Beverly's mom took one look at Griffin and started laughing like a hyena.

"Mom," she whined, mortified at the woman's reaction, "stop that!"

Her mom only laughed harder. "Alright, alright!" she exclaimed once she had calmed slightly, raising her hands up in a sign of surrender. Beverly wasn't fooled, though—she saw the twinkling of mischievousness in the woman's dark brown eyes. "I'm just a bit surprised, is all; Beverly's an amazing girl, but I never thought she'd go for the whole I'm-a-bad-boy look. Are you aware that she's extremely well behaved and has never once broken a rule? She forgot to brush her teeth once when she was five, and she woke me up in the middle of the night crying, saying, 'I'm horribly, Mommy!' I had to promise she wouldn't die of cavities to calm her down."

Beverly hid her face in her hands. "Mom!" Honestly, they hadn't even gone inside the house yet, and her mother was already telling embarrassing stories.

"Sorry, sweetie," the woman said, not looking the slightest bit apologetic as she winked at Beverly before letting her gaze drift up and down Griffin. "I'm Jeanne, by the way. Have you ever considered modeling, Griffin?"

With a pained groan, Beverly tugged on Griffin's hand and pulled him past her mother; once the familiar smell of firewood and cooking food hit her, she smiled contentedly. She didn't come home nearly enough, but, whenever she did, she was reminded of why she missed it so much.

The house itself was a bit on the small side; it had three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen, all of which were relatively tight spaces. Beverly had always found it cozy instead of confining, thankfully, and she hoped Griffin liked it too.

"Dad?" she called once she stood in the living room, grinning when she spotted the Christmas tree in the corner. Her family usually put off cleaning up holiday decorations until several months after the holiday had occurred, and it was nice to see that some things never did change.

A buff, burly man poked his head through the second living room entrance a second later, his stern, beard-clad face breaking into a grin when his blue eyes settled on her. "Beverly," he grunted, striding forward and pulling her into a tight hug.

Releasing Griffin's hand, she wrapped her arms around her father, smiling into his chest at his familiar warmth. "Hi, Dad." Pulling back, she used her chin to gesture at Griffin. "This is Griffin."

Her dad released her and stepped over to the young man. He looks awfully calm, Beverly couldn't help but notice; Griffin's face was blank, but his shoulders were relaxed, his legs spread apart and his hands hanging loosely at his sides. "You the boyfriend?" her dad asked, eyeing Griffin with his thick brows furrowed in contemplation.

Nodding once, Griffin held out one hand, shaking her dad's as he replied, "Yes, sir."

Letting go of Griffin's hand, the older man huffed and said, "Not bad. You take care of my girl?"

"Try to, sir."

"'Try' is different from 'do,' boy."

"I understand, sir, but Beverly hates when I hover too much." Beverly would have glared at Griffin, if not for her dad's quiet chuckle.

"True enough," he replied. "Call me Sam. You drink beer, Griffin?" Placing a hand on Griffin's shoulder, her dad pushed him towards the kitchen, leaving Beverly alone in the living room with a small smile on her face.

"That's a good sign," her mom spoke up from the corner, sending Beverly a thumbs-up when the girl startled and looked at her.

"How long have you been there?" Beverly asked, placing a hand over her heart in an attempt to calm it.

"Long enough to see your boy hold his own. I thought you said he was shy?"

Beverly shrugged. Normally, he was, but he'd proven when he'd met Alicia that he would do his best to be outgoing and confident when it came to meeting people important to Beverly. It would be interesting to see if he got flustered at all—Beverly had a feeling that, between her mom and the twins, they were both bound to be caught off guard eventually.

"Where are the twins?"

"Ah," her mom chuckled, "upstairs. I told them they had to make sure your room looked good for you; I was really just trying to keep them away from the cake I made, but it worked, so I'm happy."

Nodding, Beverly hugged her mom once more, pressing a kiss against the woman's cheek and muttering a soft, "I missed you," before leaving to find her siblings.

She found them in her bedroom, lying on top of the dark blue bedspread and conversing about something or other. Seeing them made Beverly's grin widen further, and she took a moment to lean against the doorway and watch them.

Felicity, the older twin by five minutes (a fact she loved to rub into her brother's face), was halfway off the bed, her legs on the comforter while her upper body hung off, her pin-straight raven hair dusting against the carpeted floor.

The youngest of the family, Abe, was spread starfish to take up the rest of the bed's available space. His hair, the same shade as Felicity's, was several inches long and looked as though it had gone through a tornado as it stuck up in various directions.

"—but he's not all that bad," Felicity was saying, waving her hands around in the air wildly. "You just don't like him because he accidently hit you with a bat during practice."

Abe groaned. "He did not 'accidently' do anything! It was on purpose. Besides, he's not even that good; I don't understand why he got promoted to captain."

"Well," Felicity mused, "he is a year older than you, and he's a better player, too."

"Hey!" Abe swatted in his sister's direction, missing one of her feet by inches. "Don't talk about him like that—I am way better than Byron Johnston any day of the week—you're supposed to be on my side."

"I'm on your side," Beverly piped up, smirking when matching pairs of blue eyes looked at her with shock. "Byron Johnston is such a weirdo."

Twin cries of, "Beverly!" were the only warning before she was engulfed by the two, and she laughed as they fell into a heap on the floor.

"Man," she joked, "if this is the welcome I get, I should come back home more often. Or maybe I should stay away longer?"

"I am so glad you're home," Felicity exclaimed, wriggling out of the hug and standing before offering a hand down to Beverly. "It's been so awful without you—Abe's a terror."

"You better not be insulting one another!" Came their mom's voice from downstairs, and the three exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"She's got ears like a bat," Felicity muttered as she helped Beverly up. "She heard me talking to Rebecca the other day, even though I was out back and whispering."

"A mom always knows when her kids are doing something they shouldn't," Beverly snorted, before pausing and narrowing her eyes at Felicity. "Why would you need to whisper, anyway?" Rebecca was Felicity's best friend; there was no point in whispering unless the two were getting into some kind of trouble.

Felicity blushed. "No reason."

"She's got a c-r-u-s-h," Abe sang, grimacing when his twin elbowed him in the stomach. "I mean, yeah, no reason."

"A crush?" Beverly crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't you too young?"

"I'm fourteen," Felicity huffed, "I'm in high school now, so I am perfectly capable of having a crush."

Beverly raised one brow. "As if. No boy is good enough. Who is it?"

Rolling her eyes, Felicity matched Beverly's pose. "It's no one . . ." her eyes widened at something over Beverly's shoulder, and her cheeks turned so red Beverly was afraid she'd explode. "Wow."

"Wow'?" Beverly repeated, confused. "'Wow,' what?" Spinning around, she jolted when her nose brushed against a hard surface, blinking up to find Griffin watching her with a gentle smile on his face. "Oh. Wow."

"Hi," he murmured softly, his lips barely moving. "You alright?"

"Damn," Abe whistled. "He's badass."

"Abe!" Felicity shrieked, and a thwacking noise indicated that she'd probably slapped a hand over her twin's mouth. "Don't curse!"

Beverly laughed lightly at their antics, spinning around to face them and inwardly cheering when Griffin's hand snatched up her own. "Abe, Felicity, this is Griffin, my boyfriend."

"Nice work, Bev." Abe said, puffing up his chest and sticking out a hand for Griffin to shake. "I'm the man of the house—under Dad, of course, but no less intimidating."

"I can see that," Griffin replied somberly, shaking the smaller boy's hand. "I promise to take good care of your sister."

Abe's brows furrowed. "Why would . . ." he stopped and blinked twice before a look of understanding settled over his features, quickly followed by an expression of aloofness. "I mean, yes. Of course. I should hope so, or else you'll have to deal with me."

"And me!" Felicity chimed in, though her voice was squeaky, and she wouldn't make direct eye contact with Griffin.

Griffin had the grace to remain serious, even though Beverly knew perfectly well that a horsefly was scarier than her younger siblings. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, before shifting his attention back to Beverly. "Your mom wanted me to get you guys for dinner."

"Can I sit next to you?" Felicity asked the man, having returned to her Holy-moly-he-is-HOT daze.

Blinking with shock, Griffin only nodded dumbly after Beverly elbowed him discreetly in the side. "I, uh, yeah, that's fine." Felicity looked as though she was going to pass out with happiness, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her large grin before snatching Abe's hand and dragging her twin down the stairs with her.

"What was that?" Griffin asked, bewildered, his eyes staring at where Beverly's siblings had just stood.

Sliding her hand into his and squeezing gently, Beverly shot him an adoring smile. "That was my siblings falling in love with you, of course. How did your talk with my dad go?"

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Griffin shrugged. "Not bad, I think. We had a beer and he grunted a couple of times; your mom did most of the talking."

Beverly poked him in the stomach playfully. "Wow, he likes you a lot if he's being that much of a chatterbox." She took pride in the smile that lit his features, before sobering and pulling on his chin so his face was only inches from hers. "Hey," she murmured, "thanks for being here."

Griffin closed the gap, pressing a chaste kiss against her lips before pulling her into a gentle hug. "I should thank you," his words brushed the top of her head. "You've given me things I never thought I'd have."

She pulled back, eyeing him adoringly through her lashes and sighing happily as he stroked a gentle hand through her hair. "I think that goes both ways, Griff."

He quirked a tiny smile. "Then I must've gotten the better end of the deal."

"We'll agree to disagree," Beverly quipped, reaching up to kiss him once more before moving away and pulling him after her as she darted down the stairs. They emerged in the small dining room a moment later, where Beverly's family was already seated.

"Here!" Felicity exclaimed, gesturing for Griffin to take the spot in between her and Abe. At Beverly's encouraging smile, he obeyed, looking absolutely massive in the antique chairs that Beverly's mom had inherited from her own parents. Beverly took the open spot across from Griffin, tucked next to her mom, while her dad was settled at the head of the table.

They said grace, and the only noise for several moments after was the sound of silverware clinking against their plates as they ate. Finally, just as Beverly began to scramble for something to talk about, Felicity spoke up.

"Griffin," she asked, eyeing the man beside her with the same awe Beverly did. "How tall are you? I was thinking seven feet, but that seems impossible."

Beverly would have been shocked by the odd question, if not for the fact that she had asked Griffin the same question before they even started dating. She grinned stupidly, especially when he replied with a quiet, "Uh, six-foot-six."

Am I lucky bitch? Beverly mused smugly, not even phased when her mother wiggled her brows suggestively. Yes, yes I am.

Felicity clearly agreed, if the look of complete adoration on her face was anything to go by.

The conversation after that was light and easy, and Beverly was more than thankful that her family was remaining off any deeper conversation. She had a feeling that—once Felicity and Abe were otherwise involved—her mom would eventually delve into the "juicy stuff" (her mom's words) with Griffin.

For now, though, everything was fine.