“Uh, yeah. Is my dad—”
Rowan appeared beside me. “Ah, you’re here. Come in, you can wait for me in the office.”
Teegan entered the room. Her eyes flicked to me. They were the same green as Rowan’s.
“Teegan, this is Max. Max, Teegan,” Rowan said, waving a hand between us. I noticed he deliberately kept his eyes averted, flicking through the patient file he had in his hands.
Hi, I’m fucking your dad. I’m fucking your dad. I’m fucking your dad!
“Hi.” I smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“Hey.”
My eyes dropped to the t-shirt she was wearing. I recognised the picture immediately – it was the album art for the local rock band Oliver’s friend Evan played for, Kursed.
“Have you ever been to see them live?” I asked, motioning to her shirt.
Teegan looked down, then back up at me with surprise. “You know Kursed?”
“Sure. I went to see them play back last year. They were great.”
“I didn’t take you for a rock music kind of guy, Max,” Rowan said, smirking at me.
“You never asked,” I countered, grinning knowingly at him before turning back to Teegan. “Have you got their latest album?”
Her eyes twinkled as she grew animated, talking excitedly about how she and her friends had met the lead singer and were hoping to get their shirts signed at the next gig. I nodded along and joined in where I could, glad to have found common ground so early on. Eventually, our conversation was drawn short by Rowan clearing his throat.
“Teegan, clear off,” he said playfully. “You can talk to Max between patients. I’m trying to work.”
“Sorry, dad.” Teegan obediently headed to the office, pulling a face at me from behind Rowan’s back. I bit my cheek, trying not to laugh.
“And you – go get my next patient.” Rowan grabbed me by the shoulders, turning me and pushing me towards the door. “Though I am glad to see you getting along so well.” He added quietly.
I didn’t respond, just smiled and headed off to the waiting room.
The rest of the afternoon passed swiftly, the remainder of the patients being easy check-ups, with little work needing doing other than the odd scale and polish. Between visits to the waiting room, Teegan grabbed me and shared a headphone with me as she introduced me to bands she thought I would like. I ended up with a list of artists scribbled down my forearm which I promised to check out as soon as I got home.
“Come on, grab your stuff,” Rowan called to her, packing the last of the equipment away.
Teegan heaved her bag up onto her shoulder. I snuck into the office, grabbing my own belongings before Rowan locked the office door behind both of us. Teegan continued to chatter about music all the way out into the car park. I said my farewells, and with a last longing look at Rowan, made my way to the bus stop.
???
Later that evening, whilst I ate my dinner with one hand and scrolled social media with the other, a message pinged through.
ROWAN: You are amazing, you know that? x
I grinned to myself, swallowing my food before tapping out a reply.
MAX: Nah, I’m just so much cooler than you x
ROWAN: So I’ve been told. I’m her dad, I’m not supposed to be cool… That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! x
MAX: Whatever x
Before I could read Rowan’s reply, a different notification came through. This one was from Facebook, letting me know Teegan Thompson had sent me a friend request.
“Oh god,” I muttered, swiping it away.
