Chapter 10
Nita
“We landed,” Mom says.
“Why don’t we meet for brunch?” I ask them.
“I’m assuming in North Shore,” Dad says, letting me know that I’m on speaker.
I sigh. “Why don’t we meet at Rise and Shine? It’s about halfway between the airport and the North Shore.”
Dad doesn’t answer, and I get the feeling Mom and I are both waiting for his response. When he doesn’t, Mom finally says, “I looked at the address. We have to pick up our luggage and the rental car, so we’ll be there in about an hour.”
“See you then,” I say brightly. “Love you, bye.”
I hang up and drop my phone onto the mattress.
“Your mom’s trying to play peacemaker?” Way asks.
I nod. “That means he hasn’t told her you’re teaching me to surf. Otherwise, it would be the other way around.”
Way smirks. “That’s something we can keep in our back pocket. Your dad’s a smart man. He knows that your mom has a long memory. She knows exactly who used to bring you to the beach to watch us surf.”
“We should go get ready.”
Way nods. “But later, I’m going to use my tongue to make you scream.”
My pulse jumps at the thought. I also like the thought of him making future plans, not distant future — though that would be great — but at least making plans for after we’ve confronted my father.
When we left the house, the GPS said we’d arrive ten minutes late. But we pull in the parking lot only five minutes late. I really, really hope my parents don’t think too hard about why we weren’t getting ready to see them before they called.
We hurry inside to find that they’re not here yet. Way finds us a table, so when my parents arrive, it looks like we were on time. Though my dad looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but here. He won’t even look at Way.
Mom gives a helpless shrug as she pulls me in and wraps her arms around me. “I’m not happy about it either, but your father hasn’t realized that us being angry will make you dig your heels in,” she whispers in my ear.
“I’m digging my heels in either way,” I whisper back.
When Mom releases me, she takes a step back and looks at me long and hard. Her brows lift at the determination she must see in my eyes. She gives me a slight nod. That’s when I know she sees. She sees that I’m not giving Way up.
Mom looks a little subdued when she sits down. I’m sure that neither of my parents thought I’d settle down so young or that I’d do it with Dad’s friend who’s Dad’s age. But I’ve wanted Way for a long time.
“I don’t like this.” The words explode from my father.
“Do you want to go outside?” Way asks. “I’ll give you one good hit.”
Dad opens his mouth, then closes it. “Then what?” he finally asks.
“Then we come back inside because I’m not letting Nita go.”
I pull in a breath. I was thinking that he was going to try to ease things. I get the digging my heels in from my father after all.
“Then what’s the point of the punch?” Dad asks.
“I owe you an apology. I didn’t let you know that things had changed between me and Nita when they changed. I waited until you called me. That was wrong. So I’ll let you take a swing if you want to. That would be about the past, but it doesn’t change what happens from here on out.”
Dad looks between us, and I think this is when he sees what Mom saw when I told her that I wasn’t giving up.
“What if it doesn’t work out?” Dad asks.
“Then we’ll know it’s because of us and not because of your interference. Nita won’t have any resentment toward you,” Way says.
My parents share a long look, and I can tell that they had a similar conversation in the car. Dad doesn’t want to admit that Mom might have had a point. Finally, he sighs.
“I still don’t like it,” he says.
Way leans forward, resting his arms on the table.
“I’m not going to fuck this up,” he says.
“I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I’m willing to risk it to be with Nita.
That should say something. I didn’t handle the beginning well where you’re concerned.
I get that. And I’m sorry. But I’m in this, or I wouldn’t be here.
I’m not going to hurt Nita. I might actually be good for her. ”
Dad’s shoulders slump. “She said the same thing.”
Way glances at me with a smirk. “She did?”
“Yeah,” Dad says. “Said she won’t be out partying. All the things we were worried about with her going to college so far away won’t happen because she’ll be spending her free time with you.”
Way’s smile grows. “She’s pretty smart if you ask me. She must get that from her mother.”
“Hey,” Dad complains.
“Don’t worry,” Way says. “She gets her stubbornness from you.”
Dad squawks, but Mom laughs. Dad gives a reluctant smile, and I know in this moment that everything is going to be okay.
For a HOT bonus scene with Nita and Way, click here.