begin again // joe keery

♡five♡

since moving out of their family home, lillie and tiana had tried to go home as much as they could to see their parents, so when their mother had called, inviting them over for dinner that night, both girls had been mostly excited to head home.

their dinner was mostly over, and the small talk had stopped when tiana decided to break the silence, bringing up a topic lillie had hoped to avoid. 

"lillie's been seeing a guy." she said, and lillie shot her sister a pointed glare across the table.

"is that true?" their father questioned, his eyes narrowing. lillie nodded.

"yeah, we made it official a couple of weeks ago." she replied.

"how long have you been together?" her mother asked.

"almost 3 months. but he's only been my boyfriend for two weeks." lillie bit her lip slightly, knowing her parents wouldn't be happy that she had hidden joe from them for so long.

"what's his name?" their mother questioned. 

"joe." lillie took a bite of salad.

"he's an actor." tiana grinned.

"he's famous?" their mother's eyes widened.

"yeah, i guess so." lillie shrugged. "he's just joe though."

"how did you meet him?" her father questioned.

"at the cafe. he came in a bunch and was flirty so i gave him my number and we started talking and he's a really nice guy." lillie answered, quickly growing tired of their interrogation.

"does he know you have a child to look after?" was their father's next question. lillie nodded.

"yeah, he does." she said.

"and that didn't scare him away?" their father asked, and lillie shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"no, he said he's great with kids." she said. 

"hmm." her mother frowned in disapproval. "what kind of 20 something year old man would be interested in a woman with a child?"

lillie and tiana exchanged a look, as their mother's eyes lingered on asa, who was playing with her chicken nuggets, oblivious to the conversation happening around her. 

"has he met her yet?" 

"no, but i think it's time to introduce them." lillie said, and their mother's fork clattered to her plate. lillie's heart sank slightly, realising she had clearly said the wrong thing. 

"after three months? absolutely not." their mother glared at her. 

"with all due respect mum, asa is my child, not yours. and i can decide when i'm ready to introduce her to any potential life partners." lillie sat up slightly, not willing to back down. 

"life partner? lilliana you barely know this man. he could be a creep." her father shook his head. 

"i can vouch that he's actually a really nice guy. i met him this morning on my shift." tiana said, and lillie's head spun to look at her sister. 

"you did?" lillie questioned. tiana nodded.

"yeah, he was with charlie and natalia, by the way, so much cuter in person. he came in looking for you and i told him you were off and introduced myself. he was super sweet and hung around to chat for a bit but then it got busy so they had to leave." she explained. "although he did say to tell you your coffee was better than mine." 

lillie rolled her eyes slightly. 

"he's determined to make sure i know my coffee is better than any other coffee he drinks." she said, and tiana pulled a face in adoration. 

"aww that's so cute!" she cooed. 

"can we get back to the topic on hand here? you barely know this man lillie." their mother interrupted. 

"i'm sorry you don't approve, but i'm a fully grown adult who can make her own decisions and make decisions for my child." lillie replied curtly. "i'm not discussing it any further. asa is meeting joe whether you like it or not."

"i just think you're making a massive mistake." her mother frowned, and lillie shook her head, refusing to let her mother get inside it. 

she knew it was the right time, and that was all that mattered.

✭✭✭✭✭

messages between joe from the cafe 💙 and just lillie 💞

joe from the cafe 💙
how was your
dinner tonight?

just lillie 💞
could have been
better tbh but that's
just my parents, i
love them but they
can be a lot sometimes

joe from the cafe 💙
what happened?

joe from the cafe 💙
if you don't mind
me asking of course

just lillie 💞
tiana told my parents
about us and they
weren't exactly happy

just lillie 💞
and then i made it
worse by mentioning
i've been thinking about
maybe you and asa
meeting each other

joe from the cafe 💙
you have?

just lillie 💞
yeah, i mean i really
like you and it feels
like the right time
to me, but if you
don't feel ready then
i'm happy to wait as
long as you'd like

joe from the cafe 💙
no no i'd love to
meet her, i just
didn't want you
to rush into it if
you're not ready

just lillie 💞
i'd like you to
meet her :)

joe from the cafe 💙
i'd like that too

just lillie 💞
then it's settled

just lillie 💞
we can organise
something later

joe from the cafe 💙
well actually

joe from the cafe 💙
there's this carnival
on a pier about half
an hours drive away,
for the next two days

joe from the cafe 💙
i was gonna ask you
if you wanted to go
with me, but if you'd
like we could take
asa along with us?

joe from the cafe 💙
maybe tomorrow?
if you're free?

just lillie 💞
she'd love that

just lillie 💞
i have a shift but
i'll swap with tiana

just lillie 💞
she owes me for
tonight anyways

joe from the cafe 💙
you're sure?

just lillie 💞
of course :)

joe from the cafe 💙
great! do you want
me to pick you up?
it starts at 10

just lillie 💞
i'll drive, that way
we don't have to
mess around with
asa's car seat and
moving it to your car

joe from the cafe 💙
oh yeah didn't think
about that one

just lillie 💞
yours at 9?

joe from the cafe 💙
sounds great

just lillie 💞
i'm really excited

joe from the cafe 💙
me too, i can't wait
to meet asa, i hope
she likes me...

just lillie 💞
she'll love you,
i just know it