Adrenaline

Chapter 66

Alyssa

My dad had called me this morning and asked me to spend the day with him. He needed new suits and wanted my opinion because he knew I'd make fun of him if he got ugly suits. My mom used to dress him, but now it was up to me to make sure he was presentable. I grabbed my purse from his kitchen counter calling out to him. He descended from his bedroom twirling his car keys around his finger. I was not allowed to drive his car today. I should just lock him in the trunk and take his keys.

I sat in the passenger seat entirely against my will taking up the role of DJ since that was the only thing he let me touch on the car. No wonder I didn't let Jason touch my car, I was just like my dad! I continued changing music channels until I landed on my favorite one: SXM Electric Area. The song built up leading into what I hoped was a heavy drop. It reached its peak and I yelled, 'drop the bass.'

My dad burst out laughing, raising the volume. He brought the car to a stop in front of the Armani store. Once inside, we went directly for the suit section. One of the sales associates met with us and asked us if we needed help. I stepped up to the plate asking for all kinds of dress shirts, ties, pants, and jackets then named the sizes. My dad was easy to shop for.

I started looking through clothes hanging on the wall. Nice stuff in this store. I looked at my dad and asked how many suits he was looking to buy. He replied with 5 as the worker brought what I'd asked for. I started piecing a whole suit together and handed it to my dad to go try it on. I waited outside of the dressing room, texting with Luke. He was being such a dork, spamming my phone with vine links. Shouldn't he be working? My dad came out to model for me.

"Well, well Mr. Winters, you look very handsome."

Excuse me? I didn't say that. A woman was coming our way dressed in a woman's pantsuit with a nametag hanging off the breast flap. Joanna was her name. More like Whoreanna, ok no-no. She hugged my dad and glanced back giving me a smirk. Want to do that over here, Whoreanna?

My dad stepped away and turned her to face me.

"This is my daughter Alyssa. Alyssa this is Joanna, she works here."

My dad looked at her again and smiled. Oh god, he likes her. What the hell is this? Why do my parents insist on being with other people? Then again, my mom got married within a year of the divorce and he hadn't been with anyone serious in 8 years. I swear if she breaks his heart I will beat her ass with the first thing I find. She said something else that I didn't hear because I was too busy being in denial then she left. I sent my dad back into the dressing room to try on the next suit. I needed time to process this. My dad never looked at other women.

We went through the modeling motions about 50 times until we finally decided on the 5 he wanted. He paid for his new clothes then we carried the clothes to his trunk. As he closed it my dad suggested we go have lunch. A little bistro was up ahead so we decided to try that one.

It was designed to look and feel rustic. A small band of guitars was playing off to the side on a little stage. We sat down at a table in the middle of the room, then started looking over menus. After we'd placed our orders, my dad put his menu down and smiled lightly at me.

"About Joanna... she's just a woman who sees me often at the store." he explained.

"Dad, if you like her it's okay. I know I was like this when I was a kid, but I'm almost 21 now and I shouldn't be holding you back. You never held me back when I wanted to date, and I know you're highly protective of me. You didn't say anything with mom either, so no one should tell you no." I replied.

"... That's good, I'm glad you feel that way because..."

Oh my god.

"Joanna and I have been seeing each other for the last month."