First Semester Finals

"Wow," my brother laughed. "Then you may be right. Your professor probably does hates you."

"Oh, she does," I said confidently. I'm not sure why I decided to tell him what happened, but I did. Maybe I just needed to share it with someone. "Professor Saxxon walked in on us. We were in bed, naked."

"Alright little brother!" Matt crowed. "I can't wait to tell Ryan. He owes me ten buck." Ryan was our other brother and whenever Matt brought his name up in a conversation it didn't bode well, at least not for me.

"What for?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"He bet me you were gay." I stared at him, completely stunned. "Hey, I told him he was crazy, but you know Ryan when he gets something stuck in that head of his. What the hell, it was an easy ten bucks."

"Seriously? He knows I dated Wendy for two years before we finally broke up," I said when I was finally able to speak again.

"Ryan's convinced that you two were using each other to stay in the closet, so to speak."

"So, now Wendy is gay too?" I asked in disbelief. Matt shrugged. I knew he knew better, but Ryan might not. He was one of those guys who dated a different girl every week. He didn't really get the concept of a real relationship.

"You can't blame him," Matt was saying. "I mean, Wendy's cute enough, but she looks like she should work at a library or something."

"If you only knew," I laughed, shaking my head. I'd learned most of what I knew about sex from Wendy. Still, I'd gone well beyond that experience with Bethany.

"Okay, so you like a girl who is still in high school," my brother said, getting back on topic. "Her mother is your college professor and she walked in on you two doing the dirty."

"We were sleeping, not doing 'the dirty'," I corrected. Matt grinned in that way he did so I couldn't stop myself from adding, "Not that we didn't the night before, more than once."

"Sure," he snorted. I didn't bother arguing. Which only made his smile grow. "So now back to my original question. Do you love her?" It was a fair question.

"You know, I think I might."

"Might or do?" he asked impatiently. "It's one or the other little brother."

"How can I be sure? We barely know each other." I thought my answer was reasonable. Matt disagreed.

"Bullshit. I knew the first time I laid eyes on Lauri that she was the one for me." I smiled at mention of my sister-in-law. She and Matt dated all through college and were married just last year. She was the big sister I never had.

"You do know you're one lucky shit to land a girl like her, right?" I asked. "She could do a lot better."

"For sure," he agreed easily. "Now stop stalling. Do you love her or not?"

"Yeah, I do." It felt good to admit it. I'd been fighting against my feelings for almost two weeks, but it was pointless. Maybe it didn't make sense, but it was what it was. I loved Bethany. She was the woman for me. I was certain of it.

"So then, what are you doing to do about it?" it was another fair question, and suddenly I knew the answer.

"Can I borrow your car?"

"Little brother, your college in three hours away," Matt said, but he pulled out his keys and handed them to me.

"I know," I said, taking them from him. "But I need to do this now."

"Just make sure you're back before we open presents in the morning."

Thankfully, I slipped out the house without bumping into anyone else. I was sure that by the time I returned everyone would know what was going on. Who was I kidding? They probably already did. The whole concept of privacy was foreign to my family.

The trip was uneventful, but not without stress. I had no idea how Bethany would take my sudden appearance. On the other hand, I had a feeling that I knew exactly how her mother would take it. Oh well, she could only fail me once. I'd have to be sure I never ended up in another of her classes.

I told myself to be positive. There was always an off chance that everything would work out. You know, sort of a Christmas miracle, not that I was holding my breath. Hell, I'd be happy if Bethany was even willing listened to me.

I arrived just before dark. I figured, knowing my luck Bethany was probably in the middle of eating dinner with her whole family. So be it. I shrugged to myself and walked up the front walk. I rang the bell and waited. Of course, professor Saxxon opened the door. The good news was that she didn't slam it in my face, although based on her expression it was a close thing.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"To wish you Merry Christmas," I offered. Her unwelcoming expression didn't change in the least. "And to talk to Bethany."

"She's still grounded," the professor replied.

"Then may I come in?" I asked, sure I already knew the answer. "I really need to talk to her."

"You haven't found out you have a social disease, have you?"

"What?" I asked in shock. "No!"

"Who is there dear?" I heard someone from behind her ask. "The food is getting cold." Great, I had interrupted dinner after all.

"A student," professor Saxxon replied.

"Well, let him in to warm up. It's freezing out there!" The voice was female and clearly from an older woman. I looked at the professor hopefully. I was betting I still had less than a fifty –fifty chance that she would open her home to me. Thankfully, the decision was taking from her when the door swung wide and I came face to face with a woman who had to be Bethany's grandmother.

"Come in, come in," she smiled. "And Merry Christmas!" The professor moved aside reluctantly.

"Merry Christmas mam," I said politely as I stepped inside. The woman nodded kindly.

"I hope you're not here to talk to my daughter about your grade. That's likely to ruin both of your Christmases," the woman was saying. "They're already posted and she can't change anything now even if she wanted to."

"No mam," I replied. "I'm here to talk to your granddaughter." I hesitated before adding, "Um, about her future. Actually, about ours."

"Really?" the woman asked with sudden interest. She was just being polite before. Now she was definitely giving me the once over. "You're a little young to be talking about marriage, aren't you?"

"Marriage?" I asked in surprise. "It's a little early to talk about that. Not that I don't want to marry Bethany. I mean, after we both graduate college and all." I think I might have continued rambling if I wasn't rescued by, of all people, professor Saxxon herself.

"Mother, this is the boy we were talking about earlier. The one Bethany brought home when I was away." Okay, maybe rescue was the wrong word. I couldn't stop myself from blushing badly. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What exactly could I say?

"Humpf," Bethany's grandmother said with a raised chin. "In my day, a shot gun wedding would have followed what you did with my granddaughter that night." Great. Now Bethany's grandmother hated me too. This was going so well. I caught myself wondering how many other relatives I'd have to face.

"Please!" professor Saxxon sighed. "Maybe in your mother's day. In your day it was all about free love and flower power."

"There is that," the older woman said, bursting out in laughter. "Son, you're expression was priceless. I wish I had a camera."

"Pardon?" I asked, totally confused now.

"William, isn't it?" the older woman asked.

"Yes mam," I replied. "Willam Barone."

"Well William, I was just having a little fun at your expense. As it turns out I may be old, but I'm not particularly old fashioned," Bethany's grandmother said. "My granddaughter is a smart young woman, and unlike her mother I accepted that a long time ago. I'm guessing that if she was interested in you then there's something about you worth knowing. I believe the fact that you're here sort of proves that."

"Yes mam," I said again because I didn't know what else to say.

"He's definitely a polite one," the older woman said to the professor with a smirk. "I say give him a chance."

"That's because you weren't the one who found him in bed with your daughter," the professor snapped.

"There is that," the older woman said agreeably. At this point, I was sure I couldn't turn any redder. "On the other hand, he didn't slip out in the middle of the night afterward like most guys who are after one thing tend to do. If I recall, you told me that your ex did that the first time you were together." Thankfully, it was the professor's turn to blush.

"If only I'd known then what I know now I would have said good riddance!" she retorted.

"Now, now dear," Bethany's grandmother said, patting her daughter's shoulder. "That's water under the bridge as they say, and my point was that this young man didn't try to slip away, so maybe there's more to what happened then simple physical release."

"Wow, I thought my family was blunt," I couldn't help blurt out. "You people definitely call it like you see it."

"It's the only way to be," the older woman shrugged unapologetically before turning to her daughter. "So, what's it going to be Chrissy? Do we let him in and leave it up to Bethany to make her own choices or do we kick him to the curb without giving her a chance to see if he's actually worth keeping?"

"Mother, it's not that simple," the professor insisted.

"Sure it is." This came from Bethany who was standing in the entranceway on the opposite side of the room. I hadn't noticed her there before. Oddly enough, seeing her now helped calm me considerably.

"Oh alright," the professor said, giving in with little grace. "You have five minutes before I sent your grandfather out here to get you."

"If she does," Bethany's grandmother began kindly. "Be careful not to mention that my daughter walked in on you and my granddaughter. My husband is a good man, but not nearly as open minded."

"If it was daddy who knew and not you, there would have been a shot gun wedding," professor Saxxon mumbled in annoyance as she left the room. Bethany's grandmother followed, but not before winking at me. I shook my head until I was finally alone with Bethany.

"Merry Christmas," I offered with a smile, my heart beating faster now. A lot depended on what happened next.

"I hope you came here to do more than wish me a Merry Christmas," she said carefully, but then added, "Not that I don't appreciate it." I took a deep breath before replying.

"I came here because the jury is finally back with its verdict," I said slowly, referring to what I said the last time we saw each other. "It's was unanimous. We love you." I shook my head in annoyance and corrected myself. "I mean, I love you."

"Are you sure?" she said, smiling slowly. "I mean, you did tell my grandmother that you wanted to marry me one day, but it doesn't hurt to be certain."

"You heard that, did you?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Yes, it was pretty funny," she grinned. I walked to her and pulled her into my arms. Her eyes looked up and met mine.

"I wasn't joking," I said in dead seriousness. Her grin disappeared slowly, but it was replaced with an even more joyful smile.

"You know," she said almost hesitantly. "I don't believe you were." I bent down and kissed her to remove the last of her doubts. Her lips fit mine perfectly.

"This whole thing is crazy. By the way, you should know a couple of things," she said as we broke apart. I nodded, letting her know to continue. "First and foremost, I love you too."

"You said that just before you went to sleep the last time we were together," I smiled.

"Did I?" she laughed gently. "I wasn't sure if I did or I dreamed it." We shared another kiss, but this one was brief.

"And what else do I need to know?" I asked, pulling back, more because I didn't want anyone from her family walking in on us kissing, especially not her grandfather.

"That mother was serious about not allowing me on campus anymore," she replied. "Frankly, there's a good chance we won't get any time to ourselves for quite a while."

"I can wait," I said confidently. She gave me an odd look so I added with a shrug, "If I have to. You're definitely worth it."

"So are you," she said with a smile. "But I'm not nearly as patient as you. I'm sure I can get grandmother to help out by distracting mother occasionally."

"The whole idea is disturbing on so many levels," I laughed. "But on the other hand, I'm all for it."

"Of course you are," she snorted. "Men!"

"Hey, you were the one who said she was impatient!"

"I did, didn't I?" Bethany laughed, not really looking particularly embarassed. "Then again, that's your fault too. If you hadn't done such interesting things to me that night..."

"Don't worry," I smiled confidently. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to revisit what happened. And one day, probably four and a half years from now when we're both out of college, we'll have all the time in the world."

"Oh it won't be that long," she promised. "After all, mother gets a hefty discount if I go to your college since she teaches there. And like I've said before, I really love the campus."

"Now that would be Heaven," I said, meaning it.

"Think of it as your Christmas present," Bethany laughed.

"But I didn't get you anything," I joked. Bethany stopped laughing and looked up into my eyes once more.

"You're here, that present enough." I leaned forward and we kissed again. There was probably a little too much passion in to for where we were, but I couldn't help it.

"Excuse me young man," a deep and somewhat irritated voice said, interrupting us. "But what exactly do you think you're doing with my granddaughter?"

Bethany and I separated. She was doing her best not to laugh. Me, not so much. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before facing her grandfather. I smiled and held out my hand.

"Merry Christmas sir, I'm William Barone." Bethany's grandfather took my hand almost reluctantly. "I apologize for you walking in on us kissing, but your granddaughter just agreed to go out with me."

"Actually, quite a bit more than that," Bethany teased softly. I turned to her in shock, but her expression didn't change. "Don't worry, grandfather is hard of hearing."

"Not with my new hearing aids," her grandfather said succinctly, turning and letting Bethany see that he had them in. She turned bright red and stuttered out an apology. I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing. I think maybe it was the first time that I saw her truly and completely embarrassed.

"Young man," her grandfather said with a shake of his head. "I'm going to have to wish you good luck. There's a lot of her grandmother in this young lady. You're going to need it."

"Grandpa!" Bethany snapped, but he refused to take his words back.

"Look," he sighed as he turned to go back to the dining room. "Either say goodbye or invite him to dinner. The foods getting cold."

"Well, do you want to have dinner with us?" Bethany asked once we were alone again. She sounded hopeful.

"I don't think that would make your mother very happy," I said carefully.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea, it was grandpa's," she grinned. I wasn't sure staying was the smartest idea, but just like the last time, I knew I wasn't going to leave Bethany's side as long as she wanted me there.

"Okay, sure." She smiled in satisfaction at my agreement, but her grin didn't disappear. In fact, it may have gown slightly. I knew something else was up.

"What?" I asked with a loud sigh.

"You have to meet the rest of our holiday guests now," she laughed. "Don't worry, it's only mom's younger sister Aunt Debbie, her husband Frank and their two kids. It shouldn't be all that painful." She was still holding something back. I had a bad feeling I knew what.

"Let me guess," I sighed. "Your aunt Debbie knows what happened too, doesn't she?"

"And my cousin Diane," she added. "Well, a cleaned up version of it anyway. She's only thirteen."

"That's it," I grumbled as we walked hand in hand toward the same hallway everyone else had gone down. "I don't know how I'm going to do it, but somewhere before this night is over I'm going to get your mother to agree to let you come over my house for Christmas tomorrow. Let's see how much you enjoy meeting my family, all twenty five of them!"

"Mom will never go for it," Bethany said confidently.

"Don't be so sure," I grinned. "I'm a fast learner. I'll talk to your grandmother and get her help. Or maybe I'll talk to your grandfather instead. I think the ladies in your family underestimate him." I paused briefly before adding, "Better safe than sorry. I'll talk to them both."

"You know, that might just work," she said with a shake of her head, but then shrugged to herself and added, "At least your family doesn't know what happened."

"I wouldn't bet on that," I grinned. "My oldest brother does and much like your family, nothing in mine is sacred either."

"He wouldn't tell your mother, would he?" Bethany blanched.

"Definitely not," I replied confident. "But then again, he would tell my father, who might tell mom."

"That's it!" she snapped as we entered the dining room. "I am never going to meet your family."

"Of course you are," a woman I didn't recognize said from the table. Her words stopped us both in our tracks. It had to be Bethany's Aunt Debbie. "He's here meeting yours today. If fact, you should probably go tomorrow. We don't do much on Christmas Day anyway."

"And we have a big family gathering that I'm sure Bethany will love." I was grinning at her because she suddenly looked desperate. "I told my oldest brother how we met and how Bethany introduced me to her mother, Professor Saxxon. He's dying to meet Bethany. In fact, he was the one who told me to come visit and tell Bethany how I feel."

"You told your brother how you two met?" the professor's mother asked in surprise. Everyone in 'the know' knew we weren't really talking about how Bethany and I met. We were talking about how her mother walked in on us the next morning.

"Yep, and by now I'm sure the whole family is aware." Okay, so it was a little cruel, but Bethany had been enjoying my discomfort a little too much earlier.

"I can't go," Bethany said a little too quickly. "I'm grounded."

"Oh," her mother began slowly with an odd smile. Okay, not odd as much as evil. "I'm willing to let you out tomorrow. I mean, it is Christmas after all."

"Mother, you can't!" Bethany cried, turning to her grandmother for help. The old woman shrugged.

"You're going to have to meet them eventually anyway. Better to get it done sooner rather than later."

"But they know about how we met," Bethany said pointedly.

"What's wrong with the way you met?" a young girl who was obviously Bethany's cousin Diane asked with a frown. "I think it was romantic. You met in the library while you were studying. He shared his alcove with you and then refused to let you walk home alone because it was late and dark out."

"You decided to look at the Christmas lights on Chapel Street instead of going directly home. Bethany, you told me he held your hand the whole time and that you had hot chocolate afterward. What's wrong with meeting like that? I hope I meet the nice boy like Will someday."

"Well, your cousin didn't quite tell you the whole story," I said, holding back a grin. It was pretty obvious who at the table knew what happened next. They were all looking at me pensively, wondering where I was planning of going with my statement. Interestingly, it was only the three ladies. Neither the kids, Aunt Debbie's husband nor Bethany's grandfather knew.

"What did she leave out?" Diane asked in obvious interest.

"Well, you see," I said, pausing for effect. I'd had my fun. It was time to let everyone relax. "Your cousin didn't know me very well and didn't trust me to walk her home, but I refused to let her go alone so we came to a compromise. She would hold the pepper spray she had with her just in case I tried anything while I walked her home." The sigh of relief from all four ladies was silent, but obvious. It was pretty funny actually, but I wasn't stupid enough to laugh.