It's A Deal

2.5 | Dad's Return

Eventually, he looks over at me and pulls away from the hug. He walks over to me, and I nod my head in greeting as I stand, extending out my hand. Except he doesn't shake it like I intend. Instead, he pulls me right in for a hug, patting my back.

"I heard you're dating my daughter now. Which means you didn't take that interrogation seriously, did you?" He asks as we pull away.

Caught off guard, I turn to Sapphire. Silently asking her for help. I didn't expect that type of question as a greeting.

"Who would? You left it with not wanting to be a granddad!" Sapphire argues, her cheeks reddening as she releases a nervous chuckle. "I mean, seriously, dad?"

"Besides," I begin, rubbing the back of my neck to try and ease my nerves. "You asked if I would ever cheat, but you never considered that she would cheat on me."

He lifts a thick brow. "So what I'm hearing is, you're using my daughter as a rebound?"

"What? Of course not! I would never do such a thing." I begin to rant. "Sapphire is too special to me. I swear, my intentions are honest and I really do like your daughter. With your blessing, I'd like to keep dating her."

The silence that comes after lasts too long for my liking, but Sapphire's smile helps me stay calm. Her dad's expression is as stoic as can be, and I'd be shitting myself if she wasn't here to have my back if need be.

Which is why it comes as a shock when he pulls me in for another hug, patting my back a little harder than the first time.

"I was just joking, son. As long as you make her happy, I'll agree to anything." He pauses to think it over, "well, not anything, but you get my drift. Don't you?"

I nod, chuckling. "I understand, sir. Thank you."

"All right. I don't know about you guys," he sighs, pulling Sapphire into his side. "But I'm dying to get out of here. Combine starvation and jet lag and you get a very grumpy old man."

"Believe me, it gets nasty when that happens. So we'd best be getting out of here. Like now." She proclaims while reaching out to grab my hand to pull me along with them, with her dad guiding our way out of the airport.

Whether that's true or not, I don't want to find out.

* * * *

"So," Walter begins after swallowing a mouthful of his burger. "What's your plan now that I'm back?"

Sapphire looks up from her phone to lift a confused brow at her dad. "What do you mean?"

"You know," he begins to explain after setting his half-eaten burger on the wrapper. "Will you keep living with your boyfriend or will you be coming back to keep me company?"

Sapphire meets my eyes, and I shrug. Why would I have a say? It's her choice, after all.

After narrowing her eyes at me — as if saying, you're no help — she turns back to her dad and offers one of her own shrugs. "Honestly? I no know."

"You no know?" He repeats, amusement evident on his face as he picks his burger back up. "Why you no know?"

She shrugs again, looking back down at her phone to avoid the question. "I just no know."

"If you want to stay with him, all you have to do is say so, dear. You're eighteen, you can do what you want now." He assures her, taking another bite from his burger.

With the longing look she gives her father, and the same one she gives me, it's obvious she's conflicted on what to choose. But it's something she has to figure out all on her own. I won't encourage her to choose one or the other. And I won't be upset if she ends up leaving. Sure, I'd have more rent to pay, but I'd just cancel my subscriptions and avoid eating out from now on.

Then again, my parents said they would take care of it if I ever needed them to. Though, that would make me dependent of them, which is what I don't want. They've done enough for me and it's time for me to live my own life.

"What about you, son?"

I realize I zoned out when the question gets directed at me, and I blink a few times to come back to the present. "I'm sorry?" I offer lamely, a bit ashamed that I wasn't listening.

But he doesn't look the least bit bothered or annoyed. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" I turn to Sapphire for help. But she simply offers an innocent smile and a shrug. Payback, I quickly realize. Having no choice, I turn back to her dad for help. "Uh, what's tomorrow?"

Walter, however, is patient enough. "Thanksgiving," he answers simply. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow?"

"Ah," I pause to think about it. "I have no plans yet, but I figure my sister will pick me up at the very last minute. She does that every year, which haves me anticipating it now. So, technically, yeah I do have plans."

"Very well," he nods. "If your plans don't turn out, feel free to join us at our place."

"Thank you, Walter. I'll keep that invitation in mind."

"Can I know why you two are talking so formally? We're in fast food restaurant, ya know? It's far from being fancy." Sapphire interrupts in a flat tone, arching a questioning eyebrow at us. "It's so unlike you two. Especially you, dad. You're only formal at your job. Look around us," — she spreads her arms out to motion at the restaurant — "we're not at your job."

"You want me to curse at your boyfriend?"

Her eyes widen. "What? No!"

"That's what I'm getting."

"I just mean that there's no need for formal talk! Talk casually," she argues defensively.

He leans back against his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, inspecting his daughter with a serious expression. "Maybe I will curse at your boyfriend, if that's what you want. Because in case you have forgotten, my only two modes are: a formal business person... and a cursing sailor. And since you want me to drop the formal, the only option is for me to curse like a sailor."

"Dad," she warns. "Cut it out."

"You're the one complaining about our formal talk."

She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, but she's far from annoyed. I've seen her when she's really annoyed. Right now, she's just going along with him for amusement. "Fine. Go ahead and talk formal. I was just trying to get you to talk normally. But I prefer formal over profanities."

"Watch your profanity," both her dad and I say in a high-pitched voice, turning to look at one another before laughing.

That gets us a smile from her.

"I already know you two will be trouble."

Author's Note

Check out that new cover!

I changed all my covers because I wanted to own the rights of the images. So now I can't get in trouble. Boo-yah!

Reminder that if you can buy the rights to an image, please do so. Standard Licensing works for Wattpad covers, which is a lot cheaper than an extended license—which isn't really needed for ebooks. Support artists!

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this long awaited, average chapter. Sorry it took a while, but I'm trying my best!

Much love,

Kim