25. Dante
CHAPTER 25
Dante
I pushed through the throng of students coursing down the hall, embarrassed at the stunt I’d just pulled. It hadn’t been necessary to dangle her bra in front of Murph. But she was so damn sanctimonious. It pissed me off that she’d gotten under my skin so bad.
How could she keep it so under control? An undeniable chemistry surged between us. Hell, I could practically see it crackle when I got near her. Yet she seemed to be able to turn it on and off at will. Damn.
Maybe it was just a physical thing. The guys at the office and at the bar had been telling me for weeks I needed to get laid. I guessed they were right. Whatever hold Faith had over me must be purely physical. Now that we’d consummated our combustible attraction a couple of times, I should be able to put her behind me and move on. Sounded good in theory. She probably wasn’t going to let me get within a hundred yards of her now anyway, so I should be safe.
I walked across the snowy sidewalk to the student center. With about fifteen minutes before my check-in with my group’s professor, I had time to kill. As I set my bag down on one of the mauve cloth loveseats in the main room of the student center, Jess waved at me from a table a few feet away. I slumped down onto a cushion and scanned the room for another place to sit. It was too late. She’d already started my way.
“Hey, Dante.”
“Hi, Jess.”
“How was your break?” She reached the couch and gave me a smug grin as she towered over me.
“Um, it was fine. How about yours?”
“Pretty good. It was nice to see the family again. Did you do anything special?”
“No. Not really. Just worked a lot.”
“I heard you might have seen Faith over the holiday?” The look on her face told me she already knew the answer to that question.
“Oh yeah? Who told you that?” Was Faith talking about me to Jess?
“I saw Murph in the hall a few minutes ago.”
“Shit.” I shoved my hands in my front pockets and glanced around the room for the giant douche bag. If Murph was still around, I’d pummel him.
“Faith didn’t mention you guys are seeing each other.”
“Oh yeah? Well, we’re not. Listen, are you through interrogating me? I’ve got some work to do.”
Jess gave me a small smile. “I suppose. Just...”
“What?” I asked, finally making eye contact.
“Faith needs to loosen up a bit. She’s so wrapped up in planning for the future, she’s not having any fun in the here and now. I think you’d be good for her. Let me know if I can help.”
“Nothing to help with. She’s made it crystal clear that I’m not part of whatever plan she’s got going. Besides, I’m not interested.” I picked up my bag. I could find somewhere else to kill the time. “See ya, Jess.”
Jess’s mouth screwed up, and she brought a finger to her lips as if deep in thought. “I’ll work on her.”
I whirled around at her words, continuing to take steps backward. “Don’t bother.” I’d done just fine before I met Faith, and I’d be just fine now. I’d make sure of it.
Faith
I stood and walked to the front of the room. As usual, a small crowd swarmed around my mother, everyone eager to get an autograph, a picture, or even just catch a few words. Claire’s lecture had gone better than I expected. I’d stumbled through the introduction, but after she took her place at the podium, she’d held everyone captive for the rest of the hour. My mother had picked up a few traits from Clem and knew how to work a room. I stood at the edge of the fray, waiting for the crowd to disperse.
“So, she’s your mom, huh?” Murph walked up beside me and gestured to where Claire stood, posing for yet another picture with one of my students.
“Yep.” I held my notebook across my chest, my arms crossed over it, and rocked back and forth on my heels.
“You did a nice job of keeping that info to yourself.”
Was that supposed to be a compliment? “Thanks.”
Murph edged closer to me. “You did a nice job on the intro, too.”
“Thanks again.”
“That must be, uh, interesting having Claire Kepner as your mother.”
I didn’t know what he was after, but I refused to give him any more info about my private life. He’d already seen enough. “It has its ups and downs.”
At that moment, Claire broke through the few remaining stragglers and walked over to us.
“That was fun. I always forget what a thrill it is to be up in front of a group.” Her face glowed. The aftermath of being in front of a cluster of admirers was clearly good for her complexion. “Who’s your friend?”
“Mom, this is Patrick Murphy. He teaches in the English Department with me.”
Claire offered her hand. Murph grasped it in his and leaned down to kiss it.
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Kepner.”
“Well, aren’t you a charmer?” Claire winked at him.
Murph let go of her hand and stood up straighter, the smile on his face showing his pleasure at the compliment.
“Hey, Mom, did you want to go grab something to eat?”
“Yes. Let’s get you a real meal. Patrick, would you like to join us?”
I cringed. I’d been looking forward to having my mother all to myself.
“Sure, Mrs. Kepner, I’d really enjoy that.” He grinned at me. “Unless you wanted to invite a certain illustrious bartender instead?”
My eyes bugged.
“What was that?” Claire asked.
I pasted on a smile. “Nothing. He’s just trying to be funny. Let’s go. You coming, Murph?”
Murph smirked. “I’d love to.”
“Wonderful. Although you need to call me Claire. Mrs. Kepner is what I would have called my mother-in-law had I ever had the chance to meet her.”
“Claire it is. Ladies, shall we?” He gestured toward the door.
My mom sidled up to me and whispered, “Just a friend? He seems like a keeper.”
I shook my head slightly as we walked out of the room. Murph trotted along behind us like a pleased puppy.
Dinner went well enough. Over medium-rare Kansas City strips, Murph talked about his career aspirations. He wanted to finish the year, then take some time to teach English overseas before settling into a PhD program. His ultimate goal was to teach college English at a prestigious university somewhere on the east coast and work on his great American novel. Him and every other person in the program.
My mother had found it a completely original and lofty goal and offered to put him in touch with some of her contacts in the publishing world when he was ready.
The two of them carried the conversation, and I interjected every once in a while. My mom let a few embarrassing stories from my younger days slip out and Murph responded appropriately, laughing at her recollections, but not enough for me to feel like he was laughing at me. When the bill came, he reached for the check.
“It would be my pleasure if you’d allow me to buy dinner for you both. It’s not every day I get the chance to dine with two beautiful women.”
Claire twittered. I couldn’t believe my mom fell so easily for his obvious tactics. I rolled my eyes and sighed.
“Thank you, Patrick, for a lovely evening. If you need help or want me to put you in contact with anyone, just let me know.” She pushed a business card across the table to him.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” He smiled at me and slid the card into his wallet.
After the bill had been paid, it was finally time to go.
“Honey, my hotel is just up the street. Why don’t you drop me off, and then you and Patrick can go do something fun together?” she said.
She’s been in town for less than eight hours and she’s already playing matchmaker? “But Mom, I can drop him off first and then we can spend a little time together.”
“That would be lovely, but I’ve got an early flight, and I know you have lots of studying to do. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks over winter break. We’ll have lots of girl time then.”
Wow, dissed by my mom. I sneaked a glance at Murph. His face lit up like a Christmas tree. We made our way to the car, and he sprinted ahead to open the door for her.
“What a gentleman. Most young men nowadays don’t believe in chivalry.” She gave me a pointed look before climbing into the car.
Most young men nowadays aren’t conniving assholes, either. I wrenched open the door and slid my seat forward so Murph could climb in the back. Why did he have to tag along at dinner?
We stopped in front of the hotel, and the doorman opened the door for my mom. I hopped out and walked around the car to give her a hug. Murph climbed out of the backseat to say goodbye.
“Mrs. Kepner,”—she gave him a chastising look—“I mean, Claire. It was very nice meeting you.”
“It was nice meeting you too, Patrick. It’s good to know Faith has such lovely friends here. Take good care of my baby, will you?” She gave him a hug.
As they pulled away, Murph gave me a smug smile. “I’ll just wait for you in the car.” He climbed into the front seat and shut the door, finally giving us a moment of relative privacy.
“He’s such a nice young man. Are you sure you’re just friends?” my mother asked.
“Definitely. He’s not my type.” I knew exactly what my type was: tall, dark hair, talented fingers, in need of corrective lenses.
“The good ones are hard to find, sweetheart. Look how long it took me to find Clem. When you find a good man, you’ve got to hold onto him.”
“Okay, Mom. If and when I find a good one, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Oh, Faith. I miss you, darling. We’ll have a great time together when you come home for Christmas.” She drew me in close.
I wrapped my arms around her. “Love you, Mom. Thanks for coming.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you feared?” she asked.
The fallout had yet to be seen. I was sure someone would say something over the next few days. I wasn’t embarrassed about who I was or who I was related to. It was just hard being thrust in the unwanted limelight my mother carried with her wherever she went.
“It’s never bad. I’m proud of you, Mom. You’ve come a long way from a single, working mother trying to raise a daughter on her own.”
“I wouldn’t change a thing. Those early years were hard, but look how well you turned out.” Mom kissed me on the cheek. “I’m proud of you too, honey.”
I wondered how proud she would be if she found out about the book Chastity Austen had just released. With my writing career taking off, it was just a matter of time before I would need to pull the plug. If only I could only find out who’d left that page.
My stomach lurched and my palms went clammy at the thought. I twisted my fingers together in an attempt to alleviate the pangs of panic clawing at my gut.
“Don’t keep that boy waiting. Go have fun tonight.”
Ugh. I had almost forgotten about Murph sitting in the front seat of my car. I glanced down at the passenger window, and he wiggled his fingers in a wave.
I gave my mom one last hug and watched her breeze through the revolving door and into the hotel. As I climbed back into the car, there was only one thing on my mind: how the hell to get rid of Murph.
“Your mom seems nice, so down to earth.” Murph buckled his seatbelt.
“What was that bit about the bartender?”
Murph’s mouth widened into a smile. A piece of steak or maybe salad was stuck between his two front teeth. “Well, it sounds like you and Dante are seeing each other. Doesn’t your mom want to meet him?”
My hands wrapped around the steering wheel. “We are not seeing each other.”
“What a relief. I didn’t want to think you’d been lying to me about dating. So dating”—he curled his fingers into air quotes—“is off limits, but you’re open to the idea of a fuck buddy? Damn, why didn’t you say so? Where do I sign up?”
“Get out.”
“I’ve been patient, Faith. You know Dante’s all wrong for you. He’ll sink his dick into anything. I think you owe me an explanation.”
“I don’t owe you a fucking thing. Get out of my car.”
“You use that kind of language around your mom?” Murph gave me a long look. “You’re going to regret this.” He put one hand on the door handle.
“The only thing I regret is putting up with your crap for so long.” I pointed at the door. “Go!”
A wicked smile slashed across his mouth. “Fine. Have it your way. But remember, you asked for it.”
As soon as his feet hit the ground, I pressed on the gas. My tires squealed on the pavement and the door crashed closed behind him. Murph was all talk. I’d always thought of him as a pompous windbag, even if I had once considered him a friend.
No time to think about that now. I’d promised another few chapters to Steph before the end of the week. I turned the wheel and headed toward home. If I wanted to make my deadline, I’d have to get another couple thousand words down tonight. Too bad I’d turned my back on my source of inspiration.