Secrets Kept

by Allie Everhart

  "You caught me at a weak moment."

  "Or maybe you just liked me." I'm still on his lap and he pulls me in for a kiss.

  "I'd just met you. I couldn't possibly like you that soon."

  "Sure you could. I liked you right away. I think I even told you that the night we met."

  I stop to think. "Yeah, you did." I smile at him. "That was a bold move."

  "I tell it like it is. Go after what I like."

  Turning to look at him, I say, "You're not at all what I thought you'd be like."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Governor's son. Smart. Goes to a private college. Dresses nice. I thought you'd be more of a straight-laced, follow-the-rules type of guy."

  "I follow the rules...sometimes." He smirks.

  "I think you're a bit of a bad boy," I say, running my hand over his chest.

  "Maybe you bring it out in me," he says as his hand slides under my dress.

  "Not here," I say, closing my legs, denying him access. "Megan might come out of her room."

  "I bet you anything she's on the phone with Decker."

  "After we teased her about him? I don't think so. She'll probably tell him to get lost just to prove to us she doesn't like him, even though she does."

  His hand goes between my thighs, and without even thinking, I open my legs.

  He chuckles. "That was easy."

  "Hey!" I try to shut my legs but his hand is already pleasuring me so it's not like I'm going to tell him no now.

  I quickly forget about Megan catching us and lose myself in the sensations that build and build and eventually overtake me.

  "Shh." I hear him laughing. "She's going to hear us and come out here."

  "What?" I'm out of breath, still recovering.

  "You yelled my name, kind of loud."

  "I didn't yell your name," I insist. "I didn't make a sound."

  He laughs again. "Am I that good? You don't even know the sounds you're making?"

  "You are good but I wasn't making any sounds. And I didn't say your name."

  Megan's door swings open and I quickly shove my dress down.

  "What's going on out here?" Megan asks.

  "Nothing," I say. "We were just talking."

  She eyes me suspiciously. "You weren't talking. You were yelling. Why were you yelling? Were you two fighting?"

  "Yes," Gavin says, very seriously. "We were fighting. Sorry. We'll keep it down."

  She eyes Gavin suspiciously.

  He looks at me, not even breaking a smile. He's good at staying in character. "We were fighting about where to go next weekend. I want to go to New York but Kate wants to stay here."

  "Why don't you want to go to New York?" Megan asks me. "You love New York."

  "Yes, but it's too expensive," I say, looking at Gavin for clues on where he's taking this ruse of his.

  "I'm paying for it so it doesn't matter." He smiles but just barely.

  I glance at Megan, who's looking at me like I'd be crazy not to agree to this.

  "Okay, fine. You win. We'll go to New York next weekend."

  Gavin kisses me. "I promise, you'll have a good time."

  "You two are strange," Megan says, walking away.

  Gavin calls after her. "Did you ask Decker about the double date?"

  She whips back around. "How'd you know I was talking to Decker?"

  He shrugs. "Just a guess. So what'd he say? About the four of us going out?"

  She stares at him, like she can't figure out how he knew that she'd asked. "I didn't call it a date. I just mentioned to him your suggestion that the four of us go out sometime."

  "And what'd he say?"

  "He said we should do it. But you guys are busy next weekend so we can do it some other time."

  "You and Decker could still go out next weekend," I say. "Just the two of you."

  She rolls her eyes. "I have to get back to work."

  When she's back in her room, I say to Gavin, "You're a good actor. That was a good story you came up with."

  "It wasn't completely made up. I actually do want to take you to New York next weekend."

  "Really?" I smile, already feeling excited about it. I love New York. I just can't afford to go there more than a few times a year.

  "My parents called this morning and asked me to have lunch with them next Saturday. I want to bring you along. We'll have lunch and then we'll drive down to the city. Spend the night and head back on Sunday. What do you think?"

  Meeting his parents? I don't know about that. It seems too soon. I guess I've sort of already met them, but as a server, not the girl their son is dating.

  What if they hate me? I'm not rich. I'm not in college. I'm sure I'm not the type of girl they'd want to be dating their son. But if we keep dating, I'll have to meet them eventually.

  But not now. I'm not ready. Who knows if this thing with Gavin will even last?

  Chapter Fourteen

  "I think it's too soon," I tell Gavin.

  "Too soon to what? Take a trip together?"

  "Too soon to meet your parents."

  "You've already met them."

  "I worked for them. I didn't meet them."

  "So now you will." He turns me toward him. "It's not a big deal. It's just lunch. It'll take an hour, max. And then we'll leave and spend the rest of the weekend in the city. Just the two of us."

  "Did you already tell them I'm coming?"

  "No. I wanted to talk to you first. You don't have to work this weekend, do you?"

  "I don't have to but I told Carol I'd take some hours if anything came up. Sometimes she needs help last minute."

  "Tell her you're taking the weekend off." He kisses me. "To spend with your boyfriend."

  If I told Carol I was spending the weekend with Gavin, she'd for sure schedule me to work. She's still trying to get me to break up with him. I talked to my mom last week and told her about Gavin and how Carol didn't like him and she said Carol hadn't said a word to her about him. And my mom said when she asked Carol about Gavin, Carol changed the subject. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Carol can be kind of strange sometimes.

  "I'm all for going to New York but could I meet your parents some other time? We just started dating."

  "What does that have to do with anything?"

  "What if I meet them and then we break up?"

  "Why would we break up? Everything's been going great." His brows draw together. "Or is there something you're not telling me?"

  "I'm not planning on us breaking up. I just think it's a little soon to meet the parents."

  "Kate, I think you're making too much out of this. It's just lunch. But if it makes you more comfortable, we'll tell them we're just friends."

  "Could we? Because that would take a lot of the pressure off."

  "There's no pressure. We're not going there to announce we're getting married. I just want them to meet you. And yes, we can tell them we're just friends but I think when they see us together, they'll know we're more than that."

  "How would they know?"

  "They just will. We can't hide our attraction to each other."

  "That's not true. They're not gonna—" I stop when I see Megan coming down the hall, heading to the kitchen.

  "I'm not staying," she says. "I'm just getting a drink." She grabs a bottle of soda from the fridge.

  "Megan," Gavin says. "Question for you."

  "Shoot." She opens the bottle and takes a drink.

  "If you just met Kate and me and the three of us were having lunch, would you think Kate and I were dating, even if we insisted we were just friends?"

  "Just friends?" She laughs. "I wouldn't believe it. I'd know you were lying."

  "Why?" I ask.

  "Because of the way you two look at each other. And the fact that you can't stop looking at each other. It's like no one else is around. Friends don't do that."

  "See?" Gavin says to me. "Told you."

  "Why do you ask?" Megan says.

  "
No reason," I say, not wanting to explain it. "We were just wondering."

  She goes back to her room.

  "So I guess they'll know," I say.

  "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine." His phone buzzes and he checks it. "Shit, I forgot about this."

  "What?" I get up off his lap.

  "We have a floor meeting in ten minutes."

  "Floor meeting?"

  "At my dorm. They have these meetings all the time but this is the only one that's mandatory. It's when they go over all the rules of the dorm. It's stupid but if I don't go I have to meet with the RA separately to go over whatever I missed." He gets up from the chair. "It's only an hour meeting. Why don't you come back with me? You can stay in my room and watch TV and then we'll go for dinner."

  "I'm still full from lunch. I think I'll just stay here. I need to clean and do laundry and run some errands."

  "Yeah, I should probably study tonight." He gives me a kiss. "I'll call you later." He walks to the door.

  "I have to work the next few nights so I probably won't see you until Thursday." I hold the door open for him.

  "Thursday?" His brows rise. "Yeah, I don't think so. I have to see you before then."

  "But you have class."

  "I only have class three hours a day. I have plenty of time to see my girlfriend."

  "Then I guess I'll see you soon."

  "See ya tomorrow." He gives me a kiss goodbye and then leaves.

  I return to the living room and sink down on the couch, already missing Gavin. I like him more than I've ever liked anyone I've ever gone out with. Everything about him is great. I can't even think of anything I don't like about him. I'm sure I will eventually, but right now? He's perfect.

  "What's up with you?" I hear Megan say, then I see her beside me.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Why do you have that dreamy look on your face? Did Gavin just ask you to marry him?"

  I laugh. "No. Of course not. I just like him. A lot."

  "Yeah, I can tell. You haven't stopped smiling since you met him."

  "He's just so perfect," I say, hearing the dreaminess in my voice. "I'm sure he has faults, but so far, I haven't found them."

  "You will. No guy is perfect."

  "I know, but he's as close to perfect as I've found yet."

  "You're getting serious with this guy. You know that, right?"

  "I know what you're thinking but it's not like that. This time both of us are moving fast. Actually, Gavin is moving faster than me. He's the one pushing for us to get more serious."

  "Like how?"

  "He wants me to meet his parents this weekend."

  "Huh." She picks at the dark purple nail polish on her thumb. "Meeting the parents. You sure you're ready for that?"

  "No. But he insists it's not a big deal. We're having lunch with them on Saturday and then going to New York."

  "Are you nervous about meeting them?"

  "Well, yeah. His dad's the former governor."

  "What'd you think of Gavin's grandfather? That's his dad's father, right?"

  "Yeah. He was great. I loved him."

  "Then maybe you'll like Gavin's dad."

  "His dad and his grandfather are totally different. They hardly talk to each other and rarely see each other. And when I saw Niles at the party that night, he seemed nothing like his dad. He was uptight and tense, and when he smiled it seemed fake, like he didn't like anyone there but was forced to have them at his party."

  "All rich people are like that."

  "Maybe. I'm just saying that Gavin's grandfather wasn't like that. He was laid back. Easy to talk to. I was relaxed around him. But Gavin's parents? I'm afraid I'm going to be a nervous wreck."

  "Don't let them get to you. Just because they're rich doesn't mean they're better than anyone else."

  "But they think they are, which means they won't approve of me."

  "So? You don't need their approval. Gavin's not a kid. He can date whoever he wants. And it's clear he wants you."

  I smile. "Yeah. He does."

  "So relax. Go have lunch for an hour, then have fun in New York the rest of the weekend."

  "I guess you're right. I'm worrying too much. It's just lunch." I turn to face her, tucking my legs under me. "So what's up with you and Decker? And don't try lying to me. I know you two aren't just friends."

  "We're friends with benefits. Nothing more."

  "That's not nothing."

  "It's not a relationship, which is okay because neither one of us wants that. We just want something temporary. Something that meets our needs."

  "I thought you really liked him."

  "I do, but it's not like this could ever go anywhere. He has to finish college and I'm going to move to wherever I get a job."

  "You could still have a relationship. You have no idea when you're gonna get a job. It could be years."

  She rolls her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

  "You know what I mean. You're a great writer and any newspaper would be lucky to have you, but you said yourself that it's a tough job market. The right job could be a long ways off, so in the meantime, why not date Decker?"

  "We are dating. It's just not serious." She picks up her phone and checks it. "Oh. I meant to tell you, Marci's dad died."

  "Marci from high school?"

  "Yeah. She posted it online. He died a few days ago. Sudden heart attack."

  "That's horrible. She was so close to her dad."

  "I know. You should read the tribute she wrote. It was so sad."

  Hearing that makes me think of my own dad. What if that was him? What if he had a sudden heart attack and died and I never got the chance to say goodbye?

  I get my phone out and search for his number.

  "Texting Gavin already? He just left."

  "No. I'm texting my dad."

  "But I thought—"

  "I know I said I wasn't ready but I can't keep putting it off. What if something happened to him?"

  "What are you saying in the text?"

  "That I'm coming to see him."

  "When?"

  "Wednesday, if he's available. I have the morning off."

  She waits for me to send the text, then says, "Are you worried?"

  "That I'll go there and find him drunk? Yeah. I am." I chew on my lip, anxiously waiting to see if he'll respond.

  "Why don't I go with you? I'll see if I can get off work."

  "I don't want you missing work."

  "It's no problem. I'll just have to—" She stops suddenly, then sighs. "Never mind. We have a staff meeting that morning. I can't get out of it. But if you go another day, I'm sure I could get the time off."

  "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Maybe he won't even respond." Just as I say that, a text pops up from my dad.

  Kate, it's so good to hear from you. I'd love for you to come on Wednesday. I'll take the day off.

  I text back. I can only come for the morning. I have to work in the afternoon.

  Then I'll take the morning off. I can't wait to see you!

  Now I feel guilty. I should've gone to visit him before now. I was mad at him for lying about his drinking but still, two years is too long.

  Can't wait to see you too, Dad, I text back.

  I set my phone down.

  "You okay?" Megan asks.

  "Yeah. I just feel stupid for not going to see him sooner."

  "Kate." She scoots closer to me on the couch. "Don't beat yourself up over it. He lied to you, which hurt you. You stayed away from him because you didn't want to risk feeling like that again."

  "But he didn't mean to lie. It was his addiction, not him."

  "He still lied. You can't make excuses for him. He knew he was lying to you, and he still did it."

  "I know. So what if he does it again?"

  "Then you either confront him about it or leave. That's all you can do."

  I nod, because she's right. I wish I could do more but I can't make my dad change. He has to
want to. And maybe he has. He didn't sound drunk when he texted me just now.

  "I'm gonna go take a nap," I say. "I'm tired."

  "Because Gavin kept you up all night!" she calls after me as I go to my room.

  "It was worth it," I yell back, then hear her laugh.

  I fall asleep as soon as I lie down, then wake up to my phone ringing. I check the clock. I slept for over an hour.

  "Hey," I answer, seeing it's Gavin calling. "Is your meeting over?"

  "Yeah, it just ended. You sound tired."

  "I fell asleep. I just woke up."

  "Sorry. If I'd known I wouldn't have called."

  "It's fine. I needed to get up or I won't sleep tonight."

  "So I was going to come pick you up for dinner but the guys on my floor want me to go get pizza with them. I feel like I should since I haven't spent much time getting to know them."

  "Yeah, go ahead. I'll have dinner with Megan."

  "You okay? You sound more than just tired. Did something happen?"

  How did he figure that out from just hearing my voice? Does he know me that well? Already?

  "I texted my dad."

  "And?"

  "I told him I'm coming to see him this week."

  "I thought you weren't ready for that."

  "I didn't think I was but then...I just don't want to keep being angry with him. Whatever he's done he's still my dad and I miss him."

  "Did you get a response?"

  "Yeah. He was really excited I was coming."

  "That's great. So when are you going to see him?"

  "Wednesday morning. I have it off from work."

  "I don't have class that morning. Would you want me to come with you?"

  "Um, I don't know. You don't need to."

  "I want to. I can tell you're nervous about going. It might help to have someone there."

  I take a moment to consider it. Maybe it would be good to have him there. But if my dad's drunk, I don't want Gavin seeing that.

  "Tell you what," he says. "How about I drive you there and if you decide you don't want me coming inside, I'll either wait in the car or go wait somewhere else until you're ready to go."

  "I can't ask you to do that."

  "You don't have to ask. I'm offering. I don't think you should go there alone. And if anyone's going to go with you, who better to go than someone who knows what you're dealing with?"