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“I haven’t taken a girl out in forever,” said Evan, sipping his coffee.
“Just make sure you treat her right.”
“I wouldn’t treat her any other way. I’m always a gentleman.”
We sat at the kitchen table and chatted about my studies and his photography for a while before the subject changed to my love life. Evan asked if I was seeing anyone. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I couldn’t. I had promised Noah I’d keep our relationship under wraps. It sucked not having anyone to talk to about my secret boyfriend.
“Thanks again for the coffee”—Evan got up—“It’s getting late and I’m keeping you up when you should be studying.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I took our mugs and placed them in the sink before I followed him downstairs.
“Thank you for dropping by. I’m surprised Baxter hasn’t come out to greet you. He’s probably napping somewhere.”
“Yeah, the furry bastard’s living the life now—constant female attention.”
I laughed.
“I’ll text you tomorrow, love.” He kissed my cheek. “It was good seeing you.” He took my hand and kissed it.
“You’re so affectionate.” I tried not to blush.
“Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. Take care and drive safe.”
“I will, sweetheart. Cheers!”
He gave me a big hug before he left.
When I was back upstairs, I got startled by Jade’s sudden presence.
“Geez!” I flinched. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
She was dressed in a bathrobe with a gold face mask on and a towel wrapped around her head.
“Sorry, just beautifying myself! I’m so stoked about this date! He finally asked me out!” Unable to contain her excitement, she grabbed my hand and dragged me into her zebra print bedroom for some girl talk.
??
An hour into sharing everything I could about Evan, Jade brought up the subject of Noah and my parents while painting her toenails.
“I still can’t believe how everything went down. I mean, you lived your whole life thinking your dad had abandoned you when he was living under the same roof as you. He treated you like crap just because he thought you weren’t his kid. That’s so sad.”
It stung to hear her version of my truth, but I knew she hadn’t said it maliciously. Jade was just outspoken sometimes.
“I’m still a bit in shock,” I revealed.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you.”
“Noah promised to be a part of my life no matter what, so that’s all that matters.”
“What was it like living with him?”
This felt awkward. I didn’t want to place him back in the “daddy” category. He was my man now, and throughout our relationship in LA, we struggled to resist our attraction. There was no way I could tell my friend that.
“Noah was a better father to me in the eight months I lived with him than all the years I’d lived with Rob.”
The painful truth.
