A Target's Love

22

Javier stepped up to the front door of the Rosheuvel home and rang the doorbell once. After a few seconds and sounds of shuffling, he was face to face with Martin Rosheuvel. The older guy was pleasantly surprised to see him standing there.

"Javier! Nice to see you, son. Come in, come in!" Martin grinned.

"Hey, Martin," Javier smiled. He stepped inside and removed his shoes like he knew he was supposed to and followed his host into the parlor.

"Have a seat, man." Martin's kind eyes twinkled. "What brings you around? Let me guess, Lizzy?"

"Yeah," Javier admitted. "You know how it is. She promised me a second date and now she forfeits."

Martin laughed. "That's Lizzy for you."

"So, I'm asking for your permission to take her out." Javier finished.

Martin's laughter got louder. "You gotta be kidding me--Elizabeth's a big girl! She decides where she goes, when she goes, and who she goes with. I kind of had my right to an opinion taken away the day she turned eighteen."

Jake looked at him pointedly. "Are you kidding me? She's a daddy's girl."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Martin chuckled.

"Exactly." Javier grinned.

"Here's the thing," Martin grinned back, "If my opinion mattered at all in situations like this, I'd tell you to take her. She needs to have some more fun. She's not that social, you know? Getting out of the house more often will do her a world of good. You should absolutely go--"

"I told you, Javier," Elizabeth said, walking into the room. She was still clad in her PJs, rubbing her eyes but wearing a satisfied smirk on her face. She'd caught the tail end of her father's last sentence. "Now just leave, and let me go back to sleep."

She crossed the room to give her father a hug, completely missing the amused glances exchanged by Martin and Javier. "Thank you, Daddy."

She turned to leave the room, casting a haughty look at Javier as she walked past him.

Javier waited until she was in the doorway before he spoke. "Where are you going, Beth?"

She turned to roll her eyes at him. "Back to bed. Duh. And you, sir, should leave as soon as possible, too."

Javier grinned. "I'm not leaving without you."

"My father did tell you to leave. . ." Elizabeth started.

"No, he didn't," Javier stated, rolling his eyes back at her.

"Dad, didn't you–?"

"Tell him to leave?" Martin cut in. "Why would I do that?"

Javier grinned over at her, his eyes full of triumph and mischief.

"But I heard you. You told him to go."

"Don't use me to excuse your misguided assumptions." Martin chuckled.

"Yeah, you know what they say about assumptions." Javier chortled.

"So, where was he telling you to go?" Elizabeth asked, confused and upset.

Javier smiled. "Upstairs. To get you. You saved me a trip."

*****

"Where are we going this time?" Elizabeth grumbled, pushing her hair out of her face and opening the passenger door of Javier's car. She sat down and strapped the seatbelt on. This is what she'd wanted to avoid. Alone time with Javier. It wasn't healthy. She knew this, so why was she feeling excitement stirring in her stomach?