Take Me Back to Where We Started

"I'll take you up on that offer."

I turned around and saw Dallas Winston. "What offer?"

He rolled his eyes. "The one about meeting your parents. I'll do it if you do something for me."

I nodded my head. "Anything."

"Well," he laughed. "If you'll do anything, I might need you to do a few things for me." He winked, then laughed at himself again. "Just meet me in the front of the building at the end of the day."

Before I could say anything he walked away. I spent the rest of the day trying to think about what I'd gotten myself into.

I decided to ask to go to the bathroom during my last class of the day. Once I was out of the classroom I put my book bag in my locker, then looked over at the clock. I had fifteen minutes before I was supposed to meet Dallas outside of school, but I decided to go sit outside and wait anyway. I opened the door to the main entrance and saw him sitting on a big rock smoking a cigarette. He saw me and walked towards me.

"Skipping class?"

"Only English," I replied. "Who needs that? Anyway, what is it that you need me to do for you." "Well first," he began walking.

"You could tell me your name."

"Nicole."

He flicked his cigarette onto the ground. "Well, Nicole. I need you to make an ex girlfriend jealous. We're gonna head on over to the Dingo because she'll probably be there, and you're just gonna hang all over me. You can grab my ass, tell me that you love me, really. Feel free to do anything."

I stopped walking. "Fuck no. I'm not doing that."

"Fine." He turned around and started walking. "Guess you don't want me to meet your Dad…"

I threw my head back and sighed. "Fine. I'll do it."

He smiled and we began walking to the Dingo again. "Only reason I'm doing this is because I know that if I tell my dad that we're dating it will kill him."

"Only reason?" He questioned. "You owe me for Friday night. I let your drunk ass sleep on my floor. So, you should be doing this for me whether or not I…oh shit, there she is."

He grabbed my arm and laced his fingers in mine. "Who? Where?"

He nodded his head to the left. "Right there."

My mouth dropped open. "Oh fuck, come on. She could kick my ass."

He ignored my comment. "Act like you wanna fuck the shit out of me or I won't meet your parents." I sighed, then bit my lip and pushed Dallas up against the wall right next to the Dingo. I tangled my fingers in his hair then pressed my lips roughly to his. I grabbed both of his hands and put them on my ass, then let my hands wander. Somehow, we switched positions and I was up against the wall now. I felt his hands moving up towards my boobs but before he got too far I grabbed his hands and put them on either side of my head up against the wall. I could feel him smiling and I started laughing because I realized how ridiculous this was.

"What the fuck?" I pulled away from Dallas and turned my head to the side.

"You act like you're the only one in this relationship that cheats, Dallas. "

The girl, who I was assuming was Dallas's ex girlfriend, looked me up and down.

"You look too clean for him. You know what, good luck. You can have him."

As she walked away, she looked hurt. I mean, she looked tough and all but I could see it in her eyes. He started walking towards the entrance to the Dingo and since his arm was still around my shoulders I had to walk with him.

"Do you still have to have your arm around me?" He didn't respond but he took his arm off. I followed him to a booth and sat down. He wasn't talking.

"I feel bad now. I shouldn't have done that." That made him talk.

"You feel bad? What the fuck do you mean you feel bad? For who, Sylvia? She's not the one you should feel bad for."

The waitress came but Dallas told her to go away. "She looked really hurt."

He got up. "She looked hurt, my ass. Jesus fucking Christ." I watched him turn around and walk out the door. I wasn't planning on following him but I did still want him to be my pretend boyfriend for a night.

"Hey! You still owe me."

He laughed. "I don't owe you shit."

"Yes you do." I replied. "I did what you wanted me to do, now it's your turn. You said you would do it." He took out a cigarette and a match from his back pocket and lit it on his necklace.

"It's called lying. I do it a lot."

I stopped walking. "Come on, Dallas. I just basically raped you and you can't even come to a dinner for me?"

"Come on, Nicole," he mimicked me. "Look, thanks for your help, doll face. I'll see ya around school sometime, or not. Who knows."

"Guess you don't want your jacket back." He stopped walking and turned around.

"No, I need that jacket."

"Then follow through with your side of the deal." He started shaking his head.

"Guess I'll be keeping your jacket."

"I'm not fucking kidding. I need that jacket." I didn't understand why he was getting so mad over a jacket.

"If you need it SO badly, why can't you just come to dinner." He rolled his eyes.

"It's the only jacket I have. You either give it back or I clobber you."

When he said that, the first thing that came to my mind was my closet at home. I could count at least six jackets hanging in there.

"I'm sorry. I'll get it back to you, don't worry." Without saying anything, he started walking away. "Hey, wait! I have another question."

He didn't turn around but I wanted an answer to the question I was about to ask him. "Why'd you pick me to do this? I'm sure there would've been tons of girls willing to make out with you." He just kept walking.

"I'm home." I shut the front door behind me and turned left into the living room. "Ew, God." My brother pulled his mouth off of Cynthia's.

"Go away."

"Can't you go upstairs or something? I wanna watch T.v."

"Actually," he replied. "We will go upstairs because Dad will be home soon, but you can't watch T.V. Mom told me to tell you to start the pasta."

I groaned. "Where is she?"

He was almost up the stairs now, Cynthia trailing behind him. "With Grandma. She had to take her to get something and then she's coming over for dinner." Great, I thought to myself.

I went into the kitchen and filled a big pot with water and was waiting for it to boil when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and my jaw almost hit the ground.

"What are you doing here? Put that cigarette out!"

"Will you relax." Dallas said. "I thought this is what you wanted."

This is what I wanted, but not when my Grandma was coming over for dinner. I thought she might have a stroke if she saw Dallas. "Can't you come over tomorrow night?"

He flicked his cigarette onto the lawn. "Now or never."

I hurried over and picked the cigarette up, then ran to the street and flicked it. "If my Dad saw that cigarette there he would've thought I was smoking and I would've been killed." I looked down the street and saw my Dad's car turning the corner. "Fuck." I grabbed Dallas's arm and pulled him in the house.

"So, this is how the other half lives." I heard him say from the living room.

"I guess so, but will you come in here please. Just sit down."

He laughed, then sat at the table. "You're the one who wanted me to do this."

"Yeah, well I wasn't expecting you to come over tonight. Especially after you freaked out earlier."

"I didn't freak out." He said. "You just have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Sylvia."

"My bad." My stomach was in a knot. I was trying to imagine what my Dad would say when he walked in and saw Dallas Winston sitting at our dining room table. While I was expecting the front door to open, I heard a door upstairs open, followed by footsteps down the stairs. "Fuck. I forgot about my brother. He's gonna be so mad at me."

"This was all your idea. Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior, honey." He winked at me.

Cynthia walked into the kitchen first but Paul was right behind her. She stopped walking and stared at Dallas. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I stood up. "Uh, Paul. This is my…boyfriend, Dallas."

"Paul, he's the guy who jumped my brother a few weeks ago." I heard Cynthia whisper to my brother.

"Nicole, come here. Now." I got up and followed my brother into the living room. Cynthia followed too, probably because she didn't wanna be alone in the dining room with Dallas.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? What did I tell you?" He didn't even care if Dallas could hear him, he was yelling.

I looked out the window and saw my Dad talking to our neighbor. "Listen, Paul. He's really not a bad guy once you get to know him." That was lie. I mean, maybe Dallas was a good guy, but I really didn't even know him.

"No, he's not a good guy. I know for a fact that he's not. I'm not eating dinner with him. Get him to leave or I will." He replied.

"Please, I have to put up with your girlfriend's bullshit every day. You'll get over it." I turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

"At least my girlfriend isn't a piece of shit!" I heard him yell.

I rolled my eyes, then sat down next to Dallas. "Sorry about that."

He leaned back in his chair. "Sorry for what?" He laughed. "I've been called worse."

I heard the front door open, then heard my Mom and Dad's voice. Paul and Cynthia came into the kitchen. After I got into an argument with my brother, I wasn't nervous anymore. I wanted my Dad to be pissed off. I was so tired of everyone's shit in the house that I was glad I was about to be screamed at. I stood up from the table. "No Grandma?" I asked. No body answered me, so I guessed that she got sick or something. My family is great at ignoring problems. "Anyway, Dad, you know Dallas, right?"
He hung his coat on the hook, then turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"We're dating, Dad. Isn't that great?" I grabbed Dallas's hand, then kissed him on the cheek.

"The hell you are. Get out."

"You look handsome when you're not in your uniform, Tom." Dallas winked at my father. I didn't have to pretend to laugh at that. I could see how mad my Dad was. I thought it was hilarious.

"We're leaving. I'm not eating dinner with him." Paul grabbed Cynthia's hand.

"That's bullshit, Paul. I eat dinner with your girlfriend every night."

"There's a fucking difference, Nicole!"

"Yeah, well, at least Dallas being here doesn't make you feel like a piece of shit. Because that's how I feel when you have Cynthia here. Mom's fucking obsessed with her and Dad loves her." Paul didn't say anything. Neither did my Mom.

"You watch your language! I knew there was a reason you were acting differently. Dallas, it's time for you to go." My Dad turned his attention away from me. "You stay away from my daughter."

I got up and grabbed Dallas's arm. "You're close to not having a daughter." I pushed past my Dad and walked out the front door.