Dances with Monsters(100)

"I'm sure it's gonna be beautiful," Mr. Carnevale replied, counting a stack of bills again. "What else you been doin'?"

Drew cleared her throat. "I've been spending a lot of time with Heath," she said tentatively.

Her father glanced at her over his shoulder, then turned back to his task. "Oh, yeah? How's he doin'?"

"He's good," Drew said. "He took me—well, he surprised me—by taking me to go see Giselle last night."

"Your favorite," Mr. Carnevale commented. "That was nice of him."

"Yes, it was," Drew said. "And he took me to Elements before that."

"Hmm," her father said, jotting more figures. "In my day that's the sort of thing you did when you wanted something more than a kiss from a girl. You better not be kissin' him either," he added sternly, pointing the eraser end of his pencil at her.

"John!" she said, exasperatedly. "I am a grown woman, you know."

"What's that mean to me?" her father demanded.

"Nothing, John," Drew said, shaking her head. "What he did was a nice gesture. A nice surprise for me."

"Yeah, it was," her father mumbled under his breath.

Drew cleared her throat again. "I asked Heath if he would come to the trial."

Her father was quiet for a long time, then sighed. "Your mother told me you told him what happened," he said. "And that he was a nice guy about it."

"Of course he was," Drew said quietly. "Because he's a nice guy. I really like him, John."

"I know, honey," her father replied, and set his pencil down, turning to face her and folding his arms over his chest. "I know you do. But he's the first guy you've been involved with in a long time, and what happened to you only happened a year ago. I just want to make sure you're bein' careful with yourself where men are concerned. I don't want any guys lookin' at you, knowin' what you've been through, and takin' advantage of that because they see you as some vulnerable, easy little target."

Drew winced a little, but she knew her father only meant well. "I know, Daddy," she said softly. "But Heath's not like that. If I haven't learned anything else over the past year, I have learned to trust my instincts. And yeah, I'm a little scared. But my instincts tell me he's a great guy. And I think you know that, too."

Mr. Carnevale harrumphed and looked away. "Yeah. I think he's a good guy. But he could be the best guy in the world and he still wouldn't be good enough for my princess."

Drew smiled. "Well, you're my dad," she said. "That's what you're supposed to think."

Mr. Carnevale sighed again and lifted his hands in the air in surrender. "Okay, okay. You want him at the trial, he comes to the trial."

That was the easy part. Drew bit her lip. "You know that tournament he's training for, Smackdown? He told you about it on Sunday?"

"Yes, Samuel," her father said in his absent tone again, going back to his figures.

"It's in Buffalo."

"Mm-hmm."

"He asked me to go with him. And his family."

Mr. Carnevale snapped his head up. "And you told him no." It was not a question.

Drew fidgeted, feeling suddenly like she was fourteen again. "I told him I would think about it," she replied. "And I am thinking about it."

"What's there to think about?" her father demanded. He leaned past Drew toward the kitchen. "Carmela!" he called.

"Aw, come on, John," Drew said, sighing. "You don't have to bring Mom –"

"What is it, Joe?" Mrs. Carnevale said, coming out of the kitchen. She looked between Drew and her father. "What's going on?"

"Drew's new boyfriend has asked her to travel to Buffalo with him," Mr. Carnevale said, folding his arms. "To that fight of his."

"Okay, first of all, he's not my boyfriend," Drew said, lifting a hand.

"Yet," Bunz's voice floated in from the kitchen. Drew ignored her.

"Second, he has a name—Heath, who you both met and told me you liked, especially you, Mom," Drew pointed at her mother. "Third, I asked him to come to the trial for moral support, and he asked me to come to the tournament for moral support for him. That's all."

"But, Drew, out of town?" Mrs. Carnevale said, frowning with worry. "You would feel comfortable with that?"

"Yes," Drew said firmly, although she still wasn't totally sure. "He would never let anything happen to me. I'll be fine."

"What about the trial?" her father asked. "Will you even make it back in time?"

"Yes, of course," Drew replied. "It's only seven hours from Buffalo to the city and we'll have all day on Sunday to get there."