Going Home

Part 132

Making sure they arrived early so they reached the restaurant first Josh was unable to sit still. He wanted the evening to go well for Grace’s sake. It was her birthday and he didn’t want anything to ruin it for her. But he was not used to having his family at these things.

Fortunately his parent’s were the first guests to arrive so Josh was able to say hello in private. He still felt a bit awkward about greeting them after he hadn’t seen them for a while so he didn’t need a mass of witnesses to contend with as well. But Josh’s relief was short lived as they only had time to exchange greetings and for Grace to open her gift before the Reid clan start to roll in. Taking a deep breath Josh braced himself to make the necessary introductions. Several minutes later he was relieved that the greetings were done and he could sit down and take a back seat to proceedings. This was Grace’s night and he was more than happy to be here for her but all this family stuff was really not his thing. Maybe he had been too long without it.

Despite Josh’s concerns the evening progressed smoothly and finally he managed to relax a little. He had watched his parents though out the meal and noticed the way they had talked to Grace’s family with ease. So after they had finished eating, content that all was well, Josh sat back with his arm around the back of Grace’s chair and ran his thumb idly over her bare shoulder as she talked to her brother across the table. His other hand on his beer Josh was absently contemplating her soft skin when all of a sudden he felt her stiffen. Wondering what had caused the reaction he frowned and followed the direction of her gaze. Seeing the person Grace had spotted coming towards them Josh stood up, his chair flying backwards in the process.