Fantasy Man Ch. 08

Zack's mother appeared from a room that was off to the side of the massive foyer that they stood in. Terri smiled and took in the woman that gave birth to the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. His mother was a tall woman, standing about 5'9", with long blond hair falling to the middle of her back and sparkling blue eyes. Her smile reminded Terri of Zack's, accompanied by the same crinkles that formed at the corners of her eyes.

Zack's father was the next to emerge. He, too, was tall, being around 6'3" or 6'4", Terri guessed that his father was responsible for Zack's height and his good looks. The man was put together right and Terri was oh so glad that his son was too.

"Terri, I would like you to meet my parents, Melinda and Fred Smith. Mom, dad, this is Terri Hunter." Zack felt a strange swell of pride and he couldn't tell if it was because of his parents or because of Terri. It didn't matter, he was so glad that Terri was finally meeting his folks that he couldn't stop smiling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Terri said, feeling more at ease than she thought she could be in this situation.

Melinda's smile had yet to dim as she gathered up Terri in a hug. "I'm so happy to meet you! I've wanted to meet you for some time now."

Terri was surprised, but she took it in stride and returned the embrace before breaking away to shake Zack's father's hand.

"Terri." His voice was gruff, but she could see that he was pleased. She gave him her best strong shake. Handshakes were important in the business world and told you a lot about a person. Terri wanted Fred to know that she was just as strong as Zack, but in her own way.

The couple was ushered into the dining room, where everyone was taking their seat. Zack's brother, William, had just sat, but stood up again to shake Terri's hand as she was introduced. William's wife, Karen, greeted Terri with a nod. Mr. Garvey and his daughter, Amanda, offered Terri polite smiles, but said nothing in the way of greeting.

'Pompous asshole. I bet he's here to get Amanda back in Zack's good graces,' Terri thought to herself. She tried to keep her face from expressing her dislike for the pair, but she could feel herself flinch and hoped that no one noticed.

Zack slid his arm around her in a show of support and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "If looks could kill, my sweet, we would be on our way to heaven right now."

Terri giggled and took the seat that Zack pulled out for her before he sat down at her side. Dinner was brought out promptly and conversation began to pick up. Terri fielded the questions directed at her with ease and an air of confidence. She was going to show these people that she belonged in their world, with Zack, for as long as they were together. Not that she was as cool and confident as she seemed. She felt like a nervous wreck on the inside, but she wasn't going to let it stop her from impressing Zack's parents.

Terri watched as Amanda seethed all through dinner. She wondered if Amanda was going to have a mental breakdown sometime that night and mentally made a list of things that she could do in the event of a mental lapse. Terri laughed to herself as she formulated plan A, which was to knock the bitch out. There needed not be a plan B, because plan A was going to be enough.

"Terri, tell us how you met Zack," William asked.

"Well, I delivered his pizza. That was when we first met. Then we met up again, quite by chance, at my second job. He came in over the next few weeks and we became good friends."

"You work two jobs?"

"Well, I work two now. When I met Zack, I was actually working three jobs. I worked on campus, at the pizza parlor and at a small coffee shop."

William nodded as he listened to her answer. "So, Zack walked in and you two hit it off. Then what happened?"

Zack smiled and took over. "Her bastard of an ex boyfriend was harassing her and she called me over to protect her. I willingly went and when I found out that she had a two bedroom apartment and no roommate, I jumped at the chance to get out of the house and out on my own. From there, things just started to happen."

Melinda smiled at Zack before turning to Terri. She thought it prudent to change the subject, seeing as Amanda's father looked as if he was about to have a heart attack right there at the table.

"So, Terri, what are you planning to do after you graduate?" The question posed by Melinda shook Terri out of her daydream about pounding Amanda's face into the ground. No, she wasn't jealous much.

"Well, I've been interested in psychology for a long while, but it takes at least a PhD to do anything really meaningful in the field of psychology. So, it looks like I am in for another five to six years of schooling, but when all is said and done, I want to open my own practice."

Fred nodded, glancing over at Melinda to gage her reaction to the answer. Melinda gave a slight nod to show her approval before she continued.

"What about children? Do you plan on having any?" Melinda asked.

Terri looked at Melinda, startled at the question. Zack nearly spit his food across the table. He couldn't believe his mom would ask her something like that at the table. Where was the tact that a hostess was supposed to exhibit? But, then again, Zack supposed, this was the first time he brought someone home that he was serious about. He hadn't really thought about it, but the idea of having kids with Terri was not as scary as he thought it would be. In fact, he wouldn't mind her having at least three of his kids. Zack's mind began to wander, trying to figure out what their children would look like. He hoped they would inherit a lot of their mother's wonderful features.

"Well...I would love to have kids in the future, but probably not until after I finish my PhD," Terri replied.

"Hmm...about 7 years from now. That's not that bad. You're still young and there's much in the world to experience," Melinda remarked before slicing more of the grilled chicken that sat on her plate.

Terri smirked at Amanda's look of incredulity. Terri's look when the question was first asked might have echoed Amanda's if she hadn't prepared herself for such off the wall questions. She was sure that her own mother would have said the same thing if Zack was over her house. It was always about finding someone to settle down with and start raising a family, never mind the fact that she and Zack had only been officially dating for around 6 months. Although, Terri had to admit, Zack was pretty close to what she looked for in a guy that she would want to settle down with. With a little more training, he could be exactly what she was looking for.

The rest of dinner went well and the group retired to the sitting room for after dinner cocktails. Terri abstained from drinking, just to keep a cool head about her. There was no telling what might come up and she wanted her brain to be ready to handle anything. Standing in the corner for the moment, taking a break from the conversations, she toyed with the straw in her soda, swirling the contents and watching the carbonation bubbles burst.

"So, Terri, when did you start fucking Zack? Did you do it as soon as he moved in or did you wait a couple of nights?"

Terri looked up from her drink, her eyes falling on the form of Amanda. She stood in front of her, her blond hair curled into ringlets that framed her heart-shaped face. Her blue eyes were narrowed and the smirk that accompanied the question made Terri want to smack the silly bitch. But, she wasn't there for Amanda. She was there for Zack, to meet his family and share in their night. She wasn't going to let Amanda goad her into looking foolish.

Terri laughed. "No. Because he was a friend, I respected him as he respected me. And you know what, even though I never really met you, I respected you enough not to even consider anything with Zack until you were completely out of the picture."

Amanda's sickeningly sweet smile was enough to let Terri know that something was up and she probably wasn't going to like it.

"It's interesting that you say that you consider him a friend. Here I was, thinking that you only saw him as your sugar daddy or your own personal wallet. We all know that you're nothing but a two-bit golddigger, here for Zack's money. But, let me tell you honey, we see through that façade of yours and soon Zack will come to his senses and return to the person he really belongs with."

Terri could feel her blood pressure rising. "And that would be you?"

"Well...yes. It's definitely not you. You're just the whore that Zack chose to experiment with. I bet he's always wanted to sleep with a black girl, just to see what it's like. Many guys do. But, you're just the flavor of the month. After he's done trying you out, you're going to be put out on your sorry money grubbing ass."

Terri could feel it coming. She could feel the 'neck rolling, finger in your face, about to beat a bitch down' Terri trying to emerge. If she had been anywhere else, she would have already told Amanda off. Hell, if she were only outside the house, she would have already taken off her earrings and shoes and told that bitch to prepare herself for the ass-whooping of a lifetime. But, because she was here in Zack's parents' house, she would handle herself accordingly. But it was hard. It was sooo hard not to give in and let Amanda have what was coming.

Terri plastered a fake smile on her face and excused herself to the bathroom. Once inside, she carefully splashed water on her face, trying to cool off and calm down. She wanted to make a good impression on Zack's parents, so she came up with a game plan on how to keep her calm in the face of Amanda. Once she was sure she could make it without placing her foot in Amanda's flat ass, she returned to the sitting room.

All eyes were on her, but she just smiled and walked over to Zack, taking her place at his side as he spoke to his brother. Soon after, Amanda walked over and stood on Zack's other side, her body coming dangerously close to pressing against Zack's.

Terri shook her head. Apparently, Amanda had a death wish. Zack looked at Amanda briefly before moving closer to Terri and creating some distance between them. The night progressed without another hitch. Terri was never again alone, so Amanda didn't have another chance to corner her and say things that would only rile her up more. When the evening was over, Terri was glad. She had a good time, but she knew it would have been better if Amanda wasn't there. Terri just shrugged it off and chalked it up to desperation. They left the house, with both of them promising to come to another dinner in the future.

They walked to the car, arm in arm. As Zack held the car door open for Terri, he smiled at her and said, "Terri, I...I'm so glad that you came tonight."

Terri returned his smile. "I'm glad I came too. Your family is fantastic. I love your mom, she is so funny."

Zack chuckled. "You don't know the half of it."

Terri slid into the seat and breathed a sigh of relief. It was over and she only felt murderous a few times that night. All in all, it was positive and hopefully she made a good impression on Zack's family. After all, if all went well, they would be her in-laws.

Terri chuckled before looking over at Zack, who was starting up the car. He was a beautiful, amazing, and wonderful man. She was so lucky to have him and she would have to be a fool to let him go without a fight. Luckily, she was no fool. She was going to hold on to Zack for as long as she could.

Zack smiled back at his Buttercup. But, as his eyes raked over her generous breasts and up to her full lips, his smile morphed into one that could only be classified as devilish. Oh, the things he was going to do to his Buttercup when he got her home.

"Babe, I think you deserve a present for putting up with my family and Amanda."

Terri recognized the fire in his eyes as the lust that he always felt for her, tempered with something else. "A present?"

His deep chuckle caused her pussy to clench and become wet. "Yes, Buttercup. A present...for you...as soon as we get home."