by Kaci Rose
“You’re eighteen. I owe her nothing.” He laughs thinking he’s won this one.
“Not according to the government. That doesn’t go away, she raised me you didn’t pay. You still owe her. Now get out before I call the cops, I’m sure you have a warrant out based on the child support alone.”
“I’m your father, family, you don’t treat family like this.” He takes a step forward, but I don’t back down. I’m not a small scared kid anymore. I know I can take him, and I won’t let me try to push Mom or me around anymore.
“I don’t have a father. You’re a piece of shit that I sadly share DNA with. Get. Out. Now.”
“You teach him this crap, Gina?”
“No, he learned it on his own last time you tried to scam him,” my mom snaps back.
I pull out my cell phone and get ready to hit the call button.
“I’m going. I’m going.” He watches to make sure I don’t hit dial.
“You still owe me, boy.” He says over his shoulder as he walks down the steps.
“I owe you a trip to the ER if you show up here again!” I yell after him
I watch him drive away, but unease still fills my gut. My mom places a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down.
“I don’t know how he found you, but I don’t like him knowing where you live.” I say as I watch him drive away.
I try to calm down by making plans to secure her house better this weekend. I can add a few more locks to the doors at the very least.
“I don’t know either. But I doubt he shows up again anytime soon.” There’s a shake in her voice and I’m not sure who she is trying to convince.
“You let me know if he does.” I look over at her. She meets my eyes and doesn’t break eye contact as she stares at me for a moment before nodding.
“I will, now let’s eat. We won’t let that man ruin our dinner.”
Chapter 7
Avery
I hate blind dates, and no matter how Kelsey tries to spin it, that’s what this is. I don’t want to be on this date, so I am not dressing up. Jeans and a nice shirt, I straighten my hair toss on a bit of make-up, and I’m done.
I haven’t heard from Titan since this morning, he had some football meetings and training and he told me he would be busy.
We get to the restaurant early, so we get a seat and I make Kelsey buy me a glass of wine. I think I’m going to need it.
Titan: Working tonight?
Me: No, I had an early shift.
Titan: So, what are you up to tonight?
Me: Kelsey dragged me on a blind date.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to be texting with Titan all night,” Kelsey says, rolling her eyes. “Please give this guy a chance.”
“I knew this was a set-up! And the guys aren’t here yet, Titan is, so he wins my attention.”
She rolls her eyes again and turns her attention back to her phone. Titan still hasn’t answered so I sip my wine and check out the menu before my phone goes off again.
Titan: I didn’t know you were ready to start dating again.
I can’t help but smile and picture a big football player pouting right now.
Me: I wasn’t, but she bribed me with her mom’s famous fried chicken and honey biscuits. It’s my weakness. She also had cupcakes. I blame the sugar coma.
Titan: Have fun.
Wow, Titan is never short with me like this. He always finds ways to keep me talking. Then it hits me, and I smile.
Me: Why, Titan, are you jealous?
Titan: Yes.
Me: Honest and to the point, I like it.
Just then the guys show up.
“Avery, this is Ollie, my date, and this is Jeremy, your date.”
Jeremy reaches out and shakes my hand, it’s all very formal and awkward. As we sit, I take in Jeremy. He looks very much like a preppy jock, and so very much not my type. I like them more rugged, but I know I should give him a chance.
Kelsey and Ollie are already lost in conversation, so I offer Jeremy a smile. “I’m not a fan of blind dates, they can be a bit awkward.”
“Yeah, this is my first blind date. Not that I’m ready to date again.”
“I told Kelsey that too, but then she bribed me with her mom’s cooking, and I couldn’t say no.”
“Ollie is doing my laundry for a month. Fair trade, I guess.” He shrugs his shoulders.
My phone goes off and I ignore it and try to talk to Jeremy. He's really smart and plays soccer, but he gives me weird looks when I make a joke. I’ve come to the conclusion he’s just boring. Not a single piece of his dark blond hair is out of place, he’s perfectly clean-shaven and just… well… boring.
When Ollie and Jeremy start telling a story about a recent game, I check my phone.
Titan: Is he there?
Titan: Please tell me he’s ugly.
Titan: Boring?
Titan: Need an SOS call?
I smile at that. I’m sure he is pacing the room right now and I wish I had a face to put with the image.
“Everything okay?” Jeremy asks.
“Oh yeah, just someone checking in because they haven’t heard from me in a while. Let me tell them I’m fine.”
Kelsey gives me a look that says she can see right through me; she knows I’m texting Titan.
Me: He’s here. He’s not bad looking but he isn’t my type. He’s a soccer player and is very boring. He also seems annoyed by my jokes.
Titan responds almost instantly so I have to wonder if he isn’t staring at his phone waiting for my text.
Titan: Need an SOS call?
Me: No, I need fried chicken.
Titan: I can come to get you right now and I will take you to get the best fried chicken you have ever eaten. Promise. It’s award winning.
Me: You that desperate to get me away from my date?
Titan: Yes.
I glance up at Jeremy who is also on his phone, so I text back.
Me: Why?
Titan: If I had known you were ready to date, I’d have asked you out. I should be the one sitting there not Mr. Boring Jock.
Me: I will finally find out who you are?
Titan: Yes.
I smile. If I had known a date was all it would take for Titan to reveal himself, I might have done it sooner. I look over and Kelsey and she is all wrapped up in Ollie and Jeremy is checking out one of the waitresses.
Me: Okay. We are at the Grill.
Titan: See you soon, Coffee Girl.
I pick up a roll and try to eat it, but my appetite is gone. I’m debating if I should leave before Titan gets here. What if finding out who he is ruins everything? This is such a big step. I shouldn’t have made such a rash decision.
I bite my lip and wonder if it’s too late to tell him I’ve changed my mind. I smooth down my shirt and shift in my seat just as someone approaches the table.
Chapter 8
Denver
I walk into The Grill and it’s easy to spot Avery with her gorgeous blond hair. Although, I’m sure I could spot her in any crowd. As I walk up to the table, my heart is racing. Maybe I didn’t think this through properly. But when her date starts checking out the waitress, I know she deserves better and I need to get her out of there.
When I stop by the side of the table, Avery looks up at me and bites her bottom lip, tilting her head to the side like she wants to question why I’m here. I just wink at her and smile.
“I was told you were promised some fried chicken?”
Her jaw drops and the guy across from her looks confused. I can’t blame him, I doubt he was expecting some football player to come in and steal his girl. Not that she was ever his to begin with.
I hold out my hand to Avery, praying she takes it and leaves with me. When she laughs and places her hand in mine, the sparks that flickered during our one and only kiss are still as strong as ever. Everything feels right at this moment.
She stands up and turns to her date. “Sorry, but I don’t thin
k this is going to work.” She catches Kelsey’s eye and shrugs her shoulders. “I apparently have a date with Titan.”
Hell yeah, she does. Watching the shock cross Kelsey’s face is worth ruining this set-up for. I take her hand, turning and leading her out, with both of us trying to contain our nervous, excited giggles. I open her door to my truck, sweeping my hand out in a gesture for her to get in, before I jog to the other side and get myself.
She turns to face me, her eyes wide. “You’re really Titan?”
The question in her voice has me a little nervous, was she hoping I was someone else?
“Surprised?”
“Shocked as hell.”
I offer her a small smile, but my nerves have now hit me full force as I start to drive.
She places her hand on my arm. “I’m glad it’s you.”
I smile big this time. We head out of the city and she is looking out the window as the town turns into farmland. I know she is trying to process all the texting and everything we’ve spoken about, consolidating it with me and not some mystery man.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see, it is a little bit of a drive.”
“Everything you said when we were texting…”
“All of it true, it was one hundred percent me, unfiltered. Avery, I promised you that and I meant it.”
We finally pull up to my mom’s neighborhood. It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst. I made sure she was safe. When I called her and asked if she would make fried chicken and told her I had someone I wanted her to meet, she didn’t even care that it was late notice. She was so excited and seemed to know right off the bat it was Avery.
When we park, I walk around and help Avery out as my mom steps out onto the porch.
“Hey, Mom, this is Avery,” I say as she wraps me in a huge hug.
“I love your last-minute visits, baby.”
Mom turns to Avery and says, “Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing!” and then wraps her in a huge hug too.
Even though my mom knows about Avery, she doesn’t let on how much she knows.
“Come in, come in. Dinner is almost ready. I was so excited when you called, I even made dessert.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You made your mom cook?” Avery asks, shaking her head, but she has a huge smile on her face.
“Oh, trust me, I’m happy to do it. I’ve heard so much about you, so him bringing you home, I’d cook a feast.”
“My mom makes the best fried chicken. I’m willing to bet it’s better than Kelsey’s mom’s. She’s won a few awards for it.”
Avery’s eyes light up. “Really?”
“Really.” I pull out her chair for her to sit and then pull out my mom’s.
“Thank you, baby,” Mom says, taking my hand and Avery’s to say grace. Getting to hold Avery’s hand, even across the table is all I was able to concentrate on, so much so that I don’t hear a word of mom’s prayer until she says Amen.
I watch Avery dig into my mom’s fried chicken, and when she closes her eyes and lets out a soft moan, I’m instantly hard and wish she was making those sounds for me.
I have to close my eyes and think of gross athletes’ foot to get my cock to go down. Sitting next to my mother is not the place to be sporting a hard on.
“This really is the best fried chicken I think I’ve ever had.” Avery smiles and then digs in again.
“Worth ditching soccer man for?”
She smiles. “Yes, definitely.”
“I feel like there is a story there.” Mom laughs.
Avery tells my mom about her night before I rescued her, how Kelsey bribed her to do this blind date and how boring the guy was. By the end of her story, my mom is laughing, and I can’t help but smile too.
I’m still a bit nervous about how this dinner will go. I never expected this to be my first date with Avery, but seeing her face light up over the food, I know I’ve made the right choice.
I love seeing Avery get along with my mom. I haven’t brought a girl home since high school, and when I called earlier to ask my mom about bringing Avery by, well, I haven’t heard her that excited in a long time.
They are getting along great and that is a huge deal to me since my mom is the most important woman in my life. I know I couldn’t be with someone who didn’t get along with her.
“Where does your family live?” Mom asks her while passing her more chicken.
“Nashville. Actually, I have to head home winter break; I’ve got to get my grandma’s house taken care of.”
“What do you mean?” my mom asks. I’m interested as well. She hasn’t mentioned this even texting me as Titan.
“Well, over the summer my grandma passed. She left me the house and everything in it. It’s been paid off for a long time and with my parents now being empty nesters, they want to travel. They don’t need the house or the money, so they suggested, and my grandparents agreed, to leave it all to me. My parents went in and took what they wanted, mostly mementos, photos and such.”
“What do you plan to do with it?”
She smiles at my mom. “My parents have been helping me sort through things, but the plan right now is to go back and go through the stuff in the house. I need to see what to keep, what to get rid of, and make a list of the repairs and stuff needing to be done. I’m thinking of renting it out until I am done with school. It’s in good shape. Grandma started to remodel it after Grandpa died, so the bathrooms and kitchen are done, and those are the hard rooms. My parents are letting me store everything I’m keeping in their basement to clear the house out. I spent some time there this summer, but I wasn’t ready to get rid of anything.”
Mom places her hand on Avery’s arm. “Are you ready to now?”
“I don’t know.” She looks down at her hands thoughtfully then back up to my mom. “I think so. There are some things I want. My grandparents had a few collections and I’d like to keep a few items. I’ve been going over what is in the house in my head I know the place inside and out, I practically grew up there. I know what furniture I want to keep and what I plan to sell. Many are antiques…” She laughs. “A few just give me the creeps and I want gone sooner rather than later.”
Mom and I both laugh at that.
“Mom had this painting while I was growing up that she loved,” I say. “But I swear it was staring at me and it creeped me out so bad I refused to be in the house alone at one point.”
Mom giggles. “Yes, then when you turned fifteen, it mysteriously went missing.”
“It may or may not have been subject to an accidentally-on-purpose accident and given a proper burial.”
“Denver!”
“Sorry, Mom, but that painting really was horrible.”
Mom grins and shakes her head, but Avery is laughing and any scolding I might get from my mom later over that painting is worth it.
“I was making weekend trips home for a bit just going through things and prepping myself to move stuff. But my grades started to slip, and I made the choice to wait until winter break.” Avery offers a sad smile.
“That’s why you were so tired?” I ask.
“Yeah. Kyle never wanted to come and help, but then couldn’t understand why I couldn’t hang out on weekends. I ended up spending less time at the house than I wanted.”
I nod my head but see my mom squeeze her hand. “If you need extra hands to help, we’d be more than willing to. I have those two weeks of Christmas break off of work.”
“Oh no, it’s Christmas, you’re supposed to spend it together, you don’t want to spend it with me going through an old home.”
“It’s just the two of us and we offered, plus, I want Mom to see Nashville and get to know the area a bit.”
I can see her thinking while she eats her biscuit and I really do want her to say yes. Spending two weeks with Avery would be an amazing way to spend Christmas.
“How good are you with a paintbrush?” she asks, and me and Mom look at each
other and grin.
“We’re pros,” my mom answers.
“I’d like the company. My parents don’t get in until Christmas Eve, then they leave two days later to go visit my mom’s family.”
“They aren’t helping?” I’m a bit shocked that they would leave her to do all this herself.
“They offered, but I planned to have them help move furniture and then do the boxes myself. They always visit my mom’s family this time of year and I didn’t want them to change their plans. Plus, it lets me go at my own pace as I go through things. It took some convincing and a little white lie to get them to agree to not change their plans. The house is plenty big so you can stay with me. It’s been closed up for a bit though, so be warned.”
“Oh, that doesn’t scare us off.” Mom waves her hand at Avery.
After dinner, Mom brings out dessert. She calls it an Oreo dirt pie. All I know is that it’s amazing.
“Oh my gosh, Oreos are my weakness,” Avery says as she stares at the dessert set down on the table. My mom serves us each a slice and I can’t wait to dig in. Mom would only make this for special occasions growing up, but it’s always been my favorite.
“This is so addictive and one of my favorites,” I say.
“It’s really good,” Avery agrees.
“Thanks, it’s a family recipe.” Mom smiles.
“You are an amazing cook. If I spend too much time around you, I’m going to gain fifty pounds.” Avery laughs.
When we’re both so stuffed, we can hardly move, I glance at the clock. “I hate to eat and run, Mom, but it’s a long drive back to campus.”
“Oh, I know, baby. I’m so excited you came out tonight. Avery, you are welcome back any time. Make plans with Denver, please, and we will be there to help you.” Mom hugs Avery and then turns and hugs me. “Drive safe and shoot me a quick text to let me know you made it back ok.”
