Chapter 11.2

Jeff was in jolly mood as he drove back home. His girl loved his family and his family loved his girl. Life was simply beautiful and complete.

Upon getting home, he saw his father, mother and grandmother sitting as if awaiting his arrival.

"Why are you guys still up at this time?" he asked as he also took a seat.

Mr. Strider was the first to speak up which, in his case, was the first time he spoke up first.

"Since you brought Tina home, it's safe for us to assume that you're serious about her, and not just because of your mother's pressure," he asked his son, carefully observing his reactions.

"Yes dad, I like Tina a lot. You know I wouldn't waste my time if it wasn't a serious relationship."

His father nodded in satisfaction. "She's a nice girl. You found a keeper."

With that being said, he bid goodnight to his mother, wife, and son. He knew they still wanted to interrogate him, so he escaped when he could.

"Dad left already. Why aren't you guys going to bed?" He asked wearily.

"Did you meet her family yet?" Sia asked, drawing closer to her grandson.

Jeff sighed after remembering what Tina had told him in regard to her family.

"She hasn't told them in her home that she's dating. Also, she said her paternal grandmother preferred males, so it might be hard on her for now, since her grandmother is currently living with them."

Mrs. Strider frowned, "what century are we in? I thought every family moved on from that silly idea. Under that circumstance, Tina really did well for herself. She's such a lovely girl."

Sia agreed. "Did you tell her our family isn't like that? She might feel a bit insecure with you because of that."

Jeff was a bit surprised that his grandmother noticed Tina's hesitation.

Seeing her grandson's look, she added, "although you guys just started dating, it should be a good thing to meet your boyfriend's family. Seeing how she hesitated, I can only come to two conclusions. Either she doesn't want to move that first since she isn't considering marriage or she has a barrier in heart, stopping her from getting too close."

Mrs. Strider interjected, "after meeting her, it was most likely the second reason. She got along well with us after a while, and she wasn't so panicky except from when we mentioned the marital home."

Jeff nodded in agreement.

"I want to date for a while, so the marital home might not be used anytime soon. We haven't spoken about marriage yet, and I don't want to rush her. So, her reaction was expected and reasonable."

Before letting Jeff loose, Sia said one more thing.

"Try to meet her family soon, so that you can help her untie the knot in her heart."

"Okay granny. I'll try. Goodnight."

He cleaned up before laying down in bed. Then he noticed his phone brightened with Tina's message. It might be because the two women kept talking about her or it was just simply him, he found himself missing her. He remembered how they fell asleep together after lunch and felt like any sleep after that would never feel the same.

Without thinking too much, he rang her up via a videocall. He was nervous and unsure if she was going to pick it up or not. His palms were sweaty, and his heart was racing. Just when he thought the phone had been ringing for so long, Tina's face showed up on his screen.

At that moment, everything went calm; his heart, his mind, his body, and his soul.

"Hey," he called out.

Every word he spoke was uttered naturally.

He missed her.

She was his babe.

He loved her.

A lot.

He liked her at first sight. He was always curious about her. He wanted to know everything about her. He enjoyed it when she was within his sight. He loved looking at his reflection in those big brown eyes of hers. He loved when she had her hair down because she radiated softness.

He loved it when she had her hair up because her charismatic side was displayed. He missed her when she was out of his sight. He loved embracing her, and his heart felt empty when she was away from his embrace.

If that wasn't love, he didn't know what else to call it.

"I love you a lot more too," she said gently.

He held on to his phone tightly as his body trembled. He could guess that she had the exact same thought as he did. If their mutual feeling wasn't love, they didn't know what other label to put on it.

"Not as much as I do," he replied with a bigger smile.

For a moment, they just enjoyed each other's presence.

Then he heard Tina speak up.

"I talked to Lina about it this evening. Do you want to come over this weekend to meet my family?"

He didn't think she was going to mention it this soon. He was glad she did. It showed that she let him into her heart completely and trusted that he could take care of her.

"Worried about me?" he asked. She was probably worried that he'd feel bad since she hadn't mentioned their relationship to her family yet.

"Yeah. Since I already met granny Sia and your parents, I thought you should meet mine too."

He gave her a sweet smile, "I understand. I'll prepare."

"Okay babe," she returned his smile and he couldn't help but chuckle.

She sure learned fast.

His girl.