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?"

He's right. I hadn't even thought about that. His mom is just like my dad, except it sounds like she hides it better.

"And there's also the fact that I care about you. A lot. I want to be there for you, in whatever capacity you need me."

His words warm my heart. That might be the nicest thing a guy has ever said to me.

"What do you say?" he asks.

"Yes. I'd like you to come with. I'm nervous. I'm afraid of what I'll find when I get there."

"I feel the same way whenever I go home. I never know what condition I'll find her in, especially if I stop by during the day when she's alone."

"And you've never confronted her about it?"

"I did. Once. When I was 14."

"And what did she do?"

"Denied it. Told me I was being disrespectful for even suggesting she might've had too much to drink. After that she was more careful around me. If I showed up when she wasn't expecting me to be home and she was drunk, she'd say she wasn't feeling well and go hide in her room."

"Bishop, you going with us?" I hear a guy yell.

"I'm not sure," he yells back. "If I go, I'll meet you there."

"Sounds good."

I hear a door close. "Sorry about that."

"You should go. It sounds like they're leaving."

"Not for a few more minutes. Why don't I just pick up a pizza and come over there? I don't need to go out with those guys tonight."

"You need to spend time with your friends. It's part of the college experience. Hanging out with the guys on your floor? Going out for pizza?"

"I have all year to do that. Right now, I feel like I should be with you."

"That's sweet, but really, I'm fine. Go hang out with the guys. Megan is here. We'll have a girls' night."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go have fun. We'll talk tomorrow. "

"You free for lunch?"

"Yeah. At noon. But I only have an hour."

"I'll pick you up. We'll go have lunch since you're working tomorrow night."

"Okay. See you then."

Just talking to Gavin in that short time made me feel better about my dad. And I feel even better knowing Gavin's going with me on Wednesday. Maybe I should tell my dad I'm bringing Gavin. I don't usually bring guys home to meet my dad so I should at least give him a heads-up.

I send him a text. Hey, Dad. Just letting you know I'm bringing a friend with on Wednesday. Hope that's okay.

He texts right back. Sure. I haven't seen Megan forever.

It's not Megan. It's a guy.

There's a pause, then a text pops up. Is this your boyfriend?

Yes. I didn't want to make the drive alone and he offered to take me. You don't mind, do you?

No. I'd like to meet this boy.

Oh, God. He's going to interrogate Gavin. I wasn't even thinking about that. My dad will go into P.I. mode and question Gavin about everything under the sun. It'll be so embarrassing. But if anyone can handle it, Gavin can. He's very confident and sure of himself.

It'll be fine. Besides, we won't be there long. And who knows? Maybe my dad will like Gavin.

Feeling better about the whole situation, I search the apartment for Megan and find her in her room, on her laptop, of course.

"No more working tonight," I tell her as I go in her room. "We're having girls' night."

"What are you talking about?" She continues to type.

"A girls' night. You know. Pizza. Movies. We'll paint each other's nails."

She laughs. "Yeah, that's funny."

"I'm not joking." I take her laptop. "C'mon. Let's order a pizza and pick out a movie to watch."

She stares at me. "We haven't done that in years."

"Because you never stop working. You spend all your time glued to your laptop."

She smiles. "You really want to paint each other's nails?"

"Yeah. Definitely. We'll do it while we watch the movie."

"Okay." She hops off her bed. "What made you want to do this?"

"Gavin. He's going out with the guys tonight and I thought...you know what? We never have girls' night anymore. We should totally do that."

She grabs her phone. "I'll order the pizza. Let's get two so we have leftovers."

And so our girls' night begins. If Gavin hadn't called, I'd probably still be in bed, worrying about my dad. But now? I feel hopeful. Like everything will be okay. That's gotta be a sign he's the right guy for me. I hope it is, because I really want him to be that guy. The one I end up with someday.