Page 53 of Surrender
“No, they knew before we even started dating. My parents and I have an honest relationship. The minute I decided I wanted to pursue you, I told them. So, they know.”
Colbie groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me this to start with?”
“If I had told you, would it have made you more comfortable?”
He had asked the question but knew it wouldn’t have. Then she would have been thinking about what his parents thought or what they thought was happening between them when they were together. That wasn’t what he wanted at the start of their relationship. He wanted her to be comfortable with him before telling her that.
“I don’t know,” she answered him honestly. “I am surprised, though. I find it hard to believe they were just okay with you wanting to date me with our age difference.”
Dallis found himself laughing, and her brow furrowed in confusion. “My mom is seven years older than my father. She wasn’t his History teacher, but she was his high school nurse when he started to make a move on her.”
“So, the apple didn’t fall far,” she stated.
“Not far at all.” He watched as she stood and headed towards her desk. “Am I good to go now?” he questioned.
“No. Detention from the front office means you serve it. You missed a test while you were skipping. I’ll let you make it up, but I’m giving you a zero for your daily participation grades.”
“Teacher first, girlfriend second, I see,” Dallis spoke.
“Deal with it,” Colbie returned as she sat at her desk. “Because I could give you a zero for the test too. So, you really should be thanking me.”
Dallis smirked at her. “I’ll do that this weekend.” And he watched as she rolled her eyes, grabbed a test, and brought it to him.
Dallis walked into his house and made his way to the kitchen. He needed a snack. He found his mother and father in the kitchen, surprisingly not attempting to procreate on the counter. He greeted them both as he made his way to the pantry.
“Someone made up with their history teacher girlfriend,” his mother stated. He turned to her and found her smirking at him.
“What makes you say that?” Dallis questioned.
“Because you aren’t walking around like the sun was ripped from your sky,” his father responded.
“Whatever, but if you must know, we sat down and talked to each other, and I think we’re good now. Even if she did give me a zero for the days I skipped her class.”
His mother laughed. “My kind of woman. You shouldn’t have been skipping class anyway. On another note, is she coming to dinner?”
“Yes, she is. She wanted to know what she should bring.”
“Herself and her appetite,” his mother told him.
“Yeah, I know Colbie, and she’s not going to just do that, but I’ll tell her.”
Dallis grabbed his snack and made his way out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and to his room. He placed his backpack by his desk before opening his honey bun. Dallis was just about to take a bite when his phone rang. He checked the screen to see who was calling before answering.
“Hey, Marco.”
“Hey, kid,” Marco responded, and Dallis rolled his eyes. “I got your text from earlier. I’ve been doing a tattoo damn near all day, but you already know what I’m going to suggest. Man up and tell her your parents already know about the age difference. Keeping that from her isn’t doing you any good, and you need to apologize.”
Dallis had sent a text to Marco earlier that day as he’d been skipping his third period. He’d gone days without talking to Colbie, and he hadn’t answered the couple of calls and texts from her. He wasn’t even mad anymore, just hurt, but he wanted to talk to her. Dallis just hadn’t been sure how to approach it after the things he’d said and waiting so long to do so. He needed some advice.
He could have asked his dad, his uncles, and even Arsyn and Hayden, but he’d chosen a different route. Sometimes, advice was needed from someone outside of the situation. He hadn’t bothered to tell Marco that Colbie was his teacher, just that they had an age difference.
“First, not a kid; you’re old.” That caused Marco to snort. “Second, we got it worked out, and she took the news better than I thought she would.”
“That’s good. You didn’t need my advice after all.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah,” Marco responded.
