Page 34 of Icebreaker
“I’m so used to the oversharing in my family thatnottalking about it would seem off.”
“My dad loves me, but he’d rather be at work than talk to me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“He does maintenance and works seven days a week. When I was in high school, I’d ask him to go to the beach with me or have a game night, and he’d always decline. He’d say it wasn’t for him, and then he’d go back to work.”
“But he knows you’re gay?”
“Yeah, I told him in high school. He didn’t say anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was at the kitchen table, nodded, and went back to paying bills.” Dad was a stoic guy, so a huge reaction would’ve been out of character, but something more than indifference would have lessened the sting. “I’m guessing your parents know you’re bi?”
“Yeah, they know, but per my dad, sexuality is a sliding scale. The closer a person is to the center, the more likely they are to consider all options. I’m fully in the center. It doesn’t matter to me, so I’m pan technically, but bi is easier to explain.”
“I think I’m farther down the gay scale.”
“That’s gonna work out pretty well for me.”
Our conversation shifted to more mundane topics. We discussed the end of the season and where they might find a win. It allowed me to observe him in ways that weren’t possible in the locker room. There, he was bombastic and loud, but here, he was relaxed and infectiously happy. He smiled at the waitress, and she returned the gesture. He was confident without being cocky, friendly without being ingratiating.
I was as surprised as anyone that he wanted to kill time with me, but I was gonna take it. And more than that, I was going to find a way to let my little out to play. The end of the semester wasn’t that far away, and I had a limited amount of time to enjoy Daddy B.
CHAPTER TEN
ELLIE
“How much glitteris too much glitter?” I asked Daddy B as we stood in the craft store.
An aisle of options was laid out in front of me with jar after jar of every shade and hue of the rainbow. It was almost overwhelming. Scratch that. It was overwhelming.
“You should get as much as you want,” Daddy answered as he came up behind me and dropped his hands onto my shoulders. His big hands kneaded them gently, and I actively resisted the urge to drop my head to his chest and melt. Clean up on aisle nine would be a mess, and no one got paid enough for that.
“That’s not a real answer.” I sighed. “I need to get the one I like the best.”
“Kiddo, what did I say in the restaurant when you tried to pay for dinner?”
“When I’m with you, you pay?”
“Yep, so get what you want. It’s glitter, not a house in…I don’t know…Vail.”
“Have you been to Vail?” I asked conversationally. When I was little, before the divorce, my family used to take vacations, but never anywhere fancy, and a ski resort qualified as fancy.
“Once with my grandparents, but I liked Estes Park better.”
“Was it because of the skiing or the hotel that’s there?”
“Heeeeeeere’s Ellie.” He laughed. “And yeah, that place was pretty cool. We stayed there once, but unfortunately, no ghosts. Stop distracting me—you need to pick the glitter to make your perfect chart.”
My Daddy said it politely, but I could tell he was giving me an order. It really made things easier when he just told me what he wanted, and then I could get it right without having to do any research. I ultimately chose four colors: green, blue, gold, and teal. They reminded me of a peacock, and they were pretty, so my choices were on point.
Our next stop was the paper aisle, where we found giant construction paper. I told Daddy my plan was to make a frame, and then I could put the chore chart behind it so I could change them out. Picking the paper was easy, but I’d save the hardest part for last.
“Kiddo, you’re going to pick the stickers you want. And you won’t look at the back of the packages to see the prices. Do you understand me?”
“But what if you don’t have enough money, and then I take all your money, and then you don’t have anything for this week?”
