"Here are your drinks," the server said as she set down Jay and Ben's beers on the table.

"Thanks," Ben said with a smile and took a swig from the recently deposited bottle.

Jay gave her a brief smile and turned his attention back to Ben, "Your parents are hugely pissed off right now, you understand that right?"

Ben shrugged, as he gazed out at the revellers inside the bar. "And they can remain hugely pissed off. I never promised them that after grad school, I would jump right into working in the business."

"You know full well that it was expected"

"See what happens when we have expectations?" Ben said dryly.

Jay sighed and gulped down his beer. "You know you're being a dick, right?"

"Jay, look, I fully expect to enter the company. I just …" he paused searching for the words, "I need to get some perspective from Grandpa. I'm not happy about the company. I'm not happy about where it's going and I'm sure he isn't either. He founded the company and I need to get his take on what he thinks."

Jay looked at Ben with surprise. He never thought that Ben was interested enough in Derleforth & Saints, his family's architectural firm, to want to get involved in the dynamics of the company.

"Don't look so surprised," Ben said grinning at his friend. "I love the company; I just don't like where it's heading right now and I'm not sure if I'm ready to single-handedly take on the changes it needs. I'm only twenty-four, man. I've been in school for all of that and right now I just need a break."

Jay nodded. He'd been working in the marketing department at Derleforth & Saints since he'd turned twenty-one. He loved his job; a job that he'd admittedly gotten mainly because of his connection to the St. James's family; his family and Ben's family were pretty close, Ben's mom was in fact, his godmother. At twenty-six though, he could say, that he'd earned every part of his position. He could understand where Ben was coming from though, because while he was one of the many components that kept the machine going, Ben was expected to take over and be the driving force of the company one day.

"Enough about me," Ben said, interrupting Jay's thoughts. "Who's this girl you want me to meet?"

The expression on Jay's face softened as he thought of Victoria. "My…" he paused slightly, "my uh, girlfriend Victoria." The word girlfriend still sounded strange on his tongue.

Ben chuckled. "Did you just choke on the word girlfriend? I know it's an alien word for you but come on, man. "

"Ha ha, hilarious. You are the last person who should be riding me about girlfriends. When was the last time you were with the same girl for more than two weeks?"

Ben ignored the question and took another gulp of his drink. "Is this the same girl you were telling me about a couple months ago? I didn't realize it had progressed to relationship status."

"Yeah. It took me by surprise too. I just realized one day that I didn't want to date anyone else. This is the first time in a long time that I've wanted to be committed to one girl."

"Have your parents met her yet?"

Now Jay really choked. Sputtering he exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa! Let's not get crazy. We're not that serious yet, but I'm considering it for later down the road… I, actually, want you to meet her first."

Ben raised a brow. "Ah, sure, when I come back from the cabin."

"Victoria's actually going to be away too," Jay said with a sigh. "She's currently going to a fashion school and she got some sort of internship thing starting next week but it's in Milan, so she won't be here for most of the summer."

"So what you're saying is," Ben paused, "you're about to be in a long distance relationship?"

The look on Jay's face almost made Ben burst out in laughter but he restrained himself knowing Jay wasn't pleased about the situation as it was.

"Abstinence, huh? Well there's a first time for everything, right?" Ben grinned.

Jay shot him an unsmiling look but he knew why Ben found the whole thing amusing. He had to admit that he'd been something of a playboy up until now, preferring to date many women rather than settling down with one. But from the beginning, he'd known Victoria was different and he was willing to wait around for her, even if it meant a solo three months, to see where their relationship would go.

Victoria gave Jay a quick peck on the lips and stepped out of his arms. "Thanks for dropping me off.

"Don't thank me. This is as much for me as it is for you. I'm not going to see you for three months. I'm getting my fill in while I still can."

Victoria blushed slightly, still not used to the fact that she was going out with this man.

"Oh God, you guys are so gross," Lisa said inserting herself into the conversation. She gave Victoria a quick squeeze and told her to have a good trip and to be safe.

"I'll try. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm away," Victoria said with a grin.

Lisa grinned back. "I make no promises."

Victoria glanced at the line she had to be in for check-in and realized that she was really pushing it time wise. She turned back to Jay and Lisa. "I really should go now. I'll call you guys when I land to get my connection, okay?"

Lisa nodded and Jay leaned in to give her another quick kiss. He leaned back and said softly into her ear, "I've been thinking … you should meet my parents when you get back." He straightened up and smiled when he saw her look of surprise. Victoria blinked a few times before nodding at him, not really knowing what to say.

"Okay … uh, we'll talk soon. Bye." She gave them a small smile and rolled her suitcase to the line-up.

She looked back at them and they waved at her. She gave them a quick wave before turning away feeling somewhat guilty. She was leaving a very new relationship to go across the world for a few months. She trusted Jay but she wondered if she was being fair to him by choosing to leave instead of trying to build on their burgeoning relationship. She knew he wasn't used to being alone and hadn't lacked for female companionship before they started dating; clearly, it wasn't a situation he was used to.

She was still surprised by his admission a couple weeks earlier that he wanted to see her seriously and to be honest, a little frightened by it. She hadn't wanted a relationship and definitely not anything serious and now she had somehow fallen into… a serious relationship. At least this break away from him would give her time to figure everything out…and she needed to before she met his parents.

...

AN: Please comment if you do read. It really helps to know that people are still reading. Thanks.