My Girl

“Daddy?” Lena stood in the doorway of her father’s office. “Um, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Leonard looked up from his desktop computer. “What is it sweetheart?”

“I know you have been excited about the idea of me and Tyson spending time together but I… met someone.”

He took his glasses off and gave his daughter his undivided attention. “You… met someone?”

Lena took a step forward, nodding and wringing her hands together behind her back. “Yes. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now and I didn’t want to say anything until I knew something could really come of it.”

“So, you’re saying something serious has happened between you and….”

“His name is Austin.”

“You and Austin are in a relationship?”

“Yes,” Lena replied with a smile. She got her dimples from her mother and since they reminded Leonard so much of his dearly departed wife, they were often no match for her father’s resolve.

He sighed heavily. “Naturally, I’ll have to meet this young man.”

“Dinner on Saturday works for us.”

Leonard scratched at the patch of gray hair on his chin. “I’d already invited Hollis Senior and Junior for Saturday dinner…”

“If you’re not up to it, I can call them myself to cancel.”

“No, no,” Lena’s father put his glasses back on. “Tell Austin to come on Sunday.”

With a sigh, Lena nodded. The idea of having to suffer through one more dinner with Tyson Junior was only made better by the fact that her dad would meet Austin soon after. Between now and then, she would need to lay it on thick. Every chance she had, she would bring up Austin and make sure her father knew how in love with him she was. The lists of likes and dislikes he’d given her shed a little light on the kind of person Austin in addition to the extra time they were spending together at the coffee shop. The things Lena didn't know, she took the liberty of making up.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Leonard could never hear the name Austin again and it would be too soon- but he would never tell his daughter that. Lena had an extra pep in her step since she’d confessed to her father about her relationship and he didn’t want to be the one to rain on her parade.

She even answered the door with a smile, knowing she’d see Tyson Jr.’s pompous face.

“Nice to see you, Lena,” Mr. Hollis said over the shoulder of his son. “You look simply beautiful.”

Ty was just a younger, greasier version of his father. They both had dark skin with startlingly white teeth and chiseled facial features that went well with their slim, almost lanky, bodies. While Tyson Sr. kept his hair in neat, shoulder-length dreadlocks, Tyson Jr. preferred a clean cut. The younger guest let his dark brown eyes roam down Lena’s figure which was clad in a floral sundress. “Yeah, Lena…” he said with a smirk. “Simply delectable.”

Lena turned her grimace into a smile. “Come on in.”

The Hollises walked inside and went directly to the dining room where Mr. Upton was pouring dark brown whiskey into heavy glass tumblers. He turned at the sound of their footsteps and smiled.

“Tyson,” he said, handing his colleague a glass. “How was traffic on the way?”

“No heavier than normal. But we brought our appetites so we hope dinner is ready.”

Leonard chuckled and handed another glass to Tyson Jr. “Chicken is keeping warm in the oven. Lena, honey, are the greens warming too?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“I’ll help you bring the food out,” Ty said as their fathers sat at the table.

Lena silently accepted his offer and felt the heat of his gaze on her backside as she led him into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter to watch her bend over to take the chicken out of the oven.
“I thought you said you were going to help,” she said, “not just ogle me.”

Ty laughed as he moved to put a spoon in the bowl of collard greens. “I’m an incredible multitasker. I can show you some time if you’re interested in all the things I can do…”

“I think I’ll just take your word for it, thanks.”

“Really, Lena, you can only put off the inevitable for so long.”

“What makes you think any sort of relations between you and me will ever happen? This sort of hateful current going back and forth between us is not me playing hard-to-get.”

“Oh, c'mon. I know it’s a ruse,” Ty said, taking a step closer to her. “I like to think it’s sexual tension.”

Lena let out an obnoxious laugh and put a bowl of beets in Ty’s hand. She put the bowl of macaroni in his other hand, continuing her laughter. Tyson frowned as he followed her back into the dining room.

Mr. Hollis looked up at them, amused. “What’s the joke?”

Lena just shook her head. “I’ll let your son tell it while I get some water for the table.”

Ty looked sharply at her but she just scrunched her nose at him before sashaying back into the kitchen for the pitcher of water in the fridge. She placed the water near her place setting then sat down and smiled when she realized Ty was actually trying to tell their fathers a joke. It was a severely corny knock-knock joke that was rewarded with a dry chuckle from Tyson Sr. Leonard said a quick blessing over the food and just as they began to fix their plates, the doorbell rang. Lena and her father looked at each other for a second.

“We’re not expecting anyone else are we?” he asked.

Lena shook her head. “No, but I’ll go see who it is.”

She was shocked to find Austin on the porch. He had his blonde hair half up, half down and a lazy smile on his face that sent a chill down her spine. Lena shut the door behind her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you say you were having dinner with the douchebag tonight?”

“Yes!” she whispered fiercely. “That’s exactly you can’t be here.”

“Well, that’s exactly why I came.”

Lena shook her head until she saw the genius in his idea. Not only would Austin’s presence shut down Ty’s gross comments, but Tyson Sr. would also see that his son had no chance with her at all and Lena’s father would have no reason to pressure them into whatever farcical love match they’d been trying to create. She looked up at Austin: her knight in shining armor. She threw her arms around his neck and he chuckled as he hugged her back. Lena let her hand wander up into the ends of Austin’s curly hair, realizing she liked the feeling of his arms around her, but pulled away so they could get underway with dinner.

Austin held her hand and led the way back inside the house. “So, babe, what’s for dinner?”

She smiled. “Chicken.”

They reached the dining room and silence passed between all five people for a moment as they looked at each other.

Lena’s father wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat. “Lena, won’t you introduce out guest?”

“Daddy, this is Austin, the friend I’ve been telling you about. Austin, this is my father Leonard Upton.”

Austin smiled and walked around the table to shake hands. “Leonard, Lena, that’s cute. I see what you did there. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too, son, but didn’t Lena tell you dinner was on Sunday?”

Austin looked at Lena with a distraught look. “Aw, babe, did you say Sunday? You know my motorcycle club meets on Sundays.”

“Motorcycle club?” Ty echoed.

Austin nodded. “Yeah.”

“Austin, this is my business partner and his son, Tyson Hollis and Tyson Hollis Jr.,” Leonard said.

“Nice to meet you,” Tyson Sr. said with a nod.

“Same here, man,” Austin said, shaking his hand as well. The open globe in the corner caught Austin’s eye before he shook Ty’s hand. “Hey, is that whiskey? Do you mind?”

“Um, sure... Help yourself.”

Austin poured himself a glass and took a hearty gulp. “Mmm, I’d know Jameson anywhere.”

Lena saw her father’s eyebrows rise with surprise. “You know your whiskey very well.”

Austin sat to the left of him. “I like to think so. And, hey, I’m sorry for barging in like this. If it’s too crowded, I don’t mind coming back another time.”

“It’s not an inconvenience, right Daddy?” Lena put her hand on Austin’s shoulder, stroking it gently. “We’ve got plenty of food.”

Leonard glanced at Tyson Sr. “The more the merrier, I suppose.”

Lena smiled and hurried into the kitchen to get an extra plate and silverware. She set herself up next to Austin, which also put her right across from Ty. Austin smiled over at her and made a big show of pulling her chair closer to his side.

“So, Austin, you said you’re in a motorcycle club?” Tyson asked.

“Actually,” Ty said, cutting him off from responding. “I think we’re all interested in knowing how you two met.”

“We met, what, about a year ago?” Austin said. “We go to the same coffee shop and the barista got our orders mixed up. It’s actually a cute story that Lena loves to tell.”

Lena froze with a beet just inches from her mouth. She put her fork down and smiled shyly. “Right… So, you know, it was another few weeks before we actually spoke again and it was because I almost hit him with my car. After that, we’d meet for coffee a few times a week and a friendship turned into something more…”

“Just like that?” Ty asked.

“Just like that,” Austin said. “Now that i think about it, I think she mentioned you before, Ty. Can I call you Ty? Yeah, the first time I took her to a movie she said the last time she went to a movie with you, it was some scary slasher film and I was surprised that anyone who knows Lena would take her to a scary movie.”

“You don’t like scary movies?” Ty asked.

“No, not at all.”

Ty sat back in his seat with a sour look on his narrow face and the dinner and conversation carried on. Lena was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which Austin managed to charm her father. They bonded quickly over their love of whiskey and the History Channel and their disdain for the political climate of the country. Mr. Hollis was roped in, too, once Austin opened up about his bike club and the off-roading he did in the mountains.

“I’ve been laying low recently, though,” Austin said of his bike club, the Nameless Heretics. “Some crazy stuff went down a few weeks ago when the Wanderers got too big for their britches if you know what I mean.”

Lena looked at Austin. “Is that how you got that busted lip last week?”

Austin glanced at her with an easy smile and caressed her arm. “It wasn’t as bad as you think. I told you you should’ve seen the other guys.”

“No, you said guy- as in singular. You didn’t say it was a brawl. What if you’d gotten seriously hurt?”

Austin took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You don’t have to worry, babe. I would never put myself in a situation where I couldn’t handle myself. You know I’ll always be here for you.”

Something caught in Lena’s throat when she looked into Austin’s hazel eyes. He was playing his part so well that she almost believed him. There was so much sincerity in his tone and a special sort of twinkle in his eyes that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She toyed with the ends of his hair and smiled. “I know.”

A short while later, Lena was clearing the table while the guys poured themselves another drink. She was setting the dishes in the dishwasher when she felt a hand on her hip. Lena jumped with surprise. Ty was smiling slyly at her, his hand seeking out her waist again.

“Ty, what the hell are you doing?” she asked, swatting him away.

“I don’t care if you see other people,” he said, plucking the empty plate from her hands. He set it on the counter. “Just don’t sleep with him.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve had my eye on that sweet little cherry of yours for a while now and I’ll be damned if you let some pretty little white boy get it first.”

Lena scoffed. “I… Wow. Ty, I really need you to walk away. Right now.”

He stepped closer to her until her back was against the counter. He tugged on one of her curls and watched it spring back. “Why don’t you ask your friend to leave and we can get into some fun?”

“Just thinking about your idea of fun is making me want to puke all over your shoes.”

Ty laughed. “Don’t be like that Lena.”

He grabbed her by the waist and slammed his lips onto hers. Her squirming was useless against the muscles Ty had earned from his years of basketball but she got the bright idea of sinking her teeth into his bottom lip. Ty jerked away from her and touched his lip, seeing bright red coat his fingertips. “You crazy bitch!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Austin said, walking into the room. “You wanna try saying that one more time?”

“She fucking bit me!” Ty said, waving an accusing finger at her.

Austin went to Lena’s side and cupped her cheek. “Did this scumbag come on to you?” She nodded. “Did you bite his lip because of it?” Lena nodded again. “That’s my girl,” he said proudly. In keeping with the theme of surprises for the evening, Austin leaned down and kissed Lena square on her lips.

When they didn’t immediately break apart, Ty stormed out, yelling, “Forget this, man!” but the couple was too wrapped up in each other’s embrace. Not that she had much to compare it to but the way Austin was kissing her made the warm and fuzzy feeling Lena had been harboring grow fiercer until she felt a passionate fire coursing through her veins.

Lena ended the kiss but let Austin rest his forehead on hers. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said quietly.

“I know, but I wanted to. Is that okay?”

“Well… I didn’t know that was within the bounds of our agreement…”

Austin straightened up and looked intently down at Lena. “Why don’t we make a new agreement? Maybe something with a little less pretend and a lot more kissing?”

Lena smiled. “If I didn’t know any better, Austin, I’d swear you were trying to graduate from fake boyfriend to real boyfriend.”

“What if I am?”

“Then I’d say you have a deal.”

Austin threaded his fingers through her hair and brought their faces within centimeters of each other. “That’s my girl.”