Chapter 28

After the game was set up, Tyler took a seat on the couch again and I sat beside him. I watched as he used the remote to bring up the game information. Tyler explained in details about what the game was about before he hand me a game controller. To be honest, when he explained the target of the game, it actually seems really interesting. I couldn't wait to begin. Tyler then went on to explain how to use the game controller. When he was finished, I thought for sure that I would forget everything because it was a bit confusing. There were too many buttons to click on for different functions. However, when we actually started playing, I got the hang of it quickly. Tyler and I played for a long time and even though he beat me every time, I really enjoyed playing the video game with him. Throughout the entire game; we laughed for every silly thing and shouted at each other about who's winning. Now, we were just sitting on the couch after playing the last game, when we heard the front door opening. Tyler's mother stepped through the door with groceries in her hands. When she saw me, she smiled. "Hi Emily." Rachel greeted me as she closed the door. "Hello Rachel." I answered her, standing up from the couch. "It's good that you're here. Would you like to stay for dinner?" She walked by me, dropping her car keys on the coffee table. I gave her an apologetic smile. "Actually, I was just leaving. I'm expecting someone over at my house." "Oh that's great. It was good seeing you again." She called over her shoulder as she head in the direction of the kitchen. I smiled. "Thanks. You too." I walked to the door with Tyler following me. Tyler opened the door for me and I went through. "Bye Tyler. I had fun." I replied waving at him. "Of course you did." Was his response. I laughed and shook my head as I walked over to my house. On Monday afternoon when I got home from school, I was greeted by Sarah in the living room. "Did you remind Tyler that he's coming over for dinner today?" Sarah asked me. "Yes." I replied as I turned and walked upstairs to my room. When I got upstairs, I quickly get all my homework done. When I was finished, I took a quick shower to get ready for dinner. Today was the day I was dreading because Tyler was coming over for dinner. I was really hoping for my father to forget, but that hope went down the drain when he told me this morning that I should invite Tyler over for dinner today. At about six o' clock, I was dressed and ready for dinner. Tyler was right on time as well as I heard the doorbell sounded downstairs. Sarah was in the kitchen getting dinner finished and Dad was in his room, so I walk downstairs quickly to get the door. When I opened the door, Tyler was leaning on the doorframe on the other side. "Hey, come on in." I said. Tyler stepped inside the house and I closed the door behind him. Sarah came out of the kitchen when Tyler stood in the living room. She smiled and extended her hand, walking over to Tyler. "Hi Tyler. It's nice to finally meet you officially." Tyler shook her hand politely. "Thanks and you the same." "Great. Come on in to the dinning room. Dinner is ready." Just then, I saw my father coming down the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he looked at Tyler keenly. "Hello. You must be Tyler, the boy who is dating my daughter." "Yes Mr. Samuels. That's me." Tyler said, confidently outstretching his hand. My father looked at him for a while before giving a short nod. He shook his hand and said, "You seem like a good young man. Your mother is a wonderful woman, so I hope I'm not wrong." "No sir." Tyler replied. We all went into the dinning room and sat down to eat. Sarah brought the food to the table before sitting down as well. As everyone got food on their plate, Sarah spoke up. "How's your mother Tyler?" "She's doing great." Tyler responded. "That's good. Say hello to her for me." Sarah said. "Okay, I will." After that everyone began to eat. Dinner actually went better than I expected. All throughout dinner, Dad and Sarah held a conversation with Tyler and he kept up the conversation with ease and comfort. He didn't really have to try too hard. Dad didn't even discuss or indulged into our relationship too much. I was glad for that. Knowing my father, he was in his observation mode. He wanted to see what kind of guy Tyler was which was why he was asking a lot of questions. I began to relax and enter the conversation now and then. However, I would sometimes shot Tyler a look whenever he brought up topics of us that made me feel uncomfortable and squirm in my seat. To be honest, he was really good. He acted like the perfect boyfriend and pulled it off with my parents. What he said wasn't that big of a deal, but the fact that I felt guilty lying to my parents made me feel uncomfortable. I suddenly felt Tyler rest his hand on my thigh under the table. I jumped a little in shock and took in a sharp breath. I let out a short laugh, pretending to be amused by what was being said to prevent my parents from noticing my reaction. After noticing that they were distracted by the current conversation, I turned to face Tyler, glaring at him. He just looked at me with wide innocent eyes and then he winked at me. I continued to glare at him and he turned away to continue talking. Fifteen minutes after dinner ended, Tyler stood up. "Thanks Mr and Mrs. Samuels for inviting me to dinner." He then faced Sarah. "Dinner was great." He complimented.