He coughed, nearly choking on his drink. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never thought of myself as romantic. I’d rather think of myself as a player,” he joked.
“No, you’re definitely romantic. I think you like the idea of being the protector.”
He thought it over while he took a drink. “There are a few things in my life that I am passionate about. As you can probably tell, if there’s something worth doing, it’s worth doing right. I didn’t build my own practice because I wanted to have a mediocre career. I think that attitude applies to other things. Since when are you so interested in my love life?” he smiled.
“I’m just making small talk,” I said, trying to minimize my apparent interest.
“It doesn’t sound small to me,” he said, leaning forward.
My heart pounded in my chest. Was he leaning forward to get comfortable, or because he wanted to kiss me? Should I lean in too, to show I was interested, or just wait to see what happened? I was so out of practice with these things and I didn’t want to make the wrong move.
Just as I decided to lean in a little to encourage Daniel, someone yanked open the sliding patio door and stomped their way inside.
I yelped, startled by the intruder. Daniel leaped to his feet and stood in front of me, his arms slightly outstretched.
“Dad,” he shouted. “What the hell are you doing?”
The man stood in the doorway, slightly bemused. He was overweight, his wrinkled shirt taut over his beer gut. His graying hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot. The only similarity the two men shared were their bright, blue eyes.
“I thought I’d come in to grab a beer. I’m out,” he said, walking toward the refrigerator. “Are you going to introduce me to your little friend?”
Daniel balled up his fist. There was clearly some bad blood between him and his father, and his intrusion wasn’t helping things.
“Dad, this is Ariana. Ariana, this is my father, Terry.”
Terry looked her up and down before concluding, “She’s okay.”
Daniel shook his head. “Did you find what you’re looking for?” he asked, his patience wearing thin.
Terry cracked open a beer and sat down in the reclining chair, facing me. “Did he pick you up from the bar?” he asked, rudely.
“She’s one of my patients,” Daniel corrected him.
“Oh. So, what’s wrong with your brain?” he cackled.
“I have epilepsy,” I explained. “Sometimes I have seizures.”
“If they haven’t stopped, maybe you should find a new doctor,” Terry said. “Daniel doesn’t have a lot of experience.”
“He’s a great doctor,” I said. “I’m very lucky to have him.”
Daniel said that he wasn’t close with his father, but I couldn’t imagine that their relationship was this strained. Parents shouldn’t talk about their kids like that, especially when their kids are wildly successful. Something didn’t add up to me.
I thought about how my mother thought of me, and I couldn’t imagine anything that would make my mom less proud of me. Even if I committed unspeakable crimes, I knew that she would come to my defense. In the past, I may have done things that she didn’t approve of, but at the end of the day, she loved me and would never speak to me like Daniel’s father spoke to him.
“So, are you two screwing?” Terry asked, too casually.
I opened my mouth to protest, horrified by his accusations. Not only was it wildly inappropriate to ask such a thing in front of your son’s guest, but it made me feel uncomfortable and slimy that someone would assume that upon meeting me.
“Why are you doing this?” Daniel asked wearily. “Please apologize to Ariana.”
After seeing Daniel blow up at Jake, I was worried a fist fight would erupt in the living room. I wanted to excuse myself from the room, but I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself.
“She’s cute, but that’s not very smart of you,” Terry said, almost gleefully. “It seems like you’re not as smart as everyone makes you out to be.”
“There’s nothing going on between us,” Daniel said dryly. “You can go back to the guesthouse now.”
“You’re going to ruin your career by hooking up with your patients. It’s a bad idea. I’m trying to give you some good advice. Actually, I don’t care. Do whatever you want, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Use protection, okay,” he said, looking at me. “He may be a doctor, but he doesn’t specialize in infectious diseases if you know what I mean.”
“Enough,” Daniel said sternly. “This isn’t necessary.”
“I’m just kidding around,” Terry said, clearly not telling the truth.
This pissed me off. If Daniel could defend me, then I wanted to help defend him. He didn’t deserve dealing with his asshole father any more than I deserved to deal with my creepy stalker.
“I don’t know what you think is going on here, but you have the wrong idea. Daniel is my doctor, but he’s never done anything unprofessional with me.”
“Ariana,” Daniel sighed, trying to stop me from engaging.
“Let her talk,” Terry said, a stupid smirk on his face. “It’s fun to see her get all flustered and come up with excuses.”
“This isn’t an excuse. If you must know, your son is a good person, one of the best men I know. I was having trouble with a stalker and he offered to let me stay here until things got better. He didn’t offer to help me because he wanted to hook up with me. He’s just letting me stay here so I don’t get kidnapped or attacked by this creep. Your son is not only extremely intelligent, but he is noble, too. There aren’t many people who would go to great lengths to protect someone like me. You should be proud of him.”
Daniel had gone pale. I could see the muscles in his jaw bulging as he gritted his teeth.
“That’s my son,” Terry chuckled. “The white knight that always has to butt into other people’s lives to save the day. Do you know why he does that? He’s not doing this for you. He’s doing this because he likes to feel like the hero. Maybe his mother and I didn’t give him the attention he wanted. Maybe he doesn’t get enough recognition at work or compliments from women. I don’t know what his deal is.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say!” I exclaimed.
“I’m telling the truth,” he responded. “I hate to see a young, pretty girl like you get into trouble because of him. Or do—I don’t care. I don’t know anything about you besides the fact that your life is in the hands of someone who likes to mess around in other people’s business. It’s your choice.”
“Get out,” Daniel said, pointing to the door. “You’re drunk and not making any sense.”
“Maybe you’re making this story up to make yourselves look better when you’re sneaking around, doing something you shouldn’t be doing. How do I know you’re not just telling fibs?”
“She told you the truth,” Daniel said. “That was far more than you ever needed to hear. She doesn’t owe anything to you. I don’t owe anything to you. I’m helping her because I care about her wellbeing. That’s what people do—they take care of others.”
Terry relaxed in the chair. I was thankful that he had stopped berating his son and interrogating me, but his presence was uncomfortable. There was no way either of us could carry on a conversation at this point. He kicked his legs up, as if he were settling in for the evening. As far as I was concerned, we’d have to sit in silence for the rest of the night.
“Please go,” Daniel finally pleaded.
“I don’t even care anymore,” Terry said, walking back to the fridge. He piled cans in his arms and retreated toward the back door. “It’
s your life. You can make whatever mistakes you want.”
He struggled to pull open the door, nearly spilling his cans all over the back patio. Eventually, he managed to exit the house and close the door behind him.
The second he was out of sight, Daniel strode over to the door and locked it. He pulled the curtains over the wide glass door. When he stood still, I could see that he was slightly shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked me, avoiding eye contact.
“I’m fine,” I said, “but I don’t think you are.”
He closed his eyes and gently shook his head. “He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m so sorry.”
“No harm done. You were right when you said you were nothing like him.”
“That’s the biggest compliment that anyone could pay me right now,” he said, his blue eyes meeting mine. “So, now that this night has been completely ruined, shall I show you to your bedroom? That is, if you still want to stay here.”
I stood up and put my hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. “Of course, I want to stay here. I’m really glad you invited me over tonight, despite all of our personal drama.”
He cracked a smile. “It sure keeps things interesting, doesn’t it?”
Chapter Nine
Daniel
I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Everything was ruined. Before my dad barged in, I was even thinking about testing the waters and trying to hold her hand. I just had the feeling that if I tried to make a move on her, she would go along with it.
If there was ever a right mood, it had been killed by my dad. I certainly didn’t feel like flirting after all of that. I’m sure Ariana didn’t either.
I don’t know why he chose that moment to come inside. For the most part, he kept to himself out back behind the house. The guesthouse was small, but it was no different than a one bedroom apartment. It had a small kitchen, so he didn’t need to use mine. Besides, I was fairly certain he only ate microwave meals and takeout. I had also never known him to run out of booze, so maybe he was just looking for an excuse to be a jackass.