“Uh…Dad. Dina.” Her gaze bounced between us. “What the hell is going on?”
Michael curved an arm around my shoulders and kissed my head.
“Oh, my god,” Lucy whispered.
“Luce. Pumpkin. Let’s sit down. I have a lot to tell you.”
“Fuck.” Roman ran a hand through his hair. “I was hoping to hold this over your head for a lot longer.”
Lucy turned on him, eyes flashing. “Youknew?”
He winced and turned to Lucy, his gaze pleading. “I caught them last night, baby. Besides, we were too busy for me to remember.” His head dipped and nuzzled her ear, eliciting giggles from her.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Michael growled. “Let’s talk.”
“Are you really not mad?” I asked Lucy.
The four of us had just come out of an emotional, heated two-hour talk. We’d each gone through three cups of coffee—well,Lucy and I had; Michael and Roman busted out something a little stronger.
I confessed to Lucy that I’d been crushing on her dad for years, much to her disgust. She wasn’t pissed, just grossed out. I told her about my embarrassing seduction attempt at sixteen, and how he immediately turned me down and told me off. Michael made it extremely clear that nothing romantic or sexual happened, or that he felt any type of way about me.
“I didn’t develop feelings until she turned eighteen,” he'd stressed.
“Same,” Roman added.
“It’s hardly the same fucking thing, Drake. Of course my daughter was eighteen, but you were her teacher.”
“And you were with Lucy’s best friend. Also a student.”
Michael rose, his fists clenched. “But nevermystudent.”
“But you knew her from–”
“Alright. That’s enough!” Lucy stood up. “You’re both acting like a bunch of babies when you both practically did the same thing.”
“Michael, apologize to Roman.” My arms were crossed, and I glared at him.
His brow furrowed. “Baby, he’s been with Luce since he met her. As histeacher.”
“And you’ve been with me almost at the same time. She’s my best friend. It’s fucked up, but what we should be doing is uniting. The outside world is not going to look at this whole situation kindly.”
Roman waved me off. “Michael hasn’t told anyone, and as far as the world is concerned, nothing will be public until Lucy is well into college.” He nodded at me, his expression remorseful. “You two have it harder, I reckon.”
He was right. Michael had known me since I was a kid. Granted, he hadn’t spent much time with me alone, and myseduction at sixteen was a big fat failure, as it should have been. Michael was too noble ever to cross that line, and I knew he hadn’t seen me that way back then anyway. Still, tongues would wag. And my mom…fuck, mymom. She was gonna hit the roof. We'd sent the two men off to talk it out and cool off while Lucy and I went up to her room.
“I mean, it’s fucking weird,” Lucy sighed. “And gross. By the way, you didn’t hide your crush from me too well.”
My face heated. “Really?”
“Well, you’d turn beet red whenever Dad was in the room, and when he’d talk to you, you’d stammer away before running off in embarrassment.”
I winced. I did do all that. “Sorry. I guess I wasn’t as subtle as I thought. You’re taking this really well.”
“Well… I’m kinda hoping you’ll soften Dad a little.” Her face scrunched up. “Shit. That didn’t come out the right way. Gross.” She shuddered. “Just, talk to him and do whatever you do to get him to chill.”
She reached out and grasped my hand. “And, hey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. About Roman.”
“That’s okay. I get it. It wasn’t only your secret to tell.”
