I nodded again, trying to suppress the dread that followed. I was petrified. My heart stretched and tightened over and over again, nerves conquering every inch of my being, as I wondered how our lives were going to change.
At the end of the day, I loved Aston. I had to have courage to face the unexpected. No matter what, we would be together.
That was all that mattered.
15.
Aston
No more being a coward. I had to do the right thing by Elise, even if it cost me the respect of the only real father I knew.
Dad came down that morning excited as hell. He had grabbed all our fishing gear and set it up beside the front door. Then he waltzed into the kitchen, squeezed my shoulders and ruffled Elise’s hair.
“This is going to be a damn good day,” he noted, smiling. “I just have a feeling.”
I felt flat but I managed a nod. “I hope so.”
After he had a quick breakfast, I helped load everything up into the back our truck. All the while, Elise stood by the front door, staring at me and biting that sexy bottom lip. As Dad loaded the cooler into the backseat, I ducked into the house and grabbed her by the arm. I dragged her into the garage, pushed her against the wall, and smashed my lips against hers. My hands were everywhere. I couldn’t get enough of this tight little body.
“Stop worrying,” I told her, biting that sexy lip of hers.
She ran her hand down the back of my head, gripping a chunk of my hair tightly. “I’m just so nervous. Maybe we should wait.”
“No more waiting. I want you. Fuck, El, I want the world to know you’re mine.”
She pulled me back to her mouth and our tongues tangled for one last moment. I grunted, squeezing her to me, my hands sliding down her back to grab at her meaty little ass. Then Dad called out my name, and I broke free, panting, dick throbbing against my cargo shorts.
“Go,” she told me.
I ran my finger over her bottom lip once and smiled. “Don’t worry, angel. Everything is going to be okay.”
She was red and breathless. “Really?”
I didn’t know. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you.”
I returned outside and climbed into the front seat of the truck. Dad was already behind the wheel, looking me over with a furrowed brow.
“You alright?” he asked me.
“Overheating,” I answered, trying to keep my breaths under control.
He turned the air conditioner on and we peeled out of the driveway. I looked at our house as we drove away, thinking of Elise.
Always thinking of Elise.
*
The day was calm and peaceful. We set our camp chairs out beside a creek. The water wasn’t high, so I wasn’t liking our chances, but Dad wasn’t in it to actually catch fish. He just needed to get away from his job and unwind.
Some days were dark for him. Just last week there was a hit and run and he had to tend to an eight-year-old on the road. She was still in the hospital, and the doctors said she’d never walk again. They say you get desensitized about shit like that over a period of time, but Dad always felt the pain. It was always fresh for him. He just found ways to block it out; kind of like what I did with numbers.
“You’re nervous about something,” he said as we packed up our things and got ready to leave. “What’s going on, Aston?”
I exhaled, not meeting his eye. “How about we grab something to eat at the fish and chip place and talk there?”
He chuckled. “I would have preferred we eat our own fish, but alright, son.”
Son.
That word on this particular day put me in knots.
He patted my back as I climbed back into the car. He drove us to the restaurant, keeping silent the whole way, as if letting me soak in my thoughts. It was mid-afternoon when we pulled up and found a table in the far back of the crowded room. We ordered our food, and all the while Dad studied me carefully, trying to figure out what the problem was.
How does one go right out and say to a man that he’s screwing their daughter? And how does one do that when that man brought him into the family as one of their own?
This was harder than I thought.
Our food arrived, and I picked at it with a fork, my mind spewing numbers that would do absolutely nothing for me right now.
“Is this about school?” he asked me, breaking the heavy silence.
“No,” I answered. “It’ll be hard leaving, don’t get me wrong.”
“We’ll be terribly lonely without you. I don’t know what Elise will do with the house to herself.”
Just do it. Fucking do it, you pussy. “I love her,” I blurted out, staring at him evenly.
He nodded and chuckled. “I know. You both grew up together, inseparable. She’ll have no one to torment.”