Page 56 of Doctor Daddy

“What’s up with you lately? You seem to be really on edge. Is there anything you need to talk about? You know, I’m willing to listen.”

I rubbed at my brow and shook my head. “No, no, not really.” I let out a long deep breath. I turned to look at him. I wanted to tell him that I was fairly certain his daughter had caused irreparable damage to my wellbeing, but then I would have to admit that I had been dating Brooke. And somehow, I thought that it would be even harder to deal with that suffering in silence.

“I broke up with that woman I was seeing. I guess I’m taking it harder than I had expected.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Karen wants you to come over for dinner. She charged me with making sure you knew you were expected tomorrow.”

I grunted. I didn’t know if I was up to one of Karen’s little dinner parties. Almost immediately, I realized that dinner with Peyton and Karen meant that there was a high possibility that Brooke would be there.

The tension that had been building in my chest eased at the thought of seeing her again. It immediately coiled hard around my ribs and squeezed. If I saw her at her parents’ house, would I be able to keep from begging her to talk to me? I couldn’t even talk to her so far to clear the doubts that she had against me in her mind. She had blocked my phone in the past few weeks. If only she had been open to sit and fix things between us. How could I repair the damage that had already been done without talking things over?

I considered for a moment about saying no, I wouldn’t be available. That would mean I’d have to make up some lie. Once I started lying to my friends, I’d have to keep lying to them over and over again to cover my tracks. And then I would forget what lies I had told. It was better just to not start lying, to begin with. What kind of friend was I that I considered lying just to get out of a free meal?

I sat on the bench with a heavy drop and a groan.

“That actually sounds like a nice idea. I need to get out of my routine. Tell Karen I would love to come for dinner.”

Peyton dropped his hand onto my shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll let her know you’ll be over tomorrow night.”

I nodded. “Tomorrow night sounds good.”

After that, he left me alone. I sat and stared at the empty locker room trying to figure out what I was doing with my life? I wasn’t close to having any kind of epiphany when David burst through the doors.

“What the fuck was that all about?” he demanded.

I shook my head. “I don’t even know.”

“Well, you’ve pissed Jeff off. I don’t know if you’re going to be welcome back here anymore.”

I shrugged. I didn’t have time. I didn’t have time for men with fragile egos. Tempers got heated in the middle of games all the time. What did he expect?

I hung the towel around my neck and stood. “I’ll go and apologize.”

The next night I found myself standing on the stoop of the DeBoise house. I couldn’t quite bring myself to push the doorbell. Did I want Brooke to answer the door? How disappointed would I be if Karen answered the door instead? How disappointed would I be if Karen had another single woman to set me up with?

I contemplated turning around and leaving like a coward. I was thinking like a coward. I rang the doorbell. To my surprise, Peyton answered. He was usually playing video games or deep in discussion with another dinner guest, not doing door duty.

“Hey, come on in.”

I stepped in and held up the bottle of wine I always managed to bring.

He took it from me. “This is fantastic. Let’s go give it to Karen.”

I hadn’t noticed any other cars in the drive. I didn’t see anyone else, not even Brooke. “Who else is expected?” I asked.

Peyton shrugged. “As far as I know, it’s just you.”

“Karen has no hidden agenda. No secret dating games?” I asked. My tone might have been a little sharper than the intended sarcasm.

“You’re late,” Karen said as we stepped into the kitchen. “I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to show up tonight.”

“Sorry about that.” I felt adequately scolded. “I did have to stop and get wine.”

“Well then,” she smiled. “All is forgiven. Everything is ready and everyone’s here. We might as well start eating. Peyton, honey, why don’t you take in the salad.”

“Can I help?” I offered.

“No, we’ve got it,” Karen said.

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