“There’s a balance.” I chuckled under my breath. “You can have fun—as long as you don’t go overboard.”
“I remember.” She sighed. “No drinking. No parties. Oh, and I have a curfew.”
“That’s right.” I nodded quickly. “I want you home by eleven.”
“Okay, maybe I’ll see if any of the people I’ve met want to hang out.” She nodded. “That might be nice.”
I wanted to spend the weekend with Chrissy, but I didn’t want to stifle her development. Social skills were as important as making good choices. She would always be faced with situations that required her to display maturity as she decided how to react to them. That was the mistake her father made—he didn’t know how to hang out with people that made bad choices without giving in to peer pressure. Based on Chrissy’s confession, she was often the one peer pressuring others, so she needed to learn how to be a positive influence as well as resist temptation. It was my protective nature that forbid her from going to parties or drinking. I would have looked past it with a disapproving glare if she was just living with me—but if I was going to be her Daddy, there was no way I could do it without being overprotective.
I can’t change my nature and being her Daddy does cater to it—but I have to make sure I don’t fall for her now that I’ve bottled up my desire…
11
Chrissy
The next day
“Hey there…” I walked up to Meghan when I spotted her standing outside of the building where our next class was being held. “Did you find another party last night?”
You seem to have found one every night this week—while I’ve stayed at home and worked on my assignments.
“Yep!” She nodded quickly. “Why, do you want to go with me tonight? I was actually—thinking about staying in.”
“Really?” I blinked in surprise. “You’re already done partying after a week? College is going to last four years!”
“No, that’s not it.” She shook her head back and forth. “I just—can I tell you something that doesn’t go further than the two of us?”
“Yeah, of course.” I nodded and leaned closer.
“Someone tried to put something in my drink last night.” She looked down at the ground.
“Oh my god! Do you know who it was? We need to report them!” My eyes opened wide.
“No.” She sighed and pulled something out of her purse. “My mom gave me these before I left for school—they’re straws that you can dip in your drink to see if someone tried to slip something into it.”
“I’ve heard about those.” I exhaled sharply. “Holy shit, Meghan. Yeah, I might a little wary of going to another party too…”
“I should have known frat parties weren’t going to be my thing. It’s not like I was hanging out with people like that in high school—college is no different.” She sighed again.
“You need to hang out with me this weekend.” I gave her a slight nudge. “We can have fun without going to a frat party.”
“Sure.” Meghan lifted her shoulders for a slight shrug and nodded.
We walked into our first class and separated once we were inside the classroom. Meghan headed to the back row and I headed to the front. I paid attention to the professor, but my thoughts were elsewhere. If Greyson hadn’t laid down a new set of rules when he became my Daddy, I would have probably gone to a couple of parties—and I wouldn’t have had anything to test my drink with. It was a good reminder that the world wasn’t safe and having someone like Greyson in my life was a blessing.
Maybe I’ll be able to pay it forward and be a positive influence on Meghan instead of being the bad influence for a change.
Meghan had an apartment near campus that her parents were paying for. I agreed to meet her there later that evening and then we would hang out downtown. I was picturing window shopping when I suggested it, but she seemed to be more excited about the prospect of meeting someone famous. I wasn’t sure if celebrities just wandered the streets of Los Angeles on a Friday night, but it was kind of exciting to think about it.
After I was officially done with my first full week of college, I drove back to Greyson’s house and decided to go for a swim since he wasn’t home yet. He still wasn’t there when I got finished in the pool, so I decided to call home. I think my mother would have preferred if I called every day, but I had done a pretty good job of staying in touch. Shortly after I hung up with my mother, I heard the front door open, so I headed downstairs.
“Hey, guess what!” I practically bounced down the last few steps as I made it to the bottom of the stairs. “I’m going out tonight!”
“Hmm.” Greyson turned towards me and narrowed his eyes. “With who?”
“Meghan—I told you about her.” I nodded quickly. “We’re going to hang out for a little bit.”
“The girl that was looking for a party?” His face reflected a hint of concern.