I rub my sweaty palms on my trousers as I wait for Leah to pick me up. I was pacing my living room, nervously biting my fingernails at the thought of meeting her parents. Matteo's parents hated me so it's a wonder we were together as long as we were. I don't do well with parents. I get a text from Leah saying she's outside so I make my way to her car.
"Your nerves are clogging up my airways", Leah joked as I slapped her arms.
"Shut up, I don't do well with parents and they don't do well with me", I muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?", she wondered.
"Nothing", I mumbled as she interlocked our fingers and kissed the back of my hand.
"They're gonna love you", Leah said as she drove off. The drive was spent with us belting out songs and I assumed it was Leah's way of distracting me from how nervous I was.
So, here we were, standing outside of Leah's childhood home as the door swung open and we were greeted by who I presume to be Leah's mum.
"Hey mum", Leah said as she stepped forward and her mum embraced her in a hug, "This is Liv, Liv this is my mum Amanda", Leah introduced us.
"H-hi, nice to meet you", I stuttered as I held out my hand.
"You're so sweet, come here", Amanda smiled as she pulled me into a hug which surprised me. I hesitantly hugged her back as Leah watched on with a smile. We followed Amanda into the house as Leah grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen.
"Dad, this is Liv", Leah said as her dad turned to face me with a smile, "this is my dad, David", Leah said to me as I held out my hand for him to shake. He shook my hand, holding it in his grip as he studied me. I started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze.
"David", Amanda scolded as she hit David over the head with a tea towel, "you're scaring the poor girl".
"Sorry, couldn't help myself, it's a pleasure to meet you", he said as he let go off my head and I cleared my throat and nodded.
After the initial awkwardness I felt, the conversation flowed through dinner and I felt a lot more comfortable. They both asked me about my time in Spain and with Barcelona and why I decided to move.
"What do your parents do, Olivia?", David asked as I tensed up. Leah put her hand on my thigh to comfort me as I cleared my throat.
"They're dead", I said nonchalantly but I could feel the awkwardness at the table, "sorry, that was blunt of me, it was years ago and I'm over it now", I said smiling as they nodded. I changed the topic of conversation and accidentally started a debate between Leah and her dad about Arsenal and Tottenham which allowed Amanda to steal me away to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry about your parents", she said as I dried the dishes she was washing.
"Don't be, they weren't all that great anyway", I smiled slightly as I put a plate in the cupboard.
"Well I just want to let you know that if you ever need to talk, I'm here", she said sweetly as I smiled genuinely at her.
"Thank you", I said as she handed me another plate to dry.
"So you and Leah met in Ibiza?", Amanda queried making me nod.
"Yeah, I was with some of the Barcelona girls and we met up with Leah and a few of the Arsenal girls, me and Leah actually didn't get along at first", I said.
"Really?", Amanda said, giving me a smirk that said she already knew.
"Leah told you then?", I asked laughing as she nodded, "she tell you I had a boyfriend too?"
"She did, but only that you guys broke up, I'm sorry", she said genuinely.
"Don't be, we hadn't been good for a while"
"And then Leah came along?"
"I actually found her quite insufferable to begin with", I said as Amanda started to cough and choke. "Oh god, sorry", I said sheepishly.
"No no, don't be", she said taking a sip of water after I poured her one, "at least someone can back me up now", she said making me laugh.
"Something tells me you 2 are talking about me", Leah said from the door as me and Amanda laughed at each other.
"Of course not darling", Amanda said as Leah rolled her eyes. Amanda kissed Leah's head before leaving us in the kitchen.
"It's getting late, are you ready to head back?", Leah asked as she wrapped her arms around me and I rested my head on her chest.
"Hmm, your parents are so sweet", I mumbled as I took in her warmth.
"They love you", Leah said which made me smile and nuzzle further into her. "Go on then, what was my mum saying to you?"
"That's between me and your mum", I said cheekily as she rolled her eyes.
"I can think of a few ways to get it out of you", Leah smirked as I playfully gasped.
"Leah, we're in your parents house", I said as she pecked my lips.
"I don't mean now", she said as she dragged me into the living room.
"We're going to head out", Leah said as she hugged her mum and dad. Amanda and David hugged me goodbye too before I noticed Amanda saying something to Leah which made her smile brightly.
Me and Leah made our way to the car and took off back to London.
"Wasn't so bad was it?", Leah asked as she placed her hand on my thigh.
"No, it wasn't", I said genuinely as I placed my hand over hers.
"Told you they'd love you, my little nervous wreck", Leah teased making me roll my eyes.
"I hate you", I groaned.
"You love me", she said and I immediately froze and so did she.
"Eh- sorry- I didn't mean it I was just kidding, I know it's hard for you-"
"Hard for me? Why would it be hard for me?", I scoffed even though she was right, I was just being defensive.
"Well when we met up with the Barca girls they-"
"What did they tell you?", I said getting annoyed, already knowing what they would have told her.
"Eh- nothing", Leah muttered as I felt myself becoming more angry.
"Leah, fucking tell me", I said as she let out a sigh.
"They said you've never told them that you love them, which is fine-"
"Stop the car"
"What? Liv-"
"Stop the fucking car Leah", I raised my voice as she pulled over on the side of the road. As soon as the car stopped, I undid my seatbelt and got out.
"Liv!", Leah shouted as she got out of the car. I kept on walking until she ran in front of me.
"Let's just talk okay-"
"No Leah, that wasn't their place to tell you!", I said angrily as I tried to walk past her again but she stopped me.
"It doesn't bother me, Liv, just please-"
"That's not the fucking point Leah, they had no business telling my girlfriend that I can't express my feelings", I said running my hands over my face, completely unaware that I just called Leah my girlfriend for the first time.
"Can you please just get back in the car?", Leah said softly, "please".
"Fine", I mumbled as she let out a breath and we headed to the car. The rest of the drive was silent until Leah pulled up to my apartment.
"Do you want me to come in with you?", yes.
"No, it's fine, I'll see you tomorrow for training", I muttered as I pecked her lips and got out of the car and made my way inside.
