“I’m not blind, Jesse. I know you really love this girl.”

Love. Such a foreign concept to me.

“She’s my best friend, Dad,” I replied, taking my time to enunciate each syllable. “Of course I care about her. You do know what it’s like to have friends, right?”

My dad looked at me knowingly. “Suffice it to say, we both know it’s more than that. You want my advice?”

“If I say no will you leave me alone?” I asked hopefully.

“Who would you want Rocky to end up with? A hot-headed, immature boy? Or a steady and responsible man?”

I didn’t answer.

“And perhaps…Never mind.”

“Just spit it out, Dad,” I groaned.

He bit his lip hesitantly. “Listen, maybe she needs to grow up as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take a look at your life.”

“Believe me I have.” I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s not something I like to do.”

“It seems to me that you both tend to drag each other down.”

“She doesn’t do that to me,” I shot back defensively.

“Are you sure? Who did you follow to the dance, knowing you couldn’t set foot on school property?”

I remained silent.

He nodded smugly. “Who do you skip class with? Party with? Am I going out on a limb if I say she’s also the reason you punched that jock in the face?”

As if a dam broke, all the emotions I tried so hard to suppress spilled out. Fear’s cool claws gripped my spine and traveled down each vein in my body in its iciness. Maybe he was right. Maybe Rocky and I did bring out the worst in each other. Maybe I didn’t deserve her ever. “What if we never grow up? What then?”

“That’s up to you. Sometimes people are just not meant to be, and unfortunately, making difficult decisions is the first part of growing up. If you really love her, son, if you want the best for both of you, then maybe…maybe it’s best if you let her go.”

We sat bathed in silence, most likely contemplating what we had done wrong in our lives. I sat back, listening to a ticking clock that echoed throughout the house. Time was a funny thing. It didn’t guarantee you’d change, but more than likely change would accompany it.

Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed the fork in front of me and took a bite of Dad’s gourmet masterpiece. Luckily, Dad knew better than to gloat. I gulped down a piece of steak in surprise. “Where’d you learn to cook? If memory serves me correctly, I grew up with greasy bags of burgers and fries every night.”

A sad smile touched his lips. “Well, when half your paycheck goes to booze you sort of run out of money to buy anything good.”

I took another bite and frowned. “Why didn’t you ever stop her? Force her to rehab or something?”

He curled his lips together and let them go with a pop. “That’s the other thing about becoming an adult. Tough love is necessary, but not easily managed. I guess…” He paused and wiped away a stray tear. “I guess I wasn’t man enough for that marriage.”

“Is that why you’re getting remarried? Because running away suddenly made you the man you wanted to be?” I snapped.

Dad’s thick eyebrows lowered. “That’s not fair, Jesse.”

“You sure about that?”

“Jesse,” he snapped warningly.

“You didn’t just leave Mom, remember? You left me.” I dropped my fork and shook my head in disgust. “Maybe that’s another reason why I’m not ‘grown up’ yet, either.”

Dad’s dark eyes widened in surprise. His mouth opened then shut rapidly, finally at a loss for words.

“Stop acting like you know me, because you don’t.”

Instead of getting angry, he nodded in agreement. “You’re right, I don’t. And apparently you don’t know me that well, either. I left for both of you, not for me. I thought once I stepped out that door, your mom would be scared straight. She’d toughen up and get her life on track.”

“Well, she didn’t.”

He bowed his head apologetically. “I know that now, but you can’t fault me for wanting to be happy, Jesse.”

I guess I couldn’t.

He picked up my fork and tapped it against my plate in thought. “Cooking is a great way of getting your life back in check.”

“Is that supposed to mean anything to me?” I shook my head and sighed as he eyed me expectantly. “What? You want me to learn how to cook?”

He nodded. ‘Trust me. It’ll be well worth it.”

Chapter 11

It was worth it.

Who knew learning how to cook could change your life so dramatically? It wasn’t just the food that I loved (though getting to taste test was a highlight of the activity) but more so the ability to make something so beautiful out of scratch. It was probably the same reason Rocky loved drawing so much.

Rocky.

Not a day went by when I didn’t think of her, and though I wanted to deny Dad’s advice, he really did have a point. We truly brought out the worse in each other, at least at this point in our lives we did. As much as it pained me, I knew I had to bite the bullet. We had to give each other space. It wasn’t long before our phone calls and texts began to waste away, but it wasn’t Rocky who grew distant—it was me.

Time flew by, and before I knew it a whole year had passed since I first moved to Charleston. In this one year I found myself changing, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the better. Sure, I felt older and wiser, but I also felt complacent and empty. There was a void inside of me, but I wasn’t sure how to fill it.

“How do I look?” Dad yanked at his stupid little bow tie and blotted away a bead of sweat that threatened to spill off his forehead. He was dressed to the nines in a tailored tuxedo and newly shined shoes, but something seemed a bit off about his ensemble. It was probably his swollen face, which had broken out in nervous hives just minutes before.

“You look fine,” I lied, fidgeting in my own monkey suit. I groaned and yanked at my collar. “Why’d you have to get married on the hottest day of the year?”

Ignoring me, he smoothed out his cuffs and cocked his head in curiosity. “So, I forgot to ask…”

“What?” I sighed.

“How do you feel about finally seeing Jason today? It’s not every day you get a new brother.”

Ah, Jason—my infamous stepbrother to be. I’d heard his name spoken but never exactly met him. It wasn’t as if he were in a hurry to see me either.

I grimaced and turned away. “Whatever.”

Before he could respond, Dad suddenly spun around and grinned toward the door. “Ah, speak of the devil. How are you?”

I turned to see a blond haired, grey-eyed man walk into the room. I knew he was only a year older than me, a sophomore in college, but this was ridiculous. He looked as if he were skirting twenty-four. He was also a lot bulkier than I was, looking as if he juiced up every morning. His muscles threatened to split his tight jacket open at any moment. Luckily my height made up for our total difference in muscle mass. I towered over him. No way I’d play little brother to his steroid pumped ass.

“Hey, Richard,” he replied blandly.

“Richard?” I snorted. Didn’t know my dad was okay being called on a first name basis. He nearly had a cow when my Stepford wife looking stepmom-to-be told me to call her Teresa.

He shrugged me off and brought Jason in for an awkward hug. Once my dad released his grip, Jason practically jumped three feet away. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was even doing in the room if he hated my dad so much.

Tugging at his too-tight suit, Jason looked up and caught my eye. “Hey, are you Jesse?”

“Yup,” I answered with a pop of the P.

“Oh! Forgive me for being rude. I’m sorry for not introducing you two. Jason, this is Jesse. Jesse, Jason.” My father’s gaze bounced between us. “Wow, both J’s! You two already have so much in common.”

Dad’s poor attempt at a joke made me cringe. I extended my hand and was surprised when Jason reached out to shake it. Up until that point I had already written him off as a douche.