He lifts his chin to whisper back at me. “Politely?”
“No!” I mouth. “Never.”
He grins. And then his mouth takes mine in a hot kiss. I weave my fingers through his hair and tug until he rolls on top of me again. And everything is right with the world.
We lie drowsing together afterward. “I apologize in advance for every nosy question my mother asks you tomorrow,” he says.
I’m lying on his chest, allowing my fingers to explore the sleek skin on his ribcage. “Why is your mother so excited to meet me?”
“Because you’re awesome?” he tries.
“Jason.”
He sighs. “Moms like that stuff. And I just haven’t dated. They all think it’s because I’m too afraid to get close to anyone.”
“Are they right?”
He snorts. “I’m here with you right now, aren’t I? I’m not afraid of you. Unless you’re driving my car or sorting through my lucky ties.”
“I won’t touch your ties. That was a joke.”
“And the car?”
“I can’t wait to drive it again. How does tomorrow sound?”
He laughs so loudly I have to cover his mouth with my hand.
27
Jason
In the morning, my parents take us out for brunch in Manhattan.
Heidi’s right—my mother is over the moon about me having a girlfriend again. Every time we interact, Mom gets a moony look on her face, as if I’ve just announced our engagement instead of merely pulling out Heidi’s restaurant chair for her.
In fairness, Heidi is spectacular company. Even though she looks a little weary today, she’s charming and bubbly. “It’s true that I dropped out of Bryn Mawr,” she confesses. “I felt really lost for the three years I was there. I couldn’t see a path toward finishing.”
My mother—who has two masters degrees, a PhD, and would skin any of her children alive for dropping out of college—pats her hand. “One day you’ll figure out exactly what you’re meant to do. And everything will fall into place.”
I swear, Heidi’s next words could be, “I’m a cult member and I have an addiction to methamphetamines,” and my mom would smile and offer to help score her next hit. She’s that far gone.
Meanwhile, my dad and I polish off twin plates of eggs Benedict with extra bacon. If my dad has an opinion about Heidi and me, I can’t tell what it is. My dad is a man of few words. Thank the Lord.
“We’d better get to el aeropuerto,” Dad says after we stroll through a few shops in Lower Manhattan. “There could be traffic.” Also, shopping is not his favorite activity.
“I’ll get you a car,” I say quickly. I love my parents, but I’ve had my fill of parental involvement. Plus, practice starts in two hours.
“It was lovely meeting you,” my mother gushes three or four more times before I can tuck them into a taxi. “We always come to the Minnesota game when Jason plays! It’s only fifteen miles from home. Any chance you’ll be coming, too?”
“You never know,” Heidi says lightly. “My work routine is a little unpredictable.”
My mother hugs the poor girl again. “You take care. Jason, I’ll call you when we make it home.”
“Excellent,” I say, wondering whether I’ll be grilled. “Safe travels.”
I close the car door. As the driver pulls away, I let out a gusty breath. “Wow. You are a trooper, Heidi Jo Pepper.”
“She’s awfully nice,” she says, stepping closer to me. “But since my mom is incapable of demonstrating that level of enthusiasm, she took some getting used to.”
I sling an arm around her shoulders as we walk up the street toward the subway station. “Ready to head home?”
Heidi shakes her head. “I have to trek up to Daddy’s place and pick up my birthday gift. My mother keeps asking if I like it.”
“Want company?” I hear myself ask.
“Sure?” she says. “Well, I don’t know if my father is home. He works really weird hours. You might be walking into the lion’s den.”
“I told you I’m not afraid of him.” I raise my hand, hailing a Yellow Cab.
“He might be a dick to you.”
“Heidi, I’m paid to face down enforcers all night. This is just another day at the office for me.”
She giggles as I open the car door for her. “78th and Park,” she tells the driver.
Tobias Pepper’s condo building is a sleek apartment tower, and the doorman’s buttons are so shiny I almost have to squint.
“Hello, Miss Pepper!” says a beefy guy with one gold tooth. “I do not believe your father is at home.”
“Oh well!” says Heidi happily. “I’ll just have to catch up with him another time.” She squeezes my hand as we step into the elevator together. “Oh snap,” she says as the doors close. “I won’t have to listen to a lecture.”
She’s practically whistling with joy as she opens the door with her key card a few minutes later. “This is Daddy’s place,” she says, holding it open for me. “I was really just a squatter here.”
“Does your mother ever visit?” I ask.
“Barely. She doesn’t like the city.”
“Oh.” Still, that doesn’t make much sense. “But does she like your father?”
“She likes him in Tennessee. I think four months of the year is perfect for her.”
That saddens me, but I don’t say so.
“Now I just need to grab this gift…” She trots toward the rear of the apartment. “One second!”
I’m this close to jokingly calling out my offer to have a nooner in her dad’s condo when I hear another key in the lock.
Uh-oh.
That’s when the front door opens again, and her father walks in. Naturally, I’m the one he spots first. First his eyes widen, and then they narrow.
“Hello,” I say with an awkward chuckle. “I didn’t break in. I swear. Your daughter is back there.” I gesture toward the bedrooms and try to look innocent. Which I’m not. Not really.
He says not a word to me. Just closes the door behind himself and waits for his daughter to appear.
“Daddy? Hey.” Heidi emerges a second later. “I was just stopping by to pick up whatever mom sent me.”
His jaw is rock-hard. No hello kiss for his baby girl? He points at me instead. “Why is he here?”
Ah, straight to the point, then.
“Jason and I were out to brunch together. With his parents.” Heidi puts her hands on her hips and faces him down. “We’re close. But I don’t see why you’d care.”
“I care because of your self-destructive behavior!”
“Oh, please!” she squeaks. “I work an obscene number of hours a day, thanks to you. Who has time for destructive behavior?”
“Go back to school,” he says heavily.
“We already had that discussion,” Heidi fires back. “And I’m not doing it.”
“Where have you been staying?”
“It just occurred to you to ask now?”
“You don’t exactly answer my calls,” he points out. “Where are you living, Heidi? I told your mother I’d find out.”
Heidi flinches. “That’s a private matter.”
Tobias Pepper rolls his eyes, and for a split second the family resemblance shines through. Heidi gives me that same face sometimes. It’s way cuter on her, though. Then the man turns to me and asks, point blank, “Is she staying with you?”
“Yessir.” I don’t even hesitate. “For as long as she needs.”
He makes an unhappy grunt. “Heidi Jo, your ten weeks just became twenty.”
“What?” she shrieks. “You can’t do that! I’ve done everything you asked! Every stupid job! Every humiliating moment! And I haven’t complained.”
Oh, Jesus. I would’ve waited in the lobby if I’d known I would cause this scene.
The old grump is already shaking his head. “You need to learn how the real world works. And you can’t learn it by ingratiating yourself with a hockey team.”
Heidi has gone white. Her hands are in fists. She looks like O’Doul just before a sudden second-period brawl. “I can’t believe you,” she whispers.