Chapter 31

When Graham invited me to his place after school, I couldn’t say no. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Time for just the two of us, in person. No phone calls or texts. Nothing between us.

We drove in his car as usual with the windows down, enjoying the breeze and the music.

When we parked outside his place, he hesitated. I was staring at the front of the house where another car was parked.

I turned to him and frowned. “Something’s wrong?”

He cleared his throat, his brows nosediving into a frown. He continued looking at the front before glancing at me. “I think my dad’s here,” he stated, surprised by the news. “Come on.”

“Wait, Graham.” I placed my hand over his arm before he could jump off the car. I was starting to panic. “No. I can’t meet him yet.”

“Why not?” he questioned. “I asked you last week if you wanted to meet him sometime this week.” I remembered him saying that after the game. I also thought he’d give me a heads-up of the dates. “I was thinking maybe tomorrow, but apparently, he’s arrived earlier. Come on, you’ll like him.”

It wasn’t a matter of liking him or not. It was a matter of whether he liked me or not. First impressions were important. It was hard to undo an existing judgment. I wanted Graham’s father to really like me. His opinion mattered to Graham a lot. Graham looked up to his father.

And I was far from presentable.

My hair was wet from swimming practice. My eyes were red from chlorine, and my fingers were wrinkled. I had been so lazy after practice that I was wearing sweatpants and a big shirt, unbothered to change back into school clothes. It didn’t matter since as soon as we arrived at Graham’s place, I knew he was undressing me within a second.

If I met Mr. St. Claire, I would be making a first impression of someone lazy and careless.

Also, what would his father think when he saw me coming? He would know we were coming to Graham’s place without his consent. I was sure Graham didn’t ask permission from his father about the invitation. Mr. St. Claire would also know we were going to be doing things that occurred without a public, which was true, but I didn’t want him to think that. I wanted him to think of me as a responsible and proper lady.

Graham sensed my trail of thoughts, and his gaze swept across me. “He won’t care,” he reassured me, but I was far from relieved. “He’ll be impressed, seeing as you’re the only girl I’ve ever introduced him to.”

I gripped my seat tighter. I wasn’t ready to go, but before I could protest, Graham climbed out of the car and moved to my side. He opened my door and grabbed my hand, tugging me toward his place.

I clenched my hand around his, trying to halt him.

“Graham, no,” I pleaded. “I think it is best if we coordinate dinners tomorrow. I can bring a nice dessert from Ashton’s,” I said, selling the idea with no success. “And be dressed for the occasion. A nice dress or something more presentable.”

Graham ignored me and walked inside his place. I pressed my lips together and followed him. I had a bad feeling about this.

When I entered his house, there was a loud sound coming down the hall. It was the TV.

“Hey, Dad,” Graham hollered, walking toward the living room. “Arrived early.”

Graham looked at me over his shoulder and nodded for me to follow him. I felt my face heating up. I wanted to die of embarrassment.

The living room was bright and organized. A large person was inclined in a seat, watching TV. He twisted his head when he heard Graham entering the room and smiled. He stood up to greet his son.

“Hey, son,” he said. “Yes, I wanted to spend a bit more time with you before you left this Friday.”

Guilt swirled in my stomach. This was not the night to meet Mr. St. Claire. I felt like an intruder.

Mr. St. Claire had a huge smile. The same charming smile as Graham’s, dimples and all. It widened when he spotted me.

“Hey, there,” he greeted.

“Good evening, Mr. St. Claire.” I smiled. “I’m Hazel Miller.”

He looked impressed with my manners when I stepped forward to shake his hand. At least he could think of me as lazy, careless, and improper, but well mannered.

He took my hand in a firm grip and shook it.

“A pleasure to meet you.” I smiled.

“Pleasure is mine, Hazel. Please, call me Dean. Everyone does.” The more he spoke, the less daunting he seemed, but I was still shivering with fear. “Friends with Graham?”

“Hazel’s my girlfriend,” Graham pronounced, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me against his side. He felt how tense I was and squeezed me. Being in his arms managed to ease me a bit.

Dean was surprised by the news but thrilled. He turned to his son and tilted his head. “Girlfriend? So, this is the girl you’ve been rambling about.” I blushed even more, but something warm lit up in my chest. “You should stay for dinner, Hazel. That is, if you don’t have any plans tonight.”

This was my moment to weasel out. I didn’t want to stay, and after Dean confessed he’d flown all the way from Seattle to spend more time with Graham, I felt even more intrusive. Graham missed his father for sure. They needed the afternoon and tomorrow together to bond.

Dinner and meetings could wait.

I opened my mouth, intending to say I needed to study, which wasn’t a lie, but something I planned to procrastinate on. I was in the final chapters of my WWII book, I needed to know what was going to happen. “I couldn’t interrupt you—”

“She can stay,” Graham interrupted.

I craned my neck to glare at Graham and widened my eyes in threat. He wanted me to kill him.

He ignored me and wrapped the other arm around my waist, hugging me from behind. His chest against my back, his chin propped over my head, our cheeks touching.

“Great!” Dean said, oblivious to my alarmed face. “I’ll tell Emma to cook for another person and then you can tell me all about you, Hazel. I’m really intrigued.”

I forced a smile and nodded. My throat was dry.

When he disappeared, I removed Graham’s arms and threw him a meaningful look. I was about to tell him about squandering his solo time with his father when he looked down at me pleadingly.

“Stay? Please.” His tone was soft and vulnerable, disarming.

How could I say no when he asked it like that? My heart softened and I closed my eyes. With an exhale, I caved in and nodded. He smiled, kissing me sweetly on the nose.

At least he was keeping it PG-13.

***

It turned out Dean was as charming as Graham. I totally got why the camera and the public loved him.

Within minutes of sitting down in the living room as we waited for dinner, Dean asked me different questions and added nice comments and flattery along the way.

When I told him I wanted to be a doctor, he was beyond enthusiastic.

“Beautiful career.” He nodded. “I really applaud you, Hazel. Only great ones can do it.”

I smiled, flustered. “Thank you, Dean.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a great doctor one day.”

I liked the confidence in his voice, especially when he talked about his son. How could Graham doubt for one second that this man wasn’t proud of him? Dean was supportive and nice. From what I had seen, his face softened when he looked at Graham with real fondness of a father for his son.

“I really hope so. I’ll try my best,” I said.

Dean turned to Graham and his eyes brightened. “I saw a few clips of the last game. Coach sent them to me. Congratulations, son. You did really well.” He smiled widely.

Graham nodded and thanked his father. His hand landed on my thigh and squeezed it. I placed my hand over his and squeezed it back.

“How long have you two been dating? I have to confess, Hazel, my son here never speaks of anything but football. Which I’m not against, obviously.” He chuckled. “It’s a great bond and it’s pretty nice to have him as charmed with it as I am.” He meant every word. “But these past few weeks, he’s been talking about this girl. And I’ve been intrigued about it because he’s never spoken of anything like that before. Not at least since he was seven, when he had a crush on a teacher.”

I laughed, throwing a playful look at Graham. He winked at me.

“And in freshman year, when he told me he was really interested in a girl and asked for tips to charm her, but never said who.” I was intrigued by that statement, but it wasn’t the time to push it. I’d have to save that information for another time.

I smiled. It was clear they had a close bond if Graham talked to him about private matters and asked for tips.

I turned to Graham and was surprised to find him blushing and looking down at his dish. Was he embarrassed?

“It’s been brief,” I told Dean. “Only for a few weeks.”

Graham cleared his throat. “Actually, since September.”

I corrected quickly. “Officially dating for a few weeks,” I said. Graham wasn’t lying. Before he asked me to be his girlfriend, we had been spending time together since September, since the beginning of the school year.

Dean was intrigued and nodded. “Nice. It’s good to see you happy, son. I haven’t seen you smiling so much. Not since the first time you grabbed a football ball and made a perfect pass.”

“What can I say, Dad?” Graham shrugged. “Hazel’s pretty special.” He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it.

I tried not to melt.

***

At the end of the night, Graham drove me home, even though he had asked me to stay the night. Of course, I rejected the idea, though I was tempted. My parents wouldn’t accept, and his father was there too!

Graham complained, saying he was leaving on Friday for a game and wouldn’t see me on Thursday since I had a shift at Ashton’s. Weekends seemed to be our only time together, which I needed to fix because I was addicted to the guy.

My heart sank a bit. “I swear, when you return, I’ll be so clingy you’ll get sick of me,” I said, rolling my head against the headrest and looking at him.

“I’m making you keep that promise.” One of his lips curled as he kept his eyes on the road.

I smiled.

We stayed in silence for a second and I wanted to lighten up the mood.

“Want me to tell you what I thought about tonight?” I offered.

“Sure. Though I told you my father would be impressed with you, sweatpants and messy hair.”

My features softened. I guessed Dean St. Claire liked and approved of me. It felt great. It was like hot air inflating in my chest and suddenly I was feeling lightweight, easy to float.

“I think he’s already proud of you, Graham,” I said. “You have his complete support. The fact that he came earlier to spend time with you says a lot. You are to him his son, more than a kid to brag about or to push.”

Graham parked the car in front of my house and glanced at me. He smiled weakly at me, but I knew he was thankful for the words. I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed onto his lap to give him a hug.

I straddled his thighs and wrapped my arms around his neck. He didn’t waste a moment to wrap his arms behind my back and flush our bodies together. He sighed against my neck.

“I’m gonna miss these hugs,” he mumbled. “I’m gonna miss you, baby.”

“I’m going to miss you too.” My heart clenched and twisted like a hand gripped it and squeezed it hard.

Graham pressed a kiss to my neck and my jaw. I moved away and he looked at me before closing his eyes and pressing his lips to mine. He mumbled against my mouth, “Good luck kiss,” he explained.

“Shouldn’t I give it to you tomorrow?” I asked since it would be the last day we would spend with each other before he left for his game.

“Nah. Today’s for good luck. Tomorrow’s farewell.”

I returned the good luck kiss, kissing him hard even though he didn’t need any luck.

My tongue delved inside his mouth and brushed against his tongue. He groaned, his hands bunching on my clothes. When we parted, our foreheads pressed, and our pants mingled. Both of us were unwilling to let go.

I hugged him closer one last time.

I believed in this huge guy with his impressive arms and thighs. I believed in him with all my heart.

It was frightening how much I felt for him, seeing as I’d known him for such a short time. But what I felt for Graham was strong and steady, filling my lungs and entire body until it bubbled to my head and I was dizzy.