Page 7 of Getting Over You

“Seriously, Dad.”

“Can’t you just tell her no so she won’t miss the summer here with me?” Mollie asks. “You have the authority. Use it.”

“Mollie,” Dad says. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“It does, though,” Mollie grumbles. “I’m the one being deprived of a summer with my sister.” Dad ignores Mollie, which makes her huff, grab her plate, and beeline for the sink. “I’m over this,” she says, stomping indignantly up the stairs.

“It would be nice if you spent time with Mollie before she leaves for school,” Dad says quietly. Her door slams, and Dad winces at the sound. “She might have a point.”

“No!” I say quickly. “Listen. Focus. Mollie and I can video chat and text and email and carrier pigeon. The whole thing. It’ll be like I’m hereandthere.”

“Carrier pigeon?” Dad asks, brow creased. “And do you evenuseemail? Doesanyoneyour age?”

“Technology has come far,” I point out. “Plus, we can access our email on our phones now, you know. It’s a game changer.”

“It makes me nervous too, Brady,” Mom says. “But she is an adult. And your adult daughter can certainly get herself out of a situation she doesn’t want to be in.” She meets my gaze, her eyes sparkling. “Right, Gigi?”

I smile. “Right.”

“And if things go poorly…”

“I’ll come home immediately,” I say. “Please trust me.”

“And you keep us updated,” he continues.

“Of course.”

“If Belinda does or says anything—”

“She’s twenty-one years old, Brady.”

“It’s not our daughter I’m concerned about,” Dad tells Mom. Mom nods solemnly. She’s no stranger to dealing with Belinda falling off the handle entirely. And when she does that, my dad is always her punching bag. His wife is a slut. His daughters are good for nothing, just like him. She left becausehewas unbearable.

“If anything goes wrong,” Mom says, giving my leg a squeeze under the table, “you call me. Immediately.”

The third degree I’m getting is making me squirm. “You guys are super intense,” I say.

“I think Belinda’s picture may be under the word intense in the dictionary,” Dad says. “This is nothing, kiddo.”

For once, I want to believe Dad is wrong about Belinda. This summer is my chance to prove it.

Chapter four

“You gonna tell me what happened with the latest girl, or am I gonna have to muscle it out of you?” EJ asks as he pushes a cart through the middle aisles of Roy’s Grocery.

“This is the only grocery store in a twenty-mile radius,” EJ told me as we walked in. Could have fooled me, because this place is empty, save for a mom and her kids fighting their way through the store two steps behind us.

“Nothin’ to tell.” I shrug, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “Things were going good. But I wasn’t a good enough guy for her. She deserves better. I’m here for my other love, though. You know that.”

“Isn’t that your problem?” he counters. “You care way too much about your career, and not enough about everything else?”

I guffaw. “Nothing matters the way tattooing does. Once I get the shop open here, maybe I’ll consider getting a girl.”

“Fair,” EJ says. “But I think you’re actually a little bothered that you’re alone.”

“I think you’re actually a little hot and bothered by Rory—a lot, actually. Eye fucking her every chance you get and refusing to admit you like her,” I say.

He scoffs as we round the corner into the next aisle. Out of habit, I find the cheapest coffee option and throw a container into the cart.

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