What Her Dad Doesn't Know(9)

It’s no use, I think in frustration. Now that I had a taste for the real thing, my flimsy fantasy isn’t nearly enough. I get back up from the bed in a huff and change into my pj’s. I might as well take a shower. I open the door and head across the hall. It’s quiet in the house, and I figure that my mom must have gone to bed early. There’s a light underneath the door to my dad’s study, but he’s probably too busy catching up on the game to hear me.

I feel so much better after I let the hot water beat down on my shoulders. Waitressing is hard work, and my feet are sore. Once I’m out of the shower, I blow-dry my hair and twist it up out of the way. I should go over my notes. Orrrrrr... there is that new episode of Grey’s Anatomy that’s come out... What to do, what to do. I step outside of the bathroom debating in my head and almost bump into my dad.

“Noelle,” he says with a smile. “How was it?”

For a second I think that he’s referring to Andrew’s kiss, and I’m so surprised I can’t get the words out. I start to blush, and I try to come up with something to say, but it’s like my brains shut off. Was he peering outside his window? If he cranes his head just right, he can see right down to our doorstep. But then he continues.

“You know, your mom and I are really proud of your dedication to your education.”

“Oh right,” I say. “I managed to finish up that paper tonight.”

I hate lying to my parents, but I don’t want to see the disappointment on their faces. Once I get my grades up, maybe I can get my scholarship back and it could just be a little blip I never have to bring up ever again.

“Say, I could really use a sundae. Want one?”

When I was little, my dad would always make me a chocolate and strawberry syrup sundae as a treat. It was like his special dad thing. I still remember that one time for my birthday, we had sundaes for dinner just because I wanted them.

“Sure thing dad,” I say, smiling. “I could really use one after all that hard work.”

Together we troop down the stairs and I watch as he pulls out the tubs of ice cream and gets to work. No matter how old I get, I guess he still sees me as his little girl. There’s no way I can tell him about what happened tonight. He might just kill Andrew. It was a sobering thought, but I push it quickly away. Why ruin my good mood? I relive the memory, going over every little detail one at a time, savoring it and replaying it in my head. I haven’t felt like this about my previous boyfriend, and I wonder if this is what it feels like to be in love.

“How’s your golfing these days?”

Andrew and my dad have a standing golf game every weekend. No matter how busy either of them gets, they always make time for golf. I don’t think they’ve skipped a game in almost four years. Even though I know I couldn’t say anything about what happened, a part of me still wants to talk about him in some way.

“Good, good,” he says as he scoops out the ice cream. “Back swing is getting better these days.”

“Who’s winning these days? You or Andrew?”

Even though I know it’s an innocuous question, I feel my heart skip a beat when I say his name and wonder if my dad can tell.

“Andrew of course. The man probably does all his business on the links. Unfair advantage.”

“And how is he doing?” I ask as I go to grab the toppings. I don’t want my dad to see my face because I know I’m giving myself away. I’ve never been very good at subtlety.

“Good. He works too hard. I keep telling him that he needs to find a nice woman and settle down. There’s more to life than making money. But he refuses.”

My lips curve into a smile when I hear that Andrew isn’t dating anyone.

“Oh yeah?”

“Your mom wants to introduce him to her friend Juliana. She thinks they’d be perfect.”

Juliana? No way. She’s flaky as hell and spends most of her time trying to pry into everyone’s business. The only thing I can think of is that she’s about his age and single. Andrew deserves way better than that! I say so.

“And you think you know who Andrew deserves?” Dad says, giving me the ice cream scooper to lick. His eyebrows are raised and I realize that I’ve said something I shouldn’t have.

“Uhm. Well, not her at least. She’s too nosy. Andrew keeps to himself.”

“You’re right,” he agrees. Whew. I don’t know what I would have done if he’d suspected. Dad and Andrew are friends, but I know that to him I’ll always be daddy’s little girl. He can’t help but get all protective when it comes to me. I feel a twinge of guilt about the kiss. I don’t want to ruin their friendship. Dad doesn’t have a lot of friends. Realistically I can’t see how anything else is going to happen, but I’m still worried that somehow the neighbors might have seen something. If they say something to my dad... He’d never allow it.