Say Yes (17 page)

“Well,
here we are,” I said nervously as Luke pulled into the driveway of the house.

He
put his hand to my face and said, “Hey, you all right?”

“Yeah,
I guess I’m just a little nervous.” I noticed the amused expression on his
face, and I continued. “I know it seems silly, but I’m so freaked out about how
my parents are going to react about my spending the night with a guy.”

Smiling,
he said, “Lilly, baby, you’re twenty nine years old. I’m sure they know you’ve
had sex before.”

I
laughed a little. “I know, but remember I was always a responsible and driven
teenager. I never did things like this then. Hell, I didn’t do things like this
after I left either. Well, except for that one time,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I know it’s silly, but I think I am just more nervous about Daddy. But its
okay, I’m sure everything will be cool,” I said, trying to convince myself. I
shook my head slightly, and turned to him, smiling. “Well, I’m guess I’m gonna
head inside.”

“Good
luck, sweetie,” he said. “Is it okay if I kiss you goodbye, or are you worried
that your parents will see us making out in my car?” he joked, and I playfully
shoved him.

“Very
funny. Get over here,” I demanded, and I tugged at his coat and pulled him into
a deep kiss. I felt butterflies in my stomach…God this man knew how to kiss. I
felt my toes curl up in my shoes. Moaning, he was the first to break the kiss
and said, “Okay go, get out, get ready, before I change my mind and take you
back home with me,” he quietly growled. The muscles in my belly clenched
deliciously. “Pick you up at seven?”

“Seven
sounds perfect.  I’ll see you soon,” I said, giving him one more quick hard
kiss. “Don’t be late,” I reminded.  I reluctantly opened the car door.

“Don’t
worry, I won’t be.  Love you,” he said.

I
turned to him and whispered “Love you too.”  With that I got out of the car and
closed the door. I took a deep breath and slowly walked into the house.  Daddy
was sitting in the living room, watching a football game. “Hey, I’m home,” I
called, and I could feel the bile start to rise in my throat.  I knew I was an
adult, and didn’t have to explain to my parents that I had spent the night in a
man’s bed, but I suddenly felt like a child.  Even though I was grown, he was
still my Daddy. 

He
turned to me in his chair, and said, “Well, hey there darlin’. You just getting
in?”  Yeah, like he didn’t know.

“Um,
yeah, Vi’s bachelorette party was last night.  Who’s playing?” I asked, sitting
down, fidgeting with my hands and trying to divert the attention from me.

“Um,
Seattle and Oakland.  Not a fan of either, to tell you the truth, but it’s the
only game on right now,” he said, and he turned the volume down with the
remote.  He turned his body toward me, and said, “Lilly, you seem nervous.
What’s wrong?”

I
felt my face go scarlet. “Uh, nothing.”

He
exhaled loudly and said, “Lilly, you don’t have to be afraid to talk to me.  I
know you spent the night at Luke’s place.”

I
felt like I was two inches tall.  “You do?”

“Don’t
worry, no one told me. Daisy came home by herself last night, and I put two and
two together.”

“Daddy,
I…”

He
put his hand up and said, “Lilly, relax.  You seem scared. Don’t be. Honestly,
I am thrilled.”

What?
“
Thrilled
?  Daddy, you know that your first born daughter spent the
night alone with a gorgeous man, and you are
thrilled
? I don’t understand.”

“Well,
granted, I’m not in love with the knowledge that my little girl was probably
naked most of the night…”

“Oh
my god, Daddy, ew…”

“However,”
he interrupted, “I know that you were with Luke, and that you were safe, and
that’s okay with me.”  At that moment, a weight had literally been lifted off
my chest.  I let out a long breath that I didn’t realize until then that I was
holding in. “Luke is a very good man, and if you are going to be with any man,
I am glad it is with him.  I don’t know how long this thing will last with you
two, but…”

I
interrupted him this time.  “Daddy, you don’t have to worry.  This wasn’t just
some fling for me, or for Luke.” I took a deep breath, and decided if I was
going to tell the truth, I was going to tell the whole truth.  “I love him,
Daddy.”

He
looked into my eyes, and he began to smile.  “You love him.”

“Yes,
more than anything.  It’s making me rethink a lot of things.”

“Well,
you have always known what was best for you, and you never bowed out of
anything you made a commitment to.  Whatever you decide, I know it will be the
right thing for everyone,” he said, taking my hand. 

“Oh,
Daddy, that means the world to me that you feel that way.  Honestly, it was
hard for me to leave his house today, I just feel so happy being around him.” I
said, gushing.

He
chuckled. “Yeah, you got it bad. I’ve never seen you so happy.”

“So,
you okay having another daughter in love with a doctor?” I joked.

He
smiled proudly. “I guess I am. I know that my girls are in good hands.  Now, if
Daisy would just get with the program,” he added, winking at me, “then all my
girls will be happy.” He stared at me with a knowing look, but I just smiled
back.

“I
have no idea to what you are referring to,” I smiled.

“Mmmhmm. 
Well, I’d better run and get my suit from the dry cleaners.  We have a
rehearsal dinner to get through,” he said, standing up.

I
stood too. “Yeah, I have to start getting ready too. Luke’s picking me up at
seven, so I better get a move on.  I’m glad we talked, Daddy. I was so nervous to
tell you about Luke and me.”

“Well,
you didn’t need to be.  I’m happy if you’re happy, and I know your Mama will be
delighted,” he said, hugging me.  “Okay, go get ready. Daisy’s upstairs too, so
you girls can do each other’s hair, or whatever,” he said, sliding into his
coat.

I
giggled, kissed him on the cheek, and went upstairs.  Daisy’s bedroom door was
open, and I had been dying to know how it went with Jack.  I knocked on the
door. “Dais? You in here?”

I
heard her sniff. “Yeah, Lil, I’m here,” she said, her voice cracking.

I
rushed into the room and found her sitting on her bed, her eyes red from
crying.  “Oh my god, Dais, what happened?” I asked, sitting next to her and
wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

“Jack
and I are done,” she said, gravel in her voice.

“Daisy,
what happened?” I asked, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I
don’t know, Lil, I can’t understand it. I thought about everything he was
offering to me, and I thought that I was just not ready for it yet. I really
thought that I’d feel bad about letting him down, but then that would be that. 
But when I actually said it, his eyes turned cold and he just said, ‘That’s
fine. I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner’, and he just walked away from me. I
thought I’d at least feel relieved, but seeing him walk away just broke me. I
haven’t been able to stop crying, damn it,” she said.  “Lilly, I really don’t
know why this is upsetting me so much.  I mean, I’m free. I won’t have him
calling me all the time, texting me, asking me out, or bothering me in general.
I should be happy, right? God, why is this getting to me?” she asked, sniffing.

I
gave her a squeeze and said, “Because, little sister, you love him.”

Her
head snapped up. “What? No I don’t.”

“Dais,
come on.  He just gave up, and that hurts you because
you love him
. 
Everyone knows it except you.”

“Well,
that’s not it at all. Maybe I feel a little guilty, I don’t know.  He was my
friend for a long time, maybe I feel bad for hurting him. But, what I
do
know and can say with absolute certainty that I do not love him,” she said, her
cheeks flushing.

“Uh
huh. Sure,” I teased, and hugged her again around the shoulders.

She
nudged me with her shoulder, and jokingly asked, “I swear, sometimes you are a
pain in the ass.  When are you going back to California anyway?”

I
decided to take this opportunity to try and divert her attention. “Well, I’m
not sure.”

“What
do you mean?” she asked, and when I smiled widely, she perked up. “Oh god, I
totally forgot! What happened with you and Luke?”

I
sighed, and took her hands in mine. “We slept together…
a lot
,” I said,
repeating his words.

Her
eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “Oh my god!” she said. She let go of my
hands and hugged me. “Tell me everything!”

“Okay,
crazy lady, calm down.”

“Sorry,
I just want details!”

“How
about I tell you tonight at the sleepover?”

She
rolled her eyes. “I hate you,” she said, smiling.  “Okay, let’s get ready. But,
promise me you will tell me the details tonight. And none of that gushy crap, I
want to hear the dirty, sweaty stuff. Penis size and all.”

I
laughed, saying, “And I want you to tell Violet about this thing with you and
Jack, and I mean everything. She’s your sister too, and I have really hated
keeping secrets from her. Don’t worry, I am telling her about Luke as well. 
And I am not going to tell you how big he is,” I said, backing out of her room.
I put my hands together, and then spread them apart while mouthing the word,
“Wow.” She started laughing with me, and I left her alone to get dressed. I
walked back into my room, and grabbed my dress bag that was hanging on the
door. I had decided to wear a fitted red satin dress with a red lace overlay. I
knew Luke would love it. It was sleeveless, and it fitted all the way down and
stopped just below the middle of my thigh. In the front of the dress on the
left side of the waist, was a small red bow. I grabbed my black stiletto heels
and set them on the floor.  I pulled out my suitcase and began to look for my
most important accessory of the evening; my black and cream lace bra and thong
set. I held them both up and smiled.  Even though Luke and I couldn’t spend the
night together tonight, this would definitely get him going enough for the next
time we’d be together.  I took my lingerie with me and headed into the
bathroom.  

As
soon as the water was hot, I took off my clothes, placed them in the hamper,
and stepped into the shower.  The water felt so good against my skin. With the
few moments to myself, I began to think about my night with Luke. I could still
feel his arms around me, touching me, claiming me as his. Although the water
was hot, I felt goose bumps on my skin.  I couldn’t wait to see him again. I
have never in my life been this happy. 

Once
my body and hair were clean, I stepped out of the shower and into my towel. I
wrapped my hair into another waiting towel, and I started to dry my skin, and I
slipped into my underwear.  I slid my arms through the straps of the bra, and
fastened it in the back. I stepped back and looked at myself in the full length
mirror on the back of the bathroom door. I know he wasn’t going to be able to
really see me in this, but I still felt satisfaction knowing he would go crazy
for the parts of it I would tease him with. I smiled to myself, and wrapped the
towel back around me and walked back into my room.  I looked at the clock. It
was already almost six.  I rushed to the vanity, and sat down.  I ran some curl
enhancing cream through my hair, attached my diffuser to my blow dryer, flipped
my head upside down, and started scrunching and drying my hair.  After a few
minutes, my hair was dry and I flipped my head back right side up, still
scrunching it to help hold the curl.  I used a large barrel curling iron to add
more curls to my hair. I then applied my makeup. After adding my diamond earrings
and silver bracelet, I was ready to go.  As I stepped into my shoes, my eyes
flicked to the pink heart on my foot. I smiled at the memory of the three of us
together getting matching ink. I checked the time again. Five minutes until
seven. He would be here any minute.  I grabbed my clutch and walked out of my
room. I ran into Daisy on my way down the stairs.

“Wow,
Dais, you look so beautiful,” I said. And she did. She was dressed in an
emerald green cocktail dress and champagne colored heels which showed off her
new tattoo as well. Her hair was straight and sleek, and she had replaced her
usual tiny hoop earrings with diamond studs in each hole in her ears.

“Thanks,
Lil. You too, you look gorgeous.” Just then, the doorbell rang.  My stomach
flipped, and Daisy grinned at me. “Go ahead,” she said, and she followed me
down the stairs.

I
ran to the door, pulled it open, and my heart skipped a beat. There he was,
standing at the doorstep.  He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and a red
tie under his coat. His hair was slicked back, and he had shaved the shadow
from his face. I couldn’t find my words. He looked like he was having trouble
speaking too. But, he spoke first. “You’re stunning,” he said. I did a little
curtsy for him and said, “Thanks. You too, you look incredible. Very debonair.”