Page 24 of One Drink
Chapter 10
Stephanie
Work returned to normalthese past two days, and I liked it. The tension lifted between Jake and me, and I no longer felt compelled to avoid him. I rather enjoyed our stolen glances and smiles, and I longed for the occasional kiss behind closed doors.
But all my excitement washed away when I made the mistake of answering my phone. I should have known better than to answer a call from my dad. For ten minutes, he droned on about me quitting my job before he finally transitioned to the real reason he called—finding me a good man to date. I put my phone on speaker and tossed it on the bed. I didn’t need his voice in my ear while I was getting ready for my dinner with Jake and his parents.
“Dad, I don’t need you to find me a boyfriend,” I yelled. “I’d be nice if just once you called me to ask how I was doing.”
“Did you put me on speaker?” Dad’s voice echoed through my room.
“Yes, I’m getting ready to go out.” I slipped my dress over my head and zipped it up. I was dangerously close to being late. “I’m having dinner with friends, and they’ll be here any minute. Can we talk about this another time?”
“I’ll make this quick.” Dad coughed through the receiver. “Your mom and I bought tickets for that fundraiser your magazine is featuring. There’s bound to be some great single men there. Let us help introduce you to them.”
I picked up the phone held it close to my mouth. “Hell, no! You are not coming to my work event to try to set me up on a date. For one, I’m working, and secondly, I don’t need you to find me a date.”
“Honey, don’t get mad.” Now he was laying on the sugar. Every time my temper flared; Dad started sweet-talking me in the hopes I’d come around to his way of thinking. “We just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.” I slammed my foot on the floor and did my best to muffle my scream through closed lips. “You’d know that if you bothered to ask me.”
“I just don’t see how that’s possible with nothing more than a job. A job can’t keep you warm and safe at night. Ask your mother—she’ll tell you how happy she is with me.”
“That’s great, Dad. I’m glad you and Mom are happy.” Just like always, this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. “Listen, I really do have to go.”
“Okay, honey. Maybe I’ll bring the new young gentleman that just started working at the firm. He’s about your age, smart, and the ladies say he’s handsome.”
“No! Don’t you dare.” This was a first. He must be getting desperate. “Did you ever think that maybe I already had a date?” I regretted saying it as soon as the last word came out.
Shit.
“Oh.” Silence fell between us. He coughed before he continued. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?” He sounded confused.
“Because at this stage of our relationship, it’s none of your business. We just started dating, and I didn’t want to say anything until I knew where it was going.”
“That’s great, honey. We look forward to meeting him on Friday. Enjoy your dinner tonight.” He hung up before I could say anything else.
“Unbelievable, Dad.” As soon as he heard what he wanted, he hung up. I’d started to look forward to Friday, but now I was dreading it all over again.
My parents had met Jake a few times in the past, but I wasn’t ready to tell them we were dating. We were still mending our wounds from last week, and the last thing we needed were more. Dad had a way of manipulating the guys I dated in the past. Somehow, he’d find a way to convince them he was right about how I should live my life and they’d start talking like him. Knowing Dad, he’d find a way to get to Jake, too.
I turned to head back to my bedroom when there was a knock on the door. I shook my hands at my sides and exhaled slowly. I went from excited about the evening to falling into the darkest places in my mind in a matter of minutes, and I didn’t want to take it out on Jake. It wasn’t his fault my dad was an asshole. I put on my best smile and opened the door.
I sucked in a breath at the sight of him. He wore light tan dress pants and a dark navy blue button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. I’d seen him dressed like this countless times over the years, but I was seeing him through a different lens now. The navy shirt brought out the slivers of blue that were otherwise hidden behind his cool gaze. The corner of his mouth twitched when he smiled, something he did when he was nervous. I was nervous too but seeing him actually calmed me down.
My forced smiled turned genuine when my eyes landed on the bouquet of white lilies in his hand. “I love lilies. You remembered.”
“How could I forget with the way your face lights up every time you see lilies.” He smiled and slipped his hand around my waist pulling me close. A tingle ran through me when his soft lips brushed against the tender flesh on my neck. “You look upset. Are you okay?”
“I will be.” I let myself sink into the strength of his arms. It felt good to lean into him and let his body support mine. I didn’t realize how much I needed to give in to someone else—to let someone else help me carry my burdens. “I just got off the phone with my dad.”
“Ah, that explains it.” He kissed the top of my head and squeezed a bit tighter. “Same shit as always?”
“Yep,” I sighed. “He and Mom will be at the charity event on Friday. He thinks it will be a great place to help me find a man.”
Jake’s body went rigid. “Did you tell him about me?”
“I told him I had a date, but I didn’t tell him it was you.” I glanced up and caught the glimpse of hurt in his eyes before he blinked. “It wasn’t because I didn’t want him to know. I was so mad at him. Once he heard what he wanted to hear, he hung up before I could elaborate.”