I opened the door to find my mom laughing with a man who looked to be in his early-forties. It only took me a second to recognize him as her boyfriend, the one who would be my stepdad in the near future. They were sitting so close, acting all cozy like lovers who hadn't seen each other in ages. They didn't even notice me standing there.
What really bugged me was how she invited him over without asking me. It felt wrong, like she was ignoring my feelings.
At first, I thought about just walking past them, avoiding the whole scene. But then, I changed my mind.
I cleared my throat loudly, trying to get their attention. They stopped talking and turned to face me. My mom walked over with a big smile, holding my hand like some love-struck teenager. I could've ruined the moment, but seeing how happy she was, I decided to let it slide—for now.
"You're back, darling! Sorry I didn't tell you earlier; you were in such a rush earlier," she said, her voice practically dripping with affection.
I rolled my eyes, but I kept it to myself.
She turned to the man, gesturing for him to join us. "Umm, honey, come over here," she said, with that overly sweet tone that made me want to gag.
I felt my irritation growing. That should've been my dad, not some random older guy. Well, he's not that old, my subconscious corrected me, but I didn't care.
"Richard, this is my daughter, Jessy," my mom introduced. He nodded, smiling at me. I gave a forced smile back, not interested in any formalities.
"Jessy, meet Richard…" she trailed off, but I didn't need the whole introduction.
He seemed to catch on and gave a casual smile, but his tone didn't help: "Don't worry, I understand. It's all part of being young, right?" he said with a chuckle.
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.
His nonchalance irritated me. Was he brushing me off like this? It was like he was trying to teach me a lesson, but I didn't need one.
I turned away, muttering, "I don't want to pretend."
My mom shot me a sharp look, but he just shrugged. "Don't worry, sweetie," he said with a smirk. "You'll warm up to me soon enough."
Before I could snap back, a rich baritone voice called out from behind me. "Dad, I'm here." It rumbled through the room, like the first sip of a deep red wine on a cold night. I turned, startled, to see a man standing in the doorway.
His jaw-dropping smile and piercing blue eyes took my breath away. For a moment, I was caught in the gaze of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.
"Oh, thank goodness you made it just in time," my mom said with relief. "We haven't had dinner yet, you can join us." I was about to protest, but the man in front of me made everything else disappear.
"John, meet Jessica," my mom quickly introduced.
I barely heard her, too distracted by the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled at me. "Hi, pretty," he said, waving a hand at me with a smile that made my heart skip a beat.
"Uh, hi, John," I managed, my voice coming out softer than I intended. His wink made me blush, and I quickly looked away, hoping he didn't notice.
"Alright, let's go have dinner, shall we?" My mom asked, looking between us both. I nodded, though my mind was still caught up in the man named John.
As we sat down to eat, I found myself stealing glances at him. Every time our eyes almost met, I quickly looked down, embarrassed that I was caught staring. He was tall, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through me. His smile? It could disarm an entire room. His sharp jawline and chiseled features were impossibly perfect, yet there was a hint of ruggedness that made him even more irresistible.
At one point, our eyes locked. He gave me a questioning look, like he had caught me in the act. I flushed, looking down quickly, my face burning from the embarrassment of being so obvious.
When dinner ended, my mom and her boyfriend went outside for a walk, leaving me alone with John. The air grew tense, and I felt the awkwardness settle in. I needed to break the silence.
"Hi" I said waving at him "Jeez, why are you so nervous?" my inner voice scolded me. "You're supposed to hate him, not like him."
I felt the awkwardness creeping up again but forced myself to speak. "So, you're a software engineer?" I asked even though he mentioned it during dinner.
He nodded, giving a half-smile. "Yeah, I work for a company in California, but online. Not physically."
"Wow, so you studied computer engineering?" I blurted out, then immediately felt awkward. "How old are you?"
He looked a little surprised, but answered. "I'm 28."
Something inside me deflated. Ten years older. Not that it mattered, but I couldn't help the little feeling of disappointment. Why did it matter? I quickly shook off the thought.
"I'll be 18 in a few months," I said, hoping to steer the conversation away from age.
"You'll be an adult soon," he said with a chuckle, and I couldn't help but smile back.
There was something magnetic about him, something I couldn't shake. Even if I told myself I didn't want to like him, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the attraction.
"By the way," he asked, "how did you feel when your mom told you she was getting married?"