Kiss Cam

Ch. 26 - Princess Diaries

"Tony, is that you?" a woman's voice asks from upstairs.

Asher shuts the door with a sigh. "No, mom, it's me."

I take a minute to gawk at the beauty of this mansion. The ceilings are sky-high. Priceless chandeliers hanging down, lighting up the room. There's a large spiral staircase leading upstairs.

"Oh." I can hear the disappointment in her voice. "Well, I think I'm going to bed for the night."

Just then, a beautiful lady emerges from one of the bedroom doors upstairs. She stops at the balcony before the large staircase, a glass of white wine in her hand. Her wavy, blonde hair falls to her shoulders elegantly, her skin pale in the best way. She doesn't have on any makeup, nor is she dressed up, only in a nightgown. Even so, she looks like a model.

"Why," she pauses, a faint smile on her face, "who is our little visitor?"

"Mom, this is Riley," Asher introduces. "She's..uh..a friend from school."

"Hi," I speak meekly.

She smiles with white teeth, descending down the staircase. "Hello, dear."

Asher shifts his weight to his other foot a bit nervously. Why is he nervous? I'm the one meeting the parent!

"Hm," Mrs. Westfield muses as she looks me up-and-down, her eyes moving to her son. "What were you two up to?"

I blush at what she's suggesting, my eyes on the floor. My hair is all messy. I'm still out of breath. My clothes are wrinkled and stained with grass. It all adds up.

"What?" she asks with a laugh. "I don't mind, as long as you used protection."

Asher lets out a small huff. "Actually,
mom, Riley was running a protest for one of our teachers at the school and the police came, so we ran here."

I smile awkwardly as she continues to size me up. There's no doubt I'm not up to par with the girl her son should be with. A classy, put together beauty would be expected.

"Well," she pauses, "don't be a stranger. Come inside."

She waves her hand in the air, directing me to follow her. Asher sends me a sarcastic, enthusiastic smile, his thumb in the air. I follow his mom further into the glorious house. We end up in a fancy living room.

It's sort of like one of those stores where everything is really valuable, you know? The workers watch your every move, thinking you're about to break something. And, most frequently, you break something.

I cautiously sit down on the red couch, worried I might do something wrong. Asher sits next to me, but I notice he sits as far away as possible. His mother takes her seat on the couch across from ours.

Naturally, I cross one leg over the other. After a little while of thinking, I remember a line from my favorite movie, The Princess Diaries.

Princesses never cross their legs in public.

I immediately uncross my legs and instead cross my ankles. Mrs. Westfield has her ankles crossed as well.

"So, how did you two meet?"

"We made out at a basketball game on the kiss cam," Asher answers simply. "Viral video. Huge moment in my life. You don't remember? Pretty sure I told you."

She keeps a smile, though Asher was ridiculing her for not being apart of his life on front of me. "It must've slipped my mind."

"Yeah," Asher hums.

"Anyway," Mrs. Westfield continues, "what hobbies are you into?"

"I cook," I inform, fiddling with my fingers. "I'm..it's a stupid hobby. I'm really not that good at it."