On the Plus Side
Page 46

“Jenny. You’re home early,” he suddenly looked nervous as he handed me my coke.
“Yeah, today was an early out day. Remember? I told you that last night. I told you that I’d help you out at the shop today. What’s up with this Honda? Is this your car, Lilly?” She turned her attention back to me before walking over to the car and looking under the hood.
“Yep, that’s my baby. I haven’t named her like your brother named his, but I will at some point. I was thinking something along the lines of Barbara or Bertha.”
Jenny laughed with me. Devin still didn’t say anything; he just kind of walked back over to the car and started working on it again.
The next thirty minutes were awkward. Jenny and I sat and talked the whole time. We laughed and giggled about school and a few girlie things. For someone who was such a tomboy, she still had a hint of teenage girl in there somewhere. Throughout all the talking and car work, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet Devin was being.
After my oil was changed and the tune up was complete, Jenny invited me to dinner the following Saturday at their house with her, Devin, and their dad. I looked to Devin for a response, but when he didn’t look my way I decided to make the decision for myself.
“Sure that sounds fun. Should I bring something?”
“Just yourself,” she smiled.
Not long after that Jenny went inside and left me and Devin all alone.
“Is everything OK?” I asked.
“Everything’s cool. Well, your car’s all better now. You’ll need another oil change in about three thousand miles. I’m going to go inside and get a shower, I’m covered in grease. I’ll see you at dinner this weekend?”
He wasn’t looking me in my face at all. Something was wrong.
“If you don’t want me to come, I won’t. I wasn’t, like, plotting and planning to meet your family or anything. I should’ve called before I came. I’m sorry for intruding, and I understand if you don’t want to do the whole meet the family thing. Call me later.”
I tried to sound as if the fact that he may not want me to be around his family didn’t bother me. Plus, there was all this stupid Renee talk. How would she feel knowing that there was another chick coming to dinner at his house?
There was no way he knew how heartbroken I felt by the tone of my voice or the expression on my face. I turned and started to get into my car when he grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me to him. The next thing I knew his warm mouth was moving against mine.
I responded immediately and threw my arms around his neck. He began backing me up until I felt my back against my car. He pulled away a bit and nipped at my bottom lip before moving to my neck.
“You always smell so good,” he whispered against my neck.
A deep moan was my answer. Words were beyond me at this point. I pulled him closer to me and tilted my head to the side to give him more space to work. His mouth felt so amazing. He felt so amazing. The car was pretty much holding me up. My legs sure as Hell weren’t holding me up anymore.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made us jump apart from each other. My legs still felt like rubber, yet somehow I managed to stand.
“Dad, this is Lilly. Lilly, this is my dad,” Devin sounded out of breath.
The older man standing across from us smiled back at me like we shared some great secret. He was just as greasy as Devin, except he wore an old, light blue workman’s shirt with a name patch sewed on and dirty, old, navy blue pants.
He was an older Devin with a scraggly beard and a twinkle in his eye. He radiated calm and warmth and I instantly felt comfortable around him.
“Nice to meet ya, little lady. So, you’re the one taking up all my boy’s time.”
He pointed to Devin using the fishing pole in his hand. The other hand carried a case of beer. I could feel the burn in my face and all I really wanted to do was jump in my car and haul ass.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Ah, hell honey, don’t be sorry. It ain’t a bad thing. I’m glad he finally got him a real woman. That one gal, what was her name again? Oh yeah, Renee. She was a snooty little thing. She wasn’t nothin’ but a little rack of bones. Good to see ya got yourself a lady with some meat on her,” he said to Devin. Devin’s face turned seven shades of red. “Don’t you be a stranger, ya hear? And don’t you be calling me Mr. Michaels, either. Around here, it’s either Harold the Handsome or Dad.” He winked at me as he walked by.
I stood there a minute trying to figure out if that had really just happened or if I was having a horrible nightmare. There is no way that I just met my Devin’s dad for the first time, after he busted us making out up against my car.