The Blonde Cheerleader

Chapter Forty: Dirty Mouth

"Sorry I wasn't able to get you the doughnuts this time, sir," Evan joked as dad tightly shook his hand, muttering a friendly goodbye.

If looks could kill, Evan would be six feet under because the glare Gray was sending his way was terrifying to put it lightly. For one thing, he didn't liked the idea of getting outshine by the other boy and that fact that I reprimanded him from doing anything just doubled his frustrations.

But Evan, being the laidback boy that he was, ignoring the growling guy who was shooting daggers with his eyes. To provoke him even more, he jumped in to make an amusing remark which successfully elicited a hearty chuckle from my father.

Massaging my temples, I groaned at the situation. I seriously don't have the energy to deal with this due to the lack of sleep that I have to thank Vivian's loud snores for.

Speaking of my co-captain, she forgone the farewells and was now sleeping soundly inside my car, her body clumsily sprawled on the backseat.

I moved forward and touched Evan on the arm, silently telling him that all the while I was thankful that he was in such good terms with my parents, it was my turn to handle things. With a tightlipped smile, he headed to sit on the hood of my vehicle; that left me with Gray and my parents standing there on the patio steps.

Tugging him slightly by the hand so he would take I step forward, I cleared my throat and urged him to make the first move.

Hell, my attempts of introducing him as my boyfriend had all burned down into an ugly pile of ashes so I might as well leave him to his own devises – hopefully, it would have a better outcome.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he practically forced himself to spit out and I had to take a moment to register the stiffness in his tone, "Sorry for the sudden interruption last night."

Dad blinked up at him before his gaze became uncharacteristically strict, assessing him intently. It was weird though, I already consulted him about dating someone who was a contrast to Evan so I was hoping that he was at least expecting this. Maybe mom informed him about Gray's not-so-perfect reputation and now, he was less accepting than I initially thought.

But because this was Gray we were talking about, he possessed some kind of immunity from adult's scrutinizing looks. He was unfazed by the obvious disapproval as he stuck out a hand, trying to endure this as much as possible for my sake.

Forcing a smile, I tried playing the sweet daughter act to get this over with, "Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Gray."

Although rather compromising, they grasped hands and had this courteous handshake. The other house's door swung open and out came Hallie. Knowing her, she had definitely been spying on us through the window and found this as the perfect opportunity to interrupt.

"Clara," she bounded the steps, grabbing my hand to pull me away, "I can't believe you were about to leave without saying goodbye."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the blatant show of pretense. We already bid our farewells this morning but she ignored this fact and kept on with her lie, "Hallie, if I leave them then everything would turn into a mess."

"But if you don't then you're just going to fool yourself," she retorted and sat me down in front of her own house, a good earshot away from dad's, "And I know you value uncle's opinion."

This managed to silence me and a smile crept on her face, swinging an arm around my shoulder as she patted my head, "Glad to see our Clara understands."

Swatting her hand away, I grumbled a bunch of incoherent words under my breath which she skillfully pretended not to hear. We watched in silence as Gray and my dad released their hold of each other's hands, Evan still sat there with his arms crossed as he tried to gauge what was going to happen next, and my mother stood behind dad, as if she was condescending the teenager with her eyes.