“Ha!” he chirps. “Unless they have buckets of money, right? Man, did the apple fall far from the tree.”
I scrub the back of my neck. “Yeah, I guess it did.”
“What do they want anyway?”
Shaking my head, I stop at a useless stop sign. “I have no idea.”
He fist-bumps the roof of my car when he wins a level of his game. “They didn’t tell you anything?”
I shake my head. “They usually don’t. But there’s always an agenda to it, so I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”
Dustin pockets his phone in his gym shorts and settles into a slouch in the seat. “Maybe they just want to see how you’re doing in classes or something.”
“They could have just asked that question on the phone. Hell, they could have just contacted the school and talked to the professors.” I wouldn’t put it past them. They did it a lot last year just to make sure I was getting better grades than the year before. The year I was dating my ex and sort of went off-road with the energy of the relationship. It was a toxic relationship, and they knew it. Hell, even Dustin knew she was just after my family’s money.
Despite my good grades last year, after the breakup and the fallout and the depression that Dustin had to pull me out of, I got my shit together, but they still don’t fully trust me.
“God, your parents are so controlling. I don’t know how you do it.”
I shrug. “I grew up with it. I didn’t know there was anything else until I met your family.”
He turns a smirk in my direction. “I’m sure my parents would adopt you if you divorced yours.”
I snort. “Funny,” I say as we pull into the golf course parking lot.
Once the car is in Park, we climb out and head into the building in search of my parents. They told me they’d meet me inside, and as soon as we are in, we head right to the bar. That’s where they always are when I meet them here. My mother has an addiction to wine and sits down to have a glass at any high-end bar she finds. Let’s not mention how many glasses she has at home. I’d hate to know how much they spend on wine every year.
We find them immediately and slide into stools beside them, Dustin on my right, my mom on my left, and my father on her left. They’re laughing at something and don’t immediately notice us until I clear my throat.
My mother turns in my direction with a startled expression. “Darling,” she greets warmly.
“Mom, Dad.” My father nods at me in greeting.
Abandoning her glass of wine, she bends forward and presses the side of her lips to my cheek. Wrinkling her nose, she pulls away. “You smell like sweat. And what are you wearing?” she adds with a hiss. “This is no place for gym clothes.”
Dustin and I are still wearing our cutoff shirts and gym shorts. I peek down at them with a frown.
Deciding not to care, I shrug, though it bothers me that they really care. It’s always about the image. “We came from the gym. If you wanted us here on time, we didn’t have time to change.”
Blinking, finally realizing I didn’t come alone, she looks over my shoulder at Dustin. Dustin gives her a small wave, and she plasters on a fake smile. “Hello,” she greets. It’s as genuine as the smile and makes me want to sigh. For once, can’t she be human? Dustin is my best friend, for shit’s sake. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Even when we’re done with college, he’ll still be by my side. Nothing will change that.
“I’m not really good at golfing,” Dustin begins to warm the conversation. “But I’m sure I can catch on fast.”
“Oh,” my mom says, grabbing her drink once more and taking a sip. “We won’t be golfing. We’re meeting the Kenzy family here.”
My spine snaps straight. “And you invited me for…?”
She places a hand on my arm. “According to the Kenzys, you haven’t been getting to know their Dorothy. Do you share any classes?”
I roll my eyes as Dustin shifts uncomfortably. He knows about my sort of arranged marriage with Dorothy, and he knows that I didn’t really care about it even though it had pissed him off when I dropped that bomb with nothing but a shrug. “She’s in a completely different major than I am. I doubt art school and medical school would share any classes.”
She pouts. “Oh, come now, Darling. You could at least buy her lunch every now and then.”
Looking down at the bar top, I flex my jaw. This isn’t what I want anymore, and I didn’t plan on having this conversation with them so soon, but…“I’m not buying her lunch, Mom.”
“And why not?”
I snap my gaze back to hers. “Because I’m not marrying her.”
