I nod. “All the damn time. She was always worrying I was wasting my youth.” I roll my eyes. “One time, she locked me out of the house and threw a bag out the window at me. This was after having called my best friend Hadley to come take me to a party one of our classmates was throwing. She refused to let me back in until I’d gone for a minimum of an hour and kissed at least one boy. And I needed to provide photographic proof.”
Laughter rumbles through his chest, emitting as a loud booming sound as he cracks up. “I knew there was a reason I liked your mom. She’s awesome.”
“She really is.”
“So, did you do it?” His smile is back in place, and I’m hypnotized all over again.
“Do what?” I blurt, the picture of confusion as brain fog sweeps through my head.
He rubs his chest, attempting to smother his laughter this time. “Kiss a boy and provide photographic proof?”
“Hell yeah.” Now it’s my turn to smirk. I can’t keep the grin off my face when I say, “I kissed three and had the pics to prove it.”
Booming laughter erupts from his mouth, and I love how his whole persona lights up when he laughs.
Garrick truly is a beautiful man, and I must be insane to deny him. But my self-imposed rules are there to keep me on track, and I can’t lose sight of that. “There is one really important thing you should know about me,” I say.
Dimples wink at me as he holds his smile. “Let me guess. You never back down from a challenge?”
“Never back down and always raise the stakes. If you test me, I’ll test you right back.” I flick his nose. “And that’s the only warning you’re getting.”
ChapterNine
Garrick
“We should put a date in the calendar for our camping trip,” Hudson says as we talk Wednesday night on the phone. It’s the first day of May, and there are officially only four weeks until school is out, so we are making plans for summer break like we did last year.
“I’ll need to talk to Dad and Dawn, check my work schedule, and find out if Mom has planned anything on the weekends, so I’ll get back to you.”
Swiveling on my chair, I drum my fingers on top of the desk in my bedroom. Books are scattered around me, and my laptop is open on my final assignment of the year. It’s due next Monday, and I’m trying to finish it before my gigs over the weekend. The guys are coming on Saturday, and it’ll probably turn into a session. Our last blowout before we knuckle down to study and take exams.
Glancing around the messy room, I smile as I imagine the horror on Stevie’s face if she was here. She’d probably have a coronary. I’ve never paid much attention to the organized chaos that surrounds me until a gorgeous redhead showed up in my life, turning it upside down. Shit, I really need to clean up my act before I completely blow my chances with her.
“Is Ivy still trying to set you up with Pepper?” Hudson asks, yanking me from my inner monologue. To say my best friend is not a fan of my mother is an understatement. He can’t stand her and hates how she tries to manipulate me.
I shrug even though he can’t see me. “It’s like talking to a brick wall, but Pepper is cool. She gets it, and it could be worse.”
A few beats of silence pass before he clears his throat, refocusing the conversation on our trip. “I’m available any time except for the last two weeks in July,” my childhood buddy from North Bend confirms. “That’s when I’m going on a post-divorce trip with Dad.”
“Is he still depressed?”
“His wife was having an affair with her personal trainer, who happens to be fifteen years younger, and she walked out on her marriage for him. I’m pretty sure it’s going to take Dad more than a few months to get over it.”
“I was too young when my parents divorced to notice whether either of them was depressed, but I’m sure everyone who experiences it goes through it. Your dad will pull through.” I know Hudson has been worried about him, and he’s still not talking to his mom, so he’s focusing all his energies on his dad.
“I’m just glad I got him to agree to a vacation. He’s been pulling crazy hours at the hospital, and I know he’s throwing himself into work to avoid dealing.”
“Can’t blame the man.”
“I still can’t believe my mother has done this.”
“Yeah, it sucks. I can relate.” When I was fourteen, I discovered my mother’s second husband was the man she’d been having an affair with while still married to my dad. I didn’t speak to her for over a year that time, only relenting when Dad encouraged me to let go of the past like he had.
“I remember how angry you were, and I feel the same way. I’m so pissed at my mom and worried about Dad.”
“This could end up being a good thing for your dad though. Look how happy mine is now. Sometimes, things happen for a reason.”
We end the call, promising to catch up before the weekend and agree on a date for our trip. I have only just turned the page on my leadership development book when Dad calls. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”
