My Dad's College Friends - Forbidden Fun

“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

Without pause, Ryan and I say in unison, “Yes, you were.”

It just causes Mike to chuckle again, his bald head gleaming under the overhead lights.

“Whatever. You could have at least lied to make me feel better.”

I remind him, a bit darkly, “You know we’re not those kinds of friends.”

Laughing as we head into the dining room, Michael grabs a chair as he says, “Thank God. But what have you guys been up to? Did you hear Old Joe is on the outs with his wife? The old lady seems to think that he’s spending too much time playing video games, and wants to kick him out.”

We spend the next few minutes catching up while we wait for Amelia to finish up dinner. Finally, the conversation turns to Amelia’s Burger Heaven application. Michael asks, “So are you guys going to hire my little girl for the waitress position? I told her it was probably a done deal.”

I glance to Ryan for help because I’m not sure how to answer that. Taking my cue, Ryan speaks.

“While we would love to have Amelia work for us, she wanted to take some time to think over what her next options were going to be.”

That’s a great answer because it’s a non-answer, giving nothing away.

Looking perplexed, Michael offers, “That’s weird. She didn’t say anything to me about other options. She looked excited to head to her interview yesterday. I’ll find out what’s going on for you guys.”

Ryan shakes his head, “Thanks for that Mike, buddy, but really, there’s no need. We don’t want to force her to work for us. And if she wants to wait until it’s a better time, that’s completely fine. Our door is always open. You know that.”

Michael still looks puzzled, like he wants to say something else, but luckily Amelia chooses that moment to walk in with a huge pot. She’s gorgeous with her brown curls, and a fetching ruffled apron tied around that curvy figure, emphasizing her small waist. Ryan and I both stand to help her, concerned that the pot is too heavy, but she laughs and tries to shoo us away.

Unfortunately, we’re insistent. We don’t want to see her hurting herself, and soon, Ryan’s got the pot in his hands. Giggling, Amelia points back towards the kitchen counter, “That was completely unnecessary but if one of you could grab the garlic knots on the counter, we can go ahead and get started.”

I hurry into the kitchen to do her bidding. What’s become of us? We’re worshipping at her feet, and we haven’t even told her dad the news yet.

Once back in the dining room, the four of us take our seats. Ryan and Michael are one side of the table, and Amelia and I are on the other side facing them. Once everyone is situated, we began piling our plates with the wonderful meal Amelia had prepared. No one speaks as we all take our time to enjoy our delicious food. It is definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in a very long time. The chicken is tender and juicy, and the garlic knots fluffy and flavorful. I even eat some of the salad, which I usually try to avoid.

But then her dad brings us back to reality. While taking a huge bite, Michael looks at Amelia and asks, “Sweetheart, what’s this I hear about you having other options that might prevent you from working at Burger Heaven? I thought you were excited to work there, or at least you seemed that way yesterday when you ran out of here like a bat out of hell. Is there something I should know about?”

Looking at me and Ryan, Amelia takes a deep breath before putting down her fork.

“It’s funny you should say that, Dad, because there is something I need to tell you.”

Looking worried, Michael places his fork down as well.

“This sounds serious. What’s going on?”

I can tell she’s struggling with what she’s about to say as I see her clenching and unclenching her hand under the table. As much as I want to reach over and comfort her, I knew that I can’t do that until we manage to have this conversation with Michael.

She takes a deep breath and then looks her dad straight in the eye. Amelia quickly says, “Well, I’ve decided to hold off on the waitressing job because I’m dating Ryan and Reese.”

We all turn to look at Michael who’s staring at Amelia as if he can’t comprehend the words she just said. The silence stretches as we wait for Michael to react. He blinks, and time seems to slow to a standstill.

Finally, he blinks again before asking, “Come again?”

Amelia takes another big breath, shooting worried looks and me and Ryan.

“I’m seeing Ryan and Reese, Daddy. We’re dating, as in a threesome.”