“Sorry, honey. Didn’t think I’d take him up on the offer if you were with me. Figured you’d want to stay closer to town and explore a bit. But since you and Drake know each other, this makes more sense. Don’t you think?” His tone of voice let me know that I shouldn’t argue and reminded me that my dad was going to have lots of questions for me when we were alone.
“See. Nothing to worry about, babe. My dad already invited you, and you didn’t even know it! I’m sure my mom has prepped the pool house just in case it was needed.” Drake started walking around to the back of the house. “Let me get you settled in, and then I’ll go find my parents to let them know you are here.”
I gawked a bit at the Olympic-sized pool that was surrounded by slate tiles. The pool house was a two-story white structure that was a good three to four times bigger than the size of my suite at school.
“There are two bedrooms upstairs, so you’ll have plenty of space. There’s one bathroom upstairs and a bathroom with a walk-in shower downstairs.” Drake opened the door to the pool house. We walked inside, straight into a living area with a big-screen television and a small kitchen off to the side. The decor was very masculine, and the place smelled like Drake, a woodsy scent with a hint of leather.
“Does anyone usually stay here?” I asked.
“Me. I like a little bit of privacy if I’m going to be here for any length of time, but I’ll just use my rooms in the main house while we’re here tonight.”
“Sorry to displace you,” my dad responded.
“No problem, sir. I’m glad you decided to stay with us instead of at a hotel in town. It will give me a chance to hang out with Alexa.”
“Yes, I’m clear on the fact that you’d like to spend some time with my daughter. But how about you let go of her hand for now, son. I’m sure your parents are excited to see you. You should probably head on up and let them know you’re here. We’ll get ourselves settled.” My dad glanced at Drake’s hand, making it clear that he hadn’t missed anything that had happened over the last half hour.
“Right. I’ll try to come back before the party starts. I’m sure my mom will want both of you to join us tonight if you’d like,” Drake offered.
“I think I’ll be fine down here. I brought my book with me, and I can probably catch some college football on the big-screen down here. Alexa, you want to hang out with your good ol’ dad?”
“Yes, yes I do! Thank you very much for the invitation, Drake, but I wouldn’t feel right crashing your mom’s birthday party. Besides, I didn’t pack anything that would be appropriate anyway. Go spend some time with your family, and you can find me in the morning so we can finish that conversation from earlier.”
Drake leaned over and lightly kissed my cheek, whispering in my ear. “We’ll just see about that.”
As Drake left us alone, my dad turned to me. “I thought you said Drake was just one of Jackson’s frat brothers. Looked to me like he’s something more than that.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Dad. I met him last night while I was at a party with Jackson. Saw him again this morning at the grocery store, too. I barely know the guy.”
“It certainly seems like he wants to get to know you. He seems nice enough, but be careful, sweetie. I’d hate to have to hurt him and lose his dad’s business if he breaks your heart. But a dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do, right?”
“Geesh, Dad! You’re already threatening to beat him up if he hurts me?” I walked over to my dad to give him a big hug. “You really are the best dad ever, so you don’t need to run around threatening guys who seem the least bit interested in your daughter just to prove yourself to me.”
“You’re fooling yourself if you think that boy is only a little bit interested, Alexa Marie.”
“If you say so. Now I’m gonna head upstairs to get settled in and maybe get some studying done.”
I was able to get one of my papers done before I heard a knock on the door downstairs. I hadn’t heard a peep out of my dad in hours. Odds were that he’d fallen asleep watching football. I ran down the steps so I could answer the door before he woke up.
“Hello,” said the gorgeous brunette at the door in greeting. Her baby face led me to believe that she was a couple years younger than I was, but her clothing made me reconsider her age. Her outfit consisted of skintight, dark blue jeans that looked like they had been custom made for her tucked into knee-high brown leather boots and an oversized, dark green cable-knit sweater that slipped slightly off her shoulder. She was carrying a dry cleaner’s bag in one hand and a Louboutin shoe box in the other. “You must be Alexa. I’m Drake’s sister, Drea. But you can call me your fairy godmother!”