Page 75 of The Accidental Text

“Yes, sir,” Chase says. “It was a great party.”

“How did you get to know Maggie, here?” Dad asks, his fatherly voice in full effect.

“I’m … interested in having my car wrapped,” Chase says. I caught his beat of hesitance and feel a little tinge of guilt work its way down my spine.

I know I practically beat the story into Chase on the phone last night, so much so that I neglected to tell him all the things I was supposed to. But it feels extra wrong to lead my dad astray like this. Hence the reason I wanted to avoid him in the first place.

My dad’s eyes widen. His demeanor changes from protective father to businessman in an instant. “Well, we’d be happy to help you with that,” my dad says.

“Sorry, Dad,” I say before he starts plying Chase with car questions, “you’ll have to excuse us. I actually need to get Chase here a Sprite. Devon just took him around the track in the Lambo.”

“Did he? What did you think?” The look of pride on my dad’s face is unmistakable.

“It was … amazing,” Chase says, looking almost reverent.

“How about that horsepower?” My dad mirrors Chase’s expression.

“Unbelievable,” Chase says.

“Next time, you’ll have to drive it,” Dad says, reaching up and patting Chase on the shoulder just once.

Chase puts a hand to his heart. “I’d be honored.”

I roll my eyes. I guess cars are cool and all, but not on the religious level I’m witnessing right now.

“Let this man drive the Lambo,” Dad declares to me.

“Sounds good,” I say. “First let me get him a Sprite.”

“I’ve gotta say, I don’t love all this lying to your family,” Chase tells me as we walk away, leaning his head in toward me so he won’t be heard.

“I know, I don’t like it either.”

We approach a large drink cooler and I open it and fish around for a Sprite. I try to wipe off some of the water from the can and then hand it to him.

“Can’t we just tell them the truth?”

I pull my head backward, surely giving myself multiple chins. “Do you like having me around?”

Chase wrinkles his brow. “Well … yes.”

“Then we can’t tell them. We’ll have to come up with another excuse. They’d probably have me committed.”

Chase smacks his mouth at this. “No, they wouldn’t. You have a great family. Plus, it’s not all that crazy.”

I tilt my head and press my lips into a thin line.

“Okay, it’s a little crazy.”

“I do have a great family,” I say, reaching up and dusting a piece of lint off Chase’s shirt. “I just think it’s better that we not tell them.”

“Okay,” he says. “But we need to find a way out of this car wrapping business. Or I’ll just have to buy an expensive car.”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I have a plan. We’ll tell them you changed your mind on the car but now we’re friends.”

“Can we do it soon?”

“Yes,” I say, and give him a nod.

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