It was only making my mood worse. If I could forget it all for today, I could try to fight Dad over it later, because there was no way I could just let this go. If I kept giving into what Dad wanted, then I wasn’t really living for myself, was I? I was going along with his plans and ignoring my own. It was what I’d done up until now, but I was fed up with it already.
We sat in silence for a while, and I let my eyes slide closed. The music from the TV was the perfect background noise to stop the atmosphere from turning awkward.
I needed to think about what I was going to do now. I wasn’t about to let Dad have his way, but I had to be smart. This was something I wanted, and I was going to do it no matter what. Looking for teams so far away I’d have to move would have to be a last resort and talking him into letting me do what I wanted obviously didn’t help one bit, so I wasn’t going to bother with that, either.
“Have you eaten?”
I blinked my eyes open and turned to Howard. “What?”
“Did you stop by somewhere to eat before you came home?”
I frowned. Howard wasn’t always the most readable of men, but I could tell there was something he wasn’t telling me. I started at him before I finally answered. “Uh, no. I didn’t even have much for lunch, actually, just a hot dog to tide me over and some ice cream.”
“That doesn’t count for a meal, but that’s good.”
He rose from the couch and I watched him curiously.
“Why is that good?”
“I’ll cook you a dinner to forget all about your bad day, then I’ll run you a hot bath.”
“You’re staying?” I blurted out in surprise.
He grinned. “Of course. Or would you rather I go?”
“No, no,” I said quickly. “Actually, that sounds like the perfect recipe to make me feel better. Thank you for doing this.”
“No problem. Just sit back and I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Okay...”
He headed for the kitchen, and I stared at his back. This wasn’t the first time Howard had cooked for me, I’d cooked for him, too, the times I went to his apartment, and when he came to the house one time. It was, however, one of the times he didn’t try to seduce me. When he found me in a mood unfit for company, we’d hang out for a bit, but go our separate ways for the night. He seemed to know when I needed space but seeing him bustling around in my kitchen making me dinner made me feel a little strange.
We... weren’t dating. We met up, hooked up, and left things a
t that. Maybe I was imagining things, but that formula seemed to be changing recently, and Howard was the one doing all the changes. I wondered if something had happened.
I turned to the TV, turning the volume up a bit when a song I liked came on. I kept throwing glances at him, but with his back to me, I couldn’t see what he was doing or making. Sometimes, he would move out of my sight, then move to the counter where I could see him through the open door.
“Do you need any help?” I called out.
He shot me a smile over his shoulder. “I told you already, didn’t I? Just sit and wait, you’ll know when I’m done.”
I hadn’t been in the mood to make dinner. I figured I’d just grab some fruit and a yogurt cup then go to sleep, but now that he was cooking for me, while it made me happy, it made me feel restless, too.
Then, my phone rang. My mood was good, so I took it out of my purse, but couldn’t help frowning when I saw it was a call from Dad. I thought about ignoring him for about a second, since he was the reason for my earlier bad mood, but I decided to pick up the call.
“Is there something I can help you with, Dad?”
“No, Zoe. Sorry for calling this late, I just wanted to tell you something.”
Like admit you cut off my chances to work on other football teams, I thought.
“It’s not that late, Dad,” I sighed. “What is it?”
“I have plans, so I’m going away for the weekend. I just wanted to let you know in case you wanted something. Don’t wait up, okay? I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you or avoiding you or something, I’ll be back home on Monday evening.”
I wondered if he knew I’d had my interviews cancelled and would be looking to him for answers because I suspected he was behind it. Even though he said he wasn’t, maybe he was running away to avoid me. Then what he said hit me, and I smiled.
“You’ll be gone, for the whole weekend?”
There was a short pause. “You don’t have to be so happy about that, Zoe. Do you not like your dad anymore?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that!” I dialed back on the enthusiasm, feeling my cheeks heat. “Thanks for telling me, Dad. I might look for you after you get back, but I hope you have a nice weekend.”
He sighed. “It’s mostly work, so I don’t know about nice, but hopefully I come back with good news. I’ll see you.”
“Bye, Dad.”
My earlier irritation at him died away completely. I loved him, but some time away would do us both good. It felt like my bad day had been turned into a good one. I didn’t have to face Dad for a while, and I got to spend time with Howard.
If I asked Howard to stay over for the weekend, would he?
Chapter Seven
Zoe
I was humming along to a song on the TV, singing the parts that I knew, when I realized Howard was standing at the kitchen doorway just staring at me, and I stopped.
“Don’t stop,” he said, laughing. “You have a nice voice.”
I grimaced. “If you think so, you’re probably tone deaf.”
“Well, dinner’s ready, so you can come and eat. Or would you rather I bring it here?”
“No, that’s fine.” I jumped up, taking the remote to turn the volume up on the music, then walking over to Howard, following the nice smell coming from the kitchen I’d only just noticed. “What did you make? It smells delicious.”
“I thought something simple would be best. We’re having baked chicken with stuffed baked potatoes. I cut up the chicken into strips, so you can just set the table. Do you have barbecue sauce? I like to have something to dip it in.”
“Sure.”