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“Yep!” Brittany shouts back.
I pour the freshly popped popcorn into a bowl and join her for Dateline. I’m about to sit down when there’s a knock on my door. Brittany looks surprised, and I frown. Who the hell could that be? I have no other friends here. She takes the popcorn.
I open the door and the panic hits me so hard, all I can do is stare.
“Well, are you going to let us in?” Dad asks.
I step aside to let him and his wife, Amy, into my home. What the fuck are they doing here? Why aren’t they in Texas?
“We decided to surprise you since you can’t be bothered to come visit,” Dad explains without me having to ask.
Shit. They have luggage.
“Trace?”
I whirl around to see Brittany, who looks worried.
“Who are you?” Dad asks her. He’s never been subtle, and that sometimes causes him to come across as rude. Except right now, he is being rude. Before she can answer, he turns to me. “Are you going to close the door, son?”
Right. I close the door and find the ability to speak. Brittany comes over to stand by my side. She tugs on my arm, pulling my hand away from squeezing my neck, and interlocks her fingers with mine. Dad is eyeing our hands like it’s a bomb. Saying he loved my ex-wife is an understatement. He was more crushed than I was about the divorce. They just bonded. With a deep breath, I say, “Y’all, this is my girlfriend, Brittany.” I glance down at her with what I’m sure are pleading eyes. “This is my dad, Clark, and stepmom, Amy.”
Brittany plasters on a fake smile. “Nice to meet y’all.” She looks up to me. “I’ll go back to campus and let you
spend time with your family.”
“Campus?” Dad questions, and I nearly wince. Why couldn’t she just say she was leaving? “You’re dating a student?”
“Can you give us a moment?” I’m walking away before I even finish the sentence. I tug Brittany to my room and close the door behind us.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Be quiet for a second,” I say, sitting on the edge of my bed. I need to think. What am I going to do? They have luggage, so they are here for the weekend, I assume. Do I ask Brittany to stay? Or leave? Can I ask them to leave? How likely is it that they would actually leave? If I knew my dad wanted to see me so badly that he’d make a trip up here, I would have definitely gone down to visit, especially if this could’ve been avoided.
Hands cup my face, tilting it back, and Brittany has managed to stand between my knees. “Trace,” she says softly. “You’re taking too long to panic. They’re going to think we’re back here having a quickie or something.” She gives me a weak smile.
“What am I going to do?”
“He’s just your dad,” she reminds me.
“Yeah, my dad who showed up without any warning!”
“And now you need to go out there and face it. What do you want me to do?”
I grab her hips and decide to be honest. “I don’t know which will be worse: you staying or going.”
“Then I’ll stay. I promise no more slips that might ruffle feathers. C’mon. Let’s go face them.” She takes my hands and pulls me up. She doesn’t pause at all as she leads me out of the room.
My sanity seems to snap back into place. Dad and Amy are standing right where we left them. “Sorry about that. I’ll show you the spare bedroom, so you can put your luggage away.” They follow me down the hallway and Brittany stays behind. “Are y’all staying the weekend?”
“Yeah,” Dad answers. He places their luggage on the bed and faces me. “Amy, I need a moment with my son.” She nods and leaves the room. “She’s a student, Trace? What the hell are you thinking? You could get fired!”
I sigh. “Long story short, no, I won’t. Have y’all eaten yet?”
Dad eyes me before shaking his head.
“Okay, we’ll go out then.” I leave the room, knowing he’ll follow. I stop by my room to get our coats. Brittany and I have already eaten, but we’ll have to pretend we didn’t. She and Amy are sitting on the couch, watching Dateline. Good thing I had it set to record anyway. “Let’s go eat.”
The trip to the restaurant is quiet and awkward, with my hands either clenched to the steering wheel or my thumb tapping rapidly against it. I keep trying to remind myself that I do have a good relationship with my dad. He just doesn’t know about my problems, and I hate that he showed up out of the blue, especially when I am supposed to be spending my weekend with Brittany and Brittany alone.
