When Adrian returned to the living space he saw that Nora was right back where he had left her. She had an arm over her eyes, but it was hard to tell if she was sleeping or not. Probably not. He could kind of always tell.
"I'll make brunch," he said. There were no objections so he got to make brunch for his daughter.
Brunch was mainly Adrian sautΓ©ing some vegetables in the pan then poaching a couple of eggs. The smell moved Nora and she made to get up but her dad rushed to her side first. She let him help and thanked him quietly as she sat.
"When did you learn how to poach an egg?" she asked, obviously impressed. He smiled and shrugged. "Keep your secrets then old man." They started to eat.
Adrian was glad that the tension, and embarrassment, had passed but he did want to voice some concerns. Mainly about Nora's... untidiness.
"Hey I'm sorry you had to... see all of that," his daughter said then, before he could start. "I was kind of tired the other day and just forgot."
"All good, kiddo," he told her, sounding a bit too chipper. Adrian wished the back of his neck wasn't prickling. Turns out his daughter was dealing with this awkwardness a lot more maturely than he thought he would. Nora smirked at her father's obvious though mild discomfort.
"Thanks for being cool about it," she decided, which seemed to ease the man somewhat. "And sorry for walking in on you."
"No sweat," he said. He wanted to apologise too but he didn't know for what. Just didn't seem right that Nora was the one made to feel bad for just... taking care of herself. He tried not to think about that and took a large gulp of water. He had to make conversation to distract from other thoughts.
"So you're really not dating then?" he blurted, only realising the implication of what he said when he saw the shock on Nora's face. "Er... I mean... well I just..." There was palpable relief when he heard her laughing and he found it contagious. Nora snorted at one point which turned her dad's laughter raucous.
"Wow Dad," she chuckled, swiping the corner of her eye. "Correct I'm not dating right now."
"Who was that last guy you went with? With the scruffy hair?" he tried remembering. Nora frowned at her father's word choice. Went with? Alright, Old Fashioned.
"Yeah Lars, in college," she said. There was confusion knitting her dad's brow and she corrected herself. "Lawrence I mean." She only started calling him Lars after they broke up.
"That's right. And that was... in college," nodded her father. "So it's been a while huh." Another blank look on Nora's face.
"Dad just because I haven't had a boyfriend since college doesn't mean I haven't-" she started then cut herself off because this was a weird conversation to have with your dad. She kind of enjoyed it though, seeing him squirm a bit too.
"Of course of course," her father nodded again, almost a bobble-head at this point. "I mean look at you. Guys are obviously going to- sorry," he finished, noting the glare from his daughter. At least he got to slip in an apology which finally made him feel better. They chewed in silence for a few seconds until Nora decided to break it.
"And what about you?" she said, keeping her eyes on her plate and moving her fork about casually. "You said you stopped using the dating app."
"Oh yeah. That stuff was too complicated," he said, happy to converse regardless of topic. Adrian felt a bit more knowledgeable at least, talking about his own life. "I haven't really bothered with it much for the last year I think. What with trying to expand the business and all. Just trying to help Barret out where I can y'know?"
Nora knew he was talking about how they were wanting to open a second gym but she was less interested in that.
"The last year?" she repeated, causing her father to look up. "A whole year?" He was puzzled.
"Yeah I mean we looked at a lot of places but-"
"Not that I mean... you haven't had a hook up in a year?" she asked, and she found herself gripping her fork and regret suddenly getting so nosy. She wondered if Dashe ever felt that way. Probably not. Adrian heard the term 'hook up' and felt that prickle again. Yeah... he hadn't gotten any action in the last year but hadn't really been thinking about it.
"Oh... uh yeah. Is that a long time?" he wondered, not sure what metric he should be measuring against. Nora wasn't sure either and wasn't aiming to make her father feel bad about it. In fact her own dry spell had been even longer but she was moreso in disbelief that nobody had been going after him. After all of that man. The image of her hugely naked father flashed in her mind again and she swallowed. Maybe it was just the way he was then. A bit more of an old fashioned gentleman who thought only people in committed relationships should have sex.