The moment the car came to a full stop, he jumped out and I looked at him before he slammed the door in my face. Well, that's nice.
"Wait for me," I muttered, putting my bags on the floor of the car and unbuckling myself with some difficulty. Rushing out of the car, I turned around to follow him when something tugged at my clothes. I turned back to realise that I had closed the door on myself. I grumbled as I tugged at my shirt.
Perfect.
I ran into the house after him. I heard voices and rushed toward the lounge room.
"Wh-oh god," I muttered, seeing the people before me. It was no other than both our parents sitting on the couch. Darius didn't look any happier, leaning against the far wall away from them like they were infectious.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking at my parents. My mother feigned a gasp while my father cracked a smile as he stood up.
"There's my girl. We were in town and we decided to stop by," he said, looking at my in-laws then at me. I raised an eyebrow, in town?
They do realise that was hard to believe. Did ‘in town’ mean travelling for more than half a day?
"We have decided to stay with you for the last two days," said my mother matter-of-factly. I imagined my jaw hitting the ground in surprise.
"Absolutely not!"
"Now, now, Darius. That's no way to speak to your mother-in-law," said his father, standing up. I looked back and forth between father and son who were having a stare down.
I only just realised how much they looked alike. Apart from getting his mother's stunning eyes and sharp features, Darius’ strong build and height came from his father.
Wait, did I just check them both out?
Gross.
Instead, I turned to stare at my parents.
"We will be like...invisible. You guys continue," said my mother, waving her hands. Invisible? My mother? The center of attention. I scoffed, unladylike, and she glared at me.
"We'll just be in the guests rooms and you guys just continue. We want to see this town as well."
If they were going to take the guest rooms, where would I sleep?
"I'm out," I said, putting my hands up and stepping backwards.
"I'm not finished talking to you, Ivory" It was my mother.
I half-turned to face them and glared. "I am. I have a footy match to get to."
I saw my dad's smile and my mum’s horrified face.
"That horrible thing is not a place for a lady to go. It’s full of barbarous bogans," she said, muttering the last word in absolute disgust. I saw my father smile. I had never heard her say it out loud like that.
"And I, for one, like it," I replied before turning around and heading upstairs.
"This is all your fault," I heard my mother snap at my dad as I was heading upstairs and rolled my eyes. My dad was the reason I loved football in the first place. He had taken me to my first live match when I was sixteen and I had fallen in love with the sport.
Walking up to 'my' room, I grabbed jeans and a blue top and quickly changed into them. I grabbed my scarf before heading back downstairs.
"What are you doing?"
I stopped in the corridor upon hearing Darius. He was holding a stack of business folders.
Of course, he was working on business, again. Did the man ever take a break.
“Going to the football match. Unlike some people, I keep my word.”
He scratched the back of his neck.
“We can go another day. I have work to do.”
“Oh no, you don’t worry. You can go another day. I have a team and I’m going today. And you? You can do your work,” I snapped. It took just one phone call for him to be back to his boring business self.
Men.
Grabbing my coat this time - never again will I forget that - I stormed out of the house. I didn’t know why I was so angry.
If it wasn't bad enough that both our parents decided to come visit us, he turned back to the robotic business freak.
Either way, I was going to the damn match.
Heading to the driveway, I beckoned for the driver to come over.
Who says one can’t enjoy a footy game by themselves?
I smiled as the halftime buzzer went down. Hell yes! We were leading by three full goals and that was enough to make me forget about the horrible family waiting for me back home.
But there was one thing I hated. The fact that the seats were not segregated according to the team being betted on meant that I was surrounded by enemy fans who were glaring at me like there was no tomorrow. I would and should say it’s only a game. But who was I kidding? It was much more than that.
So what did I do? I smiled smugly in my attempt to rub it in their faces.
The seat next to mine squeaked as someone sat down and I looked over and did a double take, astonished.
“What are you doing here?”
Darius looked at me with a raised eyebrow and held up his ticket. “Couldn’t let fifty bucks go to waste now, could we?” he said. “Now how does this game work?” He looked at the field as the players came back on.
I couldn’t help smiling and I turned my attention to him.