My Ex Boyfriend’s Daddy Page 2

  “Okay, dinner is ready.” I walked to the door and motioned to my son and his girlfriend.

  “Aw, you made salad! Thank you, Daddy.” Phoebe smiled as she sat down.

  “Of course.” I nodded. “I didn’t know if you would touch the onion rings or not.”

  “I might have a couple.” She looked over at Jake as he sat down. “He made your favorite!”

  “The hamburgers look burnt.” Jake leaned forward with a scowl on his face. “Did you leave the onion rings in for a few extra minutes?”

  “The hamburgers are fine.” I sighed. “And yes, I made sure to leave the onion rings in the air fryer for ten extra minutes.”

  “Are we out of soda again?” Jake glared at the empty glass in front of him.

  “Nope, sorry. I forgot that.” I walked to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke. “Phoebe, do you want water or tea?”

  “Hmm. I think I’ll go with tea.” She nodded quickly. “I might be up late tonight…”

  “Oh? Do you kids have plans?” I put the drinks on the table and sat down.

  “I’m hanging out with the guys,” Jake answered my question with a huff.

  “I’ve got a slumber party—hopefully the last one I ever go to.” Phoebe shrugged.

  “Sounds like fun.” I opened the pack of hamburger buns and grabbed one for myself before handing them to Jake.

  “We should pray before we eat.” Jake closed his eyes and started praying before I even had a chance to bow my head.

  Despite praying for our meal, I could tell Jake was in an extremely foul mood, which seemed to occur a lot more than I thought was healthy. I assumed that meant we weren’t going to have much room for conversation with his anger hanging over the table like a cloud. I wished I knew how to get through to him. There were a lot of things I needed to say before he left for college, and I hated that we weren’t able to talk like we used to.

  Jake was always a good kid, even before he decided that he needed to live his life underneath the eternal threat of fire and brimstone. His anger created a barrier that I didn’t know how to get through, and it seemed like his girlfriend was dealing with the same frustrations, which I didn’t think would bode well for their relationship. I was kind of glad that Phoebe was going to college with him because she had a good head on her shoulders, but I wasn’t sure how long things would last if he couldn’t figure out what was making him so damn angry all the time.

  At least if it’s me, they won’t have that to worry about it once they leave Penny Grove.

  “So, Phoebe…” I looked across the table at her as I spoke. “Have you decided what your major is going to be?”

  I might as well talk to her if Jake is just going to sit there like an angry rock that survives on hamburgers, onion rings, and contempt for my existence.

  “I’ve been going back and forth between History and Education.” She turned her head towards me and smiled. “I think I’m leaning towards History. It wouldn’t be that hard to add a few classes so that I could teach it if I decide that is what I want to do when I graduate. At least that way, most of my classes would be interesting.”

  “That sounds like a good plan.” I nodded in agreement.

  “Don’t even ask me about mine!” Jake glared at me, and his words snapped off his tongue with so much fury I almost felt them.

  “I wasn’t going to…” I held up my hand and shook my head. “You’ve made your intentions very clear.”

  “Yes you were!” His eyes filled up with anger. “You don’t care what Phoebe is majoring in!”

  “I actually do…” I leaned back apprehensively. “She’s important to you—that makes her important to me.”

  “He’s also my boss.” Phoebe put her hand on Jake’s shoulder.

  “Yeah, whatever.” He picked up his hamburger and took a giant bite.

  Jake’s senior year hadn’t been very easy on him thus far. It started with his grandmother getting sick and spending some time in the hospital. She was fine, but that just seemed to be the catalyst for a string of bad luck. His football team was projected to win the State Championship in the preseason polls, but a loss to Cabot Beach High School derailed their playoff dreams.

  It didn’t help that Jake was one of four defenders the running back from the other team carried down the field to score a touchdown during the game winning drive. They played that clip on television for several weeks, and I doubted my son would ever forget the name of the guy that did it—Trent Rigsby might have been the only person in the world he hated more than me. I just wished I could get to the root of everything else that was bothering him because I felt like there was another layer I couldn’t quite uncover.

  “These burgers are really good.” Phoebe looked across the table and smiled. “Thank you so much for inviting me to have dinner with the two of you.”

  “You’re always welcome in my house.” I nodded.

  At least someone on that side of the table is trying to be polite.

  “Is your burger okay?” Phoebe leaned over to nudge Jake.

  “It’s fine.” He shrugged, picked up an onion ring, and then tossed it on his plate. “I’m done. I need to go check in with the guys.”

  “You don’t want to finish your meal?” My words fell on ears that ignored them as he walked away from the table.

  “I’ll go talk to him.” Phoebe put down her fork and started to stand up.

  “I’m sorry.” I looked down and sighed.

  I don’t even know what I’m apologizing for.

  Chapter Three

  Phoebe

  Jake went outside after he got upset with his father—for what, I wasn’t sure, but I followed him to see if I could figure it out. He wasn’t very forthcoming outside of the same rants I had heard since the beginning of our senior year. He felt like his father was holding a grudge because he chose not to carry on the family legacy by becoming a lawyer. I knew from talking to Mr. Anderson that he was disappointed, but he had no intention of telling Jake how to live his life.

  Every time I tried to explain that to Jake, it just set him off on another rant about how his father lived a sinful life and didn’t want to change. It was clear that Jake needed a fresh start somewhere other than Penny Grove—away from his father—where he could hopefully learn how to live his own life. I was happy to be a part of that, even if things had been rather tense recently. We continued to talk in circles until Val pulled up in the driveway. I managed to get a hug and a quick kiss, but that was about it. Jake climbed into his truck and drove off as soon as I got my things from the back. I felt somewhat dejected as I walked to Val’s car.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Val cocked her head and raised an eyebrow when I sat down in the passenger seat.

  “He got in a fight with his dad.” I looked down and sighed. “I’m sure he’ll be okay after he cools off a little bit.”

  “I heard the football players are having a bonfire tonight to mourn the end of the season and the fact that they won’t be making it to the championship game.” Val looked over her shoulder as she backed out of the driveway. “Too bad we can’t go…”

  “I mean, we could go.” I shrugged. “If you really want to.”

  “No, I mean, we’re not invited.” She laughed and put the car in drive. “It’s just for the football team.”

  “Oh.” I nodded in understanding.

  “Yeah, I heard that one of the guys managed to steal Trent Rigsby’s jersey from Cabot Beach High School, and they’re going to burn it tonight.” She raised an eyebrow and laughed a little harder. “Talk about being pissed off…”

  “Seems a little extreme.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of them doing it. “Hey, didn’t you just miss the turn to Monica’s house?”

  “We have to pick Wendy up.” She motioned to the road ahead.

  “Wendy’s going?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

  “Yeah, apparently Monica invited a few others too—it’s starting to sound more like an actual party
than a slumber party.” Val shrugged. “The more, the merrier, I suppose.”

  I don’t know if I’m in the mood for a real party, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to have a choice.

  We picked up Wendy, and as soon as we got to Monica’s house, I realized that it was going to be a lot different than our normal slumber parties. Her parents weren’t home, and according to what she said, they weren’t coming back until Monday. Not only that, but she had managed to convince her older sister to buy us some alcohol. I would have preferred a quiet evening of staring at her Ouija board while she tried to talk to ghosts than a full-fledged party with people getting smashed.

  “Do you want any of this?” Val pulled her vape pen out of her purse and took a drag. “It’s watermelon—your favorite.”

  “Nah, I shouldn’t.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “Come on; it’s not weed.” She sat down next to me and wiggled in front of my face. “You know you want to. I’m peer pressuring you.”

  “You’re such a bad influence.” I laughed and took it from her. “You better not tell Jake.”

  “I bet they’re going to be passing around something a lot stronger than this at the bonfire.” She giggled and motioned for me to give her the vape pen back after I took a drag.

  “I guarantee you that Jake will not give in as easily as I just did.” I took another hit from the vape pen after she was done.

  I guess a nicotine buzz isn’t that bad—considering the alternatives.

  “You don’t want a drink?” Wendy walked over with two glasses in her hand. “Monica made coconut rum punch.”

  “I’ll take one.” Val motioned to her.

  “Phee?” Wendy offered me the other glass.

  “I’ll pass.” I shook my head quickly.

  A few people came and went over the course of several hours, but it didn’t seem like anyone was planning to stay the entire night except for Val, Wendy, and me. I spent most of my evening sitting in the corner of the room, playing on my phone, and puffing on Val’s vape pen when she didn’t run over to get a few hits. After the majority of the people cleared out, Monica dragged her Ouija board out and started trying to convince people to try it out with her. Wendy and Val took turns, but I declined. I wasn’t intentionally being antisocial, but they were all buzzed, and I found a book about Ancient Greece that I hadn’t read yet. I tried to casually read it while everyone sat around the Ouija board and giggled.

  “Oh, hey…” Monica picked up her phone and smiled. “Kristy is going to stop by!”

  “Kristy Sinclair?” Val’s eyebrows shot up in concern.

  “Yeah, why? I thought you guys were friends with her.” Monica looked around the room.

  “You know what.” I leaned forward and started to stand. “I think I’ll have a drink after all.”

  Kristy Sinclair was the last person that I wanted to hang out with. It had been a year since she graduated, and I had to see her in the hallway every day—I was looking forward to never seeing her again for the rest of my life. She was the resident bad girl when she went attended Penny Grove High School, and before Jake found religion, she was his best friend. A few people even said they were more than friends, but I had never been able to confirm that with my boyfriend. He always seemed to shut down when her name got brought up in conversation. Mentally, I accepted that something probably happened between them, but the guy I fell in love with had undergone a drastic change since they could have possibly been an item.

  “Are you okay?” Val walked into the kitchen as I poured myself a glass of coconut rum punch.

  “Yeah.” I nodded quickly. “I’m not worried about Kristy. I just wasn’t expecting her to show up here tonight.”

  “Tell me about it…” Val sighed. “Hopefully she won’t stay long. Why in the hell would Monica think we’re friends with Kristy Sinclair?”

  “Probably because of Jake.” I shook my head and sipped my drink.

  Kristy arrived a few minutes after I returned to my seat. She was every bit the bitch I remembered. She was already drunk when she walked through the door and stared daggers when she realized that I was there. We hadn’t spoken much, but I got that death stare daily once I started dating Jake. I didn’t know if it was jealousy or if she thought I was somehow responsible for his transformation, but I never bothered to ask. It was better to ignore her and wait for the problem to go away—which it did after she graduated.

  “This is lame.” Kristy flipped the Ouija board planchette halfway across the room. “Let’s do something fun.

  “Like what?” Monica leaned forward with a smile on her face—she seemed to be cheerful, even after Kristy insulted her new obsession.

  “How about Truth or Dare?” Kristy smiled and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. “That could be fun.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Val shook her head.

  “Yeah, I think I’m too buzzed to do any dares.” Wendy nodded in agreement.

  At least they don’t want to do it. That saves me from having to flat out refuse…

  “What about Never Would I Ever?” Kristy lit a cigarette and looked around the room.

  “Isn’t it Never Have I Ever?” Val gave her a perplexed look.

  “Nah, this is an app.” Kristy picked up her phone. “You answer a bunch of questions, and it tells you how much of a freak you are. The goal is to be the biggest freak—without lying.”

  “Weird game…” Monica shrugged. “But I’ll play if everyone else wants to try it.”

  “I don’t see it on the app store.” Wendy tapped her phone a few times. “I see some other stuff…”

  “I’ll send you all a link.” Kristy started typing. “Give me your digits.”

  I wasn’t especially thrilled to give Kristy my phone number, but it seemed like it would better to play along than to decline since all of my friends were already planning to do it. We gave our numbers to Val, she sent us all a link, and we clicked it. The game was already set up, and Kristy added us to the group once we were signed in. It wasn’t an app like she said—it just appeared to be a regular website.

  “It’s all anonymous.” Kristy smiled as she held up her phone. “You don’t have to tell anyone what your response is unless you want—after we answer all of the questions, we’ll get a score.”

  “Seems easy enough.” Wendy nodded.

  This seems like a waste of time, but maybe she’ll leave after we’re done.

  The first few questions weren’t that bad. Would you kiss a guy? Would you kiss a girl? Would you let a guy go down on you? Would you let a girl go down on you? Would you go down on a guy? Would you go down on a girl? We all answered, and the game tallied up our points.

  Despite what Kristy said about it being anonymous, it was pretty clear how people were answering the questions based on their point totals. Kristy had the high score after the first six questions, and the rest of us were tied, so that meant she answered yes to all of the questions, and we answered no to a few of them. I didn’t know if she was telling the truth or just trying to win, but I didn’t really care—I just wanted to finish the game.

  “You’re all a bunch of prudes…” Kristy sighed and shook her head. “The last time I played this, everyone was adventurous, and we had fun with it.”

  “You said we had to be honest.” Val shrugged.

  “I think we need to add a new rule to make things interesting.” Kristy looked around the room and grinned. “If you answer no, you have to take a drink.”

  “Uh…” I looked down at the glass in my hand.

  “That sounds fun.” Monica nodded quickly. “We do have to finish the punch. It’s not like I can save it…”

  I decided to just play along. The questions continued to be pretty normal, and I followed the rules—I took a sip of my drink every time I hit no. Kristy barely touched her drink, but it wasn’t like she needed more alcohol considering how drunk she already appeared to be. We took a break after about twenty questions because most o
f us needed a refill. The scores were still mostly even except for Kristy, who had zoomed ahead of the pack.

  “Ready for the next question?” Kristy smiled and lit another cigarette.

  The faster we go through these, the faster it will be over.

  “Yep!” Monica nodded quickly and stared at her screen. “Oh wow. Would you ever date an older man?”

  “I mean…” Val giggled. “It would depend on the guy. Are we talking about George Clooney or—Principal Davis.”

  “Principal Davis isn’t that bad.” Wendy shrugged. “He just needs a better barber and a gym membership.”

  “You’re a freak.” Val leaned over and nudged Wendy.

  “You know who I’d totally bang?” Kristy stared at me. “Jake’s dad. He’s fucking hot.”

  “He kinda is…” Monica laughed for a second until she saw the expression on my face. “Sorry, Phee.”

  “No big deal.” My tone reflected everything that I decided not to say.

  I knew it was only a matter of time before she tried to take a dig at me.

  The game continued, but it slowed down drastically after we started discussing every question that popped up on the screen. I was feeling the coconut rum punch—I was drinking way too much because I was hitting no on every question that I thought was odd. It didn’t seem like anyone in the room other than me had any interest in stopping what felt like foolishness. I ended up taking Val’s vape pen and puffing on it a lot more than I normally did after I started to get buzzed. The alcohol loosened me up a little bit, and Kristy seemed to lose interest in taking digs at me after the comment about Jake’s father—probably because she didn’t get much of a reaction.

  “Ha!” Val laughed at the next question when it popped up. “Would you ever let someone tie you up?”

  “Been there!” Kristy raised her hand.

  “Really?” Monica leaned forward with a hint of excitement in her tone.