Meeting Delaney's parents was just as stressful as I thought it was going to be. They had high expectations for their daughter and there was no way I could live up to them without lying my ass off. The longer I stayed with Delaney then the deeper lies were going to get and one day it was all going to go to sh-t. The last thing I wanted was to ruin Delaney's relationship with her parents or have them hate me, but I feared one of those things were inevitable to happen.
We watched a movie with her parents and then everyone ended up going to bed, except for me. I couldn't fall asleep and I was stressed about lying to her parents so I decided to sneak out to the backyard. I sat by the pool with my feet in the water and rolled a blunt. I was for sure overstepping my boundaries but everyone was asleep so in a way, that didn't matter. I took a hit from the blunt and began coughing. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I nearly jumped out of my f-cking skin.
A pair of legs were beside me in the pool. They were hairy and muscular and I knew they could only belong to one person in the house and it definitely wasn't Delaney or her mother. I looked up to Michael's face with my eyes wide while he gave me an amused glare.
"S-sir, I swear this isn't what it looks like. Actually, it kind of is but I smoke for medical reasons, I swear." More lies. Why was I even lying? Nearly everyone smoked pot nowadays, but I guess it was kind of rude to just smoke pot on someone's property.
"Shut up, and let me get a hit, kid," Michael said as he took the blunt from my hand. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming. No way was Delaney's dad hitting a blunt right now. I would've never guessed he had ever seen weed before in his life. He took hit after hit, and honestly, he was hogging the f-cking sh-t. Even though I was annoyed, I remained quiet. It was bad enough that I was smoking on his property without his permission and snatching my blunt from him wasn't going to make things better.
When he passed it back to me, he coughed and laughed like a f-cking coyote. His eyes were already red and lazy. He seemed so more relaxed than when we had met earlier. "That's some good grass, man," he said in a chill tone. Was I hallucinating right now? The man who was wearing green shorts earlier couldn't be the same man smoking weed with me right now. There's just no way.
I didn't know how to start a conversation without apologies, so I took another toke and kept my silence. "I know you don't own a damn repair shop." I scrunched up my face at him and tried to act offended as if he was calling me a liar. It only lasted for a second and I ended up laughing. F-ck, I'm so busted. Delaney is going to kick my ass. Michael chuckled and waved his phone at me. "I searched 'Ricci's Auto Repair' and there was a repair shop under that name but unfortunately it was in Massachusetts, not Santa Monica."
"Also, your last name isn't 'Ricci', it's 'De Palma.' You come in here with a sh-tload of gang-related tattoos and looking like a spitting image of your father and think you can get away with being a business owner. I know what you do." I clenched my jaw as I looked into Michael's eyes. His stare was focused on me and his stare was almost menacing. I know I said a guy with his preppy and goofy fashion could never scare me, but at this moment, he kind of did.
"You know my father," I asked. There was no need in acting stupid. He knew what I was about and there was no going back or convincing him otherwise. The only thing I could do for now on was be as honest as I could and hopefully win him over with that. If that didn't work, maybe I could win him over with free weed or something.
"No, not personally. I know of him and I know what he looks like. I went on Google and searched 'Ignazio De Palma', saw some pictures and he had to be your dad. I mean, it looks like he literally spit you out." I sighed. F-ck my father for being so good looking and making me just as good looking as him. "So, what's your deal? You're a part of the De Palma Family but what is your role? Are you powerful? Are you dangerous?"
"I'm pretty high up in ranking, sir. I'm about to start running Santa Monica in a few days. My father began the gang so I do have a lot of respect. I'm not dangerous. I don't have much reason to be. Opposing gangs aren't a problem. We win them over with trade and threats, and no one ever tries to come after us because we're so big and powerful. Delaney knows all of this, sir. I've been upfront with her from the beginning. She's a good girl. She's not affiliated. She doesn't smoke. She barely drinks. I take care of her. I protect her. I love her and I'd never let anyone hurt her."
In a way, it was kind of funny. Not only did I protect Delaney, but she also protected me. I'm the one who was supposed to be a tough gangster and she ended up saving my life from Jimmy. Her father didn't need to know all of that though. He'd probably lose his sh-t if he knew his daughter had kill someone because of me. "She knows you're in a gang and she's fine with that?"
"She's totally fine with it, sir. She's met my parents and they love her. I'm not keeping anything from her."
Michael covered his face and groaned. My stomach turned as I took a hit from the blunt out of my shaky hands. If Michael blew up on me, I don't know how I would handle it. I couldn't fight Delaney's father and I sure as hell couldn't kill him. "You protect her?"
"I protect her. She protects herself. I mean, you know her, she's your daughter. She can be pretty scary sometimes. I think her words could literally kill." Her father chuckled and I felt so relieved. Okay, he wasn't too mad. I got him laughing so he had to be at least neutral about everything. "Seriously, sir, I've taught her how to use a gun just in case she needs to protect herself. I bought her a gun to keep herself safe. We're prepared and we're aware that my lifestyle isn't the best but she's willing to adjust."
"You taught my little girl how to use a gun!?" I smacked my forehead. I probably should've kept that part to myself. I cursed at myself but relaxed when I heard that coyote laugh. "I'm just f-cking with you, kid. Honestly, this is a lot to take in. I don't think Natalie can handle this, at least not right now. So, for your sake and my wife's sake, we're going to keep this between me and you. Not even Delaney needs to know that I know what you do. Got it?"
"I got it, sir."
"There's just some things people shouldn't know. My wife doesn't know I smoke weed. My daughter doesn't know that this lame dad sh-t is all a sham. If I wanted to, I could be cool but I feel like it's best that I be a good example for her. I thought that Eric guy would be perfect for her, but I guess you'll have to do. I need to get to know you and see what you're all about."
"So, you're telling me you wear green shorts and other horrible rich dad outfits just to seem lame and normal for your daughter and wife?"
Michael shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "Basically. It fits my lifestyle. I'm just being the man I know my wife loves. Just like how Delaney is trying to adjust to your lifestyle, I adjust to my wife's."
"Wait, you're happy though, right?"
"Yeah, of course! I couldn't see myself with anyone else. But back to you, what do you like about my daughter? What made you pick her? You're really good-looking, rich and powerful so why Delaney? I know she's beautiful and everything but it's odd for you to be young and committed."
"My parents were young when they fell in love and started a family, so I always looked up to how much they loved each other. I want something like they have and I could see me having that with Delaney. I love that she's not too serious. I love how she's always rolling her eyes at me. I love how sometimes she gets a little attitude for no reason. She's funny, gorgeous and spontaneous. She's chill one minute and the next she's doing something crazy. She's rare."
"Rare? Is she like a trophy or a Pokémon or something?"
"No, sir! Of course not! I didn't mean it like that."
"I'm kidding, kid. Listen, just promise me something." I nodded my head to let him know that I was listening. "You're getting her into your lifestyle so you better keep her safe. She obviously loves you if she's willing to adjust to what you do. Don't take advantage of that. If you f-ck up and break her heart, you're done. You're out of here. She's not the one for second chances, you might get one but after that, you're out. So, don't f-ck up. And the next time, you try to have sex with my daughter in the same room as me, I'll f-cking cut your hands off. I don't give a f-ck if you run Santa Monica or not."
I swallowed hard and nodded my head. Damn, that man was scarier than I thought. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry I thought you didn't notice what we were doing."
"Yeah, whatever, kid. Get some rest, why don't you? Tomorrow might be a long day for you." I raised a brow as Michael got to his feet. What did he mean by that?
-
The next morning, I realized what Michael meant about it possibly being a long day. He stole Delaney for the day for father-daughter time, which left me with Delaney's mother. I woke up to a text from Delaney telling me that she'd be back later in the evening and to have fun with her mother. How f-cking great. I knew Michael was chill but now I had to make a solid impression on his wife. I contemplated just lying in bed for most of the day. She couldn't make me wake up, could she? I could pass up a lot of time just faking that I slept in.
I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to go back to sleep, but not even five minutes later, there was a knock on my door. F-ck! "Andy! Delaney and Michael are gone for the day so it's just us! Are you up!?"
I groaned and forced myself to respond. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't hide from her. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad. "Yes, ma'am. I'm up!" As soon as I said that, Natalie barged into the room and my heart almost beat from my chest. I was laying there with the covers barely around my hips and to make matters worse, I was completely naked.
Natalie gasped as I covered myself as quickly as possible. I cleared my throat awkwardly and casted my eyes down to the floor where my clothes from last night were laying. "I'm sorry, Andy! I should've knocked before I came in. Oh God, this is embarrassing," she told me with a small giggle. Her cheeks were a bright red, but she kept her eyes on me.
I decided not to make a big deal out of it. The last thing I wanted was a day full of awkwardness. So, I gave Natalie a polite smile and shrugged my shoulders. "It's okay. You didn't mean to." I've gotten drunk and went around topless and bare around random people several times, so Natalie was just new on the list of people who have seen my tits.
Natalie stood there for nearly ten whole seconds staring at me. I couldn't read her expression, maybe she was still in shock from walking in on me. Scratching the back of my neck, I made a weird noise just to get her to snap back to reality. "Why don't you get ready, Andy? We can go grab breakfast."
Though the morning started off a little awkward, I was happy that Natalie did not cook breakfast. Last night, I barely ate anything. The food was tasteless and hard to get down even with an excessive amount of water. I ended up scraping food from my plate onto Delaney's while her parents weren't paying attention. She was pissed as f-ck at me for forcing her to eat my portion as well, but she scarfed it down. My stomach was growling just thinking about food that didn't come from Natalie, hopefully she would take me somewhere nice.
We ended up going to a small restaurant, not even ten minutes out of the gated community. It seemed like a local favorite. There were a bunch of older people sitting around in their preppy clothing, laughing as they drank Mimosas. It seemed like an everyday thing. The waitress who greeted us knew Natalie on a first name basis. She sat us down at Natalie's favorite table. Natalie got her 'usual' while I got a platter of breakfast foods that could feed three people.
Natalie giggled when I placed my ordered. I laughed myself and quirked up an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"You're just like Delaney. That girl can eat a whole cow if you cooked it for her." Delaney could eat a lot, which was a turn on. I never got tired of eating so to be with someone who was the exact same way was perfect. "She always gets the biggest thing on the menu and you would thing since she's so tiny that she can't eat it all but she always does." I snickered at Natalie and tried to hold eye contact with her. Her seeing my tits made things slightly awkward but I didn't want her to feel too uncomfortable by avoiding eye contact.
"Trust me, I know. She eats all my snacks when she comes over to my house," I joked.
Natalie let out a loud laugh and it honestly scared me. It was a laugh that sounded wealthy. She had one of those laughs that sounded important and elegant. "So, you own a home," she asked once her laughter stopped.
I nodded my head and whispered, "Thank you," to the waitress. She had put two Mimosas and two waters in front of us. I only asked for water but I guess the Mimosas were part of Natalie's regular. She slid the glass of alcohol closer to me. "Oh, no ma'am, I don't drink like that," I lied.
"Oh, come on! It's just one drink, Andy. Loosen up. Just because I'm Delaney's mother doesn't mean you have to be so proper around me." Natalie raised her glass to me and beckoned for me to raise my own with a cheerful smile. I laughed and gave in. Our glasses clinked and we went bottoms up. I took a sip, but Natalie took nearly the whole glass down. "Ah, refreshing."
I smiled stiffly. It was hard trying to hold a conversation with someone I knew I couldn't relate to. Natalie and I didn't have the same interests and unlike Michael, I don't think she had a 'cool' side. She was casual and bland, kind of like her food. "So, you own your own business and you own a home? That's great for someone so young. I'm actually really proud of Delaney. Eric was a nice guy, but she has a big habit for picking people who are no good for her."
Letting out an uncomfortable laugh, I adjusted the watch on my wrist. Natalie peeped me fiddling with my watch and she laughed as well. She reached her hands across the table just to grab mine. I tried to keep a neutral facial expression but truly I was uncomfortable as f-ck.
"You're absolutely gorgeous. You're probably the best-looking person my daughter has ever dated. You're rich. I have friends that own that same watch you're wearing and I know it's not something an average working-class person can buy. Finally, you must be smart to have your own business. You have the three great qualities, I look for to make my daughter happy." Wow, Natalie was pretty damn superficial. She thought I was great because I was rich, smart and good looking. For all she knew I could be treating her daughter like sh-t behind closed doors.
"Most of Delaney's exes were just no good. I don't know why she falls for these hooligans, thugs even! In high school, she dated someone with a C average that was known for graffitiing our neighborhood. God, I couldn't stand her. I definitely couldn't stand Jeremy. The school drug dealer. But you, you remind me of Eric. You have your stuff together and I think you'll take real good care of my daughter."
It kind of sucked that I kept getting compared to Eric. I guess he was the only person Delaney dated that her parents actually liked, now I was number two. Her father liked me genuinely but her mother had no clue. I was just as bad as her high school girlfriend who did graffiti and Jeremy the drug dealer. I was far worse. Her daughter was dating a f-cking gang leader. She'd be crushed if she found out. Good thing she was oblivious.
-
How do you feel about Delaney's father knowing who Andy truly is?
What about Delaney's mother liking Andy's fake identity?