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“Dad, you don’t have to.” I roll my eyes.
“I want to. You’re my baby girl. Whether you turn eighteen or eighty, you will always be my baby girl. So let your old man stay up and wait to make sure you get home okay. Lord knows I won’t be able to do that when you go off to college.”
“Fine,” I relent, knowing he’ll end up doing it whether I want him to or not.
He points at the kitchen clock, my gaze following his.
“You should be getting ready. If I know those boys as well as I think I do, they will be here any minute now.”
“Oh crap, you’re right,” I yelp, giving my dad a kiss on the cheek before rushing up the stairs to get ready.
I can still hear my father laughing from the kitchen as I close my bedroom door and rush into the bathroom to shower.
Tonight has to be perfect. The boys have no clue about my plans, but once I’ve laid my intentions on them, I hope they’ll be on board. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t made out with all of them at one point or another. This is just the big game we have been practicing for years. Unless of course, they don’t see me that way. What I’ll ask of them today, I have never had the courage to do. To be loved by all three of them at once.
“It will be fine, Val. They love you and you love them,” I mumble to myself, hoping to ease my nerves.
This is just the next step into our relationship. Next year when we go off to college, we won’t be able to see each other as much as we want. Logan will be off to Princeton. Quaid to Alabama, and Carter on his tour through the U.S. I’ll be over at Berkeley. Maybe I’ll be able to sneak a few visits with Quaid since he’ll be closer, but Carter and Logan I’ll probably only get to see on the holidays. I can’t even think of how painful that will be. This will be the last summer we have together. The one that we will make our most treasured memories. And what better way to kick the summer off, with giving in to our feelings for one another? I just hope they see it that way.
After I’ve taken a shower, I blow dry my hair and leave my long wavy black locks on display over my shoulders. I walk into my room, my red spaghetti backless dress lying on top of the bed, promising that this will be a night I will never forget. The moment I saw it at the mall, I knew it was perfect for what I had in mind. I pull it over my body, the fabric cool on my skin, hugging all my curves to perfection. I walk over to my vanity and put a light amount of makeup on, focusing mostly on my eyes. It took me years to not see my mother’s reflection every time I looked in the mirror. The trick that got me through it was focusing on the one feature I inherited from my father—his eyes. Now I don’t even see the semblances I have with the woman who gave me life. I only see me.
I jump when I hear the doorbell ring from downstairs. Just like Dad said, the boys are an hour early.
Oh my god! This is it!
I sit down on the edge of my bed just to take a few seconds to control my nerves. I count to one hundred, breathing in and out, scared out of my wits at what I’m about to do. But it’s a good kind of fear, in a way that makes me feel alive.
After I make sure I’ve gathered all of my composure, enough of it that my father won’t grow suspicious of my behavior at least, I take in one more deep breath, realizing that the next time I enter my room, I won’t be the same girl anymore.
I can’t help the wide smile that thought brings to my face as I walk down my stairs, three pairs of eyes longingly watching me with every step I take.
“Wow,” Quaid utters, his eyes lingering on every exposed inch of skin my dress allows.
“You look beautiful, Valentina,” Logan adds, the sparkle in his blue eyes just as intense.
Carter doesn’t say a word, but I see him fist his hands to his side, and I know it’s because he’s trying not to touch me with my dad in the other room.
“You guys look pretty good, too,” I reply hoarsely, taking in each of my love’s attire.
They do look good.
Real good.
Mouth-wateringly good, and my excitement spikes up another notch just looking at them.
Someone clears their throat, interrupting our locked stares and held breaths. My dad is leaning against the living room doorway with a mocking smile stitched to his face.
“Now that we have covered that everyone looksgood, how about you boys take my daughter celebrating? She deserves a night on the town.”
I skip over to my father and hug his midriff, his arms instantly cradling me to him.
“I’ll be home by two.”
“No way I can talk you into coming home earlier, huh?”
I shake my head with a beaming smile.
“Okay, I tried.” He shrugs. “Guess you’re an adult now. Just be sure to make good decisions, okay, kiddo?”
