Kissing My Dad's Friend

“Because I might fail,” I murmur. “It’s such a big risk. Taking on that debt, and going out there into the world with no backup plan. No family at home to fall back on. Going somewhere I’ve never been, with people I don’t know yet… It’s terrifying.”

“It is a huge risk.” He nods, never letting go of my hand. Never taking his eyes from mine. “That’s what makes it worth it, Maggie. The risk motivates you to reach for higher things than you might have otherwise. Yes, there’s farther to fall if you take that leap… but you’ll never learn to fly if you don’t.”

With that, he squeezes my hand one last time and peels away from the table. I look up with a start to realize that half an hour has passed. The other volunteers have started to clean up already. One of the women tosses me an apron, along with an approving wink.

My cheeks flush, but she senses my embarrassment and leans in quickly. “Don’t worry, we all approve,” she murmurs. “We’ve been wanting Russ to find someone as nice as him for years.”

“I don’t know if I’m that nice,” I admit with a smile, as I watch him across the other side of the kitchen, hauling some of the larger pans to be washed out in the sinks. But she just pats me on the back, undeterred.

“He cares about you,” she says. “A lot. And I can see you feel the same way about him. You two will make it work. Love always finds a way.”

Love? I almost blurt. But the woman’s already moving on, scurrying across the room to start to work on another set of dishes that need washed. My face feels like it could start a small forest fire at this point, it’s so bright red. Still, I can’t help but cast another glance in Russ’s direction, my heart hammering in my chest.

Love. Fuck. Could it really be? But I don’t remember the last time I felt this way about a guy. I don’t think I ever have. And the fact that Russ brought me here, today, and showed me this side of his life, after years of keeping it hidden from my father, and from all of his other friends… This has to mean something.

Could this be more than just a fling? I wonder. Could I actually love him?

And if so… am I completely fucked?

8

You’re off tonight, right? Russ’s text appears in my phone while I’m in Dad’s car, listening to Dad rant about some obscure argument going on right now between one board member and another. Much as Dad does drive me crazy, I don’t envy his job. He’s constantly dealing with people like that, who have more money than common sense, as he likes to complain. From what I’ve paid attention to of the current rant, I do have to agree that it sounds ridiculous.

Mostly, though, I just want to get home so I can reply to Russ’s text. My heart skips a beat as I side-eye Dad, wondering if I can get away with texting while he’s talking. I slide my phone out from where I’ve tucked it under my thigh and run my thumb over the unlock button. I’m just pulling open Russ’s text thread when Dad shoots me a pointed look.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course.” I shove my phone back under my leg. “Rich people having dumb arguments that will affect real people’s lives down the line. As usual.”

Dad snorts. But he doesn’t disagree, which is at least a start. “I haven’t heard any complaints about you lately,” he says after a while, musingly.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Did you have many before?” I can’t resist asking.

“Only from your coworkers, complaints that your schedule was too light, like you told me.”

My face flushes. People actually officially complained about that, too? I knew they were annoyed at me, but damn. I shift in my seat and glare out my window. “Yeah, well, whose fault is that?”

Dad just grunts noncommittally under his breath. Figures. He’s big on me having to take blame for all of my actions, but god forbid anyone ask him to do the same. After a few more lane changes, Dad changes the subject, talking about some of the new hires in the surgical wing. Still, it makes me wonder.

Is he finally thinking about reinstating me fully? He’s given me a few more patients along the way, but I’d need to almost double my rounds to have a full roster. At the moment, the small workload has made it easy for me to sneak away and visit Russ more often, true. But I’d rather just be allowed to do my actual job here, since Dad is obsessed with making sure I stay in this city and in this position anyway.