24. Step-Daddy
STEP-DADDY
CHELSEA
I swallowed, forcing my attention on the plate and the delicious homemade food made by my mom.
But I couldn’t.
“Two months ago?” Karen asked. I was glad she was nosy enough to ask about it, because I didn’t know if I had the courage. “I thought your wedding was this month.”
I grabbed the stem of the wineglass and took a huge gulp, even though it burned my throat. I needed liquor for whatever he was going to say next.
“Weren’t you dating Liza for like… two decades?” My mom asked, leaning on the table and peering at his face as if it would reveal all her answers.
Two fucking decades . I was barely four when he was dating Liza, his ex-fiancée.
Before Sean could reply, Karen interjected. “No, it was definitely over two decades. They started dating straight out of high school.”
I grabbed the wine glass again and drank all of its content before wiping my lips. I blinked when Jesse and Sean kept peering at me.
Ignoring their looks, I grabbed the fork and stabbed the cherry tomato from the salad before eating it.
Sean’s jaw clenched when Jesse poured me more wine, but I wasn’t planning on drinking more.
“It didn’t work out,” Sean said in his lawyer tone. It was the end of the discussion.
But he clearly had never met Karen, who loved to know everything about everyone. My mom had even told her about my crush when I was four-years-old and my first kiss.
“Why not?” She asked, almost accusing him. “You dated for two decades and ended the engagement because it didn’t work out?”
My mom calmed her down. “Karen, it’s their decision.”
I could feel eyes on me when I took another huge sip from my glass. “By the way, Karen, how’s your relationship with your second husband— oh wait , third? Or was it fourth?” I asked, flashing her a saccharine smile.
“ Chelsea ,” Jesse said with a dark look, but I ignored it.
“I’m sorry. You get married and divorced so quickly, it’s hard to keep up, Karen.”
“I…” she was speechless and even my mom looked at me like I wasn’t her daughter. “My relationship is perfectly fine. We have a couple’s therapist now and working through his struggles.”
I didn’t reply. But since she felt cornered, she raised her chin and asked me, “What about you ?” She emphasized you as if she was insulting me. “How’s dating in LA? I’m sure you can never find anyone better than my sweet Jesse.”
I looked at him and rolled my eyes.
“Chelsea!” my mom said, noticing it.
I stared at her. I had told her how he used to belittle me all the time, and she had taken his side, telling me that it was just a lover’s quarrel and she didn’t want any part of it.
Even when he raised his hand to hit me when we argued about breaking up. He never struck me, but that was the last straw.
And my mom didn’t do anything.
I was so over it.
“My dating life is great. I have a rich boyfriend,” I said proudly and felt a squeeze on my thigh. I swallowed, knowing it was Sean’s hand. “He lives in an expensive penthouse and has a housekeeper.”
“You’re lying,” Jesse scoffed, stuffing his face with food.
“I’m not,” I said. “I don’t have to prove anything to you. Aren’t you still living in the basement of your parents’ house?” I slightly recoiled at my words because I didn’t judge people for living with their parents, but Jesse was a real jerk.
“That’s enough!” Karen said, siding with her son. “If you’re not lying, then why don’t you show us his photo? What does he do? Have you met his parents yet?”
I paused. I couldn’t just hold Sean’s hand and raise it in the air and announce that he was my boyfriend, right? We hadn’t labeled our relationship.
I regretted opening my mouth.
“Karen, leave her alone,” my mom said and sighed. “She will tell me once she’s ready.”
They made small talk, and I ignored the glares from both Jesse and Karen throughout the entire dinner. When I held the stem of wine glass to drink it, Sean pulled it down and gave me a look.
I frowned at him and he shook his head. I knew he didn’t want me to drink too much—just like the dinner night at his restaurant. I pouted, but he narrowed his eyes and pulled the glass away.
“Why are you stopping her, dude?” Jesse asked, and I snapped my head at him. He must have seen our little interaction.
Sean’s hand remained on my thigh as he met my ex’s gaze. “I wanted to taste it,” he replied smoothly, and took a small sip of the wine.
Jesse didn’t believe it and I didn’t care. I had Sean’s words on my tits and I would do whatever he told me to.
“Anyway, Sean, let’s talk about your job,” Karen said and I ate a huge piece of bread and chewed it to stop myself from starting a fight with our neighbors and mom’s best-friend. “I heard you have your own law firm and handle a lot of divorce cases.”
Karen was scary. She knew everything about him, and I was betting twenty dollars that she even had his birth chart saved on her phone.
“Yes, I do,” Sean replied in a clipped tone. Wow . He must be regretting joining us for dinner .
“I actually wanted to talk about my ex-husband and our divorce?—”
“Karen,” Sean interrupted her with a charming smile. “We usually handle celebrities’ divorce cases, so we would be out of your budget. However, I know another firm who can handle your divorce.”
He choked in the end when my feet rubbed over his leg, under the expensive slacks he wore. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes while I ate calmly and trailed my toe over his calf.
I didn’t want him to flatter his grin to them. I wanted him to smile at me and only me.
“Are you okay?” Mom asked, offering him a glass of water.
“Yes, thank you,” Sean sipped on water and cleared his throat when I lifted my leg to brush over his inner thigh.
When the conversation shifted to dessert, Sean leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Behave, Princess.”
I whispered back, “It’s cute seeing you try to be in control, Sean .”
I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably for two weeks by the way he looked at me. I was fucked, but I was tipsy and wanted his attention on me. Only me.
“Have you thought about dating, Sean?” Karen asked, not giving up on her little quest to get my mom a date.
“Dating?” Sean said, sitting up straighter, but I knew he was hard. I wonder what he’ll do if I reach out and take a feel of his boner. “I told you, it’s complicated.”
Karen giggled and said, “It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can rekindle your relationship with your high school sweetheart!”
I froze and looked at my mom, who was blushing.
“Think about it! She’s divorced and you’re single. You can date and who knows, Chelsea and Noah can have a better step-daddy!”