It’s difficult to answer that question when the memories of last night are swarming vividly around my mind; her skin, her hair over the pillow, her eyes on my body. The way her mouth slid up and down me – and the way my crotch seems to be reacting now, just at the thought of it.
“It was good,” I respond vaguely, hoping he’ll drop the subject before I can make an arse of myself.
“Did you go out with Tyler?”
“Uh-huh.”
My father doesn’t seem to want to move on. I stand there, hoping he’ll find something else to talk about.
“Skylar seemed to have a good evening, too.”
“Really?”
I haven’t seen her yet – unlike me, she is not an early riser.
“I never thought that she and Rian would get along so well.”
“She’s a woman,” he says, almost condescending. “Have you ever considered that she needs a female figure in her life?”
“Oh. Well…” No, to be honest. I had never thought about it. But I can’t tell him that, or I’ll be on the receiving end of another lecture.
“And your mother is too old to be a reference point for her.”
I laugh, and he looks at me.
“Don’t you dare tell her I said that.” He waves his paintbrush at me, threateningly. “It’s good for her,” he says, serious again.
“I guess it is.”
“Have you spoken about it with her?”
“Not really. Sometimes she mentions things, but it’s more to punish me than to open up to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She accused me of abandoning them.”
“Mmm.”
“But I wasn’t her partner.”
“But you were Skylar’s dad.”
“I didn’t know she was so alone.”
“That’s because you were never around. You didn’t know anything about their lives.”
I sigh, defeated. “I’m scared that I’ll never be able to make it right with her.”
“I agree. I actually think you’ve missed your chance, Niall, to make up for everything that happened. But you can start from today. You can build a new future with her.”
“I really want to,” I say, decisively.
And that’s exactly why this obsession with the headmistress has to stop for now. I need to be a good example for my daughter. I have to start acting like a father – and sleeping with the head teacher of my daughter’s school isn’t exactly a good place to start.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I dip my brush back into the paint and turn back to the fence.
