Chapter 7

Anna POV

I grumble in defeat and gather my stuff before leaving. Sara is correct, I have entirely too much on my mind. I need to get my stuff together and concentrate on tonight, or else I truly will have something to worry about.

The journey home had me wondering about everything. How the heck did this ever happen? Why did all of this have to happen to me? I'm too young to be concerned about how I'm going to pay for all of my expenditures for my family. This is not my job. Well, it shouldn't have to be my job. Sadly, it is. I wish I still had my Mom. I wish I still had my Dad. I hoped my sister and I would be enough to keep him going, but we aren't. He never likes to accept it, but I don't believe he wanted kids to begin with. 

When I come home I find a text from Dane. It's coming near time for me to be at the barbecue, and I still have to shower and mentally prepare myself.

Dane Fain: 3219 South Boston Ave. 

I spend the remainder of the hour getting ready for the BBQ. I want to look well for tonight, but I don't want to appear like I'm trying too hard. I'm sure this man has females flirting with him all the time, and I need to make sure I somehow stand apart. After thirty minutes of looking at the interior of my closet, I eventually picked on a pair of faded jeans and a tank top. I'm thinking that I'm going to be outdoors for the bulk of this and I don't want to overdress. I curl my hair in loose curls and apply a touch of makeup over my face. If it were my decision, I would never wear makeup. I dislike how it makes my face feel, and I feel like I'm lying when I approach people. I feel that by wearing too much makeup, I'm going to be lying to this person.

Well, lying more than I already am.

I peek at my phone and find that I only have about twenty minutes until the BBQ is meant to start. I hurriedly gather all of my stuff and leave the house. My GPS indicates that their home is around thirty minutes away from where I am right now, so I'm going to be a little late. Maybe that's good, however. Nothing is wrong with being fashionably late, right? 

Well, for my sake, I hope I'm correct.

I drew up to the Fain House and my eyes got wide. This home was huge. Way larger than I anticipated it would be. But then again, if someone is prepared to pay you $700 every two weeks simply to date their kid, you have to have quite an amount of money. Walking up to the door, I was almost immediately hailed by Dane.

"You must be Anna. I'm Dane. It's fantastic to meet you." The guy remarked, welcoming me at the entrance.

"It's great to meet you too." I grinned broadly. He took me inside and into the backyard. This was not simply an average barbecue. I was anticipating maybe 10 people at the most. Nope. This gathering probably had fifty participants or more. It was extremely frightening.

"Okay, I'm going to go and locate Ethan. Whatever narrative I come up with, just go along with it. He won't think anything of it. Just go along with everything." He repeated. I nodded my head in agreement as I watched him walk away and seek for his kid. I was suddenly alone among a vast throng of individuals who had no clue who I was. A handful of individuals glanced my way, but they went back to sipping on their drinks and leaving me alone. 

"Diner girl." I heard a voice say, approaching me.

I turned around and suddenly came face to face with the client from previously. My face quickly plummeted. "What are you doing here?" I inquired, shocked that he was here.

He chuckled, "I should be asking you the same thing." 

"Dane Invited me," I answered, hoping to escape from humiliation. I never imagined I would have to confront this man, particularly after I shouted at him for doing something good.

"How do you know my dad?" He inquired suspiciously.

I don't know why I didn't put two and two together. He looked similar to his father. The two of them each have the same brilliant green eyes. 

"Hold on...what's your name?" I inquired with disbelief obvious in my voice.

Please don't be Ethan. Please have another son. Please don't be Ethan. 

“Ethan." He responded with a grin. 

Fuck. 

This is the man I am meant to be dating. This is going to go poorly. I already have a horrible start. Goodbye $700. I fucking blew it. 

"So how do you know my dad?" He asks again, evidently intrigued. 

“Ethan! There you are! I was searching for you." I heard a voice say. I glanced around and observed Dane Approaching towards us. He was walking extremely swiftly. Probably because he didn't want me to say something that would blow things for both of us. Well, too late for that. 

"Oh, yeah," Ethan remarked, uneasily moving in his father's presence. 

"I see you have met Anna." He grinned broadly. 

"So diner girl has a name." He replied, cocking his brow. I didn't know what the heck to do in this case. I honestly didn't. 

"Do you two...know each other?" Dane asked.