Page 70 of Changing the Play

“Dad.” Darcy’s eyes dart to mine and he tries to pull his hand away. Unnecessary. For one, I’m not even a little ashamed of him or our relationship and for two, I really couldn’t care less what my dad thinks. “This is my boyfriend, Darcy. Darcy, this is my dad, John.”

Darcy inclines his head. “Nice to meet you.”

“Can I have a word with my son?” Dad asks, not even giving Darcy the courtesy of a hello or greeting and absolutely fucking not.

“No,” I say, right as Darcy says, “Of course.”

“West,” Darcy whispers, trying to pull his hand from mine.

I hold him tighter. “No, baby. Fuck that. We have a date.”

“A date that can be rescheduled.”

“Listen to your boyfriend, Weston,” Dad says, talking over us.

Ha. Fuck him. I turn my back on Dad, putting myself between him and Darcy. I let Darcy’s hand fall away so I can pull him closer. “We’re going on our date, Darcy. Period. Nod if you understand.”

His lips quirk up and after a second, he nods. “Some people,” I say loudly, letting Dad know it’s for him, even though I don’t break eye contact with Darcy. “Don’t know how to use a phone and think it’s okay to just show up.”

Dad scoffs. “You don’t answer your phone.”

“Funny, that.” I brush a gentle kiss to Darcy’s nose and then his lips before letting him go and taking his hand again. I turn to face Dad. “Usually, that’s a good sign the person you’re calling doesn’t want to talk.”

He ignores me. No surprise there. “We need to talk.”

I sigh in resignation. “Fine. But I’m not canceling my date for you. Find something to occupy your time, and I’ll text you when we’re heading home.”

“We?” Dad asks, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Can’t even talk to my son alone now?” For the first time since he walked through the door,he regards Darcy with more than a passing glance. “Are you the reason he hasn’t been answering his phone?”

Rage burns through me so quickly I’m surprised it doesn’t set me on fire. “No,” I say, stepping in front of Darcy again. “You’rethe reason I haven’t been answering. In case you haven’t noticed, you suck at being a dad. And if you ever talk to him like that again, it’ll be the last words you’ll ever say around him.”

The air is thick with tension while Dad blinks at me in shock. When he recovers, he scowls. “Fine. Let me know when you’re done.”

I brush past him, dragging Darcy along with me. When we make it to the street, he stops, pulling on my arm so I’m forced to turn and look at him. “What was that?”

“My dad.”

“Clearly.” The sarcasm in his tone almost has me smiling. Almost. “We could have cancelled our date.”

I scoff. “So he could ruin our night? No thanks. We have a second date to go on.”

Darcy smiles. “As I recall, it’s ourfirstdate.”

Cupping his face in my hands, I pull him in and press my lips to his. “AsIrecall, I was an idiot, and it’s definitely our second date. Bonus, though, this time I can actually kiss you instead of just thinking about it.”

I love seeing the pink rising on Darcy’s cheeks as he rolls his eyes. “Fine. Second date.” We start walking again and almost as an afterthought he adds, “Definitely kisses.”

I can’t help but laugh.

By the time Darcy and I are walking home from our date, I’m smiling from ear to ear. Not even the knowledge that my dad is coming to talk to me could make me stop.

“I can’t help it that you have me addicted,” Darcy says, grinning at me when we’re standing outside my apartment door.

“Well, I’m just saying, you might be on to something with the football pants. I wonder if I’ve been bi the whole time and just didn’t realize it.”

Darcy flashes me a smile. “It’s possible. Just needed a socially awkward nerd to break you.”

Oh, he’s certainly broken me, but I’m here for it. Fuck, I love him. When is an acceptable amount of time to tell someone that? Soon, hopefully, because I’m dying for him to know. “You’re not socially awkward, by the way.”

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