“I’m working on them now. Deadlines are coming up soon. Then, hopefully, we’ll be able to hear back, and I can do school visits. I want to stay in the state, though, since most of our charities are here.”
Arnold nodded. “That makes sense. I know of a few good programs in Boulder. And the university you’re going to. Would it be wrong for you to stay there?”
I shook my head as I sipped my wine. “No, I could continue, and my advisor for undergrad thinks I’d be a good fit. That would be nice and easy.” I winked as I said it, and Arnold smiled. I ignored the clutch in my belly at the pleased look on my mother’s face. There wasn’t even a single lick of interest in Arnold’s eyes when it came to me, but my mother was like a dog with a bone.
I would be stuck with whatever charade she came up with next. As if on cue, she spoke. “Are you sure you need to go for a full master’s? I do appreciate how much you’re working towards your education, Natalie, but do you need all that for social work?”
I held back a sigh and sipped my wine. “For what I want to do, yes. It will be good for me because I don’t feel ready yet to dive headfirst into things. I’m going to need a few more clinical hours, as well. Therefore, I’ll need to work as hard as I can to make sure that happens. Between finals coming up and making sure I get to stay in the classes I want for next semester, I’ll be busy for the next few weeks.” I gave my mom a pointed look, and she raised a brow at me. I ignored her. I loved my mother, though I once again had to remind myself of that fact.
By the time we were through with dinner, dessert, and after-dinner drinks, I was exhausted but kept a polite smile on my face as I said goodbye to Arnold.
My mother and father gave us some privacy, and I knew they weren’t listening in—though they were probably hoping for something more. I held back a sigh.
“I hope it’s not out of place for me to say this,” Arnold began, and I looked up at him.
“Oh?” I asked, a little worried.
“You’re a lovely girl—I mean woman...” he corrected, and I held back a snort. “You are kind, and you have a great future ahead of you. But I don’t think either of us is quite interested in what your mother might have in mind.”
I held back a cringe. “No. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m not interested in what my mother wants. I’m not sure about my father, so don’t think poorly of him when you see him next.”
Relief spread over his face, and I smiled.
“Not that you aren’t lovely and beautiful and most likely insanely brilliant and talented, but I don’t think that dating my friend and colleague’s nearly teenage daughter is the right way for me to go to find my next romance.”
I grinned. “That was a very nice way of putting that.”
“I’m trying. Now, if you’d like, I can make sure that this isn’t an issue for you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I can talk to your father and make sure that he knows I’m the one who’s not interested if that will be easier for you.”
And my appreciation for Arnold grew. Not that I wanted to have anything to do with him, but he was kind.
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll talk with my parents. I don’t want things to be awkward between you guys at work. I know you and my dad are friends. I’m always awkward with my parents. It’s what we do. Sadly, you’re not the first random date who’s been at a family dinner that didn’t go as planned,” I added dryly.
“I’m sorry about that. You seem a little busy.”
I finally cringed and looked down at my watch. “So busy, in fact, that I am now late to meet my roommates.”
“I would say I’ll see you soon, but let’s make it a little bit longer,” he added, winking.
I laughed and rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek like a good friend. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’ve got it, Natalie. Have a good night.”
He walked away, and I turned to see my mother glaring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“The kiss on the cheek was a nice touch, but I know you just pushed him away.”
I sighed and picked up my bag. “We pushed each other away, Mother. Arnold, really? He seems like a great guy, but he’s nearly your and Dad’s age.”
“She’s got you there, darling,” Dad said from the doorway. “Drive home safely. Text us when you get there.”
“I will.”
“You can’t stay for longer?” Mother asked, frowning. She would have preferred I still live with them. And while I understood that, I needed to get out from under their thumbs. They wanted me safe, I knew that, but I needed space.
“I will see you guys later. Two dinners within a week have eaten into my homework time. Not that I don’t love you.”
I kissed them both and headed out, ignoring my mother saying that she would do better with the next try.
I knew that tonight was just another in the string of random dates my mother set me up on. Maybe if I were dating someone, it wouldn’t be like this. But the only person I wanted to date was the one I couldn’t have. I would deal with my mother and what she wanted for now.
Maybe she would see me as the adult I was someday and let me make the choices I needed to make for my life on my own.
I drove home, tired but knowing I needed to stay up for a few more hours. It was Friday night, and my roommates were going out later tonight with their boyfriends to a club. Not Tanner’s club, though. Which was good. From what I could tell, he was working tonight—not that he told anyone else that.
I planned to stay home, try to get some homework done, and then go to bed with a headache and probably a backache from leaning over applications for too long.
I pulled into the driveway and moved off to the side so the girls could get in and out when they needed. I wasn’t sure who was driving tonight—or if they were at all.
I walked inside and sighed happily at the scent of perfume, the sound of laughter, and the warmth of good friends.
I missed Corinne more than I could say. She had been our friend and had died of a brain aneurysm over a year ago now. Elise had walked into the house to find Corinne lying on the floor, shattering our lives. We actually moved out of that nice place into this crappier house because of it. And while I understood why we had to leave—the idea of walking back into that house being too much for any of us—I still missed that place often. I wasn’t a huge fan of the home we lived in now, but I tried not to be too pretentious about it.
The landlord was a jerk and never fixed anything we asked him to, hence why Tanner came over often to help. Like with the window. And another time when he had fixed the lock on the door.
He was keeping us safe, like all the guys were, yet I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to think about it.
“You’re here. We thought you’d be home earlier.” Nessa smiled as she handed me a glass of wine. “Want a taste?”
I looked at it and figured…why the hell not? I’d only had a sip of mine at dinner, and I could work over textbooks with a second glass of wine in my system. Hopefully.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out with us?” Elise asked as she looked in the mirror, fixing her lipstick.