Page 157 of Nobody's Girl

“Thank you, Mom. There’s no need for this,” I say as I take a chair at the table on our patio. Kyle pulls out the chair next to mine, planting himself in it.

Just to piss my father off, I take Kyle’s hand. Kyle looks at me with his eyebrows cocked. “You sure about this, Ally?”

I look at my father directly in his eyes. The horrible part is that he looks right back into mine. “Get used to it, Dad,” I hear myself say.

Shit, am I really doing this?

“I love Kyle. The rest of my life will be with him.”

To my complete amazement, my father smiles at me. “How wonderful, baby. You couldn’t have chosen a better man. Kyle, I expect you to take good care of my daughter.”

Scotty chokes on his cherry cola, and I give him a go-to-hell look. “Sorry, Sis,” comes from his mouth as he dabs at it with a paper napkin.

Unbelievably, my mother starts doling out potato salad as Dad cuts the brisket. We all eat in silence. My spidey senses are on overload.

Something is not right. Things are too calm!

The silence is deafening. I can’t take it anymore. “Mom, there’s a dance on Saturday. Kyle asked me to go. His band’s playing at it.”

Mom jerks her fork, loaded with meat, toward my father who sits next to her. “Don’t ask me, dear.”

Reluctantly, I look at my father. He smiles at me.

Didn’t see that coming.

“Sure, you can. But only for a little while. I want you back by ten. You do remember you have a curfew, right? I mean, you seem to have forgotten our deal about no relationships until you’re eighteen, so I have to ask.”

Kyle answers for me, “Mr. Devlin, I can assure you she’ll be home by her curfew. And just to let you know, we haven’t broken your no-dating rule.”

Kyle looks directly into my father’s eyes. That’s no easy task as my dad is glaring back at him. His words come out much nicer than his look. “Thank you, son. I appreciate your respect on this matter. I’m sure Alyssa has also let you in on the fact that she’s not allowed to have sex yet either.”

My gasp happens before I realize I’ve done it. He’s gone too far!

“Dad! Stop that right now! The dinner table, or patio table, or whatever this is, is no place to talk about such things.” I can feel the heat on my cheeks. I must be scarlet with embarrassment.

My mother gives dad a stern look. “Sorry about that, dears. Seems David needs to relax a bit. Come, help me clean up and take things into the house.”

Kyle jumps up, grabbing his empty plate and mine. “We’ve got this, Mrs. Devlin. You and Mr. Devlin cooked, so we can clean up. Can’t we, Scotty?”

My brother looks up at Kyle with a scowl, his words coated in sarcasm, “I guess so, now that you’ve included me. Thanks a lot, dude.”

Dad glares back at Kyle as Mom drags him into the house. I hate to think of what I’m in for once Kyle leaves, which will be too soon as the sun’s already setting.

Dad said he could stay until dark, which is fast approaching. I need to talk to him alone. “Go play with your idiot box, Scotty. I’ll help Kyle.”

“Thanks, sis,” he says as he runs for the door before Kyle can stop him.

Kyle turns and says, “You should make him help, Ally. He gets away with too much, that kid.”

“It’s almost dark,” I say as I snake my arms over his broad shoulders and up to his neck.

He gets what I mean, bringing his lips to meet mine. His kiss is sweet from the barbeque sauce. The touch of his tongue on my bottom lip beckons me to open up for him. I do, immediately gratified.

Somehow, he’s moved me up against the brick wall. Pressing his body to mine, we meld together as only we can. Down my back, his strong hands travel until they reach the top of my butt.

That’s where he always stops, because I told him to. Never has he touched me more than I allow.

The words he told my father earlier about wanting to marry me one day flow back to the forefront of my mind. I move a bit further. I caress his arms as my hands run down them.