AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We finish showering, hang out in my room for a few extra minutes while Jamie arranges for Erin to come pick her up. Then we sit in the living room where Gregory now plays a video game until Jamie gets a text and she stands with her bag. I walk her to the door, but before I can open it, she places a hand on my chest.
“For both our sakes, please don’t walk me out. Neither of us is ready for Erin to talk to you.”
I chuckle. “Okay.” Leaning forward, I kiss her cheek. “See you in the morning?”
“Bright and early,” she confirms as I open the door for her.
I stand in the doorway and watch her hurry to the waiting car. She flashes me a smile just before she gets into the car. Then, I close the door and return to the couch.
“So. Kayla knows, huh?”
I flick my gaze over to my son. “How do you know that?”
“She texted me, told me, and since she knows I’m here, she begged me to tell her when Jamie left.” He pauses his game and looks at me. “Did you really kick Kayla out?”
A sigh slips past my lips before I can stop it. “I told her to leave, yes, but only because she was being disrespectful. I would have asked you to leave if you had done the same thing. I would’ve asked Jamie to leave had she done it.”
“Well, do you want me to tell her Jamie is gone?”
“That’s fine.”
He texts his sister before resuming his video game. It doesn’t take but thirty minutes before there’s a knock on my door. I’m both surprised and a bit thankful that she’s knocking. Even though now it’s technically safe for her to barge in, it’s past time that she stop doing so. Today was obviously her lesson in learning that.
I open the door and step aside for Kayla to enter.
“Gregory told you I was coming?” she asks. “You don’t seem surprised I’m here.”
“He told me.”
We sit down on the couch and Gregory surprises me by being the first to speak. “Don’t drag me into this, Kayla. I like Jamie and I don’t care how old she is. You’re on your own here.”
“How can you like her? You just met her today!”
Gregory glances at me. “Actually, I met her last weekend by accident.”
Anger rolls off her in waves. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? I immediately told you once I found out!”
“That’s not the point here, Kayla,” I interrupt. “You two can fight about that later, but for the record, I asked him not to tell you. What did you come here to talk to me about?”
She angles on the couch toward me, crisscrossing her legs to get comfortable and clasping her hands. “Dad, you can’t be serious about dating her. She’s way too young for you. It’s creepy that she’s practically my age and you’re dating her. You were supposed to date someone your own age! How did you even meet her?”
I wait a second to see if she’s going to add anything else before answering her question. “She needed to get away from campus and parked just outside to go running. I was out running and saw her sitting on the curb, crying. She had a bad day turn worse because she had a flat tire.” Kayla rolls her eyes. “She knew how to change it, but I offered to change it and get it fixed anyway. We went out to eat afterward.” Kayla shakes her head like it’s the most absurd thing she’s ever heard. “What is your problem with her?”
“I don’t know!” She throws her arms up. “There’s just something about her that has gotten on my last nerve since we had to do that project together. She’s such a social person and she flirts with every guy she talks to. You shouldn’t trust her.”
My mouth pulls down in a heavy frown. “I can’t believe my little girl is judging someone she doesn’t even know.” Kayla leans back a little with the hurt my words caused. “I know the age difference makes things awkward. It made me hesitate and wonder if I’d gone crazy, but Jamie is a good person and I like her. Right now, that’s enough for me. I planned to tell you about her in a couple of weeks after I’d been seeing her a little longer, but now you know.”
“Daddy.”
I hold up my hand. “You don’t have to like it.” I glance back and forth between her and Gregory, so they’d know I’m talking to both of them. “But this is my decision, not yours. I know what I want in a woman and so far, Jamie gives me those things. She makes me happy. That should be good enough for you. That said, you will not disrespect her in my house. It doesn’t have a thing to do with choosing her over either of you, but with you behaving like I raised you.”
Kayla opens her mouth. I don’t know if it’s to agree or object or plead her case, but I interrupt her yet again. “Jamie told me to pass along a message for you in response to what you said to her this morning.” Kayla tenses. “Her family has money, so she doesn’t need me to be her sugar daddy.” It might be harsh to throw her words back in her face, but she can’t go off on people either. “And neither of us want to start a new family, as you so kindly worded it.” It doesn’t feel right to go as far as to say Jamie can’t have kids, to spill that secret of hers to my daughter, so I don’t bother. Lastly, I say, “You should think about apologizing the next time you see her.”
“You won’t stop seeing her?”
“Would you stop seeing Logan if I asked?”
“That’s not the same! I love Logan.”
