Page 164 of Biggest Player
“So. Dex,” Robert begins, taking on a businesslike tone. It’s a fatherly expression to show me he’s ready to get staunch and serious. “How did the two of you meet?”
This is it—my time to shine. The perfect opening to razzle and dazzle.
Margot and I exchange a quick glance. “Well, it’s a bit of a funny story,” she starts. “We actually met here for the first time. At this restaurant.”
“Oh?” Her mother’s eyes practically glitter with interest. “I would have guessed a dating app.” She winks, attempting to be hip and in the know of the younger crowd.
I rub the back of my neck nervously, and her father notices.He’s like a hawk, this guy.
“I was here, uh, on a date with another woman, and things weren’t going well because—” I want to bang my head on the table.Why did I just tell Margot’s parents I was here with another woman?
“Oooh, oooh!” Wyatt interrupts, waving an arm in the air as if she were raising her hand at school. “Can I tell it? Can I?”
Margot’s eyes go wide. We’re now entering dangerous territory. How will her parents feel about me paying a child to do my dirty work for me? Or the fact I tried climbing out a restroom window?
She nibbles her lip, concerned. “I don’t know, Dex—canshe tell the story?”
I nod slowly. “It’s her story as much as it is ours.”
Wyatt practically bounces out of her seat, thrilled to be the star storyteller, a captive audience ready to hang on her every dramatic word.
Beside me, Margot braces herself, slamming most of her wine in a single gulp.
“So.” Wyatt pauses on that single word, glancing around the table. “Mom was here with us. Remember when we were here having that fancy dinner, Grandpa?” Grandpa tilts his head. “And Dex was here too. Except he was here on areallybad date. I mean, this lady was so horrible, right, Dex?” I nod sagely, waiting for what comes next in our story. “Anyway, Dex paid me a hundred and forty bucks to ruin his date.”
Wyatt punctuates the sentence by sipping from her kiddie mocktail, then setting it back on the table with a thud.
Lydia’s eyes are wide as saucers, but she looks more amused than appalled?Thank fucking God.
Robert’s expression, on the other hand ... not so much.
Thus far he is not impressed with my antics. Nor my charm. And no mention of football.
“You paid a child over a hundred dollars?” Robert repeats, his tone questioning, eyes bugging out. He turns his attention to his daughter. “And you were okay with this?”
“It was for LEGOs, Grandpa!” Wyatt interrupts again. “I told the lady I was his daughter and he hadtenother kids.” She giggles. “It was so funny. This was after he tried to escape through the bathroom window.”
It’s safe to say we’re all horrified.
Margot’s face is now a mix of embarrassment and laughter, while I try to gauge Robert’s reaction.
Yup. Still pissed.
And bypissedI mean a vein is bulging in his goddamn forehead.
“Is that true?” Robert asks, turning his narrowed gaze on me.
The vein in his head threatens to burst.
I clear my throat. “Yes, sir. Er. Uh. It was one of those situations that wasn’t going to solve itself. It was a first date, and the woman was making plans for our wedding and our children.” I exaggerate for the sake of saving my ass. “I was desperate.”
“Does that sort of thing happen to you often?” Robert is tapping the table with his index finger.
“No. That was a first.”
“Andthen,” Wyatt continues, not wanting to be ignored. “As soon as I told her he had so many kids, she bolted. Worked like a charm!” She puts her hand up so I can high-five her, and I don’t want to leave her hanging, so I give her palm a halfhearted, light tap.
God, I hate myself right now.
