Amazed

9

I swam with the twins all day, until ten o'clock rolled around and my parents said I should head home. I had told the boys goodbye, and hugged them. My hug with Grayson lingered a little longer though, and the sparks from earlier were still there. I felt really bad about hurting Gray, but I was happy that I had felt the sparks between us when we hugged. Sparks were a sign that you really liked someone, right?

I walked into the house and hugged my mom and dad goodnight, too tired to do much else.

"Rocklynn, can I please talk with you?" Dad suddenly asked, and I suppressed a groan. When Dad called me by my full name, it was usually a bad sign. Also, I was really tired and I wanted nothing more than to flop into my bed.

I sat across from him at the kitchen table, watching him read a magazine with tractors on the front. He didn't look at me for awhile, but I knew he was just trying to figure out what to say. Another bad sign, because he was trying to make his next words nice and not mean.

Finally, he gave up on being nice and was blunt. "I don't like you hanging out with those boys."

I think I felt my pulse stop for a second. "What?"

"I don't like you seeing those boys, especially that Grayson one."

"Dad, they're my friends. My first friends in a long time."

"I know, but they're changing you. Look at you, you look nothing like my little Rocky," Dad said, motioning to me.

I scowled. "They're not changing me, Dad. This was my choice."

"It sure seems like you're changing into these city folk to have that Grayson boy like you."

I huffed. "Trust me, that's not the case. I'm doing this for myself. We've lived in the middle of nowhere since I was born; I want to explore and try new things now that I'm able to. Grayson's just as concerned about all this as you are."

He finally looked up from the magazine, his brown eyes meeting mine. "What do you mean?"

"Grayson doesn't want me to change who I am just because I feel like I have to in order to be friends with them. Ethan's fine with whatever I do so he doesn't say anything about it." This was all the truth, I just wanted my dad to see it.

"I still don't like the way Grayson looks at you," Dad grumbled.

I blushed. "That's because you're a dad, and dad's don't want their daughters to run off and get married."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I just don't want you to lose yourself in this new life."

"Dad, I'll be fine. If anything, I'm coming out of my shell more because of the change. I'm finding out more about myself than I ever would've," I explained.

He was quiet for a while, probably thinking over what I said, until he sighed.

"Alright. If you're happy, then I'm happy. I won't say another word about the matter, as long as you don't become a stripper. Got it?"

"I'm positive I won't become a stripper Dad," I said and shook his hand.

"Now go get some rest kid. You look exhausted," he smiled and I returned it.