Chapter 17
Damen ended up staying for dinner as I had anticipated and of course, mom was thrilled. It had something to do with her finding out exactly what made me attracted to him but she could have looked from now to eternity because I was sure that she would never see it. Hell I couldn’t see it but there was no denying it because unfortunately I could feel it. I guess now I understood what they meant when they said that love is blind.
I leaned against the arch leading into the kitchen and watched as my mother had fun setting the table with the guy who probably hadn’t done any form of chores in his entire life.
“Aren’t you planning to help Alex?’ Mom asked, distracted by the placing of utensils.
“Oh but you two seem to be having so much fun alone, I wouldn’t want to ruin it.” I mused sarcastically.
She glared over at me and I took that as my cue to start helping. Damen chuckled. I rolled my eyes then grabbed the extra plates from his hand and chucked them back in the cupboard. I cringed when they made a shattering sound and held my breath until I was sure that none of them had broken. Mom would have killed me if she had found even a scratch. I saw her scrutinizing my every move until I was able to assure her that her grandmother’s Chinas where still intact. I couldn’t tell you how many family gatherings we held here that she decided to share the story of how she got them; by now everyone else stopped caring but she never lost her pride in them.
“Sweetheart pass the pasta.” Mom said, distracting herself once more. I placed it on the table next to Damen and felt a subtle blowing against the nape of my neck as I did. I stepped on his toe just as discreetly before standing erect again and walking over to my seat.
“Hey where’s my welcoming committee? Slacking off I see.”
“Dad.” I said with a smile before hurrying to the front door.
“What’s your mom trying to cook in the kitchen this time?” He joked, giving me a hug.
“I heard that.” Mom said walking into the room. “You’re just lucky that e have guest.” She said waving the spoon next to him but he swerved in time to avoid the sauce.
“Guest?” He asked now looking down at me.
Oh boy . . . he may have thought that Damen was a good guy but that didn’t mean that he enjoyed his company very often. I mean he didn’t have a problem with him personally it was just all those summers by the lake hearing him and his hooligan cousins as they filled the night with their idiotic shouts and noises. It also didn’t help that practically the whole town knew about the player living inside each of them. I remember once the all the fathers of girls going to my school marched over there just to have a ‘talk’ with them because they had been going around messing with their daughters. Dad was more than relieved that he didn’t have to march with them that night; back then they didn’t even know that I existed. I smiled up at him.
“Um . . . Damen dropped by.”
Dad’s lips parted but before he could say anything Damen walked into the room. “Good evening sir.” He said extending his hand towards Dad. I stared up at Dad expectantly, he had to be nice. He sighed then took Damen’s hand and gave a firm shake before letting go.
“Well, the dinner’s ready and waiting.” Mom said ushering us all into the dining room. I turned to follow her when I felt Damen’s hand wrap around my waist. A lot of blood rushed to my cheeks and I wondered whether or not I should have removed it before Dad could see. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Dad clear his throat then I quickly squirmed out of Damen’s hold knowing fully well that he hadn’t planned to remove his hand. He looked down at me, a little puzzled then I used my head to gesture to Dad. Damen rolled his eyes but said nothing. I shook my head; it was going to be a long night, wasn’t it?
I took a seat at the table then Dad took his right next to me in the seat that was usually left empty. Mom was about to take her seat next to me as she usually did but after Damen got a look at the triumph in Dad’s eyes he cut her off and took it. Both Mom and I were openly shocked. What just happened there . . . ?Mom decided she would shrug it off as nothing and instead she took the seat that was opposite to me. We exchanged a look that said we both suspected that tonight wasn’t going to go well.
“So Damen what brings you here?” Dad asked.
“Well it’s a long story that needed to end in an apology.” He said casually before taking the first bite. That sentence sent Dad on high alert. He more than likely wanted to know what Damen could have done that would have warranted an apology.
“Um—he laughed at me during practice Dad, that’s all.” I said before he had a chance to erupt. Dad’s eyes drifted over to Damen’s and of course the prick couldn’t help but smirk at Dad as if he had the upper hand. Dad’s fingers tightened around his fork. I cleared my throat and Damen went back to the food. Dad took an extra second before he did the same. We ate on silence for a while as the tension grew thicker. Ever so often Mom or I would try to strike up a meaningless conversation but both guys seemed more interested in chewing while glaring—though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the fun in that.
“Hey Alex I just remembered,” Damen said looking up at me with that spiteful smile of his, “Amber’s hosting a party this Friday to get the team into a great spirit for the game next week and she said I should invite you—“
“No, she can’t make it.” Dad said rather curtly.
Why not? I mean it wasn’t like I wanted to go to anything hosted by Amber but Dad’s answer was just so sharp and impulsive. They had practically been begging me to get a social life and now I was being invited to a party and he was saying no? Wasn’t he even thinking straight? Mom must have been thinking what I was thinking because she turned and gave him a puzzled look.
Dad sighed after realizing that Damen had just made him the bad guy. “Look Honey, after what happened the other day I—I just don’t think I want you going to any parties for a while.” He explained, obviously feeling awful that he had to be the one to say it. I looked down. Who knew he would have pulled for that card. I bet that was his new get out of jail free card. Now he had every right to tell me no because of his ‘desire to prevent the situation from happening again’, according to him.
“Oh but it won’t be one of those parties.” Damen tried. “Amber’s putting it on for the team and she needs all the cheerleaders there so they can try running through the routine with something people they can call a crowd.”
“Well if it’s a team thing then I don’t see why not.” Mom put in quickly. Leave it to her to be all over cheerleading matters, though I was almost sure that he was lying. Dad shot her an incredulous stare. She shrugged before reaching for a bread stick. “She does need to practice just as much as the others you know. I wouldn’t want everyone looking better than her on the big night and you wouldn’t either.” Mom said dismissively; her mind was made up and there was no changing it.
No more words were exchanged after that. Dad wasn’t happy about me going anywhere with Damen and Mom was too preoccupied with the big game and ‘my moment to shine’ so she actually didn’t mind the silence. I used the silence to think. Why would I have gone to the party? It would more than likely have been at her house which meant her turf and her plays. Just what I needed; bedrooms that my so called mate could find himself in with someone that wasn’t me—now I totally wouldn’t have cared of course except for the fact that it hurt me too.
After dinner I agreed to follow Damen to the edge of the forest. I probably would have followed him further but Dad would have flipped and I figured I could give the guy a break after his wife went and gave me the go ahead he had been holding back.
We walked towards the trees in silence with Dad sitting on the porch and looking out at us. Damen took my hand into his but I pulled it away. It wasn’t only because Dad was watching, though that played a major role in my reasoning.
“So I guess I’ll be the one to pick you up on Friday—I mean seeing as how you don’t know where she lives.”
Of course he would. “If you show up at my house I’ll rip you to shreds myself.”
His brows crinkled in confusion. “Why?” Gosh I hated when he gave me that look. It almost made him seem innocent but I knew better. Still it ate me up whenever he did that look where his eyes open slightly as he crinkled his brows and tilted his head to the side a little. How did he even manage to achieve that look . . . ?
“Because you would have some nerve picking me up just to take me to your girlfriend’s party so I can watch you two make out in the comfort of her damn living room—Oh or even more convenient for you as it would seem, her effin’ bedroom.”
“Alex—“
“Stop talking, I’m beginning to think that you don’t understand what I mean when I say I’m not your toy. I can’t be here when you need me then not when you don’t,” He opened his mouth to speak, “and by the way thanks a lot, because of you I have to be up late tonight trying to get my homework done but I guess that won’t matter to you as long as I’m able to kiss you tomorrow, right?” I said looking up at him with conviction.
“I don’t see you as my toy . . .”
“Really? I don’t know if I should be flattered or not. Do I still have a place in your life?”
“Alex you’re being ridiculous.”
“No, I’m being practical. Why set myself up? For all I know I’ll show up at the party and walk around aimlessly for a while with an untouched glass of scotch in my hand. When I get tired of that I’ll probably build up my defenses then ask where you are then I’ll here that someone saw you walk into the closest with Amber a little earlier—oh and my fav part of the night will most definitely be when I snap and break down then walk home with nothing but the sound of crickets to keep me company.”
He sighed, cutting off my ranting then he took my head into his hands forcing me to look up at him. “I don’t plan to let any of that happen.” I looked up at him with a look that made it obvious that I didn’t believe him. “I’m being serious; I plan to break up with her on Friday and I figured you should be there when I do so there’s no doubt about it afterwards.
“Really?! That’s great—well not great for Amber, but I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
Wow he was finally doing what he had been promising to do for weeks. I was positive that things would have been able to run smoother afterwards and now we could focus on trying to build a more functional mate relationship. This was awesome . . .
Maybe he was finally getting it . . .