for, liar

Chapter 64

I arrived  back at Miles' condo at 6:15, forty five minutes before his father was supposed to leave work. William's car is parked in the driveway and I immediately start freaking out. Miles told me he wouldn't be here until 7 so what the fuck is he already doing here?

I quickly get out of my car and rush to the door, trying not to trip in my wedges and drop the pie. I ring the doorbell waiting anxiously for Miles to open it, but it's William who ends up answering the door.

He smiles at me and nods. "Good evening, Bree. I assume you're joining us for dinner?"

"Yes, sir." I say politely.

I'm not really sure how to talk to this man. Old sophisticated men like manners and being called sir.

He moves from the doorway and motions for me to come in. My anxiety is at a dangerous level. If I could somehow talk myself out of this nervousness every damn time I meet someone important, that would be fucking fantastic.

The condo smells amazing. I watch a puff of steam come from the kitchen and we walk over to see Miles standing at the stove cooking something in a ginormous frying pan.

He looks over at me. "Holy hell, you look gorgeous." He beams.

I can feel my cheeks blush. I didn't expect him to comment on my appearance in front of his father.

"Thank you. You clean up nice yourself."

He laughs under his breath, shaking his head. "I don't know if I'd call this clean, but it's more than my t-shirts at least."

Khakis and a collared shirt definitely pass as dressing nice but I'm sure he could make a damn trash bag look nice.

"So what's for dinner, son?" William asks.

He must feel as awkward as we do, if that's even possible.

"Chicken tortellini with a side of garlic asparagus because, y'know, we need greens sometimes."

After all these carbs from today, I'm going to need more than a few pieces of asparagus.

"Can I help with anything?" I ask. "I brought a pie."

He raises his eyebrows and looks at me. "I told you it was on me."

He doesn't seem mad, just slightly amused that I would go out of my way to buy a six dollar pie.

"I couldn't help myself. It was on sale."

He laughs and takes it from me to put it in the fridge. "If you want to set the table, that would be awesome."

I give him a thumbs up and open up the cabinet to grab a few plates. William pulls out the silverware drawer and takes out forks for everyone. I neatly place all of the plates at each person's chair while William places down napkins and forks to the right of them. I'm trying my best to stay out of William's way, but every spot I try to move in he's already there.

Miles walks around with the pan and dumps a generous portion of pasta on all of the plates. His dad goes to the fridge and grabs a bottle of white wine. I guess it wouldn't have been bad if I would've brought alcohol.

He fills up each glass to the rim and takes a seat in his chair.

I sit down at the chair across from William so Miles can sit at the one in between us. He even went all in to light a cinnamon scented candle he placed in the center of the table.

"This is fantastic, Miles. Thank you." William says and starts digging into his plate.

It's more than fantastic. His cooking has an abundant amount of flavor with each one complimenting the other. He might even knock Maddy's cooking out of the park with this tortellini dish.

"Hope you guys enjoy it." He says graciously, slowly slicing the larger piece of chicken on his plate.

"So what do you do for a living, Bree?" William asks.

I tense up, not really expecting him to question me this soon. We weren't even halfway through dinner. We've barely even started!

"I'm an assistant manager at Scream Beans Coffee." I answer.

He takes another bite and looks at me. "Assistant manager? That's impressive. Any interest in moving up in the company?"

I shake my head and glance down. "I'm not sure. I got an offer but I'm still thinking about it."

He asks me about school and my hobbies. I've put most of my time into work that I don't even have hobbies anymore. I used to love puzzles when I was a kid and I've tried writing poetry a few times but it turned out terrible every single time so I gave up.

He asks about my family and their relationship. I was trying to be vague to not give too much away, but for some reason when I'm talking to him I just spill everything. It must be my damn anxiety forcing me to babble this much.

"Your parents are divorced?"

He's a little surprised when I tell him that. It shouldn't be all that weird to him considering he never got married to Miles' mom.

"Yes, my parents separated eight years ago."

"You were, what? Fifteen?"

"Fourteen."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Being a teenager with all of that going on must have been awful."

I shrug and take another bite of my food. There are endless options of things to talk about, why does it have to be this one?

"I had a lot of support from...friends. I think I made it out just fine. They're still both fully in my life and are there when I need them. My dad helps financially as well."

He looks over at Miles who hasn't said a word throughout this entire conversation. I was hoping he was going to save me from this. It's not like he doesn't know everything I've been talking about thanks to our first date interrogation.

"I'm going to go grab the pie." Miles finally says.

He stands from the table and walks to the kitchen. Does he not realize how terribly uncomfortable I am and he's leaving me alone with this man?

"Have you been in any serious relationships before?" He asks me as soon as Miles is out of view.

Is there a polite way to say "that's none of your damn business?"

"Yes sir. I was with my ex boyfriend for four years."

I take a sip of my wine and just now notice that my hands are trembling.

"What ended it?"

Should I be writing an autobiography for this guy?

"It just...didn't work out. It happens sometimes."

He nods and waves his finger in the air. "You're right about that!"

I giggle nervously and finish off my last bite as Miles returns. I doubt I even have room for chocolate pie after that. Miles hands me a plate anyway and starts cutting slices. I ask him for a small one so he cuts the slice he was going to give me in half, digging out the other onto his plate.

"This has been a very enjoyable evening." William says as he scoops up a large chunk of chocolate and devours it.

I wish I could say the same.

Revised;