Page 58 of Nick

So he ordered pizza, and of course, he didn’t offer to pay for it when it was delivered. He was like my family members. They thought because I made lots of money, they deserved some of it even though they treated me like crap. I figured he had something he wanted to tell us as we sat around the small table on the front porch eating our pizza. I was feeding Mona pizza crust as she lay at my feet. He kept clearing his throat like he wanted to say something. Finally, he spoke.

“Look, I wanted to let you two know I’m getting married. Nothing will change. You will still be my firstborn baby, who I love more than anyone,” he said to Madison.

The thing is, I knew he did love Madison. He told her all the time he loved her. Then he looked at me, and I thought,Here it comes.

“I wanted to ask you if Dani—that’s who I’m marrying—” he cleared his throat again. “Would it be alright with you if we got married here, and could you sing at our wedding?”

I heard laughter and raised my head as my neighbor almost choked on the beer he was drinking. That’s when I looked at Madison, who had a shocked look on her face. I chuckled; I couldn’t help myself.

“No. And I can’t believe you just asked me that. Have you lost your frigging marbles? I’m the pregnant teenager you dumped so you could date other girls. I’m the eighteen-year-old who was kicked out of her parents’ home with a newborn baby to care for. Fuck no, you can’t get married here, and fuck no, I won’t sing at your wedding. You should be ashamed of yourself for asking me those questions.”

“I’m sorry, Dani begged me to ask you. I promised I would—that’s the only reason I asked.”

“What is she, a teenager? Why would she think I would allow you to marry at my house and sing at your wedding?”

“No, she’s not a teenager. She’s twenty-one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Congratulations!” I really did mean that. Now maybe he would quit asking me out to dinner. Why he would think I would date him is beyond me. For Pete’s sake, I can barely tolerate him coming around. I never realized how immature he was. But, I would never keep him from coming to visit Madison.

“Gabriella…” I cringed every time he called me that. Gavin is the only person who called me Gabriella. I never did like it.

“My name is Gabby, I feel like my mother’s angry voice is calling for me when you call me by my full name. I know I’ve told you that several hundred times.”

“Alright, Gabby, you must admit that you wouldn’t be who you are today if we had gotten married as teenagers.”

“Gavin, I never wanted to marry you; even though you promised me that we would get married. I’m glad we didn’t. Why would you think I wanted to marry you?”

“Your mom told me once that the least I could have done was marry you since I got you pregnant.”

“Why would you listen to anything my mom said?”

“I guess I felt guilty for not doing more. I mean, you gave me the best gift you could ever give me. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love Madison.”

“That’s why you are a good father. But I didn’t want a husband. Not then, not ever.”

Gavin looked at Madison, “Do you want to go home with me for a few days?”

“Dad, I have school tomorrow. When are you getting married?”

I looked over and noticed my neighbor had gone back inside. “I will give the two of you time to spend together while I unpack some things.” I walked back inside and smiled. Damn, I was happy with the way my life turned out. Gavin was right. If we had stayed together, I would probably be working in retail and always be broke. I walked to my backyard as Madison and Gavin walked down the road that led to the beach. Mona ran after them.

26

Ryker

Iwas walking back up to my house after my run on the beach, when Lincoln pulled up with Dustin. He smiled as I walked up behind his vehicle. “Hey, you two. What’s up?”

“Your neighbor, Madison, is going to help Dustin get his grades up, or he’ll be kicked off the football team.”

“Cool. Have you talked to Madison yet?” I asked Dustin. I wanted to see the look on his face when he saw how cute she was.

“No. I haven’t met her yet. But I hope she knows what she’s doing and doesn’t just want to get to know me. I’m tired of younger girls wanting to date me because I am the quarterback on my football team.”

“You are such an ass. Why the fuck would you say that? Madison is brilliant, and I think I regret asking her to help you.”

“Sorry. I didn’t know you were going to get upset.” We were interrupted by Madison walking out on their front porch. I looked over at Dustin. His big mouth hung open.

“Hey,” Madison said, walking to the little fence between our properties. “Are you Dustin?”

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