21. Deacon
Chapter twenty-one
Deacon
Two weeks passed since that night at The Attic, and I couldn’t believe it was almost October. During those two weeks, Lyla and I fell into a routine that seemed to work for both of us.
I met Lyla on campus every morning before her first class. Sometimes, I brought her a drink or a donut from Dunkin. The mornings I was empty-handed, I greeted her with a charming smile and a kiss on the forehead. She never looked completely awake when she arrived and always offered me the same sleepy smile. Regardless of how she appeared, it was adorable, and I was always happy to see her.
Lyla spent Mondays and Wednesdays at my place. Ordering food started getting expensive, so we decided to try cooking together. Lyla’s recipes were simple since she could only make chicken and pasta, but she loved that my skills were a little more advanced. I’d tell her what I could make based on what I had in the fridge, and she’d pour over the possibilities. I was a good cook as long as I had the right ingredients, and seeing a girl who wasn’t ashamed to eat was incredibly attractive.
After dinner, we’d put on a movie and let it play in the background while we did schoolwork. It was nice just sitting in silence together. It had been a while since I had someone I could just be with .
We followed the same agenda at her place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If I didn’t feel like heading back to my place, I crashed on the futon in her room. The sleeping arrangements never bothered me since I had no expectations. I didn’t mind sharing a bed with Lyla and always made it clear that she could stay at my place if she wanted to. She never did, and I never prompted her with questions to try and figure out why. I’d do whatever made her comfortable, and this arrangement seemed to fit her rules.
Lyla’s mom would call and FaceTime her at least two nights a week. I became a regular guest appearance, and after a few conversations with Jane Nichols, I was pretty sure she liked me. She insisted I call her Jane instead of Ms. Nichols, and she always asked Lyla if I was there with her. We’d talk about her current work in progress and if she had any good book recommendations. She was easy to talk to and always busy doing something in the background during our conversation. I understood why Lyla was so good at multitasking.
Lyla had her mom’s smile and smooth, olive skin tone. They had the same laugh and a tiny freckle near the corner of their lip. I had seen pictures of Aaron Brooks a few times, but Lyla’s mom could be her twin.
“His eyes,” Lyla told me one night during dinner. “Aaron also has green eyes. But other than that, we have nothing in common.”
Lyla avoided talking about her dad, and I understood the complicated relationship factor. My instinct to plan things out was starting to invade my headspace, and I felt completely unprepared to meet him in two months. If I had to convince this man that I was dating his daughter, I’d need more to go off of. I just had to wait for Lyla to open up about a topic she tried to forget existed in the first place.
After I spent the last few weeks focused on Lyla’s side of the family, I completely forgot my parents were visiting this morning. I made sure I was back at my apartment around eight to be ready for breakfast when they arrived.
When I left Lyla’s room this morning, she was still asleep. We hit a few bars last night, and while I took it easy, she insisted on a few fishbowl races at Nate & Wally’s. I texted her to let her know I had to leave early but didn’t mention it was to meet my parents. I didn’t want to cross that bridge until we had to.
Lyla’s parents were involved with her side of the plan, but mine weren’t. Once we sat down for breakfast, it didn’t take long for my mom to ask if I had any new friends lately. Telling her I was seeing someone felt pretty damn good, and eliminating the dark cloud that followed me brought light back to the conversation.
“Seeing someone?” Dad placed his glass of orange juice on the table and leaned forward. “What does that mean?”
Mom smacked him playfully on the arm. “Howard, you know what that means.”
“I wanna hear him say it!” He shrugged while Mom and I laughed. “Is this a new girl, or is this a . . . I don’t know a—”
“Lyla’s my girlfriend,” I said before I had to hear him go any further. My parents were pretty cool about what I did behind closed doors—but having an actual conversation about sex? I might as well throw up my French toast and sweet potato fries all over our table.
Mom placed her hand over mine. “Well, we can’t wait to meet her.”
While Mom was giddy at the thought of me being with someone again, Dad continued prompting me for information. “Why didn’t we meet her today?”
“We just started dating like a month ago. I didn’t want to rush things, you know?” Geez. Had it only been a month? It felt like Lyla asked about my Freshman to Junior Year with C tote last weekend.
He approved of my answer and dropped the subject. We spent the rest of the morning discussing my schedule and the around-the-house projects they were working on now that it was just them at home. While I loved being back at Bowling Green, I missed our family house in Michigan. As much as the churchgoers continued to express their concern for me being single again, it was weird being somewhere else other than church on a Sunday with my parents. I didn’t do well with change. Anything I could do to plan for possible outcomes and situations helped put my mind at ease.
After breakfast, we drove to Kroger so Mom could do a grocery haul for me and the guys. My dad wasn’t a massive help since my mom did all of the cooking at home, but he showed support by throwing random cleaning objects into the cart and even insisted on a new set of mixing bowls.
I grabbed a package of Starburst on our way to the register. Dad saw my last-minute addition and eyed me suspiciously. “Since when do you eat candy?”
“Lyla likes them. I’m seeing her later today.”
“What’s she going to school for? ”
I replayed our Brooks Books conversation and smiled. “Business and English literature. She wants to open a bookstore in Chicago.”
“Chicago isn’t super far from Michigan,” Mom hinted. Being discreet wasn’t her strong suit.
I went to work unloading the cart. Lyla wouldn’t need to be close to Michigan because this would all end in a few months. I wasn’t sure how my parents would react when I told them I was back with Cassie. They never indicated that they disliked her when we were dating, but it never seemed like they were super impressed with her. Cassie was always friendly to them, but their favorite thing about her was that she made me happy. I guess I thought there would be a bigger spark between my parents and the girl I wanted to spend my life with.
“Did Drew call you yesterday?” Mom asked as we loaded up her car with grocery bags.
“No. Why?”
“He mentioned he was coming to see you for Homecoming Weekend!” She grinned.
“That’s next weekend.”
“Is it?” She shrugged and slid into the passenger seat. “Well, he’ll have to tell us what he thinks of Lyla.”
“I’m not sure if we want to place our first impression with Drew,” Dad murmured.
“Howard!” Mom smacked his arm, and they laughed.
I forced a hearty chuckle as I tried not to panic. The person who wanted me to move on from Cassie more than anything was going to meet Lyla—my fake girlfriend helping me get Cassie back. This wasn’t part of my plan. I couldn’t ignore Lyla for Homecoming Weekend. It was one of the most popular events on campus. Telling my parents about Lyla was one thing, but introducing her to Drew was another.
Why was it always something ? I looked up at the sky. Dark clouds began to roll in, and a low rumble of thunder answered my question. Regardless of how it went, at least someone was getting a laugh out of it.