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Another month gone and still no hints of a fight or a breakup. It’s been four months now, and the idiot still continues to charm my daughter and my wife. Leah has asked me to behave tonight, and I’m trying my best. It’s taking all of my self control to ignore his hand on Annie’s thigh. I don’t think Leah or Annie will appreciate it if I rip his arm off. So, taking in slow and deep breaths, I try to concentrate on the cherry cobbler in front of me.
Don't get me wrong. I love it when my daughter comes to visit us once every fortnight, but why does her ‘holier than thou’ boyfriend tag along? Don’t they already spend all their time together? I so hate the boy. He’s just not good enough for my kid.
“Right dad?” Annie nudges, looking at me for an answer. Right what? I look around to see all of them laughing. I have no clue what’s going on, but I play along anyway. “Hahaha. That’s right, sweetheart.”
My fake laughter stops when I see the others looking at me weird. Deciding I need a break, I tell them I have to make an important phone call and excuse myself.
Grabbing a beer on the way, I go to the kitchen, and just as expected, before I can even open the bottle, my wife comes in, shooting daggers at me with those beautiful chocolate coloured eyes.
“Will you calm the hell down and stop acting like a kid?” She hisses, grabbing the bottle from my hand and placing it on the counter behind me.
“ If I wasn't calm, I would have ripped his arms off.”
“What’s wrong with you Paul? John is just being a gentleman and accompanying our daught…”
“Yeah, right. He wasn’t even invited Leah. Why does he have to tag along with Annie everytime? I get just four days a month to spend with my daughter, and he has successfully managed to steal it from me.”
Leah looks at me intently for a moment before bursting out laughing. Great! She finds it funny.
“Aww. My baby...” She ruffles my hair. Freakin’ ruffles! “ Paul, you sound like an insecure teenage girl who doesn’t get enough attention from her boyfriend. All you need to complete the image is a pout.” She continues to laugh, completely ignoring my irritation.
“You know,” Stepping closer, she puts her arms around my neck. “You look so cute when you go all daddy wolf on Annie, and… ” Brushing her lips against mine, she whispers, “...I love it.”
Before I can respond, she captures my lips in a hot kiss—all tongue and teeth. We’ve been together for more than two decades now. But the romance and the passion between us is still intact. If anything, it has increased with time.
As I try to pull her closer, she breaks the kiss, breathing heavily. She looks up at me and gives me a smile: the one that always soothes me.
“It’ll be fine. I know you don’t like John, and honestly, I find him pretty... umm… Edward Cullen like. He’s too sweet and soft for my liking, but Annie likes him. She’s just nineteen, Paul. She just started dating. Just play along for now. Give Annie a chance to make her decisions and learn from them.”
I just don’t want my Annie to get hurt in any way, but Leah’s probably right. I should give her some space. Not really happy with it, but I nod anyway.
Smiling, Leah pulls me towards the living room. “Come on, let's finish the dessert.”
“Leah… “ I wait for her to stop and look at me. “Aren’t those two getting too comfortable with each other? His hand on her thigh..”
“God! I can’t believe you are saying this. Did you forget all the things we’ve done?” She winks, giving me a naughty smirk.
Great! She just had to put those images in my mind.
“If those two even think of doing such things, I won’t think twice before… “ Before I can describe to Leah the painful things I was going to do to John, I hear Annie’s squeal from the living room.
You are a dead man, John McCall!
On reaching the living room, I see Annie rolling on the floor clutching her stomach and laughing, kicking her legs around wildly. She’s trying to get the idiot to stop who’s tickling her senseless, and in my opinion, touching her in all the wrong places.
As I take a step forward, fully determined to pull the boy off her, Leah grabs my hand and pulls me back into the kitchen. The typical ‘Leah look’ on her face dares me to attempt and interrupt those two kids. After spending more than twenty years with her, I know better than to ignore that look. Why doesn’t Leah understand my point? Sighing, I slump into the chair, my senses still on hyper alert, listening to everything going on between those two.
Why the hell do daughters have to grow up?