not much better. After all, I did just cross a time zone or two. I'm a little tired myself. So, what happened with your family?" he asks, wrapping his arms around me. No matter how possessive he gets, I always feel so safe with him.

"It's complicated. I want to get it straightened out with my parents first," I tell him. He pulls away a little to look at me. He's a lot taller than me, but it doesn't matter.

"All right. Just don't shut me out," he murmurs. He leans down to kiss me. And, for some reason, I lose myself in him. I usually don't let myself do that. I keep myself on guard just in case.

My fingers are tangled in his hair, and his hands are creeping up around my rib cage. When I feel him begin to unbutton the top buttons on my shirt, I pull away.

"Chris, my aunt is downstairs!"

"So? We'll close the door," he whispers, kissing my neck. I open my eyes and observe the door. Maybe I could use my powers to shut and lock it without him noticing. As long as keeps kissing me, I could get away with it.

"It's already closed," I reply, reaching for them of his shirt. It's rather funny because I'm trying to take his shirt off at the same time he's taking off mine, so our hands keeping getting tangled up.

He maneuvers me towards the bed, and pushes me down, all the while still kissing me. I have to say he's rather good at this.

"The door was open a few minutes ago," Chris mumbles while fumbling with my bra hooks. I almost freeze, but by doing that, I might bring his attention in focus.

"My dad probably closed it on his way out," I reply. I unhook his jeans. This will keep him occupied.

* * *

It's several hours later when we finally emerge from the room. I know we're not fooling my Aunt Liz, because she grins widely when we pass her booth downstairs. Aunt Liz never struck me as the type ... but to each their own.

"So, Chris," I begin as we leave the Crashdown. "You ready to meet my unbelievably weird family?"

"Depends. How are you going to introduce me?" Chris asks. He opens the door for me to his rental car.

"Um, my incredibly serious almost fiance," I reply. He gives me an exasperated look.

"Babe, I swear by the end of spring vacation next week, you will have your answer," I tell him.

"Cross your heart?" Sometimes he can be so juvenile. But it's actually rather adorable. Most of the time.