SIX

 I came out of the shower and looked at the traces of red lipstick that were still on my lips in the mirror. I inhaled deeply, set my hands on the sink, and then shook my head. The fact that I didn't have work on Wednesday allowed me to sleep in. Their more seasoned barista, Gabby, was scheduled because it was a busy day and she could handle the crowds. I was more than pleased to sleep in and take my time acclimating to the day, especially after the previous evening.

 

With Derek, everything had been revolving around perfection. We had been joking about and sharing tales when we both came to the conclusion that whatever was going on between us was certainly worth investigating further. We nearly were caught by my father, which shocked me. Everything may have gone so wrong for both of us. It looked to me like a dreadful scene from a movie as it played out in my thoughts.

 

If I had been at the table, my father would have walked over, grabbed me, yanked me to my feet, and yelled at me. The entire dining room would have halted and stopped. Knowing my father and his sense of entitlement, he would have yelled at Derek, pointing out to everyone how old he was and how young I was. Not only would my father have entirely cut me off, but he would have embarrassed both of us to death. Then, given the demographic of the restaurant's customer, there would have been the problem of everyone knowing who Derek was. For dating someone who was young enough to be his daughter, Derek would have been painted by my father as some sort of pervert. Reputational damage to Derek would have resulted.

 

I knew we wanted to speak about how to do this securely the next time since, ugh, it was such a horrible concept.

 

I dressed after taking a shower and went outside to the kitchen to look for some fruit and a bottle of water. My father worked many days a week from home in his office, which was down the hall. There were benefits to being the CEO of his own a billion dollar firm, but he detested working in an office. My thoughts were on how I did not want to speak to my father this morning as I ate my banana while leaning on the breakfast bar. He naturally shouted for me from down the corridor, as if he could read my thinking. I threw my peel away and took a drink of water as I turned the corner, heading for his office. I stood in the doorway and smiled, feeling my nerves twisting and turning in my chest .

 

“No work today?” he asked .

 

“No. It’s my day off,” I said .

 

“Good. Those are important,” he said. “Any plans ?”

 

“Yeah. I was thinking about going down to Fifth Avenue to do a little shopping,” I replied .

 

“Wonderful. Have fun,” he said, looking back down at his computer .

 

I turned to walk away but froze when I heard him call my name again .

 

“Skye,” he said, taking off his glasses and looking up at me. “I missed you last night. I was going to see if you wanted to join me for dinner. Where were you ?”

 

“Huh?” I turned back around and smiled. “Oh, I went to hang out with Mandy .”

 

“Oh, okay,” he said, staring at me as I walked away .

 

As soon as I was out of sight, I rolled my eyes and let out a big breath, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest. I wasn't accustomed to telling my dad lies. We had always been honest with one other. Although I didn't necessarily feel horrible, I did not relish lying to him. When I told him where I had been, I saw his reaction, and I thought there must have been something odd about it. I don't know whether it was just my conscience, but I had the impression that he hadn't taken my account when I told him where I had been. But that was foolish. He was closed in his office when I left the restaurant, so he hadn't seen me leave.

 

In an effort to shake the paranoia from my thoughts, I shook my head. Because I was afraid he would learn about Derek and me, I made myself think that I was making it up in my brain. He would also have spoken to me about it if he had known. He wouldn't keep that to himself as a secret.

 

My heart began to slow as I entered my room, closed the door, and rested against it. My best friend and I needed to chat, so I had to gather myself. She would know what to say, and even if it were negative, I would feel better about getting this off my chest. I walked over and picked up my phone to dial Mandy’s number .

“Hey, girl,” she said, yawning. “What’s up ?”

“Meet me at the Avalon,” I said. “I want to go to Fifth and do some shopping. And I desperately need to talk to you .”

“Okay,” she said. “Be there in thirty .”

I prepared myself and left, giving my dad a cheek kiss as I did so. I took a deep breath as I approached the elevator and was relieved that he had stopped asking me questions. When I approached them, Mandy was cheerfully speaking with the elderly doorman, George, in the lobby. We left when she had finished talking, opting to walk because it was so near. I had no intention of making many purchases, despite Fifth Avenue having some of the greatest but most costly shopping in all of New York. All I wanted was to leave the house.

 

“So, what is this news you have,” she said as we walked along the Avenue .

“It was terrible,” I said. “I met Derek for dinner last night, and everything was going so perfectly. We both said that we wanted to see where this was going, and we were talking and laughing. Then it happened .”

“What? Did you spill your wine in his lap or something ?”

“No,” I said, laughing. “My father walked in .”

She gasped. “Oh my god. Did he see you ?”

“Luckily, no. Derek tipped a server, and he snuck me out the back door. But it was so humiliating. I felt bad for leaving Derek there as a diversion .”

“Dude, that is crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean, what would happen if your father actually found out ?”

“I mean, he would be so hurt,” I replied. “But mostly he would be pissed. He would definitely cut me off completely. I don’t know if he would kick me out right away, but there would be no more slow transition into life for me, and definitely no more money in my bank account from him .”

“He’s that against Derek, huh ?”

“It’s not just Derek,” I said. “He made it very clear to me that he didn’t want me dating anyone at all. He wants me completely focused on my future, and he thinks any guys in my life will be a distraction. Mostly, I’m worried about what it would look like to the rest of the world if they found out Derek was dating a twenty-one-year-old .”

“I never even thought about the fact that he is pretty well-known,” she replied, shaking her head. “I mean, he was the most eligible bachelor in Time Magazine one year, wasn’t he ?”

“Yeah.”

“So what would you do if the news came out that the two of you were seeing each other ?”

“I don’t know exactly,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, I would definitely stand by him no matter what. I would do whatever he needed me to do to make things easier for him .”

“Even if that meant not seeing him anymore?” Mandy asked .

“Yeah,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I guess so. I mean, he has so much more than me to lose .”

“What would you do without your father’s money ?”

“I don’t care about the money,” I said. “I know you think I would die without shopping sprees and dinners at the best restaurants, but I would be okay. I mean, I don’t really care if my father cuts me off and I have to work three jobs and live in a one-room apartment in Brooklyn. I made a choice, and I have to be willing to accept the repercussions of it. Believe it or not, I actually gave this some thought .”

“I know you did,” she said. “And, Skye, I know you would be just fine without your father’s money. If I had that, I would shop all the time, too .”

“I know,” I said, smiling. “In the end, my biggest concern would be standing beside Derek. Hopefully, though, it won’t come to that anytime soon. I don’t want him to look like some kind of dirty old man, and I’ll go out of my way to make sure that doesn’t happen .”