Jackson couldn't believe this... in less than 24 hours, he would be driving an hour with his younger girlfriend to spend the weekend with her dad and stepmother who may hate him. What the fuck was he thinking? It was crazy that he couldn't say no to her if she asked him for something in just the right way. Maybe it was love... He shook his head vigorously, maybe not...
~*~*~*~
"Jackson, it's not too late to turn around," Kassidy said, gripping his hand. He had been staring blankly out the windshield, not saying a word for the last twenty minutes.
"Oh, no...I'm just thinking," he said, kissing the back of her hand reassuringly.
"Are you sure, Babe?" she asked, looking up at him with those big, brown, God-forsaken eyes.
"Yeah... yeah," he said, turning on some music. 'I Will Not Bow' by Breaking Benjamin blared through his speakers. Kassidy smiled and leaned her head back against the headrest, letting the music take her home...
~*~*~*~
The drive to Kassidy's hometown was fast... very fast.... faster than Jackson would have liked. He took a look at her family's home, it was a ranch style flat in a quiet suburb with lush, green grass, a beautiful garden, and a nice stockade fence... Kassidy must have went hard against the grain in this place. He put on his best Poker face as he walked over to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door for her. She got out, smiling, unable to believe that he was here with her to meet her dad.
She grabbed him by his hand and led him to her front door and rang the doorbell. To his surprise, a younger, pettite Asian woman with gigantic, fake tits answered the door. Her dark eyes rolled over his body before she smiled her approval. Her entire demeanor changed when her eyes fell on Kassidy. "Kassidy," she said, crossing her arms and staring her down.
"Tina," Kassidy replied, her voice laced with venom. Jackson was a bit thrown off that Tina was Asian for some reason.
"Who is your friend?" Tina asked, turning her attention back to Jackson.
"None of your fucking business... Where's my dad?" Kassidy growled, changing the subject.
"He's in the house somewhere," Tina said, shrugging.
"Squirt!" a male's deep voice boomed from inside the house, "Come in! Come in! Step aside, Tina!"
Tina rolled her eyes childishly and stepped aside to let us in. Kassidy ran inside, giving the tall, dark-skinned man a big hug as he twirled her around and sat her unsteadily to her feet.
'Great,' Jackson thought, 'He looks like he's only got me by eight or so years.'
"I have someone I want you to meet," Kassidy said, grabbing her dad's hand and leading him to Jackson. "This is my boyfriend, Jackson... Jackson, this is my dad, Kevin."
Jackson extended his hand and Kevin took it, shaking it firmly, never taking his eyes off of him.
"Nice to meet you, Jackson," Kevin said, still looking at him. There was something odd about Jackson, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Likewise," Jackson said, releasing his hand. He didn't like the way Kevin was looking at him at all...
"Let's all go to the living room and talk, Kevin said, gesturing to another room. Jackson nodded and felt Kassidy's small hand weaving with his own, following Kevin into the living room.
In the living room, Kevin sat into a large, brown leather recliner while Jackson and Kassidy sat on the loveseat hand-in-hand. Tina took it upon herself to perch herself on Kevin's knee, still checking Jackson out. Kassidy looked at her as if she was gonna murder her, causing her to avert her eyes.
"So... Jackson," Kevin began, "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a Military Police Officer," Jackson said, still wearing his Poker face.
"Impressive," Kevin said, nodding in approval.
"Very impressive," Tina said, nodding in agreement.
"Have you been deployed at all?" Kevin asked, watching a bit of emotion pass behind his eyes. Emotion that would have been undetectable to anyone that wasn't studying his every move.
"Yes, Sir, I've served one tour in Iraq and my most recent one in Afghanistan," Jackson replied.
"How recent was the most recent?" Kevin asked. Kassidy wasn't liking how this was turning into an interrogation but Jackson was taking everything in stride.
"I got back almost three months ago," Jackson answered, earning a loving hand-squeeze from Kassidy.
"And how long have you been with my daughter?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Two months," Jackson replied, knowing where this was going.
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Kevin asked. That was the real question he wanted to ask since he saw him.
"I turned thirty last week," Jackson said, almost nervous of Kevin's reaction.
"...And just how did a thirty year old man meet my daughter?" Kevin asked, not particularly liking his age one bit. He, himself was forty-two and Tina was thirty-eight. This man really didn't have a place with his baby girl.