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Jamie shakes her head. “No, Brent. She’s pissed. You talking to her isn’t going to make things better. She thinks I flirt with everyone and our age difference isn’t going to change. Unless she accepts that, she isn’t going to be happy about this. Are you willing to date someone when it’s going to cause problems with your daughter? When it’s already causing problems?” She takes a deep breath. “I’m not trying to get out of this, but I feel bad for what just happened, too.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her against me. “You shouldn’t feel bad. We both had a pretty good idea she wouldn’t react well based on what Gregory said. My kids aren’t going to dictate who I date, Jamie.” There’s that no-arguments tone again. “They can voice their opinions, but it’s ultimately up to me and as long as you’re good to us, they don’t have anything to complain about anyway.” I rest my forehead against hers. “And you’ve been good to me and good to my kids because you’ve worried about how this will affect them. I want you to stick around.”
She nods. “Okay. And I don’t flirt with everyone. Dax let me read over his notes before a test and I thanked him just like she showed. I don’t know why she thinks that’s flirty.” Jamie manages to keep her tone in the realm of confusion and not accusatory.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Her smile is lopsided and her laugh is half-hearted. “At least you can reassure her that you won’t start a new family with me.”
Did I feel pain earlier for kicking my little girl out because now, I want to yell at her. That was one of the last things she said before I cut her off and Jamie didn’t forget it.
“You could also tell her that my family has money, so I don’t need yours,” Jamie adds before I can apologize on behalf of my daughter. “That was all she said, right?”
“Don’t worry about Kayla, okay?”
Th
ere’s a knock on the door and it’s tempting to groan. “Dad? Is it safe to come in?” Gregory calls from the other side.
“Yeah,” I call back as I grab my shirt and slip it on.
“Hey, Dad. Hey, Jamie,” Gregory says as he walks into the living room and drops his duffel bag next to the recliner as he takes a seat.
“Hey, Gregory,” Jamie says with a little wave.
“I didn’t feel like attending church with them, so I came back early,” he explains. “I tried calling.”
“My phone’s upstairs. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“You know Mrs. Jenkins isn’t going to let me leave on an empty stomach.” Gregory rubs his stomach with exaggeration. “She fixes a feast every Sunday morning,” he tells Jamie. “I’ve asked her if I could move in just for those breakfasts, but she thinks my mom will miss me.” Gregory rolls his eyes and Jamie laughs.
“We’re going to get dressed.” I stand and Jamie does as well. “You want to hang here today or was there something you wanted to do?”
“You two aren’t going to do something?”
“Our date was last night.”
Jamie mumbles something and heads for the stairs as Gregory says, “Yet, she’s still here, so looks like you’re still on the date, Dad.” He grins and winks, mouthing way to go.
“Don’t be a jackass, Gregory.” I follow Jamie upstairs, slightly irritated that both of my kids managed to ruin my morning with Jamie. The shower is running and Jamie is nowhere to be seen, so it’s easy to deduce she’s in there. While I grab my clothes, I decide my morning doesn’t have to be completely ruined.
Outside of the bathroom door, I knock lightly and ask, “Mind if I join you?”
“Seriously, Brent? He’ll know!”
“No, he won’t. And we’re not going to do anything,” I promise.
After a moment, she says, “The door’s unlocked.”
Not even a minute later, I’m in the shower with her and she’s shaking her head at me. “We’ll just turn the shower off and then run it for a few minutes more to make it seem like I took a shower after you. Problem solved. You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Gregory seems nice.”
“Don’t be quick to say so. He would’ve embarrassed you had you stayed a moment longer.” We switch places so I’m under the water. “Do you want to spend the day with us or go back to campus?”
“I don’t think I’m ready for a full day with your son, especially after your daughter freaked out on me.” She glances away and then sneaks a peek at me, as if checking to see if I’m okay with that answer.
“That makes complete sense.”
