{Song in video: Maroon 5 ft. SZA - What Lovers Do}

Today was now the day of my parents' dinner.

I sighed as I got ready for dinner. I decided to put on a casual dress and heels on.

This is going to be a long day.

"Bye, Chels!" I exclaimed as I walked out of the door.

"Bye, Stace!" Chelsea said to me as she sat on the couch using the laptop to search for more jobs.

I went to Vince's car, since we decided that I would ride with him.

"Hey," Vince said, smiling. "As usual, you look gorgeous."

"Hey," I said, smiling back. "And as usual, you look handsome." I gave him a peck on the lips before setting up the GPS to my parents' house.

We got there about ten minutes later, and parked in the driveway.

Vince must have noticed my worried facial expression, because he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a reassuring nod. "I'm just warning you that my parents can be weird with stuff."

"It'll be okay." He gave me a reassuring smile, and held my hand. "We should go inside before they wonder what's taking so long though."

"Yeah, you're right." I grabbed my purse, and then we headed toward the front door.

I rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, my mom opened the door. "Hello, Anastasia and Vincent, come on in!" She exclaimed happily.

"Hey, mom," I said to her, smiling.

"Hello, Mrs. Marks," Vince said to my mom.

The first thing I noticed was the familiar smell of my mom's homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I felt hungry as soon as I smelled it.

"Excuse me for just one moment. I'm going to get Steven," my mom said, and then walked to the kitchen to get my dad.

About twenty seconds later, my dad followed my mom to where Vince and I were standing, which was in front of the door.

"Hello, Anastasia and Vincent," my dad said to us.

"Hey, dad," I said to him.

"Hello, Mr. Marks," Vince said to him, and shook his hand.

"We can all sit at the dining table as we wait for dinner to be done. It's almost ready," my mom said.

"Is it spaghetti and meatballs?" I asked as we followed my parents to the dining room.

"Yes, it is," my mom said, smiling. "You actually remember."

"Yes, I do." I nodded. "I could never forget your homemade meals."

We sat down at the dining table. My dad sat at the head of the table, my mom to his right, and I sat next to my dad on his left, and Vince sat to the right of me.

My dad frowned as we sat down. "Anastasia, that dress is way too short and tight," he said. "You should dress more modest."

I tried to stretch out my dress a little longer, but it didn't work. I sighed, hoping this dinner would miraculously be over with soon.

"At least you don't dress as bad as that best friend of yours...that Chelsea girl," my dad continued. "She dresses like a total floozy."

"Steven," my mom warned.

"Chelsea isn't a floozy," I said, rolling my eyes at the ridiculous word. "She's my best friend, and I'm currently helping her out since she recently lost her job."

"She lost her job? Where did she work?" My dad asked.

"She used to work at Louis Vuitton."

"Really?" My mom gasped. "That's too bad they fired her."

"Yeah, it is. She's been looking at other jobs lately."

"Well, I hope she gets a job soon."

The conversation turned into an awkward and uncomfortable silence.

Vince glanced at me, giving me a reassuring smile. I could tell that even he felt kind of awkward.

"But anyways, this dinner is about Anastasia and Vincent, not Chelsea," my dad said.

Thankfully, the timer in the kitchen beeped. "Dinner is ready," my mom said, motioning us to go to the kitchen. "There's also salad that I prepared."

We got our food, and sat back down.

"I have some red wine, and strawberry lemonade margaritas, if you all want some," my mom said. "Vincent, what would you like?"

"I'll have red wine, please," Vince said.

My mom poured him a glass.

"Thank you," he said as he took the glass.

I got the strawberry lemonade margarita.

"By the way, Elizabeth will be joining us for dinner later," my mom said to me. "She would be here earlier if she could, but she's busy with her work at the moment."

"Really? That's great," I said, smiling and feeling relieved.

At least my sister is coming later, so it won't be as awkward.

"I'm sure Vincent knows the feeling since he's the CEO of a company," my dad said, looking at him. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Vince said, chuckling. "That's what happens when you have a business to run."

"How is the business coming along?"

"It's still coming along well." He nodded. "My employees are doing great, and of course, Stacey is an excellent secretary."

"Really? Well, that's wonderful." He took a sip of wine.

"Yes, it is." He nodded.

"So what do you like about my daughter?"

I gave my dad a look, but he paid no attention.

"Well, I like that she is friendly, bubbly, fun, and beautiful," Vince answered.

"That's good." He smiled. "Were you ever married?"

My eyes widened, and I gasped. "Dad!" I exclaimed. "You're making him uncomfortable."

"No, I've never been married, sir," Vince answered nonchalantly.

"Am I making you uncomfortable with these questions?" My dad asked him.

"No, sir. You just want to make sure I have good intentions with your daughter, which I do, of course."

"Impressive." My dad gave him a nod of approval.

I can't believe he's taking this so well.

We continued to eat and drink. After we were done, we put the dishes in the dishwasher.

As my parents were preparing dessert, I looked over at a few pictures in the living room of my family and I.

"Is that you and Elizabeth?" Vince asked me, pointing at a young picture of me and her in the pool.

"Yeah," I said, laughing at the memory. "We were on vacation at the time."

"It seems like you two were close."

"Yeah...we were." I nodded.

"Oh..." Vince scratched his head awkwardly.

"It's okay. Nothing happened between us or anything. Both of us have just been busy with our own lives." I shrugged.

"It happens sometimes. I mean, my sister and I talk occasionally, but I don't remember the last time we have done something together."

"You two should do more things together. That would be great." I smiled.

"Yeah, we should. You and Elizabeth should do something together too." He smiled back.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I'm just glad she's coming over here later."

My parents came to the living room, and went up to us.

"Isn't that cute?" My mom said, pointing out a picture of Liz and I when I was a baby, and she was about four.

"Yeah, it is," I said, grinning.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," my mom said, walking toward the front door. When she opened the door, she greeted, "Hey, come in."

"Hello, Elizabeth," my dad said.

"Hey, mom and dad," Elizabeth greeted as she walked in. She grinned when she saw Vince and I. "Hey, Stace and Vince."

"Hey, Liz," I greeted her back, giving her a hug.

"Hello," Vince said to her.

"We still have some spaghetti and meatballs left, along with salad," my mom said to Liz.

"That's good. I miss your homemade cooking," Liz said. She went to the kitchen, and got herself the food, and strawberry lemonade margarita.

"Everyone else can get dessert. I made some pumpkin pie," my mom said. "Help yourselves."

The rest of us got pumpkin pie.

"I haven't had this in a long time," I said after swallowing a piece of pumpkin pie. "It's still delicious as ever."

"Mrs. Marks, the food is fantastic," Vince said.

"Why, thank you all," my mom said, smiling.

"I'm sure Vincent has his own chef," my dad said.

"Actually, I don't have a personal chef," Vince said. "I do most of the cooking, but every once in a while, I have someone either cook or deliver me food."

"Interesting." My dad took another bite of pumpkin pie. "Vincent, how were you like in high school?"

"I got straight A's, always studied, and was looking forward to taking over my dad's company," Vince said.

"He was in the same grade and school as me," Liz said. "He beat me to being valedictorian though."

"Oh, you did?" My dad said, looking impressed.

"Yes, sir," Vince said, nodding his head.

"That's fantastic." He smiled. "You and Anastasia were total opposites in high school." He chuckled.

"Oh?" He took another bite of pumpkin pie.

"Yes, she dated boys and went to parties throughout her high school years."

"That's what most teenagers do." He shrugged. "Looking back on it, I wish I had some high school experience."

"But look how successful you are today. Little stupid high school parties and teenage dating wouldn't help you to be who you are today."

"You can have a little bit of both," I said. "Nothing wrong with having some fun every once in a while."

"Not if that's all they do." My dad gave me a stern look. "All you cared about in high school was sneaking out to parties, and meeting boys, instead of studying for school, like you were supposed to."

"Well, you were always so strict and wouldn't let me be a normal teenager, so I had to do those things."

Vince glanced at us, noticing the obvious tension.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who could feel the tension.

"Anyone want some more pumpkin pie?" My mom said, changing the subject. She gave my dad a look.

"I'll have some," Liz said. "I just finished dinner."

"Vincent, how are your parents?" My dad asked.

"They're doing great. My dad retired a little earlier than most people, handing the company down to me, and at the time, my mom was assisting him in the business. Then, they decided to move to Paris, France, after he retired," Vince said. "They visit a few times a year."

"That sounds nice. Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, he does, dear. Rebecca Conrad is his older sister," my mom spoke up.

"Rebecca Conrad, the fashion designer?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Vincent, I see you have a hardworking family."

"Yes, sir." He got up. "May I use the restroom?"

"Of course. It's in the hallway, and it's the first door on the left."

He turned to me. "Anastasia, you have a very hardworking, responsible, and mature young man. He is much better than any other guy you dated, and I can tell he's also helping you become more responsible and mature. I approve of this relationship." He smiled.

"Thanks," I said, not knowing what else to say after that.

When Vince returned, my dad said, "Well, Vincent, Anastasia, and Elizabeth, I'm glad you all came. I have to get some things ready for work this weekend."

"It was nice having dinner with you, Mr. and Mrs. Marks," Vincent said to my parents.

"Oh, please, you can call us by our first names," my mom said, waving her hand. "I'm glad you all came."

"Yeah, well, we're going to go. We won't hold you all up," I said to my parents.

"It was nice seeing you all," Liz said, waving. "See you all later."

My parents waved, and said bye to all of us.

I opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat. I was relieved that it was finally over.

"Are you feeling okay?" Vince asked me when we started driving back.

"Yeah, I'm just glad that's over with," I said. "So what did you think of my parents?"

"They seemed alright. Your dad seems a bit strict toward you though..."

"Yeah, he is. He can be overbearing."

"I'm sorry about some tension that happened a few times. I can relate to it quite a bit, unfortunately."

"Really?" I looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, yes. I related to it while growing up. My parents were that way toward Rebecca and I. Instead of playing games, and going to parties, we studied, and went to different business gatherings with our parents."

"That's sad."

"I suppose, but what can you do when you're a kid or a teenager that doesn't know any other way of life?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"I do believe what you said earlier to your dad though."

"Which part?"

"When you said there should be a balance of school and having fun."

"Oh, yeah. I wasn't balanced as a teenager though. I was preoccupied about the latest gossip, cutest guy, and attending parties. If I were to do it again, I would be a bit more serious with school."

"That's just a part of growing up." He shrugged. "We just get more responsible, and learn."

"Yeah." I nodded.

We pulled up to my apartment complex. "Even though that was a bit challenging, I'm still glad you got to know my family a little better, and got to spend time with them," I said as I got out of the car.

"I'm glad too," Vince said. He also got out of the car, and kissed me. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, I'll see you later." I smiled as I walked away.

I went inside my apartment, and walked inside. I peaked in the guest bedroom, and I noticed Chelsea was asleep.

I walked back out, and went to my room.