Best Mistake

I walked back into the kitchen after changin into more comfortable clothes. Alex was seasoning the steaks before taking them to the backyard where David was getting the grill ready. I strolled over to my mom, who was prepping the salads to go along with the meal.

"Need any help?" I asked.

She glanced over at me, offering me a bittersweet smile. "No, sweetie. I got it. You just relax," she said, her tone a little hushed.

I watched her as she walked slowly to the pantry.

"Everything ok, mama?" I asked.

She shrugged, opening a bag of croutons. "I just don't want you to leave tomorrow."

I nodded sadly. We were supposed to leave the next day to go spend the rest of the vacation with my dad. My mom understood, but I knew she wished I'd blow him off and stay with her until it was time to go back to Baltimore.

"I know. I wish we had more time," I said.

My mom nodded, pouring some of the croutons into the salad.

"But that just means we have to make the most of tonight," I smiled.

My mom looked at me for a second before putting the tongs she was using to toss the salad with down. She walked to the little wine cooler that they used for water bottles and I was shocked when she actually pulled out a bottle of wine. My mom didn't drink.

She peeled the wrap off of it and popped the cork out. I watched as she poured herself a very tall glass and she held it up towards me.

"To you and Alex and the baby," she said. I almost wanted to grab the glass from her as she chugged it halfway down. I stared at her in horror as she put the glass down, burping loudly.

"I'm gonna go check on the guys," I said slowly, moving past her to go outback.

Alex and David were standing around the grill, talking about man stuff more than likely. I moved to Alex's side and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

Once they finally stopped talking about the NFL, I said, "Mama's drinking wine."

David laughed from the other side of Alex. "This should be a fun night then, huh?"

Alex looked down at me and smirked a little. In my twenty five years of living, I'd never seen my mom drunk, so I had no idea how I was supposed to warn him. She was soon coming outside to join us, her almost empty wine glass in one hand and the bottle in the other. She sat at the table and refilled the glass.

"Feeling wild tonight, Gwen?" David asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart," she winked, damn near downing that glass too.

Before we were even sitting to eat, my mom was already tipsy. I wanted to take the rest of the bottle and hide it from her, but she kept a hand on it at all times.

We ate our meal outside. My mom had two more glasses of wine and by the time she'd finished eating, she was pretty drunk. I offered to do the dishes, and I wasn't surprised when she didn't object.

I stood at the sink, rinsing off plates and stacking them in the draining board. Alex was soon next to me, a dish towel in his hands. He picked up the plates and started drying them.

"Thanks," I smiled, throwing the last of the utensils in the rack and pulling the stopper from the sink.

Alex stacked the dry plates on the counter. "Your mom is hilarious," he laughed.

I rolled my eyes, turning to lean against the sink. "I've never seen her like this."

Alex shrugged and moved in front of me. "She's not hurting anyone. Just let her have her fun."

I nodded and soon David came into the kitchen, sighing heavily as he walked into the pantry. He came back out holding a box of graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey's chocolate.

"Your mom wants s'mores," he said, rolling his eyes.

My mouth watered. I'd been craving chocolate something serious for the past few months, but I was afraid if I gave in I'd lose control and gain twenty or something pounds of chocolate weight. Alex assured me that a few s'mores wouldn't hurt me.

"Here, Whit," my mom giggled, handing me a straightened out wire clothes hanger.

We sat around the firepit, eating and laughing and in my mom's case drinking. She finished up the bottle of wine before I was done with my second s'more.

"Do you know what would be so fun?!" my mom asked, her voice unusually loud.

We all shook our head. I think by that point we'd all tuned out her drunken banter.

"We should sing some songs," she said, looking at Alex. "Alex! Play us some All Time Low songs!"

"Mama!" I scoffed, glaring at her a little bit.

"Whitney!" she slurred back. "Don't forget who took you to most of those All Time Low concerts. He's practically part of the family now, and he gave you my first grandchild. I think I deserve a private show!"

Aex was smiling, clearly amused. "Sure thing. I don't have a guitar though."

My mom waved off his statement, then pointed to my bedroom window. "Go to Whitney's room and get her guitar. I wanna here some music, damn it!"

I was surely blushing from my mom's behavior. Alex turned to me and said, "I didn't know you play guitar."

I shrugged, frowning a little. "I dabbled a little in high school. I'm no good."

"Alex!" my mom yelled, making me jump. "Go get it!"

Alex laughed and I watched as he jogged back into the house, returning a minute later with my guitar strapped around his shoulder, tuning it as he walked.

"Alright," he smiled, sitting back down. "What do you wanna hear first?"

"Her favorite is 'Damned If I Do Ya'," I grimaced, and my mom started nodding frantically.

Alex started playing, and my mom was going crazy as she danced and tried to sing a long. She really only knew the words to the chorus, and she sang her little heart out every time it came along.

As I listened to Alex play and sing, I was mesmerized. He'd kind of always kind of had that affect on me, especially if I listened to an acoustic version of one of their songs. But knowing him like I did at that moment compared to when I was just a fan, the affect was tenfold. I smiled when he let my mom sing the last chorus on her own.

"Woohoo!" she yelled, clapping. "Play another one!"

Alex continued on with his mini set, playing "Six Feet Under The Stars", "Time Bomb", "Weightless", and "Jasey Rae". My mom wasn't so much of a fan that she knew all the words to all the songs, but she really seemed to be enjoying herself, so I was happy.

"I think I need to go lay down," she slurred once Alex finished up the last song.

David nodded and stood from his seat. "I think you do, too," he said, helping her to stand.

Alex and I followed them into the house, turning the lights out of every room we passed through. My mom stopped us at the bottom of the stairs, pulling us both into a vice grip of a hug.

"I love you guys," she mumbled into my ear.

"We love you, too," I laughed.

She let us both go, then pulled Alex into another hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" Alex asked.

She pushed him away, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "For taking care of my baby girl. You're a good man, Alex."

Alex pulled her into another hug, nodding. It almost made me cry to see them like that.

"Well, I'm going to bed," she said, yawning loudly as she pulled out of Alex's embrace.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Gwen," Alex smiled, joining me on the stairs.

"Boy," my mom said, holding on to the banister once she started swaying. "You call me 'mama' or don't call me at all."

Thankfully, Alex laughed at her demand and took my hand in his to help me up the stairs. "Goodnight, mama," he said over his shoulder.

We got to the top of the stairs and I turned to face Alex. He smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Your mom is awesome," he chuckled.

"She's something," I laughed.

He backed away a little, brushing some hair behind my ear. "I guess we should go to bed now."

I shrugged, looking back down the stairs to where my mom once stood. "Do you want to hang out with me a little in my room?"

Alex smiled wide, nodding, and followed me through the door. We sat on the bed and he looked around the room before his eyes landed on something, the smile on his face growing. He stood and walked to the bookshelf, returning with my high school yearbooks.

"Oh no," I groaned.

"Oh yeah," Alex smiled, sitting with his back against the headboard. "Don't worry, I'll dig out my yearbooks and you can have your turn."

I watched, blushing profusely as he sifted through the pages. He found my freshman picture and grinned.

"Look at you," he laughed. "So adorable."

I shook my head, smiling. "That was ten years ago. A lot can change in that amount of time."

"But not a lot did," he said, quickly kissing my cheek as he started going through my sophomore year one.

I watched nervously as he looked at all of my old pictures. I had no idea why it was so embarrassing to me, but I was overcome with relief when he finally got to the one from my senior year.

"Wow," he whispered, looking at my senior picture. "You're so beautiful."

"Thank you," I blushed.

Alex put his arm around me, pulling me into his side. "Did you win any superlatives?"

"'Worst Case of Senioritis'," I giggled.

"What's that?" he asked, trying to find the page it was on.

I shrugged against his chest. "I was the most ready to get the hell out of there."

He laughed, giving up on his search and pushed the yearbook out of his lap. "Any more cute pictures?" he asked.

I blushed again and sat up from his embrace, reaching under my bed and pulling out a dusty scrapbook. I brushed off the cover and handed it to Alexc who eyed me suspiciously.

"It's just a scrapbook I made from most of the concerts I've been to," I shrugged.

Alex's eyes lit up and I watched as he quickly opened it up. He flipped through page after page of me with members from Mayday Parade, There For Tomorrow, We The Kings, A Day To Remember, and others before he landed on the last page of pictures of me with All Time Low.

I heard him snicker a little and asked, "What?"

He pointed to the picture of me and him. "I can't tell if you look excited or scared."

I scoffed, pushing his shoulder a little. "I was very excited. But also a little intimidated."

He pushed the book onto the bed in front of him, pulling me back into his side. "Why the hell were you intimidated by me?"

I shrugged, resting my hand on his chest. "Because you were...you. I was a huge fan of yours. I still am, just in a different kind of way."

"And what kind of way is that?" he asked, running his fingers through my hair.

I drummed my fingers along his chest briefly. "In a way that you were a big deal to me back then because of your music. I know you hear it a lot, but you guys really helped pull me out of some of the darkest places I've ever been. And now, I kind of feel like you still keep me in the light. I was totally expecting you to run scared right from the beginning. But here you are, with me in my old bed at my moms house, two months away from us having this baby. I'm so amazed by you, and so grateful."

Alex placed his finger under my chin, lifting my face to meet his. I felt the pace of my heart speed up and he layed his lips on mine. I couldn't decide if it was the hormones or the fact that I really wanted him after seeing how great he was with my mom and David, but I suddenly wanted him, and I wanted him bad.

My body gained a mind of its own as I climbed into his lap, straddling his waist. His hands gripped my hips and mine slid into his hair. I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss and moaned when I felt his tongue on mine. I began grinding on him, making him grip my hips tighter.

To my dismay, Alex soon tore his lips from mine, breathing heavily. My cheeks flamed red with embarrassment and I struggled to get off his lap.

"Hey," he whispered, holding me by my cheeks. "I want to, just not here. Not in your mom's house."

I nodded, slouching a little. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, rubbing my cheek with his thumb. "Please don't be. That was hot as fuck."

I laughed and nodded, climbing out of his lap and laying beside him. He layed next to me and I curled up into his side, resting my head on his chest.

I was soon drifting off to sleep to the sound of Alex's heartbeat.

Notes