“We both know that’s not why Dad was against it.” There’s bitterness in his tone.
She bites her lip. “We just wanted what was best for you.”
“Really? Because both of you basically stopped talking to me after I signed it.” This time he does raise accusing eyes to Katrina.
“You filed those emancipation papers!” she cried. “What were we supposed to think? You didn’t want us as parents anymore.”
“No, I wanted to make my own decisions about my music and my career.”
At first, Katrina opens her mouth to protest, but then she wilts, her desire to reconnect with her son overcoming any feelings of self-righteousness. “Then we didn’t do right by you. I don’t think either of us quite realized what happened until our little boy had become Oakley Ford—a man in his own right at the tender age of sixteen. We didn’t handle it well, and I’m sorry for that. We love you and I miss you, Oak. I want to spend more time with you. Can we do that? Maybe a little?”
Her plea is so heartfelt that my throat thickens. I’d give anything to have another day with my parents. Oak tilts his head to look at me and I know he sees my envy and grief because he reaches out to clasp my hand in comfort. It’s not Katrina he gives his answer to. “Okay, because I know it’s important to you.”
32
HER
Wanna come to a party? Justin’s parents are gone.
I show the phone screen to Oakley. He’s leaning against the counter, eating a piece of chocolate cake, which was what was in the big white box that Katrina brought. She left about thirty minutes ago, and Oak has been hanging around ever since. He doesn’t seem in any hurry to leave.
“Yeah, can we?”
“I don’t know. Do you need to check with Ty or Big D?” This earns me a frown, but I don’t back down. “What if they go all nuts on you?”
“These are the people who came to Maverick’s show with you?”
“Yeah.”
“They seemed cool.”
He clearly wants to go, so I text Kiki back.
I’m w/ Oak. How bad do u think everyone will freak?
OMG. Seriously? I’m freaking right now. Does he have any friends w him?
Yeah, dummy, me.
Ha ha.
If we come, everyone has to act normal. No asking him to sing. No trying to get in his pants. Do not make a big deal out of this.
Treat him like a normal guy from TJ?
Exactly.
He’s Oakley Ford, V. U R asking the impossible!
Then we’re not coming.
“I still want to go,” Oak says, peering over my shoulder.
“Does the word private mean anything to you?”
He rinses his plate off in the sink. “Yeah, it means that the stuff you and I do isn’t anyone else’s business.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” He kisses me on my temple. “But that’s my definition. Let’s go.”
“She hasn’t agreed to my terms,” I balk.
“We’re going to a party, not negotiating a hostage release.”
“Fine.” I call out to my sister, who’s at the dining table across the room. “Paisley, we’re going to Justin’s tonight. His parents are gone and he’s having a party.”
Ty starts to get up, but Oak waves him off. “No, not tonight, Ty. We’re just going to a friend’s house.”
Ty looks worried. “I dunno, man. I don’t think Jim would like it.”
“It’s fine. Vaughn’s friends are good people. They’ll drink but no one will drive and it won’t be superbig. Maybe twenty kids, tops,” Paisley reassures him. Weirdly, Paisley’s completely cool about Oak and me dating for real.
Ty settles back in his chair. He doesn’t want to leave Paisley. Oak and I exchange another smirk before I find my keys to the car.
“No singing?” he asks as he climbs into the passenger seat.
“Justin’s friend Matt likes to pretend he’s a musician. Kiki and Carrie are going to have to sit on him so he doesn’t attack you with his uploaded YouTube videos.”
“Hey, plenty of stars got discovered that way. Don’t knock the internet hit-making machine.” Oak moves the seat all the way to the back before buckling in. It reminds me a little of Dad and his long legs.
“I’m not. I’m knocking Matt. He doesn’t do it because he loves music but because he thinks it makes girls want to drop their panties.” Something that probably does happen far too often for Oak.
“What if I want to sing?”
I roll my eyes. “Knock yourself out, champ.”
He smirks and falls silent, tapping his fingers against his knees. Justin doesn’t live far away, only about a mile. When we arrive, there are a few people outside the house. Oak flips his hood up and tugs his baseball cap low, but no one even glances twice at us.
Before I can get my hand up to knock, the door flies open.
“Oh, God, it’s you. You’re in my boyfriend’s house!” Kiki exclaims. Then she slaps a hand over her mouth. “I’m trying to be cool. As cool as I can be. Can I touch your cross tat?”
“No,” I say rudely and push by her. “No touching. No saying ‘oh, God.’ No staring.”
“I can’t stop staring. He’s so gorgeous.” She trails behind us as I drag Oak inside.
“Oak, you remember Carrie, Justin and Kiki. This is Colin, Matt, Tracy.” I reel off a bunch of names.
Oak takes the initiative and shakes everyone’s hands or slaps their palms. It takes a moment for everyone to settle down, but someone, probably Carrie, cranks up the music and shoves a beer into Oakley’s hand.
“Red Solo cup,” Oak murmurs with delight.
“This is as normal as it gets,” I tell him as I accept the bottle of water Carrie hands me. I’m not drinking tonight, not after what happened at Oakley’s house.
We rest our butts against the side of the dining room table, just off the kitchen. He takes a cautious sip and then another. After drinking half the cup, he leans over. “This is terrible.”
I take the cup from him and indulge in a tiny sip of the keg beer. “Oh, man. It really is.”
“I love it.”
“So Oak, you a Rams fan now?” Justin asks.
“Christ, I guess so? I haven’t been to a game yet. You?”
“I went to a preseason game with my dad and brother but we haven’t pulled the trigger on the game tickets. Damn expensive.”
Oak nods as if he understands. His hand slips around my waist. “My dad was a huge LA Rams fan but they moved before I was born. Dad was so pissed they left that he refused to cheer for them again.”
“Same with my dad,” Matt interjects. “When they got the okay to move back, I thought he’d be happy. Instead he told me that he’d cheer for the Rams when hell froze over.”
A few more people drift over to join the football talk. Since sports bore me more than anything, I drift away to find Kiki and Carrie out on the deck.
“Straight up, is it weird dating Oakley Ford?” Carrie offers me her cigarette.
I shake my head in refusal and boost myself onto the top of the deck railing.
“At first, it was weird, but now, he’s just...Oak.”