Page 46 of After Hours Lectures

This year I was headed home and had mixed emotions about it. I couldn’t wait to hang out with my parents and siblings, but I also couldn’t help but wish I could spend time with Hayden. Unfortunately, with our busy schedules, we struggled to find time to be together, and knowing we could only talk on the phone for the next week while I was in San Diego was a bummer.

As the plane pulled up to the gate, I texted my dad to let him know I’d landed and then sent another to Hayden to let him know I arrived safely. He’d covered a Celtics game earlier, so I assumed he was home. But it was after midnight in Massachusetts, so I didn’t know if he’d reply or not.

Once I had my bags from baggage claim, I headed outside to where my father had texted he’d be waiting. I spotted him right away as I exited the double doors and he hopped out of his Cadillac Escalade to greet me.

“Hey, bud.” Dad wrapped his arms around me. “I’m glad you’re home.”

I returned his embrace. “Me too.”

After I threw my bags into the back, we climbed into his SUV and began the thirty-minute drive home.

“Are Dylan and Jase home yet?” I asked as my father pulled onto the freeway.

“Yeah. Gotta say, I’m pretty excited to have all our kids under the same roof for a couple of days.” He beamed.

Dylan and Jase were going back to UCLA the day after Cammie’s party because of baseball.

“We were all here in December,” I reminded him.

“Yeah. That was way too long ago.”

I laughed. To say my father’s world revolved around his kids was putting it mildly, and when he and Chase had gotten together, that fatherly attention had extended to Jase and Cammie too. I’d seen a couple of friends struggle when their parents remarried and blended their families, and I was grateful that hadn’t been the case for us.

“Is Cammie at the house?”

“She’s with Jamie tonight since they had some last-minute stuff to do for the party, but she’s coming over in the morning.”

Our dads were hosting her sweet sixteen at their place on the beach. From what I’d heard, it was going to be a huge party.

As we drove up the I-5, my phone vibrated.

HF: Hope you have fun. I already miss you

I quickly responded:

Me too but I’m surprised you’re still awake

HF: I was in the shower when you texted, but in bed now

Me: Great. Now I’m thinking of you naked ??

HF: Is that a bad thing?

Me: Uh yeah, since I’m in the car with my dad

HF: LOL Go spend time with your family. Call me tomorrow when you’re alone

Me: Will you be naked in bed then too?

HF: Maybe ??

Dad chuckled, and I quickly flipped over my phone, hoping like hell he hadn’t caught a glimpse of our messages. “What’s so funny?”

He glanced at me and then focused back on the road. “You’ve got that goofy ‘I’m in love’ look on your face.”

I shook my head. “I’m not in love.”

It was too soon for that kind of declaration, although I had to admit that since our weekend at the lake house, it felt like things between us had changed from mainly sexual to something more. Every stolen moment we spent together, I felt myself fall for Hayden a little bit more. And I’d even started to think about how to make a long-distance relationship work after graduation because the only thing I was sure of was that I couldn’t give him up.