Page 46 of Situationship
“Ohmigod! Thank you so much.” And she hugged him. Initiated and participated—it almost made agreeing to the date worth it. Colin knew Kade wouldn’t push his luck because the kid was already scared shitless; he’d never risk life and limb by lying to Colin. But Maddie.Oh, sweet Maddie.She was born pushing—the rules, the limits, and every other thing that kept Colin sane.
She’d wear the poor kid down in an hour, tops, which was why Colin was going to have that sit-down before their lesson. He might even call Gary to borrow his jar.
Maddison had gone boy crazy around the same time she’d grown boobs. Two things for which he blamed her mother. Maddie was a West through and through. From her hazel-green eyes to her stubborn, do-or-die attitude. But she had her mother’s freckles and red hair—and the fire that went with it. He wondered if Amanda recognized their daughter’s tenacity. Her walk-on role in Maddie’s life made it unlikely.
She’d have to put her daughter’s needs ahead of her “full-time family” and that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Sadly, Amanda had run out of time when it came to raising her amazing daughter.
“I’m going to text Kade about the lesson.” Maddison pulled out her phone, and he didn’t say a word. He and the kid had an understanding, so he let her little fingers swipe away. “Okay, he’s going to meet me at Shay’s in twenty minutes.”
“You want to try that again?”
“What?” Maddie asked, sweet as honey. “You said I could take surf lessons. I already missed my first lesson this morning.”
Something wasn’t right, and there went those Spidey senses.
“Your first lesson with Kade?”
“Uh-huh.” Despite everything she’d tried to get away with of late, Maddison was a terrible liar and an even worse keeper of secrets.
“Why is he meeting you at Shay’s?” He was giving his daughter one last chance to roll back her lie of omission.
“The break is better there.”
“The break is shit there. Third strike, Maddie. I talked with Kade, and we had an agreement, which included a sit-down between the two of us.” He held out his hand. “Privileges revoked. Hand over the keys.”
“How do you knowhewasn’t lying?” Her tone was accusing, as if she were the offended party. “You’re going to trust some guy over me?”
“Fair enough.” He held out his hand. “Let me see the text thread.”
She held the phone to her chest. “I don’t have to prove myself to you.”
“No, you don’t, but if you want to leave the house anytime between now and your first day of college, you might want to give me Kade’s number so I can set up a payment system with him.” Her eyes began to tear up. “Were you even going to take lessons with him or was he just a patsy?” This time she had the decency to look ashamed. “Phone now.”
“But . . .” she said.
He brought on the Dad look, and she folded like a deck of cards in Vegas. With a begrudging sigh, she handed him her cell. He checked that last text thread and,yup, a goddamned guy other than Kade. “Who the fuck names a kid Oak?”
“His parents are naturopaths.”
“Is this the Tinder guy?” he asked and her face told him everything he needed to know. “So, what? You were going to lie to me, then ditch Kade to meet up with some guy you met on a dating app?”
“You say that like he’s some serial killer.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.” There were so many other evils in the world that came from lying about your plans to meet up with a virtual stranger. “You have no idea who he is, and you were willing to meet him alone?”
“Shay knows him from work, and she knew where I was going.”
“I’m sure her parents would like to hear about that.”
“This isn’t Shay’s fault! And I just got off being grounded. This is so unfair.”
“You say that as if you’ve never dated. You were with what’s-his-name all junior year.”
“That’s what I mean! You never even called Liam by his name or trusted him.”
“No. I didn’t. But I trusted you. Enough to let you go to the after-prom party and stay at the hotel with your friends. I know he was there.” She studied the tops of her shoes. “I never said no to postgame fun, even when I knew there’d be alcohol, because I trusted you enough to know you’d call me if you’d been drinking.”
And she had called. Twice. He’d never punished her, instead praising her for making the right call. He was more interested in keeping an open line of communication than doling out punishment. And what was there to punish? Colin had done some pretty stupid shit as a teen. Partying, sneaking out, sweet-talking the prim girl-next-door into skinny-dipping—and more. But he’d snuck around because his parents were over-the-top strict.
