Page 50 of The Single Dad Dilemma

I’m falling for this girl. Hard and fast. Eyes wide open. I just don’t know if I could say the same for her. I haven’t asked and she hasn’t offered it up. Maybe I’m a little afraid to ask what this is. Is it a summer fling? Something temporary and exhilarating that’s only meant to last a moment? Are we a firework? Or is it only a beginning? A small green stem with a single leaf and a flower bud on the verge of blooming?

It’s hard to tell which. But let’s examine the facts. She loves Lou and Lou loves her. She gets along with the boys, and they don’t have a bad thing to say about her. Even Lyric seems to like the lot of us. The fact is, Darcy spends more time with us than probably anyone else outside of her roommate. She doesn’t have to come over early for breakfast or stay late to have dinner with us. She could run out the door as soon as I get there but she doesn’t. That means something, right?

Darcy stayed awake in my arms for a long while before surrendering to sleep. I felt her body finally give out as she grew limp in my arms. Then I stayed up wondering what had been keeping her up. She’s usually quick to fall asleep after we have sex.

Though I’d barely call what we did sex. Sure, the voyeuristic start was a little intense, but everything shifted after that. There was a softness to our touches, our kissing. It was slow and riddled with deep emotion. At least for me.

Now, it’s morning and she’s still sleeping, and I have to take a piss but I can’t bring myself to wake her. I slowly slide my arm from beneath her and kiss her temple. I manage to extract myself from the bed and slide my boxers on. It’s early and I’m hoping no one else is awake.

Her door creaks a little too loudly for my liking as I slide it open and dip out into the hallway. I tiptoe down the short corridor to the living room, clocking Banks and Killian on the two couches. Waylon is nowhere to be seen, and for a moment I wonder if he went home for some reason.

Then, as if timed by the good Lord himself, Waylon slowly appears from the door on the other side of the living room. The door which I know to be Lyric’s room.

He makes desperate eyes at me, pressing a finger over his mouth like he’s begging me not to say a word to anyone about where he spent the night.

I roll my eyes, shuffling into the bathroom as he slips his shirt over his head. He’s such a fucking hound dog sometimes. I don’t know why he’s telling me to shut up about it. Lyric is definitely going to tell Darcy. They’re best friends.

Now I’m in a tough position, because he’s my boy, like a brother to me. But if he hurts Lyric and pisses off Darcy, I’m going to have to knock him around a bit. Maybe even punch him in the testicles for not thinking about how his dumbassery would affect the group dynamic. He’s old enough to know better, dammit. So if he earns himself an ass whoopin’, so be it.

I take a piss, wash my hands, and slip back into Darcy’s room all without making much noise at all. But much to my surprise, she’s awake and sitting in the middle of her bed. She’s wrappedher pale yellow bed sheet around her, and she’s got worry written all over her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says. “It’s dumb.”

“It’s not dumb is it’s making you look like you do,” I say reassuringly.

“How do I look?” she asks.

“Sad.”

Darcy breathes a long, audible sigh, hugging her knees to her chest. Whatever has her upset is big.

“I thought you left,” she says, hanging her head low. “I thought you snuck out before I woke up or something.”

“Honey, I would never do that.” I sit next to her on the bed, pulling her to my chest. “Surely you know by now that I’m not that kind of person.”

“I think in my heart, I know that,” she says, nuzzling her face into my neck. “But my brain is all wonky sometimes. Tyler… he used to do it all the time.”

I hug her tightly, kissing the top of her head. “I really fucking hate that guy.”

“He texted me last night after we all left.” She sighs. “All it says is ‘We need to talk,’ like I’m supposed to just follow orders or something.”

I swallow my jealousy and the hint of rage I feel for Tyler as best I can. And as much as I don’t want her around him, maybe it’s time she told him how she feels.

“I don’t think you should see him in person.” I speak plainly with her, feeling I can trust her to not think the worst of me. “That’s not me being weirdly jealous or anything. That’s me worried about your personal safety and his unpredictability.”

She tilts her head side to side, considering my words.

“I’ll text him,” she says. “But as sad as it is to admit, you’re probably right about how he can snap in a moment.”

“And I think you need to tell him how you feel,” I say, elbowing her gently. “I think it will make you feel better if you purge those feelings. Maybe it will help you move past some of what he did to you.”

“Yeah…” The word trails off into nothing, her body slumped and tight.

I hate it. I push strands of her wild hair away from her eyes, brush my fingertips over her cheeks, and close my eyes.

“But listen to me, Darcy. If you’re never over what he did to you, if you are always going to need a little extra reassurance from me, I can do that. I can be that for you.”

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