AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My muscles tense as I hear the car stop and the engine turn off. A car door slams.
“He’s kind of a DILF,” Tory whispers to Jess.
I roll my eyes at them.Ew.
“Natalie.”
“Dad.”
“Who are your friends?”
“Madeline, Jess, and Tory. You’ve met them all before.”
He slips his keys into the pocket of his suit and adjusts his briefcase. “Hello again, ladies.”
“Hi, Mr. Jacobs,” my friends chorus.
“Make sure you clean all this up, Natalie.”
“I will.”
“And remember, eleven.”
“It’s a Friday, Dad.”
“I don’t care. Be ready to leave at nine a.m. tomorrow.”
“Leave? Leave where?”
My dad doesn’t answer. “Have a good night, girls,” he says, then walks inside.
“You have a curfew now?” Madeline asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yep.” I stab my dinner with my fork.
“That sucks. How much longer is your mom out of town for?”
“I’m not sure.” I lean back, pulling one leg up into my chair and resting my chin on my knee.
By the time we finish eating—and drinking—it’s after ten.
“You guys should just go ahead,” I say, starting to clear plates.
“We can still leave at eleven,” Madeline tells me.
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’d literally get there and have to turn around. Seriously. Go. Have fun.”
It’s a surprisingly easy offer to make. I’m not bitter about missing the party. Fayetteville parties draw a much larger and more diverse crowd than Alleghany ones do. Usually, that would be an enticement. New guys. But for a reason that starts with anLand ends with anm, I can’t summon any interest in a random hookup.
The girls all give me hugs before leaving. After gathering the remains of dinner, I dump the empty containers in the kitchen trash.
I follow the trail of lights down the hallway to my dad’s home office that sits vacant most of the time.
I knock a couple times on the ajar door.
“Come in.”
I push the door open as I lean against the doorframe.
