Page 14 of Dating the DILF
“Yeah, Gramps, seriously?” Gray pokes his tongue out at a giggling Lulu. “Could you at leasttryto be a good example for Nugget?”
I shake my head and look around the table. It’s Friday night which in the Kents’ world is family night. Tonight, we’re at my brother Thomas’ house, which somehow manages to be immaculate despite the fact that three kids under the age of seven live here, and both Tom and his wife, Chrissy, work full-time jobs. They’re the type of people who give you a complex about how bad you’re fucking up life in comparison to them, but they’re so nice you can’t hate them for it.
It’s completely aggravating.
My nieces and nephew, Tully, Carson, and Shae, are laughing right along with Lulu at Grayson’s antics as he continues to goad my dad. Thomas is watching with an amused smile and Chrissy is fussing over the kids’ plates, trying to encourage them to eat more. All in all, an average Friday night and undeniably my happy place.
Despite our no-cell phone rule, I slide mine out of my pocket and try to check it on the sly. Charlie and I have messaged a few times over the last couple of days. Not a lot, but it’s been enough to keep me on my toes anticipating our next exchange.
“Expecting a call?”
I look up to see Tom watching me with a quirked eyebrow.
“No, not a call.” I look to make sure Lulu is distracted and paying me no attention before I continue. “I met someone.” The grin that spreads across my face is met with a look of concern and a hint of suspicion.
“You met someone? Where?”
“At the grocery store.” I take a bite of roast chicken and chew while Tom considers what I’ve said.
“You just met some random girl in a supermarket and asked her out? Do you really think that’s the best idea? What if she saw you on the show and is looking for a story to sell to the tabloids?”
It’s times like this I feel sorry for my big brother. Always the responsible one, it’s as though he can never just experience the joy of a moment. He’s always considering and calculating. Worrying about some nameless disaster that only he can see coming.
“I don’t think she has a clue who I am,” I tell him honestly. “She took off before I could even get a number, but then she came into the clinic with a stray cat on Tuesday. It was fate.” I smirk at him, knowing how much that will rile him up. Thomas Kent is far too practical to believe in fate.
“You’ve been watching too many Sandra Bullock movies,” he says with a smile, which is quickly replaced with a look of unease. “That’s pretty damn coincidental. She just happened to stroll into your clinic? I mean the fact that you work there is pretty well known. It wouldn’t take much for her to find out.”
I try to bite down my annoyance at his pessimism. He can’t help his overly cautious nature any more than Grayson can control his need for the last word. I glance around the table to make sure everyone is still preoccupied before giving Tom a hard look.
“That’s not what this is, and even if it is, it’s my mistake to make.”
“Jesus, Miles, don’t you think you’ve made enough mistakes to last a lifetime?” Tom’s voice is tight with tension. “First a one-night stand that changed your life forever and then a goddamn ridiculous reality show. Maybe, if you stopped acting like mistakes are a badge of honor, you’d stop making so many of them,” he hisses.
The anger that sweeps through me is unfamiliar and unwelcome.
“Mistakes are proof that you’re living.” I push back from the table. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”
I stalk away, heading for the kitchen and ignore the looks I’m getting from Dad and Grayson. I’m grateful that Chrissy is still too busy with the kids for any of them to notice my exit.
Opening the refrigerator, I pull out a bottle of water and gulp it down while I try to calm down. Leaning back against the counter, I consider Tom’s words, but I already know I can never live that way. Life is all about risk and reward. You don’t get one without the other, and for me the ultimate reward has always been love.
We grew up watching our parents, who were as in love on the day my mom took her last breath as they were on their wedding day. Hell, my dad’s love for her is still as strong nine years after her passing.
So, I know what’s out there for me. I know the passion and warmth that can be found with another person and I’ll risk whatever I have to, to find it.
Once I am sufficiently calm, I start to make my way back to the dining room. I know Tom only has my best interests at heart, I just wish he’d stop being so damn judgemental.
I’m about to step out of the kitchen when my phone goes off, and when I see Charlie’s name on the screen, Iknowthis isn’t a mistake.
Charlie: Can you meet me at 20 W Seaford Street tomorrow midday?
No, she isn’t a mistake. She might possibly be the smartest chance I’ve ever taken.
Iglance down at my watch before looking down the street. Again. For the seventeenth time since I arrived. Three minutes ago.
Is it possible to kick your own ass? Because I’d kind of like to give it a go right now.
I’m early, I remind myself in an effort to calm my nerves. I flick my eyes anxiously up the street again just in time to see Miles round the corner, heading toward me with a grin on his face. I really like that grin, I decide. It screams devilry with a dash of roguishness, and it leaves me craving a taste of something outside my normal.
