Falling for My Boyfriend's Dad
Cassandra Dee
DEDICATION
For everyone who's ever loved someone they weren't supposed to …
CHAPTER ONE
Alison
The front door shut and I put down my small bag.
"Wow," I said softly, looking around, "nice place." "Nice" was bland, a huge understatement given what I was looking at. Because the apartment we'd just stepped into was grand beyond my wildest imagination, with marble floors, a huge chandelier with sparkling lights, and even a fountain tinkling lightly in the foyer. But I didn't want to seem overwhelmed, didn't want to let on that I was a country girl in the big city, so I nodded and smiled again, keeping it simple. "Really nice."
My boyfriend nodded dismissively, tossing his keys on a side table.
"Yeah, my dad can afford it," Jonah snorted. "Since Robert sold his business last year, he's basically rolling in it, he could burn money if he wanted," he added, voice dripping with scorn.
I was silent, sensitive to my boyfriend's tone. Having so much that you could burn sounded good to me, but maybe it's because I'm from a poor background, so know what it's like to scrimp and save, to not have enough sometimes. But I guess as someone who's never had that experience, Jonah was different. He looked at wealth as just plain old money, and not something that you had to save, careful with every dollar.
But I didn't want to get into it because we've only been dating two months, hardly soulmates yet. So I looked around hesitantly once more and asked quietly, "Will we be staying in the same room? Just let me know where to put my stuff."
And Jonah let out another snort, his narrow chest rattling a bit.
"Nah," he said, shaking his head. "Honestly, I don't know what my dad has been up to since the divorce. But to keep things kosher, we might as well put our things in different bedrooms, it's not like this place doesn't have enough space."
Because we'd been walking down a hall to the right, and it seemed there was an endless row of doors, Jonah throwing them open randomly. Oh right, this one had to be the master, with the huge dark bed inside and a giant TV. He shut that door one quickly. But further on down the hall was a guest bedroom with a medium-sized four poster decorated with a comfy white coverlet and Jonah nodded his head.
"Why don't you take this one?" he grunted. "I think there's a bathroom attached. You wanna get ready and meet me in about fifteen minutes?" he glanced at his watch quickly, "The party's at Sarah's place, should be rockin'."
And I nodded quickly.
"Sure, but where will you be sleeping?"
Jonah shrugged, unconcerned.
"I'll find another room, throw my stuff inside," he said vaguely. "Just meet me in the kitchen in fifteen."
And I nodded. It was weird that my boyfriend was being so elusive, but I was used to Jonah being an odd duck. Sometimes I wondered what he saw in me, his behavior was so strange, one moment hot, the next cold, all of it a mushy mess. But I wasn't going to complain. The dorms had closed for the holidays, and I didn't have a place to go. There was no way I could afford a plane ticket home, and a hotel room was even more out of the question. So I was grateful to be here, beyond relieved at my good luck.
Because I'm really fortunate to be at Hudson University. My family's not poor actually, we're fine, honest working class folk. It's just that Hudson is a private school in New York City, something way beyond my family's financial means, and it was a scholarship that made things possible. But still, there were no extras, I scrimped and saved to afford my books, and tried my hardest not to get caught up in the luxurious lifestyle of some of my classmates with their designer clothes and fancy laptops. But in the end, it didn't matter. Because even though there wasn't much growing up, money isn't love and my parents doted on me, really lavished me with affection, making me feel warm and cherished, and I knew that my poverty was only a temporary state. With a good job after graduation, I could hopefully live a comfortable lifestyle once the paychecks started coming in.
But Jonah's family was different. Although I didn't know much about them, I did know that his parents had divorced just recently, and it made him prickly and odd. Or maybe he'd always been prickly, I'm not sure. But according to him, his dad had done the whole divorced guy thing after the papers were signed, buying this huge pad with all the amenities. There was a giant projector TV in the living room, priceless artwork decorating the walls, and shiny marble floors all throughout. It was a far cry from my family's apartment growing up, what with my handmade art projects decorating the walls and my mom's needlepoint that read, "Home is Where the Heart Is" in curvy script. But again, I wouldn't trade it for the world, I'd had an idyllic childhood.
So yeah, Jonah and I are from different ends of the economic spectrum, but that's okay because we're students at the same college, and college is the great equalizer right? The day my acceptance letter arrived, both my parents had been emotional, knowing that the big, bright world had arrived on their daughter's doorstep.
"Oh honey," sobbed Trish. "This is so wonderful, you're going to be a fancy college girl."
"I'm so proud of you," nodded Bob. "Hudson's got so many resources, you'll be able to find yourself a good job afterwards, become a professional."
And I'd smiled at them.
"Mom, Dad, this is awesome," I said slowly, "but I'm worried about you. The school's all the way in New York City, and I don't want to leave you guys out here alone, thousands of miles away."
My mom and dad had both pshawed.
"No baby," said my mom, shocked. "Of course you have to go, this is the opportunity of a lifetime," she said firmly.
And my dad was just as adamant.
"Don't let those city folk in New York scare you. You're just as good as any of them, and besides we'll be fine here. We were fine before you were born, Ally, and we'll be fine again on our own," he said with a wink. "We're so proud of you honey, so proud."
I nodded again, reminding myself that Trish and Bob had had lives before I came along, even if I could hardly imagine it. To me, they were just Mom and Dad, middle-aged people who loved bowling and bridge, with good jobs at the local factory, and a homey, welcoming air. It was hard to imagine them young once upon a time, but I guess it was true.
"We're so proud," said my mom again, beaming, "And just like Daddy says, enjoy yourself, don't be scared of the great unknown."
But little did they know how true their predictions were, because there are a lot of rich kids at Hudson. On move-in day, I'd hopped off the bus, struggling with my two suitcases, humping them up the hill to my dorm. My parents couldn't afford the flight with me, but I'd assured them it was okay, I'd be fine. By contrast, there were other freshmen who'd pulled up in chauffeured black cars complete with a moving van, unloading cart after cart of things, TV's, laptops, matching sets of furniture, it was pretty crazy since we all had tiny dorm rooms. But somehow they made it fit, cramming everything in.
And I'd met Jonah that first day, one of the aforementioned rich kids. He'd shown up with three movers, directing them as they carried things inside.
"That goes there, that one there," he'd directed imperiously. "My clothes are in that box, careful."
And I'd watched for a minute, astonished. Jonah was a good looking guy, quite handsome in fact, just small. Even though I'm hardly a tall person myself, he's only about two inches bigger than me, making him undersize for a man. But you wouldn't be able to that from the way he was so commanding, telling the movers what exactly went where.
"And my computer goes there," he'd said, "No fool! Not there, there!"
I'd turned. Honestly, I wouldn't have known where the computer went either, there were two desks in his room, both big enough for the giant flat-screen monitor he was losing his cool over. But maybe it was just me. I only had my little laptop that was bump-proof and bang-proof. Maybe if I had a giant plasma screen, I'd be just as sensitive.
So I cleared my throat slightly, hoping to get his attention.
"Hi, I'm Ally," I said.
The boy couldn't hear me over the racket, and besides he was too busy being the boss.
"No fool!" he scowled again. "That, there!"
I tried again, a little louder.
"Hi, I'm Ally," I said again, making sure my voice rang out above the racket, the random thumping and crackling sounds of moving paper and furniture. "I live down the hall."
And this time the boy swung around to look at me, his imperious expression melting away once he got a look at me. It was kind of embarrassing, but I'm used to it now. For most of my life I was a beanpole, a stick-thin toothpick with no curves, like a twig almost. But in the last six months, I'd filled out a lot and now I had curves to stop traffic, literally a car had almost run into a fire hydrant last week, the male driver staring at me with googly eyes, mouth open. And Jonah was no different. Upon getting a glimpse of my generous shape, he turned to face me, eyes appraising, running up and down, and then up and down again. My heart dropped. I didn't like feeling like a piece of meat, but at the same time, I needed a favor, one that maybe he could provide.