Love Is Just A Game (BoyxBoy)

Oh, Puck

"There are two kinds of secrets: those we keep from others and those we hide from ourself." --Frank Warren

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Chapter 25
Tuesday- November 4th, 2014

The next morning, my dad and I set sat at a two seater table, drinking coffee. We remained quiet for a bit, both of us taking in the fairly empty coffee shop. It was six thirty in the morning, so the morning crowd hadn't arrived yet.

My dad commented, "You know, I like that Ash kid. He's funny, a lot more entertaining than that Charlie fella you hung around."

I murmured, trying to act indifferent, "Yeah, he's cool."

I was really wanting to finish this up, so I could get back to cuddling with that "Ash kid". I knew my dad had something to say but he was clearly avoiding it and I was growing impatient.

Dad questioned, "What's he studying here?"

"Communications. He's thinking about being a radio talk-show host."

Dad looked mildly surprised, raising his brows, "Really? Well, I suppose he does have the charisma."

I agreed. But his words were all British rubbish, he talked so fast sometimes you could barely understand him. I suppose the girls would swoon over the London accent though. His accent didn't really have an affect on me...okay, that was a lie, it was annoyingly sexy.

But now wasn't the type to think about my incredibly hot almost boyfriend. Wow, the word "boyfriend" still freaked me the hell out. I only hoped the word would grow on me.

"Alright, enough beating around the bush. What do you really want to say?"

My dad popped his knuckles and let out a long sigh, "Well, your mother has agreed to let me come to Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks. I was hoping maybe you could warm Brendon up to the idea."

I sputtered, "Brendon's as stubborn as they come, what makes you think I can warm him up to the idea of our dad trying to come back and potentially fucking up our lives again? No offense."

Dad frowned, winkles forming in his forehead, "Some taken but I suppose you're right. But he's your brother, you should have some type of influence on him, right?"

I shrugged, "Maybe but I can't promise you anything. I'm not even sure if I think you coming to thanksgiving is a good idea. Mom needs to be able to move on, without you lingering around and confusing her. Don't you want her to move on and be happy?"

Dad replied aggressively, "Of course I do. But we were together for a long time, she's the only real friend I have and it's hard to just stay away completely."

I scoffed, "You did it a lot during your marriage, stayed away for days at a time with no one knowing where you were. What's the problem now?"

Dad paused, swirling his coffee around with a straw. I knew I had bruised his ego but he'd survive. I wasn't telling him anything that he didn't already know.

"She keeps me on track. When I talk to her I'm reminded of what I've lost and reminded not to go out and gamble. She keeps me strong, Riley."

"Yeah, and who's going to keep her strong? You may need her, but she needs space to heal. Come to thanksgiving dinner, whatever but try to keep your distance unless necessary, okay? If you can promise me that, I'll try to help you with Brendon."

Dad nodded slowly, "Okay, I promise. All I want is to try to mend my relationship with you all but at the same time, my families happiness comes first and I understand that. Whatever I can do to make everyone happy, I will, even if that means staying away for awhile."