Page 54 of Winning Her

“Fuck,” I growled to myself, looking down at my rising cock.

I ended up getting myself off before I got out of the shower. I stood in front of my bathroom mirror to blow dry my hair and shave off the growing beard. Once I was satisfied with my look, I left the bathroom.

Back in the bedroom, I moved to the closet to try and decide what to wear. Most of my wardrobe consisted of formal wear or hiking gear and my work out clothes.

Maybe I could go out today. My fridge was getting a bit empty. Besides, I was going to have to get back into the outside world at some point, might as well start small.

I picked a shirt, a pair of slacks, and a belt, then put them on. I thought about putting on socks, but decided against them, picking out a pair of loafers. Dressed, I went to my living room and turned the TV on for background noise, picking up the tablet I’d left on my coffee table to check out the news.

An hour later, my doorbell rang.

I frowned to myself because I almost never got visitors. The few people who did visit me at home were family. Usually, it was just Mason. Kevin didn’t visit me, and Dad only dropped by at the office. I wasn’t sure who it was, but I got up to check my security monitor.

“Really?” I muttered, scowling at the man on the monitor.

I was suddenly glad I’d decided not to dress and walk around my home like a slob for the day. Dad had come for a visit.

With reluctance, I went to open the door. Dad had his back to me as he looked up and down the street, turning when he realized I was right behind him.

He looked just as I’d last seen him. We both had the same physique and were at the same height. He had the same blond hair and grey eyes as me. Plenty of people commented on how much we looked like each other, way too many in fact, like Dad was exactly what I would look like in twenty or so years. He was dressed in a polo-shirt and slacks with loafers, not so different from how I was dressed. My eyebrows shot up because it was rare to see Dad out of a suit, but I was more surprised to see him at my doorstep at all.

“Nice place you have here,” he said, looking around again before meeting my gaze. “Are you going to let me in, or are we going to do this at the door?”

I was so tempted to just have it out with him right there, but I didn’t need my neighbors looking on at any spectacle. Dad would be leaving soon but I still had to live here. No need to make things harder for myself. Still, it was with reluctance that I stepped aside for him to walk in.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” I asked, instead of a real greeting, just like he’d done. “Don’t you have a hotel to look after?”

He turned to give me a wry smile. He walked to the other side of my living room, where the glass gave the perfect view outside. Not as good as from my balcony, because there I could at least breathe in the mountain air along with the view, but I would hardly be taking Dad to my room.

“I wondered how long I should wait to see you,” he said. “Before and after you found out the truth.”

“You can say it bluntly,” I said, voice thick with sarcasm. “You mean after I found out that you used Emily to lie about you having a heart attack, just to get me home.”

He had his back to me, hands in his pockets so I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, and exactly what he’d come to me for. After a minute of silence, I let out an explosive sigh.

“Seriously, Dad. What did you come here for? If its business, it can wait until I get back to my office. I’m taking the whole week off.”

Dad let out a sigh. “I came here to talk. Like really talk, like I should have a long time ago.”

I was left stunned, and I couldn’t say anything to that. It was exactly what I’d wanted, but now that he was here, I wasn’t sure I wanted to have this talk at all.

“We can start with your mother,” he said, his voice going gruff. “I know I wasn’t there for you as I should have been when she passed away. I was too busy dealing with my grief at the time, and by the time I realized that it was too late. You were still a young boy, but you were slowly making yourself independent.”

I swallowed back the sudden lump in my throat. “You don’t have to say anything, Dad.”

He went on as if he hadn't heard me.

“When I realized what I’d done, I thought about how to fix it. I knew I couldn’t be there for you as much as I would like, and I didn’t want to leave you to be raised by nannies. So, I figured it was time to start looking for a second wife, maybe too soon, and I found her and brought her home. I wasn’t sure I could love again after losing your mother, but I grew to love her, and I started a new family with her. Again, it was too late by the time I realized you were isolating yourself from that family instead of trying to be a part of it. That was my second mistake.”

My hands fisted at my sides as he continued speaking. It wasn’t out of anger. My fingers were shaking, but even tightening them didn’t stop the fine trembling that was overtaking my body.

“I wasn’t sure what to do,” he continued, “as I watched you grow up looking at your half-siblings and stepmother like strangers. I tried to bridge that gap so many times, only to be met with failure, making numerous mistakes I stopped counting.”

“Why are you saying all this?” I cut in, speaking through gritted teeth, unable to stand much more. “Why are you saying all of this only now, huh?”

Finally, he turned around. His lips were flattened, and his eyes had a suspicious sheen to them.

“Because, Trent, I came here to apologize to the son I never did right by. I know this is coming late, but I would like to change that.”