Chapter 10

Jeremy woke up at six with Kylie still fast asleep next to him. He couldn’t avoid smiling as he looked at her. She looked so peaceful and relaxed, still cuddled up against him. He knew he needed to wake her up as they had to get ready to leave by seven, but he decided to wait a few more minutes.

Fifteen minutes or so later, he kissed her forehead. What’s better than being woken up by a kiss, he thought. Well, he was right about that; it made her wake up but with a very big smile.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Jeremy said quietly.

“Hum,” Kylie responded, still slightly groggy.

“We have to get up. We need to leave in about forty minutes.”

Jeremy slowly got up from the bed. The events of last night came back to Kylie, causing the biggest grin Jeremy had ever seen. He just chuckled when he saw it.

“Let’s go. Come on,” he said as Kylie groaned again.

“Fine. But I want at least one day to sleep in with you this vacation,” she replied.

“Deal.” Jeremy grabbed some of his clothes and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned, Kylie was dressed and feeling much more awake.

“I am going to go wash up, but then I am ready to go. You ready?”

“Yep. Just finished brushing my teeth, and we will get food on the way.”

“Perfect,” she said, walking to the bathroom.

Jeremy walked into the living room and found his parents packing some snacks into backpacks. He knew this meant a long drive, a hike, or some family outing. It had been a while since he was in LA, so he had no idea what house his other family members lived in at this point. They owned about four around the city and switched between them almost every year.

“Hey Jeremy, can you grab some water bottles from the fridge and throw them in here? It may be a long car ride, so we want to be prepared,” his mother asked.

“Sure, mom.”

He was right; a long car ride was ahead of them.

“You two get a good sleep?” Cassidy said, managing to keep the statement solid without breaking to laugh.

“Yep. Will need some more rest today though, still really tired from the flight.”

“The flight sure ... Well, just be ready to go in ten,” she replied, now laughing and walking back to her room.

Jeremy was just left blushing and shaking his head. His parents clearly knew what happened, they must have heard them through the walls. He knew he would need to let Kylie know they needed to be quieter tonight.

Kylie joined him in the living room a few minutes later. They just sat on the couch, waiting for his parents to finish getting ready.

“Last night was super nice,” Kylie mentioned.

“It was. You have fun?”

“I had a lot of fun, thanks to you.” Jeremy knew what she was referring to, but he had to hit the compliment back to her as well.

“Well ... I had a bunch of fun, thanks to you,” he replied. Kylie just grinned and laid her head on his shoulder. He avoided bringing up the noise topic now; that would just put a damper on her mood.

“Ready to meet more of my family?” he asked.

“Yep. As long as you guide me through it. I am not the best at meeting a bunch of new people at once,” she admitted.

“I will be with you at every point along the way. I promise.” He gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. He had learned that a little kiss really helped prevent her nerves from spiraling out of control.

His parents walked in a few minutes later, and the group headed downstairs to the rental car. They would take one car today as it was quite a long drive, so there was no reason to drive separately. Even in the morning, there was traffic, so it would take at least two hours to get to the house. Typical Los Angeles driving.

Almost as soon as they entered the car, Kylie cuddled up against Jeremy and quickly fell into a nap. Jeremy and his parents then got into a discussion, just talking about plans for the week. They planned to go to the beach, see a concert, go to a Dodger game, and even try to meet up with some old friends. It was a large TODO list, but if they managed their time right, it would be doable.

Two and a half hours later, they pulled into the driveway of a large three-story tall house. Jeremy always considered it more like an estate, but the family hated calling it that. Jeremy rustled Kylie’s shoulder to wake her up.

“We’re here,” he said as she opened her eyes. She nodded and sat up slowly. Kylie fixed her hair and followed Jeremy as he got out of the car. Her eyes went wide while viewing the large entrance to the house. It was bigger than any house in all of Westport.

“Nathan!” Cassidy yelled as a man walked out the front door. He quickly walked over and gave her a hug.

“Nathan is my mom’s sister’s husband,” Jeremy whispered to Kylie.

A few moments later, three others appeared from the front door. Jeremy told Kylie their names as they came out.

First was Lily, his mom’s sister. Following shortly after was Sabrina, one of Jeremy’s cousins. His other cousin Stacy followed right behind. They both looked like they were not having a good day. Stacy’s face was fully red and blushing; meanwhile, Sabrina looked pissed. Jeremy knew he would be dragged into whatever was happening very soon.

“JEREMY!” Lily yelled, dragging him into a big hug. Kylie just looked at Jeremy’s painful facial expression and laughed. This caused Lily to turn her attention to the unknown person standing next to her.

Jeremy used the distraction to remove himself from the hug. “Lily, this is my girlfriend, Kylie.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lily,” Kylie said before she was quickly taken into a hug, just like Jeremy was before.

“It’s great to meet you too!” Lily responded, letting go of the hug. “Let’s head inside so you can meet everyone else.”

The group walked toward the door where the others were standing. So far, so good, Jeremy thought.

“Kylie, this is Sabrina and Stacy, and the man right behind them is Nathan,” Cassidy said, introducing the group.

“Nice to meet you all!” Kylie said, shaking each hand as Cassidy made the introduction.

“Let’s head inside and cook some breakfast. You must all be hungry,” Cassidy stated, walking inside as the group followed.

The inside of the house was impressive. Tall ceilings and a grand staircase were right after the entrance. Kylie had never seen anything like this. While Jeremy and his family may not showcase their wealth, his aunt and the rest of the family do. They had multiple houses and cars, plus they also even rented private planes to fly.