With one last deep kiss, I pulled out of Debra’s body and rolled to the bed beside her. Another amazing night of sex. I could scarcely believe she was here in my arms almost every night instead of her dorm room. Not that we had sex every night. Sometimes, we lingered in bed, kissing and talking. Other times, I helped her to get a project done or she helped my unmotivated ass to study for a test.

We were hardly ever separated when we had free time together, whether it was to hang out at the mall, catch a Sunday matinee, or go out for grub. She had become an extension of me and it didn’t scare me half as much as I had been scared in the past to have a main girl with no side chick. Being with her, she slowly become everything and I couldn’t dream of being with anyone else.

I sensed something in her, though, that she held back. Sometimes, I would catch her looking at me with a sad expression. Whenever I called her out on it and asked her what was wrong, she would tell me she was fine or she was just anxious about meeting her mother. That sounded plausible enough, but I wasn’t sure that was all there was to it. I still worried she hadn’t forgotten nor forgiven my cruel remarks to her and wondered if that was the reason she sometimes shied away from me. Although we’d had sex several times, she refused to undress in front of me and it irked me because I wanted her to be as comfortable with me as I was with her.

She gave a heavy sigh and I looked at her to find her frowning, almost brooding. I shifted onto my side and pulled her onto her back so I could see her features more fully. I brushed her hair out of her face but she refused to look at me.

“A penny for them,” I said softly. “Although something tells me they are worth much more. What’s going on up there, Debra?”

She stared up at the ceiling. “Just thinking about tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, she was going to see her mother. She agreed to me driving her but she was firm that she wanted to confront the woman alone, so I’d agreed I would drop in at my dad’s for a visit since he was in town. She’d been shocked to discover her mother lived in Cherry Creek, less than a half hour’s drive from the university. No wonder her father hadn’t wanted her to move to school in Denver, knowing her mother was close by. She’d not let me see the details of the little book her father had left for her and I hadn’t pried and looked. I’d volunteered to help her with the search for the woman but she claimed she had all the information she needed so I backed off.

“I’m sure everything will work out for the best.” I tried to reassure her.

“Maybe. I don’t want to get my hopes up. People can be very disappointing.”

Something about her voice hinted at more than just her mother leaving her to marry well. Was she referring to me or her father?

“Have I disappointed you?” I asked curiously.

She shifted to her side and pulled the covers up over her naked shoulders. “It’s late. We should get to bed. Claire did say I should drop by at ten.”

“Debra,” I started to say.

“Please, Lucas. I’ve a lot on my mind. I’d rather not add anything else to it right now. I just want to focus on tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I strangled out though I wasn’t pleased at all, but she was already stressing enough about her mother.

Long after she was asleep, I lay awake, my mind roaming over what to do with her. She had me tied up in knots and terrified of losing her. Having never loved anyone else this deeply before, it was hard to imagine losing that. Or worse, if what she felt for me wasn’t love. How would I take that when I already knew she was the woman I wanted to grow more in love with each day, the woman I wanted to marry, have kids with, grow old with? Didn’t she realize how serious I was about her? Only her attitude about us kept me from declaring all I felt for her. At times, I got the feeling she wasn’t fully happy and I didn’t know how to fix that. When I tried the usual routes and offered to take her shopping, to go to a concert, or hang out at the club, she refused.

Something was missing from the way we had felt about each other when I first met her.

The next morning, we got up on time to head for her ten o’ clock with her mother. We stopped at Wafflehouse on our way to get breakfast. At least her appetite was back as I watched her eat with gusto.

“Wow, you must have been hungry,” I commented, to which she blushed and looked away from me.

“I’m making up for all the times I couldn’t eat,” she answered, stuffing the last bite of a Belgian waffle in her mouth.

She had gained weight, which looked good on her. Her face was fuller and on days like these when she didn’t seem to be thinking a lot, she sparkled. I didn’t bother to comment on her weight gain, though. Women could throw themselves in a tizzy and immediately start dieting if a man suggested they had gained a single pound. Even when it was meant as a compliment.

We left the restaurant and continued to the address she had gotten from her mother on University Blvd. The two-story house was large and had a double door garage, with large trees planted at the sides and medium-sized flower pots at the front containing green plants.

“Wow!” she exclaimed beside me and that made me a bit uneasy. If she thought this was grand, how would she react seeing my father’s sprawling mansion or my condo in Aspen?

“You sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” I enquired. I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone with a woman she barely knew. A teary conversation over the phone and mumbled regrets was hardly enough for me to know what type of woman her mother was.

“No, I’ve got to do this on my own,” she said tightly. “But thanks for offering. Didn’t you say you were going to meet your father anyway?”

“Yes, but I’d cancel to give you support.”

She turned and pecked me on the lips. “No, that’s not necessary.”

“I’ll be back to pick you up at noon. Will you be ready then?”

“I should. I’d rather keep this first meeting short, but I’ll call you if there’s any change.”

I watched her exit the car and walk through the gated stone archway which led up to the house. She ran the doorbell and I waited until the door opened and she waved to me before disappearing inside the house. Only then did I feel satisfied enough to leave her on her own.

My father’s mansion, one of several he had, was located in Castle Pines, a thirty-minute drive from where Debra’s mother lived. We had decided to meet at the country club of Castle Pines, the place where he spent most of his time, golfing in the mountains when he was around.

Only the most affluent people living in the area were able to afford a membership at the country club. I personally no longer had a membership there, but Father had his guest list which all his children were able to get in on. I met him in the gentleman’s lounge where he smoked his usual King of Denmark.

“Lucas, my boy,” he announced upon seeing me. “So glad you decided to drop by.”

My father’s ex-wives and my siblings were all of the opinion I was his favorite child. If I was, I didn’t get it at all. I’d always had material possessions growing up, but what I associated with a favorite child—such as time and attention—I’d never gotten it from him. As I sat across from him, I found myself comparing him to Debra’s dad and how different the two men were. Even when he made mistakes, her father did so out of love for her.

“Good to see you too, Dad,” I said. “How long have you been in town?”

A beautiful woman in her mid-twenties walked up to us and asked if we were okay or needed any drinks. I asked for a glass of iced tea, not wanting to start drinking with my dad. I had to drive and one drink and him could drive you to several more.

“For a week,” he answered, taking a draw of the cigar. “Want one?” he extended a cigar from his pocket towards me but I shook my head. The cocktail waitress returned with my iced tea with slices of lemon on a saucer.

“Now, that’s a pretty, young thing,” Dad murmured, watching the woman. She must have heard his comment because she turned and gave him a flirtatious smile before walking away. Just shy of fifty, Gregory Caine was an older version of me—dark hair with streaks of gray at his temples and blue eyes which still had enough sparkle in them to capture a woman’s heart, or their hands itching to get a hold of his wallet.

“How’s the latest wife, dad?” I asked, reminding him he was married.

“Ex-wife,” he answered with a rueful grin. “It turns out she was a passing fancy. We parted on good terms, though.”

“So you’re on the prowl again,” I commented. “Don’t you ever get tired of chasing skirts?”

“I’ll ask you that question when you’re my age,” he said on a laugh. “You’re a chip off the old block, Lucas. I’ve never once seen you bring a girl home to introduce to me.”

“Maybe sooner than you know,” I remarked. “That’s why I’m here. I had to drop my girlfriend off at her mother’s.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with having one girlfriend at a time. I might have had several wives but I never cheated on any.”

“That’s a relief, but my relationship with Debra isn’t like that,” I announced. “I am in love with her. I don’t want to be with anybody else in the future.”

“I did the love thing with your mother and it didn’t work,” he stated. “Hopefully, she doesn’t turn out to be like any of my ex-wives.”

I shook my head. “I doubt it. You’ve had poor taste in women. You had to have known those women were after your money. Josh, Lionel, Samantha’s mother, they were all so quick to get pregnant after the marriage and you never learned.”

Dad pointed the cigar in my direction. “Regardless of my failed relationships, I’ve never regretted any of my kids. Was I hit hard for child support? Yes, but I can’t begrudge the kids I helped bring into this world some of what I have.”

“Except material things cannot make up for the fact you were almost never there,” I reminded him. “When was the last time you spoke to the others?”

“I’m not professing to be father of the year, but I did make sure none of you lacked anything. You got into the best schools, had lives many kids would have wished for.”

“Actually, Dad, I think what most kids wish for is a loving home.,” I corrected. “At least I will be able to learn from your mistakes what not to do when I do have kids.”

He scowled at me darkly. “Is that why you came here? To question my parenting skills?”

“No, I thought it would be a good idea to wile the time away while Debra is in Cherry Creek.”

“And when will I get to meet this Debra of yours?”

“It’s too soon. She’s from a small town and still getting accustomed to our lifestyle. Plus, she’d probably think you’re serious when you hit on her.”

He threw his head back and laughed at my remark. He thought it funny but I didn’t put it pass him to flirt with Debra, even if he had no intention behind it. He was a man who liked a challenge and got his ego boosted when women—younger women—responded to his flirtation.

“Seriously, Dad.” I scowled at him. “When you do meet her, I want you on your best behavior.”