Page 34 of DILF

“Good morning, Lily.” Linc lifts a box of cereal. “Breakfast?”

“Sure.” I take the box, careful not to swoon at the way his hair is rumpled and the smile I’m starting to like far too much.

“Dad invited Randy over for a barbeque.”

I look up at Linc. “Really? That’s nice.”

“I guess I better get to know this guy, huh?”

“Seems like a smart idea, Mr. Edwards.” My eyes lock with him, and he winks at me when Charlie isn’t looking.

“You’ll join us?” he asks.

“I…uh…”

“Mom’s not coming,” Charlie says, thinking that’s the reason for my hesitation when in reality that is just one of the many. It’s hard to be around Linc and not touch him, not smile, not call him Linc.

“Stay. It’ll be good,” he says and then adds, “for Charlie. It’ll be good for Charlie.”

“Yeah, okay. I don’t have a class until noon tomorrow.”

We all make a trip to the grocery store , and every time Charlie turns around Linc touches me. It’s not sexual, it’s…sweet. He tucks some of my hair behind my ear, or kisses my cheek, or squeezes my hand. I feel terrible for hiding this from Charlie. At first it was just sex, and, well, it really wasn’t worth explaining to her. But now, now I like him…a lot. And it feels wrong. Not because he’s older. And not because he’s my best friend’s dad, but because we’re hiding it. I want to shout it to the world. I want to be able to go on a date. But none of that’s possible right now, and I don’t know if it ever will be.

“You okay?” Charlie asks as we get back to her house and start to unload the groceries.

“Yeah, fine.” I take the ice cream and put it in the freezer. A minute later there’s a knock on the door.

“That’s Randy!” she yells excitedly, running to open the door.

“Hi, Lily, hope you don’t mind I brought Lars,” Randy says.

Shit—Lars. He’s been calling, and I’ve been ignoring him since I got sick during spring break. They round the corner and walk into the kitchen. Luckily, Linc’s outside manning the grill.

“Hi, beautiful,” Lars says, and plants a kiss on my cheek.

“Hey.”

The sliding door opens, and Linc steps inside. “When’s this guy getting he—oh! Hello, Randy,” he says with a spatula in his hand.

Randy approaches him and extends his hand. “Thank you for having me over, Mr. Edwards. I hope you don’t mind that I brought a friend.” Linc looks over my shoulder, recognizing Lars. I swear I hear him groan.

“Hi, Mr. Edwards.” Lars waves. “Thanks for taking such good care of my girl while she was sick.”

“You were sick? You took care of her?” Charlotte asks curiously.

I feel my cheeks warm. “Yeah. I was really sick and your dad was nice enough to bring me some medicine.”

There’s an awkward silence for a moment. “Oh…well, that was nice of you, Dad.”

Linc shrugs and goes back outside.

It’s going to be a long evening.

17

LINC

This little asshole is this close to getting a fist through his face.

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