SeekingClarity: My Ex's Dad? (mm, age gap, worst enemy's dad) (Boys of Simson U. Book 3) by J. Allen Grady

Author:J. Allen Grady [Grady, J. Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DarkLights Publishing
Published: 2023-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

ALEX ANDERSON

James was practically vibrating with nervous energy as I drove down the country road to Brickston, the largest town anywhere near the much larger city of Atkinsville. I reached over and grabbed his hand, giving him a soft squeeze. He took my hand in both of his and held on tight.

“We don’t have to go out, James,” I said. “If you’d prefer to stay in and order takeout, I’m more than happy to—”

“No!” James said. “I want to go out. It’s just another first. A very public first.”

“Keeping out of the public eye isn’t the same as keeping it secret,” I said.

“I know,” James said. “I actually came out to my roommate today.”

“What? Really?” I asked.

James quickly filled me in on how that had come about.

“And you trust him enough to tell him who you’re dating?”

James nodded. “Seems like he had some history with her before… And he’s a good guy. I trust him.”

“I really need to figure out how I’m going to handle this,” I said, sighing and shaking my head. “We are already fighting about her wanting to roadie around Europe chasing that boy…”

“Is he really that bad?” James asked with a chuckle.

“Ugh,” I said. “He’s crass and inappropriate, he’s a slacker with no identifiable direction…”

“I mean, having your band tour Europe shows some initiative…”

“Right,” I said. “But it’s a bunch of hole-in-the-wall—”

“Plenty of musicians make a good living doing that,” James said. “What is it you really don’t like about him?”

“He’s a bad influence,” I said. “She wants to miss the last few weeks of the semester and—”

“She’s an adult,” he said.

“Since when are you defending her?”

“I’m not!” he said. “At the end of the day, though, whether she goes or not isn’t something you control.”

“But I don’t have to pay for her bad choices,” I declared, my volume rising.

James squeezed my hand. “You know I’m never going to take her side…”

“But?” I asked.

“What’s really bothering you about the whole thing?” James asked.

“She really likes this one a lot, and I don’t,” I said. “If she doesn’t go, he’ll find someone else and—”

“Are you sure you’re not trying to relationship block her like she did to you?” James asked.

I bit back the urge to yell at him, to declare that I would never. Instead, I sat silent.

Have I been just giving her a taste of her own medicine? Is it unconscious pettiness?

“I don’t think he’s good for her—”

“But she does and—”

“I wasn’t finished,” I said, giving him a wry smile. “But you may also be right. Subconsciously, I might be doing that…”

“Well, maybe tell her it’s her decision,” James said.

“She expects me to pay for the trip,” I said.

“If she wants to go, maybe tell her you’ll buy her plane tickets, but nothing more?” he suggested. “Olive branch…”

“I’ll think about it,” I said gruffly, even though I knew I’d probably take the advice. I never said I wasn’t stubborn.

“Whatever,” he said with a smirk.

“That’s more than enough sass from you,” I said with a grin.

“You might get away with that from someone who’s just your boy,” James said, squeezing my hand.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.