Banging Reaper (Pounding Hearts 1)

The big bear of a man hugs me like no other. The man is a tyrant in the business world and a tremendous father in his home world.

Hugging him back, I smile and then sit down on the couch he’s sitting on. He has that twinkle in his eye when he looks at me. The man owns one of the largest property real estat

e brokerage firms in the nation, and he will stop everything at the drop of the hat just to mention what he’s about to say to me.

“So where are my grandchildren?” he says quite seriously, and I am absolutely positive he is impatient with the waiting.

“I met a girl the night of my fight,” I say without preamble.

“Before or after the fight?”

“I saw her before and kinda beat her friend’s ass twice before I said hello to her.”

“Okay, I know I am getting older but can you run that by me one more time?”

“I noticed her raven-black hair first,” I say as I explain everything that has happened, since right before the fight to this very moment.

I even tell him about my inability to clear my mind of her while I was at the gym. I don't hold anything back, he's my dad. Ever since Mom died when I was six it’s been him and me. I don't give him the graphic details about my intimacy... shit it was intimate wasn't it... with Avery, but I think he knows without me saying anything.

“So when do I get to meet her?” he asks.

“I'm not sure.”

And I'm really not sure. I mean I barely know this woman, and yet I am waxing on and on about her to my dad already. I feel like I am in high school again. Well, then again in high school I was the school slut. I don't think a girl kept my attention back then for more than a few hours at the most.

“So she’s got you so wrapped up you can't think straight and it’s only been two days?” he asks.

“Yeah, I don't get it.”

“Neither did I. I felt the exact same way as you do when I met your mother.” Laughing quietly, he smiles at me. I'm not sure who he was laughing at though, me or him.

“I’ll bring her over for dinner sometime this week if you think you'll be up for it,” I say, and lean back into the couch for some reason. I don't know if I could explain it, but all of a sudden I feel much more relaxed.

“Yeah, any night is fine with me. I don't go back to work full-time for a couple of more weeks.”

Chapter Twelve

Chase

Bzzt. Bing!

Avery: Hey, are you able to talk?

Me: Sure, just got home from visiting my dad.

Avery: Aww, do you visit him often?

Me: Yeah, pretty often. Probably 2 or 3 times a week. It’s usually either him making dinner for me or me making it for him.

Avery: Wow, it sounds like you guys are really close.

Me: We are. Want me to call you?

Avery: Yeah if you don't mind.

The phone only rings once before I hear her voice.

“Hey stranger,” she says, and she doesn't sound happy or sad, just kind of there. I'm not sure of what the difference is but she seems off.