My Guardian Angel

Chapter 38

The Christmas party was in full swing by six and everyone was having one hell of a time. Ben had impressed all of Cassie's family members by knowing who each of them were. Some teased him for being a "suck up", but they meant it wholeheartedly. They were both truthful about how they met and his occupation.

It surprised Ben how open and welcoming everyone was towards their relationship. He felt like a fool for being so nervous since he found out he was going to meet them. He did catch a few odd glances from the particularly judgy aunts Cassie warned him about, but he tried to not let it bother him.

He got along very well with all the men and ended up being invited to have a glass of scotch and a cigar out in the back. At one point, however, he did find himself feeling slightly overwhelmed. As he told Cassie in Mexico, he wasn't very good with crowds and while the family did like him, he was letting his thoughts intrude his head.

While Sam was cracking jokes to his brothers, Ben had spaced out and ended up staring past Sam and out into the vast yard.

"Hey, Benedicto," Sam said, giving him a friendly tap on the shoulder. Ben jumped slightly from the wake up call his brain got. "You alright?"

Ben cleared his throat, then told him, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry, I was miles away." He looked around him and noticed half the party had moved outside. He looked around for Cassie, but couldn't seem to spot her.

"You sure?" Sam asked. He was studying Ben as if to find out what was making him so uncomfortable. "You're looking a little pale around the gils there, pal. Why don't you go find Cass?"

Ben saw Sam's worry which comforted him a little, but only a little. He set off to find his girlfriend and ended up finding her in the kitchen. She was getting her homemade desserts ready to bring out to everyone.

"Hey, you," she smiled as he walked in from the corner of her eye. "Having fun?" She got a glance at him and immediately saw he wasn't looking to great. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him in worry. "What's up?"

He let out a sigh and made his way over to her. "I've no idea, honestly. I was doing fine, and then...I don't know, I suddenly felt a little overwhelmed out there."

She took his hands and brought him closer to her. Once his hands found her waist, she took his head and brought him down until their foreheads were touching. "I got you," she whispered. He squeezed at her hips and closed his eyes. "Just breathe."

He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth. She gently stroked at his cheekbones as he repeated it a few more times. His hands made their way up until he was gently gripping her wrists.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly whispered.

She shook her head with a small smile. "Don't be. I'm sure when the time comes to meet your family, you'll have to do the same for me."

He chuckled a bit, then opened his eyes. "I can't wait to introduce you. Mum will think it a bit unorthodox, but she'll get around to the idea. Once she meets you, she'll understand why."

"I'm feeling overwhelmed already," she nervously chuckled.

"Don't be," he firmly told her. "You have no reason to be."

She pulled him down for a sweet kiss. "And neither do you. You were doing do good earlier, what changed?"

He gave her a small shrug. "Don't know. Maybe my adrenaline wore off. Can I stay in here with you and help? Might just stick with you the rest of the night, actually, so long as I don't totally bother you."

"Of course you can. Here, you can put the cookies on this plate."

They spent the next ten minutes placing the dessert, then took them out and placed them on the dessert table. Everyone came bounding over to them. Ben took a bite out of one of the cookies and actually moaned.

"My God, baby, I didn't know you could do this," he said with a mouthful of the cookie. "Fucking hell what's in here? Crack?" She snorted and watched as he got one of everything she made.

"You didn't know she could bake?" One of the judgmental aunts asked. "Seems odd for you both being so serious."

Ben gulped down his dessert while Cassie took an awkward sip from her coffee. Sam came over and patted his sister on the back. "Marge, leave them alone."

As he reached for one of the sweets, she asked, "You approve, Sam?"

Sam looked back and forth between his daughter and Ben. He could see Ben was back to being uncomfortable and Cassie was seeming embarrassed. He watched as they discreetly laced their fingers together and attempted to ignore the comment.

"I do," Sam confidently told her. "He treats my daughter well, talks very highly of her and most importantly, Marge, he makes her happy. He's been nothing but kind and respectable to you and everyone here and I expect the same courtesy in return."

Cassie couldn't help her smile. "Thanks, dad."

He put a kiss on her cheek. "You're welcome, Pumpkin." He took a bite from the dessert and said, "Mm! Delicious as always, my girl!"

Once the desserts were gone, May brought out some games to play. This seemed to break Ben out of his funk because Sam made him join teams with him and his brother. Cassie could see Ben was mighty uncomfortable at first, but once the first few rounds went by, he got more and more loose.

She also suspected it was the alcohol - like in Mexico - that Sam kept pushing into his hands. It definitely got him more vocal and involved with the game. Eventually, he and Sam were the same amount of drunk it was making her laugh.

By the time everyone left, it was nearly two in the morning. May was complaining because her and Sam had planned on going to church in the morning.

"We'll be there, we'll be there," Sam told her as he struggled to stay upright. "Let's go to bed, we'll leave this mess for when we come back." They said goodnight to Ben and Cassie and made their way upstairs.

Once they were alone, Cassie put her arms around Ben's neck and asked, "Did you enjoy yourself?"

He smiled sleepily and only slightly slurred, "I did. Sorry 'bout my little spell earlier."

She shook her head and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry about my aunts."

He snorted out a laugh. "No need, my darling. They're only trying to protect you." He pulled her in for a kiss and lightly swayed them to the faint Christmas music in the background. When he pulled away, he put a hand on her hip and laced their fingers together with the other.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his cheek against her hair. He moved them slowly and swiftly to the sound of Nat King Cole and smiled when he felt her arm hug around his back, bringing them just a little closer.

"So you can bake really well, then?"