Page 42 of Sunflower Persona (Classic City Romance #2)

Gage

A fter twenty-four hours with the Wrights, three things have become painfully clear.

One: Mrs. Wright— Jen —is the worst cook I’ve ever encountered. That hasn’t stopped me from eating everything she’s put in front of me. I know better than to let perfectly good food go to waste.

Two: If you looked up “loving family” in the dictionary, a picture of the Wrights would be there.

Three: I am so far out of my league here, it isn’t even funny.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t the cookie-cutter manifestation of the American dream—all that’s missing is the white picket fence.

Just being in a house like this has had me on edge since we pulled up.

I keep expecting her parents to kick me out or accuse me of stealing shit, but her mom has been nothing but welcoming. Her dad, on the other hand…

Well, I wouldn’t want my daughter dating me either.

The easy chatter around the table comes to a lull as dinner ends.

Not that I had much to contribute to the conversation to begin with, but I’m more than content to watch my woman light up with the bubbly exchange.

Under the table, her fingers are woven between mine.

All night, she’s kept them there, giving me a gentle squeeze every so often while still engaging with her parents.

Eating the leathery steak with my left hand was hard but worth it. She’ll always be worth it.

Marcus gets up from the table first and starts to clear away the mess of mostly full dishes.

“Dad, do you need help?”

“No, I need your help finding those scrapbooks,” her mom replies.

“Do we have to? I’d rather do the dishes.”

“I’m sure Gage would really like to see them. Isn’t that right?” she asks as she gets up too.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kori’s face pinches into an adorable scowl. I mimic the look and place a kiss on her temple before untangling my hand from hers. She tries to keep the stern look, but a smile pulls at her lips and her eyes dance with mirth.

“Go help your mom,” I command, keeping my voice low enough that only she can hear it.

“Yes, Coach,” she rasps, giving me a sultry smirk, and follows her mom out of the room, swaying her hips with every step. It takes every ounce of willpower for me not to give in to the impulse to smack those perfect cheeks.

Wordlessly, I follow her dad into the kitchen and help with the cleaning. We work in tandem without a sound, and it’s not until the last of the mess is cleared away that he speaks.

“Do you drink?”

“Yes.”

“Whisky?”

“I’m not picky.”

He gestures for me to follow him and leads me down the hall into his office.

The cluttered space is a mirror of the chaos that is Kori’s room.

His desk is the only semblance of order, with its many monitors and meticulously wrangled cables.

The rest is filled with mementos of the years that have passed.

Mrs. Wright doesn’t need to find the photo albums, because there are more than enough pictures in here for me to piece together every stage of Kori’s life.

Various DC Comics memorabilia—from framed comics to collectible figures—are sprinkled in throughout the personal effects.

He opens up a cabinet and pours a generous two fingers from a glass decanter that’s etched with the bat symbol.

“Sit. Let’s talk,” he says as he hands over the similarly etched glass—this one Superman.

“Is this the part where you ask my intentions and try to warn me off your daughter? Because I already know she’s too good for me,” I tell him as I take a sip. The liquor is smooth—and expensive. I don’t claim to be a connoisseur, by any means, but I know how much I would charge for this shot.

“I’ve been on the receiving end of enough ‘fatherly concern’ to do that.

Jen’s dad didn’t approve of us and made both our lives hell for her choices until we finally cut them off.

When I had a daughter of my own, I vowed I would never be him.

You might not be what I expected, but you make Kori smile, and that’s all that matters. ”

“So this is…”

“Getting to know you.”

“Okay.”

An awkward silence fills the room as we both fidget with our tumblers without taking a sip.

At least I’m not the only one completely out of my element.

A picture of Kori on his desk catches my attention.

She can’t be more than eight, and she’s dressed as Starfire, smiling at the camera with a gap-toothed grin.

“Don’t tell me you named your daughter after a comic book character.”

He shrugs with a wry grin. “Jen didn’t realize until she was one. She was pissed at me for weeks.”

“My dad did the same to my mom—twice. I was named after the kid from Pet Sematary, and my brother was named after the singer of Alice in Chains.”

He snorts, and his body relaxes as he takes a sip of his drink. I follow suit.

“So bartender, huh? Any place I’d know?”

“I work at Cutter’s.”

“Do they still do quarter beer nights?”

“It’s a dollar now.”

“That’s highway robbery,” he says with a shake of his head. “How long have you worked there?”

“I’ve been at Cutter’s for a few years, but I’ve been bouncing around Athens for the past decade and a half.”

“As a bartender?”

“As whatever paid and didn’t require a high school diploma.”

My shoulders clench in anticipation of the inevitable judgment, but it never comes.

“Jen didn’t finish high school either. Her family was…

well, let’s just say the racism was the least of the reasons we went no contact.

She moved out once she turned eighteen, got her GED as soon as she could, and worked her ass off to get into UGA in spite of her family’s constant attempts to drag her back down.

High school diploma or not, she is still the most brilliant and driven person I know. ”

I know the story is meant to show he relates, but all it does is make me feel ten times smaller. She kept going despite the obstacles presented, and all I’ve done is shut down and wallow in my own misfortunes. I couldn’t even be bothered to take that stupid exam.

The gloom makes its presence known, creeping into the corners of the office as I sink deeper into my seat.

So many years have been wasted with nothing but debt to show for them.

If I had the same grit as Kori’s mom, I could be living like this—in a nice house with a family of my own.

My UFC dreams died, but I didn’t have to let all the others die with it.

I down the rest of my drink and try to keep the self-loathing off my face.

“Can I ask a question I have no business asking?” he asks after a few seconds pass without a reply.

“Sure.”

Might as well get it all on the table now.

“Where do you see this going after she graduates? It’s unlikely she’ll stay in Athens forever.”

“I know.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know things between you two are new, but I also saw your face when you talked about wanting kids and a family. You can’t tell me at your age, you aren’t already thinking about the future.”

He’s wrong. The future isn’t something I’ve ever allowed myself to consider.

Why would I when I’ve never seen myself having one?

Before Kori, I spent most nights wishing it would be the one I never woke up from.

Now I have something to want to wake up for, and that means it’s time to start looking ahead.

“I am now.”

“Good.” He gives me an all-too-knowing look and finishes off his drink as well. “Now, let’s not keep the ladies waiting. Jen gushed all night about showing you these baby pictures.”

When I follow him back out into the living room, I leave the gloom behind me.

It tries to give chase, but its shadowy tendrils melt into harmless vapor as they try to wrap themselves around me.

I’m done letting it control me. For the first time in a long time, I can look toward my future and see a life worth living.

The road won’t be easy, but I’m going to give Yellow the life she deserves.

***

Peace like I’ve never known seeps into my very bones as I slowly return to consciousness.

Sunlight streams into the room from the cracks in the blinds, catching on the glittering particles of dust dancing in the air.

Bird songs are the only sound, and they add to the peace.

It’s a much better wake-up call than car alarms or screaming neighbors.

Familiar sweet citrus invades my senses—a scent that most definitely shouldn’t be here.

Neither should the bundle of heat tucked against me in the too-small bed.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask my sleepy girlfriend.

“I missed you,” she says as she snuggles closer to my side.

“You’re going to get us in trouble,” I chastise, even as I wrap my arms around her and pull her to fully lie on my chest.

“We aren’t doing anything trouble worthy. I just wanted to cuddle.”

“Then cuddle away, baby girl.”

She wraps herself around me like a koala and lets out a content sigh as I trace patterns on her back.

“I wish we didn’t have to go back,” she says after a few minutes.

“Why?”

“Because I want to stay like this forever. Once we leave, you get busy with work again and I’ll be thrown back into the middle of the semester, and I won’t get to see you as much. I really liked having you to myself these past few days.”

I did too, and after talking with her dad, I can see a future where I wake up with her by my side every day. I’m just going to have to work for it. Starting with getting my GED.

“The sooner we get back to Athens, the more time we will have together at my place.”

I tuck my face into the crook of her neck and pepper languid kisses along her throat. In an instant, she melts into me, arching to give me more access.

“We can do more as soon as we are home.”

She will be lucky if I ever let her leave once we get there. There’s no reason she needs to stay in the dorms if she doesn’t want to. She spends half her time at my place anyway.

“Fine. But breakfast first. My dad is making waffles.”

“Please tell me he is a better cook than your mom.”

“You will just have to see,” she taunts as she climbs off me and slips out of the room.

Thankfully, he is.

Breakfast with her family is an affair filled with sugar and joy, and somehow, after a few short days, I fit.

I hope when she meets my ma, Kori will feel this way too.

With winter break on the horizon, I need to find out if she wants to make the trip up to Boston with me.

It’s a big step, but I’m ready for it all.

Her mom tears up while we say our goodbyes, reminding us to come see them more often than once a semester, and then we are off. It might be nothing more than another drive for Yellow, but for me, I’m driving toward our future.