Loving My Best Friend's Dad

I dropped the grocery bags onto the floor in the kitchen and glanced at Kyle, whose back was facing me as he put groceries in the cabinets. I turned to Ashley who dropped an extra load of bags along with mine. I remembered to plaster a smile on my face when I saw hers, pretending to be excited while silently dying inside. What the hell happened in an hour and a half?

"Can you believe it?" Ashley looked to me as she flipped over a bag onto the counter and began to sort the items.

"No. I can't. Who gets a date at grocery stores? I thought that just happened on TV," I tried to laugh but it came out a nervous chuckle. Kyle looked over at me, eyes a little wide, catching onto my emotions. Ashley was none the wiser as she bustled around the kitchen putting multiple groceries away.

"Well, a couple years ago, Dad dated this super-hot chick. I only met her a few times. I thought maybe they were serious if Dad was introducing me to her, only to later find out they broke up not long after I returned home for the school year," she sighed and glared jokingly at her dad.

"But anyway, I ran into her at the grocery store and couldn't believe my luck. I introduced myself and she remembered me! We talked, she asked if Dad was there. I was ready to play match maker and quickly found dad to reunite them. It was so cute. Dad looked like a little boy around her, nervous and shy. I knew I had to step in and help him, despite his little protests about chaperoning us, I got them set for tomorrow night."

"Oh wow! That sounds amazing," I said through fake excitement, hoping some small actress in me was coming out.

"Doesn't it? It's like a modern-day fairy tale," she jumped with delight, turning towards her dad, "Aren't you excited? How long has it been since you've seen Karen?"

I heard a record screech to a stop in my head...wait...what? I whipped my head to Kyle, who stood as still as could be, waiting for an answer. Did I hear that right? Karen...as in Karen Wilson aka Dr. Wilson aka my doctor. I placed a hand on my hip and glared at him from behind Ashley.

"It's uh...it's been a while, I guess," Kyle answered his daughter quietly.

"Aww see, he is so shy. Don't worry dad, Erin and I will make sure you look amazing before your date tomorrow," Ashley promised before her phone rang. She glanced at the caller id and squealed, "It's Cole! Wait until I tell him what happened!"

I watched her run out of the kitchen and heard her footsteps race up the stairs. When I knew she was out of sight and ear shot, I turned to Kyle. He leaned back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, looking intently at his shoes.

"Should I start, or do you want to?" I asked, upset. When he didn't answer, I started, "How in the... How? You couldn't find some way to get out of that? I know Ashley can convince people to do what she wants but you could have figured something out."

"I'm sorry. I tried to get out of it by bringing up tomorrow night and having to stay home. That was the only excuse I had, Erin. What did you want me to say? That I'm seeing someone right now? She would want to know who and when she would meet them. She would want the whole story. You and I both know, neither of us are ready for that and she sure as hell wouldn't be either. I was stuck. Was there another excuse that I could have said?" Kyle asked with his arms spread open, waiting for my input.

I didn't have an answer. He was right. What could he have said without Ashley questioning him. I felt like crying. We've only been together for a little over 2 months. I hadn't thought about any hardships we would face along the way. I thought about Miles and his interest in me and now Ashley setting Kyle up. We should have known something would happen to make this more complicated. Though, I never imagined this scenario happening, it was, and we had to deal with it.

"So, what are we going to do?" I whispered. I sat on one of the bar stools at the counter feeling uncertain. Kyle moved from the counter to hold me.

"We will figure it out," he kissed my forehead and laid his head on top of mine. After a few minutes, he sat in the stood next to me and held my hand, "What if I canceled the date? I'll come up with a work excuse."

"No, you already have the date set and Ashley will not except that excuse. She will talk you into rescheduling it," I stared at our hands willing my brain to find a solution to all this but coming short.

"So...go on the date. Maybe deal with that and just say I'm not interested in dating right now?" he questioned. I shrugged in response to his question. I wasn't sure what would really work. "Erin?" I looked up at him, his brown eyes sad behind his wired glasses. I lifted my hand to brush it against his beard. "Remember, I only want you." I nodded before leaning up to kiss him.

We sat together in silence, holding hands and giving little kisses here and there for a while before we heard Ashley bounding down the steps and broke apart. Kyle stood up and walked to the other side of the island, making it look like we were just talking when Ashley walked into the room.

"Hey guys!" she smiled and sat on the stool where Kyle was a few minutes ago, turning to me, "So everything is all set up for tomorrow. I will take care of everything. You and the boys just have to show up.

"Sounds great, Ash. It will be a lot of fun," I smiled in return thinking about the marathon and how much fun we have had over the years watching movies before Halloween and then trick or treating all around town. Hopefully tomorrow will be another great night of movies and junk food.

"Awesome. So, what's for dinner?" Ashley asked her dad, setting him into motion to start dinner.

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I listened to the professor drone on and on about something... I honestly wasn't even listening even though I was jotting down notes absentmindedly. My mind was on tonight. I woke late due to oversleeping and missed Kyle before he went to work. I wanted to talk to him before he left to reassure myself that everything would work out. I couldn't blame Ashley for setting him up and him for taking the date. Everything was a mess of secrets that couldn't be told. I wanted to kick my ass for getting myself in this situation. I never imagined falling for my best friend's dad and having to hide my first relationship. What was I thinking?

Class finally ended and I made my way to one of the campus dinning halls to eat. As I sat down, someone dropped their food in front of me and joined me. I was greeted with Miles' smiling face as he picked up a fork a dug into his food. I raised my eyebrows at him, surprised to see him.

"What? Did you not want me to join you? I can leave," he started to gather his stuff. I waved my hand for him to sit back down, rolling my eyes.

"You can stay. I just have a lot on my mind and you surprised me," I explained as I picked my own fork up to start eating.

"Yeah? What's on your mind?" he asked, his voice muffled by the food he shoved into his mouth.

I shook my head at him, "Nothing. Personal stuff. You're coming tonight right? Ashley is home right now setting everything up."

"Mmhmm," he hummed his answer while nodding.

"Great. It will be fun. Ashley and I have been doing this since we were kids. I've always loved Halloween. The costumes, candy, and movies. Its so much fun,"

"Do you know what movies we're watching?"

"Nope, Ashley is taking care of that. We'll see when we get there,"

"I was told it was an overnight thing. Do I have to bring anything? Sleeping bag, pjs, pillows? Maybe my stuffed animal from childhood?" he joked.

"No, just yourself. Although, the childhood stuffed animal might keep you safe during the movies," I laughed.

"Maybe I will. I'm just excited to be part of a group. I'm not used to being invited to things like this,"

"You're welcome to hang out with us anything. Tonight, is just a get together. Nothing fancy. Hopefully Cole doesn't bring alcohol, otherwise Kyle will have a fit,"

"Kyle?"

I looked up from my food and felt my face burn and eyes go wide. Did I really say his name? "Mr. Anderson. I found out his name is Kyle. He asked me to call him that since I'm living with him and Ashley," I nodded, hoping my cover was good enough.

"Cool. Its really nice of him to let you stay with them while you're in college,"

"Yeah. I was surprised when Ashley brought up the idea. I didn't think her dad would want two young college girls in his home, but he agreed to it as long as we stay out of trouble,"

"So far, so good?"

"So far, so good," I agreed.

"Will we meet him tonight?" he asked before taking one last bite and setting his fork aside.

"You might. I don't know. He has a date tonight. Ashley set him up with someone and he agreed to go. Can't stop Ashley when she is on a roll," I shook my head, thinking about last night.

"So, no parental supervision, then?"

"Don't get any ideas. I said there wouldn't be any alcohol. Hopefully Cole doesn't bring any,"

"I haven't heard anything about alcohol...so maybe there won't be any?" Miles shrugged.

I chuckled, "If Ashley has her way..." I nodded to indicate there might be alcohol.

"Well he is her boyfriend. If I had a girlfriend, I'd probably do anything she asked,"

"Depends on the girl, I hope. Some girls are downright awful, don't pick one of those,"

"Oh, yeah, no...I don't think I'll have that problem,"

"Good," I heard my cell alarm go off and glanced at it. I had 10 minutes to make it to my next class, "Hey, sorry, I have to get to my next class. I will see you tonight. We'll all have fun."

"I wouldn't miss it," he waved goodbye. I grabbed my back and waved as I hurried towards my next class.

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I parked my Jeep in the garage and dragged my backpack out from the back seat when a hand reached out and took it for me. Startled, I spun around, only to Kyle leaning against the driver side door with my backpack settled on a single shoulder. I grinned at him as he leaned down to give me a kiss.

"I thought I'd sneak out here while Ashley was preoccupied and steal a moment with you," he said against my lips before kissing me again, his trimmed beard scratching at my skin, sending tingles down my spine.

"I'm glad you did. Did you trim your beard for tonight?" I asked, reaching up to lightly scratched it. He leaned into my hand, enjoying the touch.

"Ashley. She made me. Told me it was becoming to much and made me look unkempt. Sad thing is, I was trying to look a little unkempt. I thought maybe if I did, it would help with tonight. Who wants a messy guy?" he turned his head to kiss my palm.

"Well no one said you couldn't try to appear messy after you leave. You know, like a shirt untucked on one side and maybe roll on the ground so you have some dirt and grass stains on you..." I trailed off giggling, trying to imagine him messy.

"I just might do that," he laughed along with me.

"Tonight..." I started, trying to find my thoughts and get them in order.

"No," he pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me, "Do not worry about tonight. It is not ideal, but in the end... its you I want. I will come home to you and only you. I am thinking of tonight as having dinner with an old friend. Nothing more or less."

I nodded against his chest, smelling him and taking in his warmth. I wanted to believe him. I knew I wouldn't feel better until he came home tonight and told me everything was fine and there would be no more dates.

"Erin?! I know I heard the garage door open!" Ashley's voice echoed throughout the garage. I inwardly groaned.

"She will always have impeccably terrible timing," Kyle whispered in my ear before letting me walk ahead of him as he followed. She frowned and seemed confused to see us together.

"Erin called me. She heard some rattling in her Jeep and wanted to know if it was anything serious. She'll be fine," he told her, her gaze when to my backpack still on his shoulder, "And I offered to carry her bookbag when I noticed how much she actually carries on her back. I am tempted to talk you girls into rolling bags. Easier on your bodies."

I sighed, relieved he covered up we were together. Ashley nodded, "Dad is good with cars. I call when my tire pressure is low."

"She calls because no matter how many times I show her how to do it, she says she rather I do it," Kyle told me, shaking his head at her.

"Not the point," she told him and gestured for me to come inside, "Come on, I've worked all afternoon on this. It's not much but it should be fun."

I walked into the kitchen and was greeted with an electronic skeleton that jumped out at me. I jumped and screamed. Kyle and Ashley laughed at me. I glared at them and moved forward to see the rest of the kitchen and was surprised...but thankfully not by anything jumping out at me but at the décor. The kitchen looked like a fake murder scene. Bloody hand and foot prints and smears were everywhere. She even had a white cake with red jelly like liquid splattered on it and a plastic butcher knife stabbed into it. I spotted a punch bowl and wondered if she planned to sneak alcohol into it. I peered inside and laughed.

"Is that?" I pointed to the ice floating in the bowl.

"Ice shaped like a hand? Yup. I know its lame, but I've always wanted to do it. So...yeah. Ice hand," Ashley nodded, proud of herself.

"Do I want to know what you used to make fake blood and get it everywhere? Did Cole help you with the big foot prints?" I indicated to the insane amount of fake blood everywhere.

"Oh no. Not Cole. Dad actually helped me,"

"I don't want to know what that stuff is, and I really hope it comes off my feet because it faded when I showered but its still there," Kyle told me. I imagined his feet blood red and giggled.

"Wait til you see the living room. It's not insane like this but I made our tradition bigger," Ashley grabbed my hand and pulled me into the next room.

My eyes went wide when I saw the living room completely different. The couch and chairs were removed and there had to be 50 or so blankets and pillows littering the floor. Every year, since Ashley and I were kids. We always found every blanket and pillow in our homes that we could find and threw them on the floor. It was the next best thing to a fort that our mothers refused to let us make a fort around the tv in fear we would knock it over onto ourselves. So, we made due with all the blankets and pillows we could find and covered every inch of whoever's living room we were in.

I turned to Ashley, "This is absolutely amazing. I love it."

"YES! I knew you would. I didn't want to go too crazy and try to decorate the whole house with such short notice. Maybe next year," she winked at me.

"You do whatever you want as long as our tradition continues," I hugged her.

"Okay, dad. Your turn," Ashley linked arms with me and pulled me close to her side, to make it seem like we were joining forces.

"My turn?" he asked, looking at her as if he wanted to laugh, "I trimmed my beard for you, but I think I know how to dress myself for a date. I've been doing it for years."

"I just want to make sure you look good, dad. You deserve to be happy with someone," Ashley told him.

"I know, Ash. I appreciate it. But tonight, I will dress myself. It's not a fancy date. Just dinner," he reached forward and pulled her into a side hug and kissed her forehead.

"Alright, fine. But I want details when you get home," She pointed up at him.

Kyle rolled his eyes and told us he needed to go get ready. I felt like following him up the stairs for just a few more minutes alone before he left for his date, but the doorbell rang. Ashley took off across the room to answer it and greeted the boys with enthusiasm.

One by one, Cole, Zach, Josh, and Miles piled into the living room, kicking their shoes off at Ashley's demand. They crossed the blankets and pillows, greeting me with a hug before moving to the kitchen for food. Typical boys, I thought, always seeking food. Miles walked up to me and had something behind his back. I cocked my head the side and gave him a curious look. He smiled and pulled his hands out to reveal a stuffed grey bunny that had seen better days.

I started laughing and gently took it from his hands. The bunny was surprisingly still soft despite having bald spots here and there. I held it like a baby and asked, "Does he have a name?"

"Bunny," Miles answered simply.

"That's it? Bunny,"

"I was 2 years old when I got him, I wasn't very creative when it came to name picking,"

I handed the bunny back to him and we placed it on a shelf in the room, so it wouldn't get harmed, I reminded him to have him close during the movies. We joined the others in the kitchen where half the food already seemed to have disappeared. Ashley was on her phone preparing to order pizza after figuring out what everyone wanted, soon announcing it would arrive in 45 minutes.

The pizza arrived and we all settled into the living room our food and drinks. Cole and Ashley cozied up together along with Zach and Josh. Miles and I, the singles, sat together. Miles was a little close for comfort and I tried to move away a bit, but Ashley indicated for me to stay put and texted me to give him a shot. I closed my eyes and wished Kyle was here instead but remained in place near Miles.

We popped our first choice into the DVD player and Tim Burton's Beetlejuice appeared on the screen. Out of all the movies, I was surprised this was the first pick since it wasn't scary but who is going to turn down a Tim Burton movie during a Halloween marathon?

Hours passed, sitting through multiple movies, some scary and some not. We all laughed and enjoyed the time we were having together. Miles seemed to move closer to me between each movie. I just smiled and dealt with it. I knew at some point I would have to tell him I wasn't interested but I didn't want to ruin the night. I thought about Kyle, who might have sneaked out at some point without us seeing him, wondering how his date was going. Hopefully it was going awful. I glanced at my cell phone to check the time and it was almost midnight. We started at six, shouldn't he be home by now?

I could feel my thoughts attempting to jump to conclusions as to why he may not be home yet...he could have gone to her house, they could have extended their date for some reason, he could have been in an accident...I was secretly praying he snuck back into the house and was in his room. But what if he wasn't home? Did that mean he was having fun with someone closer to his own age then he would have if he were me? Maybe a roll between the sheets with someone who knew what she was doing and not an inexperienced girl who was a virgin when you met her. I sighed and wished I could get away from the group for a little bit.

Just my luck, the movie we were watching ended. We all stood and stretched, having sat on the floor for way to long. I looked at the others and none of them looked tired. Cole asked if anyone was going to grab some more snacks, Josh, Miles, and Ashley all followed him into the kitchen to see what was left.

"Are you doing okay?" Zachary asked, coming up behind me.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I questioned in return.

"I know a certain someone is on your mind. A little birdy couldn't stop squealing about how she set him up on a date," he raised his eyebrows at me.

"That little birdy a beautiful blond that just happens to be in the next room?" I indicated towards the kitchen.

"The one and only," he chuckled.

"Go figure she would tell everyone. I just don't know if he is still out or if he came home,"

"Well I heard him leave but I haven't heard him come home. I'm sure everything is fine. I can't imagine he would still be out with this date of his,"

"I don't know. They used to date. What if they clicked again and realize they miss each other and should try again?"