I knew that I stared at him for just a second too long as Zac slid his arm around my waist possessively. I couldn’t help myself. I was completely unprepared for that sight. He really was gorgeous in a kind of way that you don’t see often. With his perfect blonde shaggy hair and his impeccably chosen outfit, he looked like he had stepped right off of a runway, not like he would be the honest to god blood relative of someone so handsome in such a real way. I had to admit that Taylor was incredibly good looking, but was, as I immediately realized, so not my type. No, I liked my men with some meat on them, and Zac was the only brother to come anywhere close to fitting that bill.
But I couldn’t help but be surprised by Taylor’s good looks for a different reason. The way Zac had continually described him, I had been picturing some kind of socially awkward bookwormish guy, not the put-together metrosexual man he was. Where was the family nerd, the one that was sensitive and always lost in a book.
“It’s so nice to finally put a face with the name, Esme. Zac won’t shut up about you,” Taylor said, obviously mostly to annoy his younger brother.
“Dude, shut up. She’s not going to fall for that,” Zac rolled his eyes and still not relinquishing his grip on my hip.
“Fall for what? I’m quite offended that you don’t talk about me constantly,” I smiled, placing a kiss to his lips letting him know that everything was okay. He returned my grin and finally let go of me before taking my hand and pulling me towards the loveseat to sit beside him.
“I talk about you plenty, trust me,” he said, settling into the black leather and sighing, “It’s nice to not be in a car. Six hours in one day is plenty.”
“Yeah, well we still have a twenty minute ride to Mom and Dad’s ahead of us, so you’d better buck up fast,” Isaac stated. We sat there watching whatever football game happened to be on at that particular time and I found myself looking at Zac’s brothers again. Isaac and Taylor both seemed very nice and genuine, and as I watched them fall into their usual routines and brotherly banter, I couldn’t help but smile. It was really nice to see Zac in his element, being completely content in his surroundings.
“We need to leave in about twenty minutes, are you two all ready to go?” Isaac asked.
“Yeah, we’re ready,” Zac said, still staring ahead at the TV while lightly running his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Well, it’s amazing how quick you both freshen up then,” Isaac said, trying not to laugh as Zac’s face turned an unnatural shade of red. He grabbed the nearest throw pillow and chucked it right at Isaac’s face.
“What’s your problem, Ike? Why would you say something like that in front of my girlfriend?” Zac groaned, outwardly mortified by his brother’s comment.
“She’s not the one turning all red,” Taylor laughed. Zac turned to look at me to find me completely calm. I just shrugged and snuggled into his side.
“He’s just speaking the truth, Zac!” I said before whispering in his ear, “Should we tell him that it was just a preview of what’s to come later?” He smirked before kissing me.
“You are evil and I love it!”
True to Isaac’s word, he was rushing us all out of the house twenty minutes later. We piled into his Dodge Charger, Zac and I occupying the backseat after Taylor unnecessarily called shotgun. Meeting Zac’s brothers had calmed my fears about the entire day and I knew that if his parents were even half as nice as Isaac and Taylor, dinner would go off just fine.
“Are you still nervous?” Zac asked me softly as if he could read my mind. I shook my head and grabbed his hand.
“Nope. I’m just ready for dinner,” I stated.
“Hungry?”
“Very! Turkey me!” I said goofily. Zac pretended to be deep in thought for a minute before responding.
“Turkey you? I don’t think I know how to do that,” he replied.
“Awww sick!” Taylor laughed from the front seat, “I don’t even want to think what that would be.”
“I’m sure we could come up with some other perverted Thanksgiving references if you’d like,” Zac said to him.
“Please don’t,” Taylor said simply, though the tone of his voice indicated that Zac would do so despite his request.
“Well, you could always go with the obvious choice of stuffing the turkey,” I said. Zac laughed out loud, Taylor shook his head, and Isaac continued to ignore us and drive.
“Ooo… stuff my turkey, baby!” Zac exclaimed, “Now that’s sexy!”
“You all just disturb the hell out of me,” Isaac said, his eyes not leaving the road.
“You used to be just as bad as us!” Zac said before turning to me, “You see, Isaac thinks he has to act like an adult all the time now just because he’s out in the professional world now.”
“There’s nothing wrong with acting like a grown up, Zac. You could try it once and awhile.” Zac made a face and pretended to pout.
“You don’t have to act like a grown up for me,” I whispered to him, placing a kiss to his cheek, “I like you just the way you are.” He just smiled at me and squeezed my hand. We sat there in mostly comfortable silence for the rest of the drive, listening to the mix station. I tried my best not to sing along when Journey came on. Sure, Zac was used to my loud car singing, but I didn’t want to scare off his brothers when so far they seemed to like me quite a bit. When “With Or Without You” came on next, Zac tapped Taylor on the shoulder.
“Can you turn it up a little?” Zac asked.
“Why?” Taylor responded, glancing over his shoulder at us.
“It’s Esme’s favorite song. Just turn it up!” he said. Taylor just nodded and did as asked. I let my head lean back against the seat and let the song further relax me. Unfortunately, Isaac stopped and put the car in park before it ended.
“Here we are!” he said. I looked out the window for a second before letting myself out. It was a really nice house though not overly huge or fancy. It’s off-white siding and green shutters gave it a very comfortable look accentuated nicely by the hostas lining the front walkway and beautiful garden that went across the entire front of the house.
“What a pretty house,” I said mostly to myself, but Zac heard me and put his hand on my back as we stood there looking at it.
“This is home. We’ve lived here my whole life,” he told me as we finally started to follow Taylor and Isaac towards the front door.
“Where did you build your forts?” I asked with a smile.
“In the back yard. My tree house is actually still up back there. If you’re good maybe I’ll take you up there later,” he said.
“Only if I’m good?”
“I only let certain people up there, then and now,” he laughed, “When I was little it was my two best friends Keith and Danny. In high school it was where my closest friends and I would hang out and play cards, and occasionally drink unbeknownst to my parents.”
“I bet you took girls up there, too, didn’t you?” I asked, grinning at him as he rolled his eyes slightly at me before grabbing my hand and leading me through the now open front door.
“Um no, Esme. But nice try,” he said, the slight smile on his lips betraying his attempt at a stern voice.
“There he is! Did you get lost on the walk up?” a tall, broadly built man said as he approached us.
“Yeah, you know how much I have a hard time walking twenty feet,” Zac said with a smile, “Dad, this is Esme.”
“Hi Esme, it’s nice to meet you,” he said to me, giving my hand a firm shake before leading us down the hallway to the kitchen. A very pretty woman with long brown hair was hurrying around the kitchen, smacking Taylor’s hand every time she passed him as he kept trying to steal a roll out of the covered basket on the counter.
“Honestly, Taylor. It’s like you’re still five years old! They’re not even heated up yet!” she exclaimed, giving him a shove towards the breakfast nook. Zac just looked at the scene in front of us and smiled.
“Gloria, why don’t you slow down for two seconds so you can meet Zac’s girlfriend,” Mr. Hanson said to her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and look over at us.
“Oh! I’m sorry! Hi, sweetie,” she said, kissing Zac on the cheek, “You must be Esme.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Hanson,” I said. She just looked at me before speaking to Zac.
“She is absolutely beautiful, Zac,” she said. I felt my face turn red and his arm found its way around my waist.
“Yeah I know. What she’s doing actually dating a guy like me, I have no idea,” he said. I poked him lightly in the side and stepped discreetly from his arms, feeling slightly uncomfortable with displays of affection around his parents. It wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong, but I just didn’t want to push my luck.
“Why don’t you give her the grand tour?” his dad asked. Zac nodded and offered me his arm.
“Shall we?” he asked goofily.
“Sure!” I replied, linking my arm with his and letting him lead me out of the room.
“See? I told you it would be fine,” he said as soon as we were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear.
“I know, I know. You were right, alert the media,” I joked, “Your parents seem really nice and I like your brothers, too.”
“I think you’ve won the seal of approval also. Now you just have to get through dinner without dumping gravy on Dad’s lap or something and we’ll be fine.”
“Why would you do that? Why would you jinx me like that? You know how clumsy I am!” I exclaimed, staring up at him in horror. He just laughed at me and pulled me close.
“You’re fine, Esme. Just calm down,” he said, kissing me before leading me upstairs. I loved getting the tour of his house. It felt like I was getting a little glimpse into his past, though I was sure the house had been redecorated many times over since the days when he was running through its halls undoubtedly causing trouble with his friends. His old bedroom was a nice cornflower color and looked like they hadn’t moved a thing since he left for college.
“Oh, so many memories in this room,” he said, feigning nostalgia.
“I don’t even want to know,” I stated, soaking in everything from the posters on the walls to the football encased in a glass case sitting on his desk. I stepped towards it and peeked inside.
“It’s signed by Mike Ditka. My dad got it autographed when he interviewed him once,” he explained. I nodded my head, actually impressed since growing up around Chicago had taught me enough to know who Mike Ditka was.
“Nice,” I said, turning around to find him right in front of me, grinning down at me with a smile that made me aware of exactly what he wanted.
“My parents have never let me have a girl up here before,” he smirked, leaning down to kiss me. I poked a finger into his chest and pushed him back.
“No way, Zac Hanson. Your horny ass can wait a few hours until we get back to the condo,” I said, laughing at the disappointed look in his eyes. He sighed and took my hand once again.
“Fine, I guess I’ll just show you the rest of the house,” he said dramatically before leading me out.
“You are such a baby,” I said.
“Well I am the baby, so I guess it just works, huh?”
“Whatever you say, Zac. Whatever you say,” I smiled.