Harassenger: Backseat Admirer ✔️

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

"He broke up with me!" Trixie, who's usually composed, broke down in my front door, reaching for comfort. After eating Chinese food with MSG, the last thing you want is someone hugging you tightly by the stomach.

"What? No way."

"Yes, way. He's a jerk! He said I was too clingy and he didn't need the pressure. He knew what he was getting into when he started dating me. That's not even the worst part. I met a guy at the hardware store the other day who gave me his number on my receipt and I texted him this big apology why I couldn't date him and that he could find a prettier girl. It was a long paragraph, and he was so amazing. He was hot and smart and nice. He had an Australian accent which was too hot, and he was insistent on getting to know me. He knew his shit, and my God, I turned him down for a guy who doesn't want me." Her tears soaked through my shirt and I held her while she sobbed.

"It's okay. I'm sure you can text him back and tell him you're a free woman. If he really likes you, he'll still have your number. But Trixie, please, I beg you, don't rush into anything."

"I feel like love never comes my way, no matter how hard I try."

"Love has to come to you, Trixie. Trying too hard doesn't work, trust me; don't force it." I told her.

"I wish I could find someone clingy, like me. I want a guy who falls at my feet. Like Mick is for you. Now I'm going to be the one begging you to take some advice and don't lose a good guy like Mick." Great, Trixie and my mom should really hang out.

"Thanks. I was actually on my way over there. I wasn't going to go until tomorrow, but I've changed my mind. But, if you need, I can stay if you want."

"Never. I'm going to drown my thoughts in a bottle of tequila and fall asleep. You either go or I'll be angrier than I am right now. Go celebrate your business license with your lover." She smiled through her wet eyes. Even through pain, she remained lighthearted.

"Alright, I'll go. Stay here if you need."

My Jeep took me to Mick's house as the evening progressed. Mick's door was unlocked, but I waited for someone to answer anyway.

Mick answered the door, smiling but looking over his shoulder. Did he have another woman in the room? Wow, I was beginning to feel clingy all of a sudden.

"Hey, Mick."

"Natt, it's good to see you. Come in." He said, moving his hand from the door so I could pass.

"I don't want to intrude if someone is here." I said.

"My dad's here, and I promise you, you're doing me a favor if you stay. He's boring me to tears." His dad? The man Mick practically despises is here. I couldn't miss out on the opportunity.

I slowly walked into his home, following close behind Mick as he lead me to his couch. I could see the head of a man sitting on the couch watching television.

"I told you to get a maid, Mick, that way you wouldn't have to get up for the door." The man, with a voice deeper than the deep, blue sea said.

"Sorry to intrude. I'm Natalie Fisher." I walked over to the man to shake his hand, but his blue eyes looked pass me to the television, ignoring my presence.

"Desmond Conrad. So you're the girl I've heard so much about. Mick was insistent on saving your family's business." He said, looking away.

"Yes, thank you so much for all of your help."

"Well, I appreciate a hard worker and a family owned business. I wished the same for Mick, but he's not interested in working with the family."

I awkwardly took a seat on the chair next to the couch.

"Yes, I got my business license in and I'm ready to take over the gym soon."

"Really? That's amazing, Natt." Mick said, standing up beside both sets of furniture.

"Thank you."

"So Natt, what would you like to watch? I'm assuming you don't watch much world news." Desmond Conrad  was testing me, seeing how far he could go before he found a fault in me. I wasn't his son, and I had no reason not to play him at his own game.

"What? You mean how the DOW rose for another record high? Or how about the meeting between our president and the amazing Netanyahu? And don't get me started on the forest fires that are spreading over acres! Or the latest, the global warming debate that celebrities are trying to make us stop using vehicles while they're riding in energy-sucking jets. What would you like to watch?" I caught both men off guard, Desmond's eyes meeting mine for the first time. Desmond challenged me, tapping his rough fingers on the seat.

"No, let's watch some preseason football."

"That would nice if preseason had started." I couldn't help but smirk, chalking one up for myself.

Desmond looked from me to his son.

"I like this girl, Mick. She's well-informed, and her mind's not in the gutter. You need more people like her around." Suddenly, Desmond rose to his feet next to his son, shaking his hand and finally reaching for mine.

"Nice to meet you, Natalie. I think I'll be leaving, but you should stay and keep my son company." I think his father gave me permission to sleep over at Mick's. No? Okay, maybe I was jumping to conclusions.

"Thanks. Hope to see you soon, sir." I sat by the couch, happily surfing through the channels while Mick saw his father out.

I heard the door slam shut and the echo of Mick's voice down the hallway.

"I don't know how you did it, but my father loves you." He took a seat where his father once sat, lifting his legs on the table in front of him.

"I could say the same thing. My mother loves you, too." I smiled sweetly.

"My father likes you more, and if your mother feels the same way about me, we should switch parents."

"I think they like the idea of us, as in together, if anything. It's absurd." I laughed.

"Yes, absolutely absurd. Well, not really. It's not completely crazy." He suggested.

"No, just a little. A tiny bit." I agreed.

"A tiny, tiny bit. Maybe."

I blushed, looking away as my fingers twitched with excitement.

"No, not crazy at all."