Fake Skating(95)

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” my grandpa said, pointing at my dad’s chest. “If you gave a damn, you’d take any fucking assignment in this country to be closer to her. You’d move to Offutt, even if you hated it, just so you could see her every once in a while. You’d take any little crumb you could get because she’s your daughter and she matters to you. But no, you have to be a manipulative dick and convince her that she has to move one more fucking time to be worthy of your love.”

Alec grabbed my sleeve and leaned closer. “What is that about? Are you going to move again?”

I could see by the way he was watching me that he knew it wasn’t good, and I could also see that he fully expected me to tell him what was going on.

But I had no idea how to explain, because I knew he wouldn’t understand.

And neither would my mom or my grandpa.

They saw my dad as a huge jerk, which wasn’t necessarily wrong, but because of that, they wouldn’t get that he was trying, in his bossy colonel way, to be a good father.

To spend more time with me.

He was willing to move somewhere he didn’t want to live just for me, which was huge.

Yes, he wanted me to leave my mom, which I just couldn’t do, but it was because he loved me.

And that meant something.

It kind of meant everything.

My throat felt tight, and I just shook my head and said, “It’s complicated, but no.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from the man who literally kicked them out of his life for years,” my dad snapped at my grandpa. “How can you talk about spending time—”

“That’s exactly how I can talk about it—”

“Let’s go,” I said, turning and pulling Alec back in the direction we’d come, wanting everything I’d just witnessed to disappear. “Let’s take the long way to your car.”

“You sure?” Alec asked. “You okay?”

I looked into his dark eyes and nodded. “I will be, once I forget about this and go celebrate.”

Suddenly his eyebrow lifted, mischievously, and he pulled out his keys. “Do you wanna blow off the Cro?”

“Do you?” I asked, surprised he’d want to miss the party but relieved, because I needed space.

“It’s going to be loud and crowded,” he said, shrugging. “I’m kind of in the mood for something a little more low-key.”

“Where can we go, though?” I asked, looking at him as we crossed the lot to reach Burrito from the other side. “Everyone with a house to go to is there.”

“True,” he agreed.

“Wait—what about the spot?” I asked, because I’d been dying of curiosity about it since the minute we’d gotten out of the moving truck in Southview. “Is it still even standing?”

He looked down at my face like he couldn’t believe I was suggesting it. “Ourspot?”

I loved that he thought of it that way too. “Yeah.”

“It actually is,” he said, but there was something strangely guarded about the way he said it.

“I’d love to see it! I mean, unless you don’t want anyone else to know about it.”

“I don’t care if Cassie, Lillie, and the guys know, but for the sake of historical preservation, I think we should keep it small.”

“Yeah, totally,” I agreed, with way too much excitement, but the idea of going back to that spot—tonight of all nights—seemed a little magical. And I needed all the magic I could get to forget about the train wreck that was my dad’s sudden appearance.

He pulled out his phone and sent a group text, then put it back in his pocket. “Let’s go to the spot.”

“This is a great idea,” I said, beaming up at him.

He smiled back. “I think youmight be a great idea, Collins.”





CHAPTER FORTY Alec




“Cass, Liz, and Lillie don’t want to leave,” Dani said as she looked at her phone, “but Vinny and Richie are on their way. Are you okay with that?”

I was okay with anything that took the worry out of her eyes.

She was still happy, but I could tell that the stuff with the colonel was bothering her.

“As long as you’re there, I don’t care. But tell them to bring chairs and wood.” I held her free hand while I drove, determined to make her forget about anything that wasn’t perfection.

Because that night was as close to perfect as any night had ever felt.

Not only had we clinched, but I actually had Dani.

Nine-year-old me would’ve lost his shit, although to be honest, I felt exactly like nine-year-old me as I drove.

Because I was losing my shit over the fact that we were actuallytogether.

It was a struggle not to smile like a clown as I followed the road that led to our spot, because talk about full fucking circle. The moon was high in the dark sky when we got out of the car and I grabbed two chairs from the trunk, and when we pushed in the door and stepped inside the shed, I couldn’t take my eyes off her as Dani looked around.

“God, it’s like a time machine,” she said in awe, turning in circles, staring up at the hole in the roof. “It smells the same, it feels the same.”

“Wild, right?” I agreed, setting down the chairs.