Loving My Best Friend's Dad Ch. 12

"Miles didn't call me. Ashley did. Would you be surprised, she is more sober than you are right now. I checked in on her too. She said Miles didn't know what to do with you and that you are different when you're drunk. And honestly, seeing you right now, I can't argue with her,"

"Whatever. I'm not that bad. I just had a few drinks, who cares? I'm allowed to have fun once in a while, aren't I?"

"You are, but not stupid fun where you get so drunk you try to seduce the guy you're dating in the back of an SUV," I must have looked shocked because he nodded and continued, "Yeah, you weren't exactly quiet when you two were talking. I heard it."

I shrugged. I didn't want to care that he heard even though I wanted to try and defend my actions. We finally made it home and pulled into the garage. I went to open my door, but Kyle locked it. I turned in my seat and stared at him.

"I have to say, I'm shocked you would take it that far, especially when you're drunk,"

"What does it matter to you? You broke up with me, not the other way around. What I do now, it's none of your damn business. It would help tremendously if you would get out of my head and let me focus on moving forward. But nope, you have to show up and say something wise and fatherly. News flash, we fucked, so clearly you're not my dad and you have no say in anything I do," with that I unlocked my door and got out, grateful I removed my shoes on the way home. I took my time reaching my room and slamming the door for emphasis...ouch. I grabbed my head, that way not a good idea. I stripped naked and fell onto my bed.

-----

I woke the next morning with a massive headache and the sun streaming into my eyes through the cracks between my curtains. Oh god. I grabbed my head and moaned in pain. I sat up slowly, my head pounding even more. I needed some medicine. I glanced at my night stand and discovered someone already put some Motrin and water out for me. Ashley's face came to mind and I smiled. I took the meds and downed the water.

I made it to the kitchen after showering, in need of food. I ran into Ashley making a pot of coffee. "Well, look who decided to rise from the dead," Ashley joked, pouring me a cup and handing it over.

"You're just so funny," I replied, sarcastic. I took a sip of the brown liquid and hummed my enjoyment.

"You know its almost one in the afternoon, right? You slept almost half the day away,"

"I guess I needed it,"

"After last night? I'll bet. I was surprised when Miles told me you were drunk, and he didn't know what to do with you. How are you feeling now?"

"Like someone hit me over the head with a sledgehammer," I rubbed my forehead.

Ashley shook her head, "I know the feeling. At least here we can call my dad if we need too."

Oh crap, Kyle... I winced as last nights encounter replayed in my head. I'm never getting drunk again. I might never pick up another shot or any type of alcoholic drink. This hangover sucked but remembering what happened was even worse. I'm a terrible drunk. Never again.

"Yeah, he came and got me," I nodded, agreeing with her.

"I know, because I called him, Erin. He was just as surprised. I know I can't judge you given the number of times I've done it, but what were you thinking? Is everything okay? I only ask because I can't think of any reason why you would overdo it," she asked concerned.

"I don't know," I shook my head, taking another drink, "I think...,"

I stopped, what was I supposed to say? I couldn't tell her anything about Kyle. I couldn't tell her that I was heartbroken. I needed time to come to terms with everything and figure out how to see and live with him every day without wishing we could turn back time. I hated how I felt, I wanted to simply disappear for a while. I wanted to go home. I wanted to talk to my mom and have her take the pain away, to make things better.

"I think I am homesick," I told her, it was slightly true. I did miss my mom. I would give anything to have her here and helping me. I couldn't tell her about Kyle either, but I could pretend my issue is with another guy without her pushing me towards him like Ashley would.

"Aww," Ashley wrapped her arms around me, embracing me hard, "I'm sorry, Erin. I never thought you would be homesick. It never occurred to me. I have my dad, and he is here for you too, but he isn't your mom. Maybe you should call her," she suggested.

Maybe I should, I thought. I smiled at Ashley and thanked her for the talk. She was a good best friend. I left her in the kitchen, returning to my room to call my mom. I got a bit of a talking to when I told her I got drunk for the first time but overall the conversation was good. I told her a bit about Miles, school, and how much I missed her. She told me she wished she could visit me, but money was tight. I understood but still wished the same thing.

-----

A few weeks passed since Halloween and now Thanksgiving was soon approaching. I passed all my midterms with flying colors and was thriving in school. I've only seen Kyle in the mornings when he was leaving for work and sometimes late in the evening when he returned home. I didn't mind it much since it made it easier for me to mend my heart, but I missed him very much. I even dreamed about him on more than one occasion, and not just cute little dreams but the hot and steamy ones.

I did my best to focus on Miles, but that was becoming increasingly impossible. We went on a few more dates but trying to plan time to spend together was like pulling teeth, hard and frustrating. Apparently, there was a major school project he had to finish before the end of the semester and it was a group project. The group decided they would meet at lunch time, so I didn't even see him at lunch anymore. Then in the evenings, he would spend time studying or with new friends he made. Actually, one of our dates was basically us studying in the same room... no hand holding, kissing, none of that, just us and books.

Speaking of kissing, I was still waiting for a spark to ignite. It never did. I felt like every kiss was me trying to light a match, but the thing would never take. So, it remained unlit and dull. I kept hoping the next time we would kiss, it would happen, but nope. I was close to giving up and calling it quits.

Today was another day that I sat alone for lunch. I saw Miles, but he was with a group of people from class and basically waved at me and carried on. We had plans to meet at his dorm room tonight. I hoped it would go better than all the previous times we met up. Maybe I could bring up the fact that I felt like he didn't have time for me and we could work something out.

-----

"Hey, Erin," Miles leaned down to peck me on the lips after answering the door.

"Hey," I smiled lightly and stepped into the room. Josh was no where to be seen, which was a good thing because I really wanted to be alone when discussing how I felt to Miles.

"How was your day?" he asked, sitting down at his desk, leaving me to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It was okay, getting stuff done before the holiday," I explained the few projects or papers I had to finish and turn in. Thanksgiving was only 3 days away.

"Yeah, sounds like some of my classes, but most of our stuff isn't due until next week. So, it's mostly finishing up details and double checking everything," he waved his hand, unworried about it.

"Have you gotten your schedule for next semester yet?" I wanted to ask before jumping into my feelings. If next semester had more room for us to spend together, then I would keep my mouth shut and keep trying to spend time with him. I had Tuesday and Thursday off every week again.

"I got the email today," he turned around and tapped on his laptop, bringing up the email, "It looks like I have class everyday until close to six. I even got the syllabus from the teachers to try and gain some ground before falling behind. It is going to be a super busy semester," he chuckled and turned back to me.

"Speaking of that..." I frowned a bit. Miles looked concerned and I wanted to forget saying anything to him but pushed through, "I feel like you don't have enough time for me."

"What do you mean?" he sounded confused.

"Miles, you have spent most of the past few weeks working on your project, which I understand. But you don't find time for me. You are either studying, working on the project, or with friends. Not counting the few times, we had lunch together, we have only seen each other four times since Halloween, that's only once a week,"

"I've been busy. You know how important school is to me,"

"I do know. But how can you spend most of your weekends with your friends playing video games but not with me? Or even just invite me along?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, upset, "I just don't really see you getting along with my friends or really becoming part of my group like I am yours. My friends are all nerdy or geeky and I don't see you part of that," he slowly explained, looking at the floor instead of me.

Wow. He didn't see me in his group of friends. I thought back to when we met and how Josh and I didn't really think twice about inviting him into our group. But here, Miles was hesitant to make me apart of his. Maybe this was a sign? A sign that we were not meant to be together. Then again, there had been a few signs before this. All of them I chose to ignore...the lack of time spent together, the lack of spark when we kissed, the lack of being a part of his life in any way, or the overall lack of everything.

"I think I want to break up," I blurted without thinking.

-----

I sat in the living room, working on the study guide for one of my finals in two weeks. I was going to do it in my room, but I needed to get out of there. I had Netflix up and running a show as background noise, glancing up every few minutes to catch bits of what was happening. I already finished another study guide, and this was my last one. I had been working on it since noon and was ready to be done. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving Day and I planned to be homework free as of midnight to avoid any school related stress.

Ashley walked in and sat next to me on the couch. She kept checking in on me ever since I told her I broke up with Miles. Which by the way, went surprisingly well after the hour he spent trying to mend it all back together, but my heart knew better. I turned to her and gave her a look.

"What?" she sounded offended by my glare.

"You are going to drive me up a wall if you keep this up," I indicated to the wall nearby.

"Keep what up?" she pretended not to know.

"Checking on me. I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine because I am not concerned about finding time to spend with Miles over the short holiday break. I can relax and pig out," I acted out gobbling food.

"Good. I'll try and back off," she promised, laughing.

"What's the plan anyway? I haven't seen your dad since yesterday afternoon. Is he working?" I wondered out loud.

"He's busy. He said he had to meet with a very special client today," she shrugged.

"Special client?" I gave her a knowing look.

"Oh god, Erin, no!" Ashley shrieked, "Oh geez, I hope not. I don't want to think about that. Gross!"

I laughed, even though the thought of Kyle with anyone else still bothered me a lot. My heart had yet to piece itself back together over him. Ashley made a gagging sound and pointed her finger at her open mouth like she would puke, showing me how disgusted she was.

We sat there and laughed for a while until the kitchen door connected to the garage opened and I heard Kyle talking. I looked to Ashley, wondering if she knew who he was talking to. I assumed it was someone on the phone until another voice replied to his with a laugh. I knew that voice, I thought, my heart racing. I stared at the entryway into the kitchen wanting it to be who I thought it was and not my imagination.

Kyle appeared and smiled at Ashley and me. He had cleaned up since yesterday. He had trimmed his beard down nicely, hair brushed, clothes were casual but nice and clean, and he had a smile on his face. It was the first time I'd seen him smile in weeks. Then a short woman appeared next to him, a woman I had known my whole life. My mom!

I jumped up and broke into a run towards her. She opened her arms and I crashed right into them. I held her tightly to me, making sure she was as real as she appeared. I began to cry happy tears. She hushed me gently as we held onto each other, calming me down. I looked up from her shoulder and saw Kyle standing off the side smiling softly at us.

We must have stood there forever before Ashley declared it was her turn to hug my mom. I laughed and stepped back. All of us joined together in the living room, talking and catching up before Kyle encouraged me to show my mom around the house and explained he had cleaned his office and made room for her in there.

Ashley and I both turned to him, shock written on our faces. He laughed and sent us all on our way. I quickly showed my mom around and got her settled in Kyle's office, which was clean for the first time in decades I'm sure. He had a bed put in and moved all his stuff aside. We sat on the bed and talked about everything, catching up on the past few months. I told her about my break up with Miles and even broke apart about my feelings towards another guy, who sadly did not feel the same for me. She hugged me, telling me any man would be lucky to have me and that my time would come. She listened, laughed, cried, and supported me throughout the conversations, lasting late into the night.

-----

I woke the next morning, groggy from staying up so late. I immediately jumped up to check on my mom and found her in the kitchen having coffee with Ashley and Kyle. Ashley was talking non-stop about Cole and school. My mom sitting next to her, nodded happily, giving her full attention.

I looked at Kyle, who gave me a small smile. I crooked my finger at him, beckoning him over to me. He excused himself from the room and followed me upstairs. I originally planned to talk to him in the hallway but invited him into my room.

We stood awkwardly in the middle of my room before I finally said, "Thank you."

"For what?" his eyebrows furrowed, confused.

"For flying my mom out here for Thanksgiving. She said you called her and invited her because I was homesick," I explained.

"You should thank Ashley too. She told me you missed your mom. I figured it was the least I could do, you know, for putting you through everything," he looked down at me and I could tell he was truly sorry for everything.

I didn't know what else to say to him, being this close to him and smelling him made me was to crawl up into a ball. I missed him so much.

"I also," he started, stopping to think and look into my eyes before beginning again, "I also want to apologize. For all the things I said. I am seriously a fucking idiot. I missed you so much. I don't expect you to forgive me or take me back, but I need you to know that I miss you. I think about you all the time and wish you were around again. I didn't realize how much you meant to me until after everything thing blew up around me," a tear streamed down his cheek.

It was like the sun finally broke through the clouds and shined on us. I just felt my heart jump up and dance. He missed me! He said sorry and he missed me. It was exactly what I wanted for the last few weeks and finally it was happening.

"I forgive you and I missed you too, so much," I told him, feeling tears run down my face. I was so happy.

Kyle smiled, took my face gently into his hands and leaned down to kiss me. My whole body lit up on fire. I could feel the tingles spread from my lips down to my toes, causing them to curl in delight. Mmm, I could live forever through his kisses. I wrapped my arms around his waist, bringing our bodies closer. Kyle's tongue lightly licked my lower lip, asking for permission. I happily opened my mouth for him, our tongues meeting and exploring what we missed so badly. He pressed him body forward, backing me up to my bed. Before my mind could catch up, we were on my bed.

Kyle's weight between my legs felt so right, I didn't want to let go. He never stopped kissing me deeply and passionately as his hands made its way down my body, breasts to butt. I smiled against his lips, thrilled to feel his touch.

We made out like that for a few minutes before breaking apart, breathing hard. I wanted more but stopped myself from pursuing that desire. He looked over me and lightly kissed me again. We laid there, staring at each other before he spoke, "Erin, I want to take this a little more slowly than before."

I looked at him odd, wondering why and what he meant. He traced a finger down the side of my face and pushed a strand of hair out of the way, "I want to go slow because I think I feel something for you that I haven't felt in a long...long time. Erin, I think I l..."

"Erin! Dad! Where are you guys?" Ashley voice echoed up the stairs, startling us so much we jumped apart. Kyle gave an apologetic look before disappearing through the bathroom connecting Ashley's and my room. I heard him a moment later, telling Ashley he was in his room taking a call and that I said something about showering.

I quickly made my way to the bathroom and started the shower, taking the excuse while I had one. I was in the middle of rinsing my hair when I stopped. My brain almost made the screeching noise of a record being stopped. What was he going to say to me? I thought over the last thing he said, oh my god, was he going to tell me he loved me?