Capturing You

Chapter 29: Coup de Foudre (Lightning Strike)

A/N: Thanks to all of my readers for being so patient over these last few weeks that updates have been coming slower than what you're used to from me! As some of you may know, I just started a new job about a month ago! I'm also engaged and currently planning a wedding set for August. On top of that, the fiancé and I are looking for a place to live! Whew. 

That being said, I still fully intend on completing this story, I have just been learning how to manage all that's going on while still keeping my writing habit and not burning myself out! I have chosen to not rush myself in posting shorter chapters more frequently because I feel like I'd value quality over quantity - let me know if you feel differently. Either way, I'm still 100% invested in finishing this story for you all. Please strap on and hold on tight because we're in for an emotional rollercoaster, and thanks again for all your super-sweet comments and love. :)

P.S. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS! Lol

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     Check-ins from my dad were no longer inconveniences in my busy schedule. Instead, they were something I looked forward to, after I stopped beating myself up over the relationship I'd let myself have with him before. The past was the past, and everyone grew up realizing one way or another that they should've been nicer to their parents than they were in their formative years.

     But it should be said that my dad made it easier to forgive myself than I deserved. We had one long talk over the phone right before summer began and I had opened up about my guilt. If I had just been a little nicer, smiled more, asked him how he was doing more, maybe we would've helped each other better when we were grieving over my mom. I agonized over this to the point of immediately sobbing as soon as I apologized out loud on the phone to him. Of course, he wouldn't have it. Said that we would be closer now and that's all that ever mattered to him, is to be around his little girl's life — making up for lost time, if you will.

     After climbing that mountain, things between my dad and I were great. I felt less embarrassed over him just being himself and he worked on being less overbearing and protective over me. Part of me wondered if he was just thankful that Joe had made me like football so that he could have someone else to talk about the game with. Even then, I found myself looking forward to whenever my dad called, and actually even wished he was around in Cincinnati more often.

     I called him up the next time I got the chance to be alone after Joe had given me the promise ring, since Joe and I had formed a habit of spending the night at each other's places. It was Friday night, and Joe had plans to go out with some friends; he invited me, but I'd already met that same crew before, and I was a firm believer of each of us having some healthy time apart. Besides, I'd been itching to tell my dad, buttered up from a conversation I'd had earlier with Spencer and Trish about what it all meant. I figured I should get in touch my dad while I was still pleasant and giddy and before I turned into a reality television-watching monster.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?"

"Hey, dad. Guess what?"

He laughed nervously. "What's that?"

There was no gentle way to say it. "Joe gave me a ring."

     He spit out whatever he was eating or drinking. "What?!" He yelled. It seemed to shatter his night. "What the hell? Look, I know he's a football star and all that, but that doesn't mean he gets to skip all the formalities of asking for my permission—"

I furrowed my brows. "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"You said he gave you a ring," he said, confused.

"Yeah, a promise ring," I said.

There was a pause.

     "Ohhhh." I realized I should have specified. I was clearly an amateur at this relationship thing, even still after all these months. "Sorry, dad. Trust me, I don't think I'd be so chill if I had gotten that kind of ring." I chuckled.