Steal a Kiss in the Dark

December 26, 2013

I smiled at the pretty blonde sitting in my passenger seat next to me. She wasn't ready to meet her father, it was clear by the straight face she had on. Hoping to calm her nerves, I gently placed my hand on her knee and gave it a light squeeze. With a smirk she looked over at me, rolled her blue eyes, then looked away.

That's how I knew she loved me. I believed her when she would tell me, but the things like that made me know. She didn't try to be so sweet that it was sickening, but she also wasn't a bitch. Everything about her was perfect. Not once can I remember her acting like someone she's not around me. Even when I didn't ask, she'd offer her opinion no matter what it was. To some people that might be annoying, but to me it assured me she'd always tell me the truth, even if it was something dumb like saying my hair looks like shit one day. I loved the fact she didn't sugarcoat.

Oh God, and her smile. Her smile is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. She may hate it, but her single crooked tooth undoubtedly makes her smile ten times cuter. The way she kept up with her dental hygiene was mind-blowingly sexy. Who doesn't want a girl with teeth whiter than Rian's?

And those blue eyes... Man, those blue eyes had me hooked. They weren't those standout blue eyes that some people have, but they were those very light blue, so light that they were almost grey eyes with the flecks of gold surrounding the irises. Every time she flashed those eyes my heart melted.

God, I loved this girl.

She giggled breaking me from my thoughts, "What's the smirk for?"

I looked over at her and smiled before putting my eyes back on the road. "I'm just thinking about this amazing girl I know. She's blonde with these gorgeous eyes and perfect smile."

"My smile's not perfect," she interjected.

That made me chuckle, "Okay, she hates her crooked tooth but I adore it almost as much as I adore her."

"I adore you too," she laughed.

Her laugh was the cutest thing too. Like everything else about her, her laugh was soft and sweet. If honey could laugh, I'm 100% sure it would sound like Mia's laugh.

Right then, I turned into Mia's mom's driveway. Mia audibly inhaled a large breath before looking over to me. After taking the keys out of the ignition, I quick squeezed her hand and asked, "Ready?"

She looked at me with helpless eyes. It was clear she didn't want to be doing this, yet she knew she had to.

We knocked on her mom's front door together. When her mom opened the door I could feel Mia's hand tighten around mine. She was nervous and scared, but that was understandable.

"Hi baby girl," Chrissy smiled before pulling her daughter into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here. There's someone I want you to meet."

Chrissy led Mia and I inside. There on the couch he sat. He had shaggy blonde hair, almost as blonde as Mia's hair. He turned around and smiled once he saw Mia. He had the exact same smile, the only difference was his wasn't quie as white. Mia looked remarkably like her father.

"Hi Mia," the man smiled standing from the couch. He stood at approximately 6' 2, making it evident Mia got her height--or lack of--from her mother. "I'm Cooper, I'm your father."

Mia had a deathgrip on my hand. She didn't say anything, I don't think it was possible for her to say anything. Looking over, I could see that she was fighting off tears. Cooper wouldn't know that, but I did because I knew how to read her.

I sighed, "Excuse us for one second." Then I took Mia up to her bedroom to talk.

"I can't do this," she started to cry.

"You can do this. You're a strong girl Mia. I know you can do this."

"Alex," she cried out, "I can't. He abandoned me."

I hugged her tight. "Listen to me Mia, that made you stronger. You wouldn't be the strong, independent woman you are today had he stayed in your life. Plus, don't you have questions for him? He's the only one that can answer some of your questions."

She sniffed, "I-I guess..."

"Let's go back out there so you can show him how strong and wonderful you became without him."

She nodded, wiped away her tears, and grabbed my hand. I gave her an encouraging squeeze before she led me back to the living room.

"Cooper, I'm Mia," she firmly stated gripping my hand.

He nodded, "I know baby girl."

She got fiesty then. "No. You have no right to call me baby girl. You lost that privilege the day you walked out on my mom and me. You lost any right to come back and act like you know me."

"Mia..."

"No. You probably didn't even know I was living in South Carolina for the past several years. You probably didn't know that I was in love with my best friend since we were ten years old. You probably didn't know that I would cry myself to sleep every night when I was five and realizsd it wasn't normal to have a dad leave you and never come back. You know nothing about me. You aren't a father. You're a pathetic stranger who couldn't handle your fuck up. There are consequences to having sex, and if you can't deal with those consequences you shouldn't be having sex."

I interjected, "Mia, you're about to yell. Please, calm down."

She nodded and quick hugged me. "Thank you. Thank you for sticking around. Thank you for knowing me. Thank you for taking the time to be able to read me."

"Of course baby girl, I love you too much not to do those things," I smiled kissing her forehead.

"You see Cooper, my father should be able to read me better than some boy I've known since he was seven. Hell, my father should know the boy I've loved since I was ten. He should know my favorite color at the very least. But you, you know nothing. Frankly, I want it to stay that way. I don't want you in my life, kind of like you didn't want me in yours. I'm not someone you can have when it's convenient. I'm someone you can have when times are tough and you still need me. I'm someone you can have when I'm broke and alone and you still love me. You need to be able to have me when you're at your worst, not just when you want to feel good about yourself."

"Mia I-"

"Alex here, Alex has seen it all. He's seen me be an emotional wreck because some other stupid boy cheated on me. He's seen me happy and engaged to someone else. He's seen me when I was at my lowest drinking every night, and he's seen me at my best. He deserves to have me, and I deserve to have him. You on the other hand, you don't deserve me, and I sure as hell don't deserve a piece of shit coming back into my life. Actually, I can't even say back into because you were never even here. I want you to leave, and I never want to see you again."

And with that she had nothing else to say to him. She was done with the conversation, and she began pulling me towards the door. I was glad she stood up for herself.

"I'm proud of you," I smiled when we got back into my car. Her on the other hand, she was crying. I knew it was hard on her. She had wanted her father her whole life, and now he was back, and she wanted nothing to do with him. "Would you like to go get ice cream to make you feel better?"

She nodded, and I drove us to Dairy Queen.