Page 46 of Rebound

It takes us about thirty minutes to get to an upscale neighborhood. The houses are big, and after the driver turns down a few streets, we end up in a cul-de-sac. He stops at a big brickhouse and pulls into the long driveway that is big enough for six cars.

The car barely comes to a stop when I see someone peeking through the blinds. As far as I know, only Seth’s father lives here, so it has to be him.

The garage door opens, but the driver does not pull in. Seth gets out and helps me and Jasmine out while the driver puts our bags in the garage. I don’t see a car in there. It’s empty as we walk through it, up a few steps, and through a door. It opens into a laundry room, and that leads to a long hallway.

The house looks new and is nicely decorated, but it’s dark. Seth turns on the lights while we walk into the living room. The man is still standing by the window, and his eyes light up when he sees Seth and Jasmine.

“Baba,” Jasmine says, and he runs across the room to take her from Seth. He kisses her cheeks and she giggles. He puts her down and looks at his son. I can see some resemblance. They have the same coloring and nose. The eyes are the same, but this guy is barely six feet. He’s thin but has a bit of a belly underneath his black polo shirt. He also looks a little haggard, but he has kind eyes.

“Hey, Son,” he says, his voice low. “I’m happy to see you.” Seth doesn’t say anything back, but his father opens his arms, and Seth goes in for a hug. Mr. Wakowski closes his eyes and tightens the hug, but it only lasts a moment. Seth pulls away and busies himself by pretending to look around the house.

I stand there and wait for an introduction, but this dynamic is foreign to me. No one in my family is quiet, and it will be a cold day in hell when my mother pretends to be shy around me or anyone I bring home. Had this been the other way around, she would have asked my guest about twenty questions by now.

“Dad,” Seth begins, “This is Layla. Layla, this is my dad, Peter Wakowski.”

When Mr. Wakowski smiles, he reminds me of Seth and Jasmine. They all have the same smile, but where Jasmine and Seth have mischief in their eyes, his are filled with sadness. He walks slowly to me and takes my hand in his. His hand is warm and when he squeezes mine, I get a good feeling.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Whorekow—”

I feel a blush spread across my cheeks. Seth snorts and starts to chuckle. Mr. Wakowski’s grin deepens.

“Did you just call me a whore?” he asks, and I blush more.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr.Wakowski,” I say again, but I grin back this time.

“She calls me Whorekowski,” Seth says to his father.

“Oh,” he says. He squeezes my hand, but he pulls me in for a hug. He tightens his arms around me before he pulls back and kisses my cheek. “Well, he’s done with that,” he says, defending his son. “He’s a good boy, and the best son anyone could ask for. I gave him a good talking to after we found out about Jasmine.” Just as he says it, he scoops Jasmine up and tickles her belly. “Even though I love this little girl more than anything, but, Seth, you’re married now. Keep it zipped. And Layla, just call me Pete.”

Seth rolls his eyes. He opens his mouth, but he must think better of whatever he was going to say because he shuts it.

“I’m so glad you three are here.” He takes Jasmine and brings her to a corner of the living room where he has a mountain of toys. “I went a little crazy shopping for Jasmine.” He stands after handing her a stuffed animal. He looks around the place and says, “I thought we could have hibachi tonight. I have the grill, and I had all the food delivered.”

Seth doesn’t say a word, but his nostrils flare and he purses his lips shut. I wonder what he finds so distasteful about hibachi. I’m already drooling at the thought.

“That sounds great, Mr. Wakowski,” I say, trying to diffuse some of the odd tension.

“Pete,” he corrects me. “You and I are going to be friends,” he says. He comes over and takes my hand again. “And don’t worry about me. I’m going to be a good father-in-law. Not one of those pain in the ass ones.” He smiles, and I smile back. “She’s very pretty, Seth. Good job.” He gives his son a thumbs up.

All Seth does is roll his eyes.

“What? You don’t think I’m pretty?” I joke.

“Yeah, I do. Since the first day I saw you even though you didn’t like me.” My heart skips a beat at that. The first time I met him, I was lusting over his teammate. In fact, I barely looked at Wakowski. The room goes silent, as I try to think of something witty to say to break the tension. “Let me show you our room. I’ll bring our stuff up later.”

Seth snatches my hand before I can offer an answer. He practically pulls me to the back staircase in the rear of the kitchen. I barely have time to look around the house. When we get upstairs, I pull my wrist from his hand to stop him from dragging me down the hall. He stops and stares at me. When I stop walking, he gestures for me to follow.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him. He sighs and looks away, and I realize I’ve never seen him like this before. His moods have never been angry. “Why are you upset? You’ve been in a mood since we got off the plane, and I don’t get it. Why?” When he remains quiet, I inch closer and whisper, “Did he abuse you or something? If he did, we’re getting the hell out of here. And I’m going to tell my mother and June Bug you let Jasmine aroundan—"

I think my question shocks him. His head snaps up, and he looks into my eyes. “What?”

“I mean it. Did he? I’ll beat his ass if he did?”

“Can you come into the bedroom please?” His words come out terse, but I follow when he stomps down the hall. We go through an open door into a bedroom. It’s a spacious room with a king-sized bed and a recliner on the side. There’s a big screen TV on the wall, and a crib in the corner.

“We can’t leave Jasmine with him if—”

“He’s not going to hurt her. He never laid a hand on me. He’s not like that. All he’s going to do is give her too much ice cream and let her watch cartoons all day and laugh at everything she does.”

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