"So Trevor, what do you do?" Dad asks while I chew on my salad as I stare at both of them.
"Well..." He begins after giving me a brief stare "I'm a Vitner. I own a Winery in Florida and I came down to California to expand my horizons" he finished off with a smile leaving me speechless. Dad is hooked and so am I.
"You make wine?" I ask in disbelief and he nods.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"You never asked" he replies casually and I make a mental note to go all out with a full questionaire when next we're together.
"Wow I'm pretty impressed Trevor." My dad commends
"Thank you Sir, it means a lot coming from you." He responds shocking me even more.
"You know my dad?"
"He's all over the papers. I recognized him as soon as I saw him. I also heard you recently closed a huge deal with KCC (Klein Construction Company)."
"Ah yes. We had dinner to sign the deal yesterday. You seem like a promising young man and that's all I've ever wanted for my little girl" Dad pats him lovingly on the shoulders and I hang my mouth open in awe.
Why would he say something like that to Trevor? Gosh, we're not even an item. I feel so embarrassed. I try to maintain my composure even though I feel myself sweating inside out.
"Dad please stop" I said it in a whisper but I think he heard cause he smirks.
"He's a lot better than your son" he whispers back.
"Gabriel and I are over dad. Didn't tell you cause I know that you won't stop taunting me"
He doesn't reply and I leave it at that.
We all finish dinner and I help Ava clear the table while dad and Trevor talk over more business clearly involving issues with Trevor. I guess Dad is impressed that Trevor could achieve so much at a young age and I don't know why but I feel proud.
"He's a fine young man" Ava disrupts my quick reverie and I give her an audience.
"I suppose he is"
She sighs "why don't you like me?"
Such an unexpected question. I wasn't expecting it.
"What do you mean?"
"I know that you don't like me. It's pretty obvious. The intense stare at dinner and refusing to talk to me like I have a disease"
"Jesus Christ, Ava" I exclaim.
"But it's true" she said re-arranging the cutlery after disposing the left over food in the tràsh.
"I don't hate you." I say truthfully "I just didn't think he would move on so quickly. He looks happy and I know that i should be too but I just can't and it's not because I hate you but it's just too hard to accept that your family would be broken and never be the same again so it doesn't have anything to do with you Ava. It's all on me"
She doesn't respond and I'm happy that she didn't. We finish the dishes and rearrange the kitchen again. I turn to leave but her next sentence stops me.
"I'm sorry." A pause and then "For making you feel like this." I turn to give her a brief stare before walking back to the living room.
The boys are laughing their hearts out and they don't even realize that I just entered.
"I always wondered what it will be like to have a son. Your father must be proud"
"If he were alive I'm pretty sure he would"
I noticed how dad's face fell after he said that.
"I'm proud of you then. You're almost like a son to me". Dad proclaimed and Trevor gave him a brief hug before I cleared my throat so that they would give me audience too.
"I'll get the car ready" he says to me and i give him a slight nod in approval "thank you for a wonderful evening Mr Williams"
"Anytime my boy" he replies and Trevor walks out leaving me alone with dad.
I rush into his hands and he hugs me tightly.
"I haven't seen this spark in your eyes for the longest time"
"They're there because I have a father like you"
"And maybe Trevor" he replies and I pull away from him instantly.
"He's just my friend Dad. I don't like him that much. I've only known him for like two weeks"
"He seems okay and genuine. Plus he's very hardworking. He's the complete package" he tells me with a serious face.
"Since when do you know about complete packages" I reply then proceed to pick up my purse from the couch where I left it.
"So what happened with Gabriel" he asked and I stop in my tracks. Now I know why he didn't respond when I mentioned It earlier during dinner.
"He cheated on me with Frida" I let the words roll out my mouth without stopping them. There's no point in hiding it cause I know he has heard it already and if he hasn't then it's only a matter of time so why not spill the beans and save myself the future Drama?
"He wasn't meant for you anyway. You're perfect, beautiful and smart. You're way too good for him so it's best that it ended when it did. "
"Thank you father of mine" I smile genuinely
"Besides you wouldn't have met Trevor of he wasn't out of the picture"
"Bye dad" I kiss his cheeks and walk towards the door to leave the house.
"I love you" he calls out.
"Love you too daddy" I reply before leaving the house to join Trevor at the car.
I met him leaning on his car looking more ravishing or Maybe i just didn't notice.
"Thank you for inviting me for dinner" he tells me when I approach his car. "Haven't had that much fun in years"
He opens the car door and I step inside.
"Well I'm glad you did"
"Thanks for inviting me to this. Your dad is pretty awesome"
"I know. I have the best dad in the world."
He enters after shutting the door and takes the wheel. I allow myself to breathe in the Coco caramel smell in the car as I enjoy the ride home.
When we arrive, I step down and he does same.
"Thank you again for accompanying me" I smile sheepishly
"I should be the one thanking you Katherine"
I smile "you want to come in for coffee? Another drink perhaps?"
"I think I'll be going now. It's getting pretty late and you seem tired"
I didn't think he'd notice. Honestly I wasn't expecting him to agree or was I?
"Alright then. Text me when you get home?"
"I'll call you when I arrive." He walks up to me and plants a kiss on my cheeks. The butterflies in my stomach forgot to do a somersault cause they exploded instead.
"Good night"
"Good night Trevor"
I didn't wait for him to leave cause I was dying of embarrassment. I quickly got inside my apartment and shut the door. Soon after, I heard the screeching of his car tires which is an indication that he has gone.
I dreamingly walked into my bedroom and strip myself naked before stepping into the shower. When done, I dry my hair and wore my pajamas before getting under my covers.
I am contemplating to call him or not when his call came through.
I let it ring for a while so it wouldn't seem as if I was waiting for his call. Expecting Even.
"You're home already"
"Ah yes I am." He responds and then went silent for a while. "You're not asleep yet. Don't tell me that you were waiting for my call" I could sense a hint of pride. Is he deliberately mocking my feeble attempt of being nice.
"I wasn't." I reply truthfully "Just got out of the shower, about to sleep when your call came in"
He gasps, feigning surprise "So you weren't missing me after all."
"Now why would I?"I reply biting my lower lip in an attempt to stifle my laughter.
"I'll just have to kiss you and find out if you actually missed me or not"
I gulped, fearfully.
"Just joking Miss Williams. I can practically smell your fear through the phone"
"Not funny"
"Of course it is. I'll hang up now so that you can sleep. Have a good night rest. Love you" he quickly hangs up without giving me a chance to reply and even if he did give me a chance, what would I respond to that.
I place my phone on my bedstand and pull up the covers so I can sleep but I couldn't help but reminisce about the happenings of this evening.
Is Trevor really okay for me like dad said or is it my heart trying to use him as a replacement for the hurt that was inflicted by Gabriel?
In as much as none of this is making any sense now, I still want to see where this friendship would lead to and I really hope that it's promising.