by Eliza Freer
“And I wonder where I learned that from.”
“Nurture over nature every time, kid.”
Dad and I get quiet. He said his piece and I need to think on that for a bit. He’s not wrong, but I’m not wrong either. I feel my phone buzz.
WILDER: East. god, i’m sorry. i want to tell you some things. that didn’t go like it should’ve. please let me explain
ME: Look, i’m processing right now. i’m not saying no, i just need a minute…
WILDER: I’ll give you that, but i’m not him. don't give up on me
I sigh. My dad looks at me. “Who’s that from? Not that I really need to ask, I can guess.”
“Yeah, it’s Wilder. He’s asking me to hear him out.”
“And?” Dad asks.
“And I said I need a minute to process.”
“So, how’d he take that?”
“He asked me to not give up on him.”
“He’s lucky you don’t give up on anything, huh?”
I shrug. And look back down at my phone.
ME: Your dad is a dick
WILDER: Yeah I know. i’m sorry. i want to talk to you
ME: That hurt Wy
WILDER: I know. i’m so sorry. it was bad, but no one has ever put the old man in his place like that
ME: Guess i won’t be invited for dinner anytime soon
WILDER: Wait. does that mean i haven’t screwed it up too badly yet? please say yes
ME: *HUGE SIGH* yeah, not yet. but you have major groveling to do and i need a day to myself. and i mean the most on your knees groveling you’ve ever done. in a big big way
WILDER: Does your dad hate me now?
ME: He’s the one that convinced me to hear you out. doesn’t mean he’s not going to be pissed at you for awhile for not standing up for his daughter
WILDER: I’m sorry. i’ll grovel to you both. i’ll call you tomorrow
I toss my phone in my purse and look at my dad. “He said he’s going to majorly grovel to the both of us and he’s super sorry. Seems ashamed of his dad. At least he seems okay with me bashing him in public.”
Dad chuckles. “I’m proud of you for being the bigger person right now. And, I guess, if he doesn’t have the balls to give his dad a piece of his mind, at least the girl he’s dating does.”
“Let’s just take this forgiveness thing one step at a time. Let’s see how hard he works for it first.”
Dad pulls into our driveway. “Well, no matter what I’m on your side. And, I know I don’t need to say this because they love you way more than they fear me, but we always have a team of large men that wouldn’t hesitate for a second to come to your rescue and defense. Never forget.”
I laugh. “I couldn’t if I tried.” I look over at my dad as we both hop out of the truck and head towards the front door. “I love you, Pops.”
Dad turns and gives me a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Love you too, kid.”
Chapter 18
After an eventful afternoon, Dad left to go play some poker at his assistant coach, Coach K’s house. Deciding I’d rather have company than be alone to stew in my overactive imagination, I headed to Bean There Done That to see what Izzy might be up to. If memory served, Hank, the shop owner, plans to close the shop tonight so he can also inventory. I don’t know why he prefers to do this alone, but none of us complain.
On my walk over I texted Tassie to see if she’d be down with a girls’ night. That way if Izzy is in I’d have both my angel and my devil on my shoulders for my Wilder rant. In case I decide not to listen to reasonable, calm Tassie, I’ve got emotional, reactionary Izzy to validate my more extreme feelings.
ME: Tass. in desperate need of some girl venting. had an awkward encounter *see hiroshima* with both sullivan men today during lunch with my dad. you are needed by your best friend
ME: Please. i’m trying to grab izzy too and that’s always interesting
TASSIE: Oh girl i'm there. i’ve got some stuff to finish up but i can be over in an hourish
ME: God i love you. see you in a couple hours
As soon as I walk into the shop I hear Izzy screaming at me. “Femme! What in the holy hell are you doing here? Why aren’t you makin’ out with that fine boy of yours?”
I sigh loudly and close the gap to the counter. “Iz, you got no idea. There is much to say. Hank is here tonight, right? You free? You, me and Tassie? Girls just bitching about boys? Or just, one boy maybe?”
Izzy shakes her head. “I knew I hated him. Yeah, Hank’s here. Give me thirty?”
I nod and post up on the coffee bar staring at the espresso machine like it has the answers to the universe. It’s possible I waited for Izzy for thirty minutes, or maybe she was finished earlier than that, who's to say. All I do know is a bag holding four cappuccino chocolate chip muffins landed in front of my face at the same time I got a big wet kiss on my temple.
“Let’s hit it bitch. You wanna talk on the way or wait till Tassie shows?”
“I can give you broad strokes, but the finer details should wait for Tassie. She should be at my place in an hour or so.”
Izzy and I walk out of the shop and head towards her car. I don’t want her to have to leave it at the shop and walk back later, so she drives us to my place. I regale her of the major details…that I ran into Wilder and his dad while I was out with my dad and that it didn’t go well. She’s already ready with negative commentary, so I know I’ve made the right decision.
As soon as we get to my house we make some hot chocolate and popcorn and order some pizza. Tassie walks in about thirty minutes later and sits down beside Izzy. “Yankee, what’s up? Did that man of yours already screw it up?”
I scoff. "Man of mine is being a bit generous.” I pass some hot chocolate to Tassie. “However, yes, the guy I’m seeing is indeed imperfect. Not a shocker based on my track record.”
“Spill it, Femme. What did he do?”
I sigh. “Okay, so I was having lunch with Dad today, and some dick bag not only yells at me about being a bad waitress when I don’t even work there, but he keeps calling me sweetie in that super condescending alpha male bullshit way.”
Izzy makes a time out sign with her hands. “Wait, why did he think you were a waitress?”
“I was trying to make my way back into our booth after I went to the bathroom, and I VERY POLITELY, said excuse me and he waved me off saying I could fill their water glasses later.” I make the same dismissive hand gesture he made with me to illustrate my point.
Tassie pipes up. “Whoever thinks men are better than boys is an idiot. Men are worse than boys. At least men are supposed to know better.”
I nod. “Amen, sister friend.” I take a long drink of my hot chocolate. “So, then low and behold, this horrible man is Wilder’s dad. Who, in fairness, seemed off-put by his dad’s behavior, but said nothing about how we knew each other. My dad had to tell him we were dating and then Wilder just stood there choking on his words about who I am to him. Who, apparently, is no one.”
Izzy’s mouth drops open. “Wait, so what did he say exactly? Did he legit say nothing? Like your dad had to remind him you were dating? Did he have to remind him that he’s had his tongue down your throat for the past two and a half weeks? Did he remind him what you look like in a bikini? Did he remind him how he springs a boner every time…”
I hold up my hand. “Okay, Iz. I might tell my dad lots of things, but he and I have never had conversation about how many boners Wilder might pop over my wearing of a bikini or our witty banter. I don’t think I even want to think about that.”
Tassie waves her hand back and forth to get my attention. “Okay, so then what happened? I’m refraining from passing judgement until I’ve heard it all, and that’s not it.”
“Right, so his dad was like, oh so you’re ONE of Wilder’s girls, I can’t keep up. And then said that lucky for them since I can probably get them some great tickets during football season. I mean the only reason he was even over at our tabl
e was to talk to Dad about the team.”
Tassie groans. “Okay, so that’s not good. But, that’s also not Wilder either. Sounds like his dad might just be a jerk.”
“Gaping asshole is what my dad called him.”
Izzy scrunches up her nose. “That’s a terrible visual.”
I laugh. “That’s what I told him. I mean, his dad is just the right kind of douchebag that infuriates me, so I may or may not have made the situation worse by digging in.”
Izzy laughs and smacks the counter. “What did you say?”
“Well he asked sweetie here what she’s majoring in, and I may have said HR and then insinuated he must know a thing or two about unwanted touching in the workplace.”
Tassie shakes her head and grimaces. “Yankee, while I am always proud of you for standing your ground and not letting people walk all over you, maybe challenging Wilder’s dad, who is already a dick, wasn’t the best idea.”
Izzy shakes her head violently back and forth. “No, Femme, no. You did the right thing. If a guy is a dick you call him a dick. An asshole is an asshole. It doesn’t matter if he’s your boyfriend’s dad or not. Also, if Wilder can’t tell Daddy he’s got a girlfriend or whatever, then maybe you don’t want to be in this relationship.” She polishes off her hot chocolate. “Or, maybe you do, and I’ll change my opinion after the rest of the story. I reserve the right to continue judgement.”
“Well, he did try and explain before I left, but Dad was all like ‘you’re a coward and not good enough for my daughter’ and so we kinda just ran.”
Tassie chokes on her drink. “He said that?”
“Well technically he said he’s glad one of us has a spine. I was pretty proud of him.”
Tassie looks impressed. “Go, Coach.”
“Yeah, so then Dad talks to me in the car and basically says to give Wilder the benefit of the doubt, and he’s dealt with fathers like that with some of his own players and there’s probably more to the story. So, after going off on the guy, he kinda defends him. I guess maybe that should tell me something, especially since you know how Dad gets when someone hurts his girl, so…yeah.”
Tassie clears her throat. “Okay. So, East, you know I’m always on your side and will be no matter what, but I think past experiences are shading your judgement here. Yeah, he probably should’ve said something to his mom and dad about you dating, but that’s assuming his parents are normal. If they don’t have much of a relationship, why would he have mentioned anything? He’s a handsome guy who probably keeps people he actually cares about away from his monster of a dad, so it’s easier to just seem like he casually dates girls.”
Izzy cuts her off. “I agree, but, I think you totally have the right to be pissed about it all, Femme. I think it’s also possible his dad pissed you off so much that it’s like transference or something.”
Tassie nods. “That too. Have you talked to him since?”
I nod my head a bit. “He texted me basically right after we left the restaurant. Based on what Dad said to me, I was pretty nice about it all and said I get it but I needed a day. He knows about all my stuff, so he’s not overly surprised I went there when it came to my whole boyfriend’s dad thing.”
Izzy looks confused. “What’s all this stuff about past experiences?”
I glance quickly at Tassie who gives a small shake of her head. “Just a bad boyfriend from back home. His dad was also a douche.”
Izzy shrugs. “I’m not the rational one. We all know that. I’m the one that lets your ballsy side feel good about being right, but I might be with Tassie on this one. I am pissed at him on your behalf because I feel like it was handled horribly, but he might deserve a bit of a break. But, I will not hesitate to feed him his balls if he hurts you again. Like this is a strike, ya know? Even if it’s not all his fault.”
Tassie pats Izzy on the back. “We are in agreement on that one.”
I let out a groan. “I know okay! But give me like, one evening, to just be pissed about how it shook out. About having this guy that I’m super into be a pussy when it comes to his dad. I just, I just need to not have another guy who can’t stand up to his parents. Or someone who will do whatever they say, or whatever. I think I get to be upset. Right?”
They both stand up and walk around the counter to where I’m standing. I get a sandwich hug from the two of them. I know this means yes and I get to be as upset as I’d like, whether they agree with me or not.
Tassie rubs my back. “You can be whatever you want to be whenever you want to be it. Our parents gave us irrational levels of confidence and told us we can be whatever we want. You’re no exception, Yankee.” She pulls back and holds my face in her hands. “You wanna be mad. Be mad. You wanna be an astronaut. Be that. You wanna be a dinosaur? Just stay out of Jurassic Park.”
I laugh and kiss her cheek. “Love you. However, I am a clever girl.”
Izzy smacks me on the butt. “Damn straight you are! Now. Are we going to eat this popcorn while we wait for our pizza or what?”
I grab a handful of popcorn and throw it at Izzy. “Fine. How was work? Awesome?”
Izzy shrugs and grabs the popcorn that fell into her cleavage before popping it into her mouth. “Oh, ya know. The usual. Cam and his boyfriend had a fight, so I heard about that a lot today. Hank and I had a very long discussion about the pros and cons of continuing to stock peppermint syrup. Jaw dropping stuff.”
Tassie smirks. “So where did you land on the syrup issue? For or against.”
Izzy tosses more popcorn in her mouth. “I love a good peppermint hot chocolate so I say bring it on. I did tell him if he’s wanting to save some money he should ditch those raisin bran muffins that are hard as The Rock’s biceps. We’ll see if he listens there.”
I laugh. “Ah, Hank. Tass? How’s Boston prepping? I feel guilty that we’re focusing so much on my drama, and so little on your impending departure.”
Tassie scoffs. “Yankee, drama, I don’t mind. You upset and hurt is what I’m not cool with. But, packing is fine. You know me, most of my stuff’s been packed for a few days. Not clothes or whatever, but I have boxes all ready to put in the car to outfit what is sure to be a very tiny dorm room.” Tassie starts to spin the rings on her fingers, something she does when she’s nervous. “But. I’m excited. I mean. I am. But I’ll miss you. A lot. So I’m here. For whatever. Always, Yankee.”
I sniff at the unexpected sentiment that gets me a little teary eyed. Even Izzy is affected by Tassie’s words. “I’ll miss you too. But we’ll still talk all the time. You’ll still come home for breaks.”
Izzy rubs Tassie’s shoulder. We all remained on the same side of the counter after our group hug. “I’ll keep an eye on our girl here. She’s bound to get in trouble, but I’ll try and keep it low.” Izzy laughs. “Well, okay, let’s be honest. I probably encourage the minx to get into a little more trouble, but I’ll keep the arrests to a minimum.”
Tassie laughs. “Yeah, thanks Izzy.” The doorbell rings and Tassie runs to grab the pizzas and brings them back to the counter. “What are we watching ladies?”
I shake my head. “No Batmans this time around. Izzy’s choice.”
Izzy thinks on this while she grabs a couple slices of pizza. “How about Center Stage followed by Step Up All In?”
Tassie and I nod at the same time. “Deal!”
Chapter 19
The next morning, let’s call it early afternoon, the three of us drag ourselves out of bed and hop into Izzy’s car to grab some breakfast at the diner just outside of campus. We walked in and see a familiar face sitting at a table right inside the door.
“Uh. Hey, Kyle. What’s up? What are you doing here?”
Kyle takes a sip of his coffee and laughs at my ridiculously obvious question. “Having my appendix removed. What are you doing here?”
Izzy snorts. “Funny guy. Femme, you should’ve dated him instead of his dick of a best friend.”
I glare at Izzy. “I thought we all d
ecided we didn’t hate him. Remember, right before the final dance performance in Center Stage?”
Kyle looks between the three of us. “Wait. What do you mean my dick of a best friend? What happened?” He motions for us to sit at his table with him. “I can’t argue I’m the better choice.” He says with a smirk. “But, really, did something happen? East. Talk.”
Tassie gets an uncomfortable look on her face and glances over to Izzy. “Ya know, I was thinking that maybe I’m not so hungry for all day breakfast after all. Plus, there’s still so much to do. Iz, would you mind dropping me back at Yankee’s so I can grab my car?”
Izzy glances between Tassie and me. “Um. Yeah. I should probably hit the shop and be sure Hank didn’t change too much while I was gone yesterday, so I’ll drop you on my way there.” She gives me a tight smile. “Sorry, Femme. Raincheck?”
I glare at the two of them. “You are both traitors and horrible liars. Even Kyle doesn’t believe you and he doesn’t know you half as well as I do.”
The girls glance over at Kyle who just shakes his head. “Sorry, she’s right. Badass ladies and good friends, but terrible liars. However, I do thank you for stranding her here so she has to talk to me. Don’t you worry, I’ll get her home safe.”
I look back at my former friends. “Seriously guys? You’re really just leaving me here? What if he’s a killer?”
Tassie’s eyes grow wide. “Then kick him in the balls and run away. Honestly, East, have I taught you nothing?”
Izzy laughs and tugs Tassie’s elbow. “Let’s go and leave these two to an awkward conversation.”
Before they take off they both come over and give me kisses on the cheek, muttering their own form of false apology. I hate love both of them. Once they leave, I turn to Kyle. “Now, let’s say I believe that you know nothing about what happened with me and Wy. Which, for the record, I don’t. I think you know something and you’re trying to get me to talk and butter me up for your friend. Tell me all his good qualities, or whatever boys do.”