Seven
Dad corneredme after school on Tuesday. He arrived home while I was in the middle of doing homework and there was no time to check if Juliet was with him, let alone escaping. He stood in my doorway with his arms crossed.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” He said in a way of greeting.
I swallowed and looked between him and my math assignment. “No.”
He sighed and moved farther into my room, toward me. “It’s my fault too. Things at the office have been busy and I’ve been staying in the city too often. I promised you I’d be home more, but I haven’t kept my word. I’m sorry.”
The last thing I wanted was for him to feel guilty when I was dodging him just as much.
“It’s fine. I’ve been busy too.”
He nodded and sat on the end of my bed, facing me at my desk. “Have you kept up with training? The race is just a few weeks away.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine.” Fitting in rides was probably the most stable part of my routine lately. “You?”
“I should be fine too. I got a bike at the apartment so that helped.” He cleared his throat. “I’d like to go to dinner tonight. Can you take a break or do you have too much work?”
I only had what I was working on left. “I can go.”
The last time we’d gone to dinner, alone, had been months ago and I was excited at the prospect of getting him to myself.
“Just us?” I asked to clarify. He didn’t specifically say Juliet wasn’t coming.
“Yeah, we can go whenever you’re ready.” He left my room and I finished the problem I was working on before changing out of my sweats and into jeans and boots and headed downstairs.
“Do you have a place in mind?” I asked when I found him sitting on the edge of the couch.
“I’ve been craving a burrito from Donny’s for weeks,” he replied.
I sighed. That was one of our favorite Mexican food spots in Malibu. We used to go there almost weekly for their carne asada burritos. Spencer could eat three in one sitting, and Dad loved their salsa.
“I haven’t thought about that place in months, but now I’m going to be craving it.”
He grinned, “Misery loves company.”
“I went to a small restaurant with the guys once. I didn’t get their carne asada, but the chicken tacos were good.”
He stood, “Let’s go there.”
It was a short drive to the city center where several shops and restaurants were located. There was no wait to be seated and our food arrived quickly. In less than thirty minutes from deciding, we were eating delicious burritos that weren’t quite a replacement but pretty good.
“This is hitting the spot,” Dad said after wiping his mouth. “Next time I have to go to LA I’ll take you with me, and we can get the real thing.”
“That sounds great.” It was the first time he ever mentioned us going back. He flew there a few times since we’d moved, but they were always quick trips, and he said he stayed downtown near the office, not venturing out to our old neighborhood. I wondered if it was too painful, or if he didn’t want to risk seeing his ex. Both reasons were enough to stop me from asking sooner to go with him. I didn’t want to make him go back to Malibu if he wasn’t ready, and I didn’t feel the urge to return either. There was nothing for us there but memories, good and bad.
But maybe as we got closer to the year mark of moving, it would be easier.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Dad sounded nervous.
I was instantly on alert, mentally preparing for the worst. Was he sick? Had something happened? Did he know about Juliet’s lies?
“This might seem fast or like I’m moving on too quickly, but I love Juliet. I want to ask her to marry me, Avalon.”
I froze. I knew this was coming eventually, but this felt different. He was ready to take the step?
“You’re going to propose?”