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I wince, pouring a mug of hot black coffee. “Oh no, that doesn’t even sound good to me.”
There is definitely an elephant in the room––well, in the yard––sitting next to Dad and acting like nothing had happened, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I haven’t heard the last about my escapades with the Van den Bosch heiress.
Filling up on salty meat and life-giving caffeine, breakfast goes well, all things considered. Mom and Dad are both in good spirits, riding the high of having thrown one hell of a celebration for my best friend. Sometimes I think our family doesn’t get the same respect in social circles because we aren’t from old money and had to make our own way, but all three of us have proven over the years that we can keep up with the rest of the elite with no problem whatsoever. It’s both a point of pride and an annoyance that we have to do it at all. The Van Den Bosches are the only group that hasn’t treated us somewhat stiffly, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s why I was the perfect companion for grumpy, introverted Andries who always had his nose in a book. Strange that they would have rather he be a party boy in his youth instead of a bookworm, but I guess social skills rank above literary competence in some ways.
Then I think about if they would treat me differently if they knew I was off sticking my tongue down their daughter’s throat. I wonder how good of a shot Sebastian really is?
Mom stands eventually, stretching her hands over her head. “Well boys, I’m off. I told Roxanne I’d treat her, her sister, and her mom to a spa day to recover from the raucous night we had all just lived through. Can you two get along okay without me?”
Standing briefly to kiss his wife on the cheek, Dad sighs dramatically before sitting back down. “If we must.”
We both watch her go, me knowing that as soon as she’s out of earshot it’s going to be time to talk about all the uncomfortable things.
Once Mom starts to ascend the stairs to the house, Dad clears his throat, and I take an enormous swig of my coffee to stall and prepare myself.
“Son, I just want to say I’m sorry to have not knocked before entering the study,” he begins, pushing eggs around his plate. “The door is never shut, and I should have known something was off just from that, but I was so distracted by guests, and I had a scotch or two at that point, so I didn’t even stop to think.”
“God, Dad,” I groan, lowering my head to my hands. “Seriously, I shouldn’t have gone to your study, not with any girl. I wasn’t thinking either, and it was my mistake. Can we drop it now?”
“I’m not bothered by you taking a girl to my study, Dan,” he points out. “I’m bothered that you took Elise Van den Bosch, and for… well, what you took her there for. That was no chat between friends.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I retort, snappier than I intend. When Dad winces, I immediately feel like shit.
“She’s your best friend’s sister, is all. I don’t think that’s a prudent move, and I’m sure you’re aware of all the things it could change, maybe even ruin, in your personal life.”
“I know…” I might be twenty-four, but I have the sudden strong need to get advice from my Dad, the wisest man I know. It’s a punch to the gut to realize that even now, I’m not done learning from him. I feel like a kid at his knee again and think about how I don’t always appreciate how lucky I am to have the parents I do. While Sebastian is playing Elise and Andries against each other like two pieces on a chess board, here is my dad gently trying to guide me in the right direction not just for my sake, but for the sake of my friends, too.
“I don’t know what happened,” I continue, swallowing past the tightness in my throat. “It was just… a moment of weakness.”
He snorts, amused. “Just a moment, huh?”
Scrubbing my hands through my hair in frustration, I admit, “Maybe a few. And the thing is she even invited me to her eighteenth birthday at her family estate, but her brother, on the other hand, is not invited. Why the hell would she do that if she didn’t want to be alone with me? She was so sweet to Andries and Roxie last night, so I don’t think she has as much vitriol toward the two of them as she wants Sebastian, and maybe even herself, to think, so why not continue mending fences by inviting them? I can’t help but think it’s becauseof methat she’s leaving them out. So Andries won’t interfere, and I won’t have the guilt of him skulking around while I snog his sister.”
“Hm. That sounds to me like an opportunity for many, many more moments of weakness, don’t you think?”
I chuckle, both at Dad’s humor and the absolute nightmare of a situation I have waltzed myself into. “I just don’t know what to do, Pops. Since the day I first saw her, she’s always been on my mind. Even though she was too young for me then, I could see the woman she’d become, and it’s been so tempting to see her come into her own. I’ve been struck by beautiful women before and had no problem pursuing the available ones and leaving the unavailable or troublesome ones behind, and Eliseis both unavailableandtroublesome. Yet, I almost feel obsessed with her sometimes.” I feel like my words just keep coming and coming, unbidden, and I can’t stop them. This is the first time I’ve spoken about it out loud to someone, and I haven’t realized until now how much I need someone else's input. “I’m just… lost. I want what I can’t have, but I also couldn’t imagine hurting my best friend.”
“If you are ready to lose your best friend for her, then the choice is clear.”
“I can’t,” I snap back immediately. “Andries is so closed off from the world, he barely has anyone else but me as a friend. The fact that he is engaged to a living breathing woman is nothing short of a miracle.” I blow out a breath. “I already told Elise we need some time apart. Maybe all this stuff can simmer down if I don’t see her for some time.”
Dad raises an eyebrow. “Until you meet her again for her birthday, you mean?”
“I can hear the judgment from your tone,” I grumble. “I need to think about it. Maybe I should just decline, but boy, she will be so pissed if I do.”
“And hurt,” Pops interposes. “She’s inviting you because you mean something to her. Whatever that thing may be— friend, companion, or even a potential romance. Regardless, you’re important to Elise, and this denial might now be something she can easily bounce back from.”
“So what do I do?”
“Risk assessment,” he says simply, shrugging and leaning back in his chair. “Make sure that if you go ahead with her, it’s worth losing her brother as a friend if he ever finds out. You can’t really ask Andries to feel any differently about this, considering he’s been on edge with you and her from the first day you met her.”
“What kind of man would I be if I say that I’d trade Andries’s friendship for his sister? After the oath I took? I don’t even know what she feels for me. Maybe I’m just a game for her. She loves playing games and pulling strings.”
“Hm. That’s true. That whole family, Andries excluded, loves their complicated social games, don’t they? You’re going to have to figure her true intentions and feelings out first.”
As Dad starts to gather his things, clearly finished with his fatherly advice, all I can think to say is, “That’s an impossible task in and of itself. Sometimes I feel like she’s an open book, but then I turn around and what I thought were her true and honest feelings were just another way for her to get ahead. She’s a manipulative bitch. That’s what she is.”
“It sounds to me like you have her pretty figured out, all things considered. Use that familiarity to your advantage and try to discover what she’s really feeling about you deep down inside. The only way you can make a decision that you’re satisfied with is to know the full story.” He claps me on the shoulder before heading to the house. “Good luck, kid.”
