Third Date (27 page)

I notice the clock by his bed says it’s 11 and I get up to leave.

“Where are you going?” He takes hold of my hand as I stand by the bed.

“I have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Stay here tonight. I’ll set the alarm.”

“I don’t know, Brad.” I lean down and give him a kiss. “It’s kind of soon for me to stay overnight.”
 

“You were trying to have sex with me on our first date. You didn’t think
that
was too soon.”

I laugh. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“Come on. You can sleep in one of my t-shirts. Maybe I’ll even let you have one.”

The other day I told Brad I was going to steal all of his t-shirts because he has the softest t-shirts I’ve ever felt. I don’t know where he buys them but they’re so soft I can’t help but run my hands all over his chest whenever he wears them.

I pretend to consider it. “Hmm. I do love those t-shirts. So you’ll give me one? And all I have to do is sleep over here?” I pause. “Okay, it’s a deal.” I hold out my hand for an official handshake and after we shake, I say, “For the record, I would’ve agreed to spend the night even without the t-shirt.”

“Get over here.” He grabs me and playfully tosses me on the bed. “And for the record,” he says mimicking me, “I would’ve just given you a t-shirt if you’d asked.”
 

He goes to kiss me but I stop him. “If I stay here, we have to get some sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“I know.” He gets up and grabs a t-shirt from the closet and tosses it to me. I slip the t-shirt on. It’s so soft. Why don’t they make girl t-shirts this soft? If they did, I’d have one in every color.

I watch as he changes into his pajama pants. He’s wearing gray boxer briefs that show off his tight ass. Even though he wouldn’t take them off, I still felt what he’s got going on under those boxers and it’s impressive. Very impressive. Now I know why so many girls were lining up to be with him. It wasn’t because of his skills on the football field.

He meets me in the bed, positioning one arm under my pillow and the over my waist.

“See?” He kisses me. “Isn’t this better than sleeping alone?”

“Yeah. Way better.”

I snuggle in, pressing my back against his bare chest.
 

I definitely didn’t need the t-shirt bribe. I love falling asleep in his arms. I would gladly do this again.

***

On Saturday, the day of the wedding, I help Sophie with all the last minute details. Being a real estate agent, Sophie knows a lot of people, so her idea of a small wedding is 150 people. Unlike most brides, Sophie is very calm, even when she learns the cake is going to be late getting to the reception hall.

“You’re taking everything really well,” I say to her after we get the cake news. “You don’t even seem stressed.”

“I want this day to be fun. And if things end up not working as planned, that’s okay. A wedding is about two people starting a new life together. It’s not about cakes and flowers. I won’t remember any of these little details tomorrow or the next day or all the days after that. In fact, I could’ve skipped all of this and just had a civil ceremony but your father insisted we go the traditional route since I’ve never been married. And it
is
nice to celebrate with friends and family.”

“Why didn’t you get married before now?” I realize after I say it that it sounds kind of rude, but she doesn’t seem offended.
 

“I just got too wrapped up with work. I didn’t have time to date, let alone be in a committed relationship. I didn’t feel any urge to have children so there was no rush. I never felt pressure to get married the way some women do. And I was starting to think I would never get married.” She smiles. “But then I met your father and I had no choice but to marry him.”
 

“I’m glad you two found each other. I haven’t seen my dad this happy in years.”

She winks at me. “I haven’t seen
you
this happy either, Morgan. Brad must have really swept you off your feet.”

“It’s just that early stage in a relationship when everything is fresh and new. I’m sure it will wear off in a few weeks.”

“It might not.” She smiles. “I feel the same way about your father as I did when we first started dating. He still makes my heart skip a beat when he enters the room. And he’s always on my mind, even on my busiest days. I think when you’re in love, those things that made you fall in love with the person still remain, even years later.”

I smile back at her. I really like Sophie. For years, I worried my dad would marry someone I didn’t like. But he picked one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. And she’s fun to hang out with, too.

After everything’s done, we go back to her apartment where my dad is waiting for us. “Where have you girls been? You were supposed to be home an hour ago.”

Sophie gives him a quick hug. That’s another reason I like her. She limits the PDA with my dad when I’m around. “Just getting some things straightened out with the cake. But everything’s fine. We’re all set. Morgan needs to leave to get dressed.”

“I’ll see you tonight, Dad.” I give him a hug, then head out.

By 5, I’m dressed and ready to go. Sophie’s best friend is her maid of honor and I’m a bridesmaid along with another one of her friends. Luckily, Sophie didn’t make us wear hideous dresses. She picked out dark blue evening gowns that don’t look like the typical bridesmaid dress. These dresses are elegant and you could actually wear them again.

When Brad appears at my door, he looks me up and down. “Wow. You look gorgeous. And hot. Really hot. This is going to be a tough night.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, innocently.

“You know what I mean. Trying to keep my hands off you? And fight the other men off? It’s not going to be easy.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” He’s wearing his best suit with a tie that matches my dress. “And you just have to wear that cologne that drives me wild.” I lean in and kiss him in a way I know will get him going.
 

He reluctantly breaks away. “I think we better get out of here.”
 

He helps me put on my coat, then takes my hand and leads me out the door.
 

We get to the church just in time for photos. Sophie looks beautiful, wearing a simple but elegant cream-colored evening gown as her wedding dress. Dad’s in a tuxedo. It’s the first time I’ve seen him wear one, other than in my parents’ wedding photos.

“You look great, Dad,” I say, giving him a hug.

He doesn’t seem nervous at all. He stands back to see my dress. “So do you. You look beautiful, honey.” He smiles at me. “And thanks for helping Sophie today. She really appreciated it.”

“I liked helping her. We had fun. You picked a good one, Dad.”

He gazes over at her. “I didn’t think I’d ever get this lucky again.”

The photographer motions us to line up for photos. After that, the wedding guests arrive and the ceremony begins. It starts with the minister giving a short speech about love and marriage. Then it’s time for the vows. My dad and Sophie wrote their own and Sophie has tears running down her face as my dad recites his. She almost has
me
crying, too. She loves my dad so much. I feel good knowing he has someone like her to spend the rest of his life with. I finally feel like I can stop worrying about him and focus on my own life.

After the ceremony, everyone goes to a historic hotel downtown where the reception is being held. Sophie and I, along with some of her friends, spent the morning decorating the ballroom. It looks really nice. Sparkly blue and white lights line the head table and for centerpieces, we put white floating candles in bowls of blue water. For the music, they hired a band and in place of a traditional plated meal, the dinner is an appetizer buffet and a bar serving cocktails and wine.
 

I sit at the head table for dinner and Brad sits with his mom and some of my dad’s friends. Dad probably planted them there so his friends could interview Brad and make sure he’s good enough for me. Every time I glance over there, Brad’s talking and laughing and entertaining the entire table of strangers. I’m sure he’s winning them over like he tends to do with everyone he meets.

After the first dance, Brad comes over to me. “I’m a friend of the groom’s and I’ve been admiring you since I got here. Would you like to dance?”

He holds his hand out and I take it. “I usually don’t dance with strangers, but if you’re a friend of the groom’s, then yes. I’d love to.”

The dance floor is filling up but we find a quiet spot off to the side. I’ve only danced a few times in my entire life, which is obvious because I stand there not sure what to do. Brad guides my arms up around his shoulders, then places his hands around my waist, smiling. “I’m guessing you didn’t go to many school dances.”

“No. I skipped out on those.”

“Homecoming? Winter formal? Prom? You didn’t go to any of them?”

“Nope. It just wasn’t my thing. That, and I didn’t have a date.”

“How could you not have a date? Did you turn down every guy who asked?”

“Nobody asked me. Don’t you remember? I was the shy, quiet girl with the dead mother. Not exactly every teen boy’s dream.”

“You were
my
dream,” he says. “You still are.”

I smile. “Then you should’ve asked me to prom.”

“You would’ve said no. I knew what you thought of me back then.”

“Actually, it really didn’t have anything to do with getting asked to the dance. It was more about not having my mom around. Getting the dress and the shoes. Getting your hair done. It’s something you do with your mom and I didn’t have one. So that’s why I didn’t go to dances.” I have no idea why I admitted that to him. I’ve never told anyone that. Not even my dad. I attempt to make light of it. “It’s stupid. I should’ve just gone.”
 

“It’s not stupid, Morgan.” He kisses the top of my head as I rest my cheek on his chest and we sway side to side with the music.

I feel so vulnerable with Brad. Like I’ve let him see too much of me and now I can’t take it back. And yet for some reason I want to share even more of myself with him.
 

A new song begins and I feel Brad pull away as my dad comes up behind him. “Mind if I have a dance?”

“She’s all yours.” Brad lets me go and my dad takes his place.

“Having a good time?” he asks.

“Yeah. Everything turned out perfect. The food. The music. The cake.”

He smiles. “I meant are you having a good time with Brad?”

“Oh. Yeah.” I smile back. “I really like him. Even before we started dating, I liked hanging out with him.”

He gets the stern dad face. “And he treats you well? Because if he doesn’t, he’ll have to answer to me. I’ll be on the first plane—”

“Dad, he treats me very well. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll always worry, Morgan. That’s my job. Someday you’ll be a parent and you’ll see that the worrying never goes away, no matter how old your kids are.”

“So what do you think of Brad? Do you like him?”

“I don’t know him that well yet, but from the little I’ve seen I’m impressed. But I’m still gonna keep an eye on him. That’s just what fathers do.”

“That might be a challenge from Texas.”

“I’ll be back visiting plenty of times. Sophie still has some business here to finish up so we renewed the lease on her apartment for another six months. So don’t get too comfortable not having me around.” He glances back at Sophie who’s dancing with a tall older man with gray hair. “I better get back to my bride. I’ll see you later, honey.” He kisses my cheek and returns to Sophie.

As I start to leave the dance floor, I feel a hand around my waist, spinning me back around.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Brad asks. “You have a lot of dances to make up.”

“You’re pretty good at this,” I say as he leads us around the dance floor. “I suppose you went to every dance in high school.”

“I did, but this is way better than any of those.”

“My dad’s wedding? Really? Come on. You were homecoming king. That had to better than this.”

“You don’t seem to get how much I like you, Morgan. This is the best dance because I’m here with you. I can’t even remember who I took to those high school dances.”

I smile and give him a hug. How is it possible I found someone who likes me as much as I like him? That never happens. At least not to me.

We continue to dance for a few more songs. Then we go back to his table and talk to his mom for a while. She’s beaming just seeing us together. I wonder how many of Brad’s girlfriends she’s met over the years. I’m guessing he didn’t bring many girls home to meet his mom during his sex-crazed teen years.
 

The evening winds down at midnight. Before we leave, Brad and I say goodbye to my dad and Sophie. In the morning they take off for their honeymoon, which is at a lodge in northern Minnesota. I should clarify that the lodge is their
first
honeymoon. Their second honeymoon is in Hawaii. They decided to each pick a destination and have two honeymoons rather than trying to agree on just one. Of course my dad picks a lodge in the woods. The lodge is practically in Canada so I’m sure it’ll be freezing there, even in March. But Sophie acts excited to go because she knows it will make my dad happy. And he does the same about Hawaii, although I think he’s actually excited about going there.

***

When we get back to the apartment, I invite Brad to my place. It’s funny to have ‘my place’ be the apartment right above his.
 

We take off our coats and I go straight to the fridge. “I guess I should’ve ate more. I’m still hungry. Are you?” I survey the fridge and find nothing but condiments, milk, and some apples.
 

He sits at the kitchen table. “I could eat something. What have you got?”

I check the freezer and find five frozen meals and a quart of chocolate ice cream.
 

“Do you want some ice cream? That’s alI I have unless you want an apple or some mustard.”

“You really need to make more trips to the grocery store, Morgan. You never have any food.”