Page 3 of Pining for Dad's Friend On Halloween
“Wait,” I say after her, “what’s different aboutme?”
“The beard,” she says, turning. “And it looksgreat.”
“Thanks. It’s a vacationbeard.”
She turns and runs up the rest of thestairs.
I go to the kitchen in a daze, grab two beers from the refrigerator, and open a can of food forMidnight.
The image of Bailey’s thick lips and wide, sexy hips is burned into my brain. Taunting me. Teasing me. That full, sexy ass of hers as she ran upstairs looking so sweet andcute.
What in the ever living fuck justhappened?
I go to the living room and flip on the TV,stillin a daze. When I saw last week that one of Bailey’s favorite slasher movies would be on tonight, I texted her dad to ask him to DVR it for her. I knew she’d be home for Thanksgiving and thought it might be nice for us to watch that night. I scroll through the options and find the movie — sure enough, here itis.
I take a sip of my beer and glance toward the stairs. The shower starts. I swallow thickly and turn back toward the TV, in disbelief at the thoughts stirring through my head. I feel a tug at the corner of my heart, then get up to grab the box she’d beencarrying.
I dig my hand in. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the books are damaged. They’re all hardcover library books. There’s also her college t-shirt and a thermos inhere.
I wonder what she’s doing with all thisstuff.
I grab one of the books, checking the spine for a title. It’s in Italian. I flip through it, fanning open the pages. She’s never expressed any interest in Italian. She’s never expressed any interest in foreign languages at all, in fact, except to tell me that she learned Latin to help her with the vocabulary on theSATs.
I pull the thermos out and flip it so I can see the lettering emblazoned on it. It’s a “World’s Greatest Boyfriend” thermos. I place it back in the box and feel my lips pull into a straight line. Okay. That’s…good. She has a boyfriend. Not only is this young woman totally off-limits to me because of who her father is, she also has a boyfriend. A swath of warmth slides through my chest and seems to lodge itselfthere.
Going back to the living room, I scratch Midnight behind the ears and take aseat.
I have the duration of her shower to shake off the thoughts I’m having abouther.
The spooky, scary, wildthoughts…
