Come On, Eileen // dexysofficial

"Well, damn. He's a hottie," Misty says as we drive away from the cabin. "How does a guy like that just drop out of thin air?"

"Seriously. I practically fell on him. It's just luck that he didn't already have a girlfriend." I laugh and shake my head. But I still can't believe the guy is single. I don't quite trust the universe, yet.

"I need to fall more often."

"Let me know how that works out for you," I say. I take in the view, now that I can see it with the sun overhead. We didn't get much time to explore Salt Creek or the resort while it was light out. Most of our time was spent at the music festival and then Jeff and I stayed up late talking by the fire. Now I'm watching as we zip past trees and wish we could have hung out longer.

"We should try coming up here again."

Misty snorts. "And stay where? I can't afford that resort, and neither can you. Your dad wouldn't foot the bill and I don't think Jeff's friend has as much pull with his uncle as he says he does.

"What do you mean?" I turn to face her. Misty keeps her eyes on the road as she talks.

"Everything he said about the cabin or the food or the view had his uncle's name attached to it. Like he was trying really hard to prove he's getting special treatment. It's the 'I'm friends with the owner' bullshit that I get told at the restaurant all the time when someone wants to get seated right away."

"But he actually got the cabin. We stayed in it. There was food in the fridge. So..." I shrug with hands stretched out.

"Meh. I still say he's trying too hard."

"They were both nice guys. I'm sure he wasn't playing us or anything like that."

"No way. Micah has a massive boner for his friend so he wouldn't bother playing us. But I don't think she feels the same way. Too bad for him."

"What makes you say that?"

"I heard them talking this morning. I think he came up to her room to wake her up and she got pissed. The walls in that cabin aren't too thick. I pretty much heard everything."

I lean my head against the passenger side window and wait but Misty doesn't elaborate.

"Well, what did they say?" I ask when it's clear Misty isn't going to share.

"Oh, sorry. I don't gossip."

"What? Yes, you do. You just did a second ago when you told me they were arguing. You just suck at it."

"That wasn't gossip. That was a fact. They argued. But what they argued about is none of our business."

"You're a tease. Don't dangle details in my face and then snatch them away." Why am I friends with her?

"It's not teasing if you know up front that I'm not giving the deets." Misty points out the window. "Hey, there's a Starbucks. I'll buy because I teased you." She smirks.

And that's why I'm friends with her. She's upfront and generous. With Misty, what you see is what you get and pity the fool who thinks they can talk her into being anything else.

"Sounds good. I could use the caffeine."

"You didn't get much sleep." The innuendo is clear in her tone.

"Ha, ha, as if. That's only because we were talking until late. Gotta love a guy who enjoys a good conversation."

"Very true. What did you talk about?" Misty asks as she pulls into a parking spot. The to-go line is long. Misty doesn't like waiting around in her car.

Our conversation pauses as we go in and order then picks up again as we wait for our drinks. It's midday already, later than we had planned to head home. Sleeping had taken the priority.

"So..." Misty encourages me to tell her about my night with Jeff.

"So, we talked about general stuff. Music, our favorite foods, travel. That kind of thing."

"Did you tell him about your dad?"

I cringe. "No. I don't want to freak him out earlier than necessary. I may never see Jeff again. Why ruin a perfectly good evening with talk about my dad?"

"True. That's a good strategy. But just saying, if the guy calls you and asks you out, you should warn him. No point getting all cozy with a guy who's going to bolt."

I take a deep breath and sigh. I don't have the energy for my dad. It's not that he's overprotective. It's more that he has trust issues. With everyone. And the fact that he barks orders for a living at buff college guys who are required to obey doesn't help. He's conditioned to have everyone around him jump at his command.

College football has seriously destroyed my joy.

"I'll be quiet now." Misty pats my shoulder. She's watched me deal with my dad since our first year of high school. I think he's gotten worse since I moved out. I thought proximity was the issue but boy was I wrong.

"It's fine. He's...a handful."

"He loves you. And he just wants you to be safe, which is more than I can say for my dad."

Misty's parents are the type that get involved in their own thing the second their kids are out of the house. She was the last to leave the nest and is lucky to get a call once a week from either parent. If only I had that kind of luck. My dad calls almost five times a day. I texted him every couple of hours, so he left me alone. I really did win the lottery last night meeting Jeff, or something, because Dad didn't try blowing up my phone even once.

Weird.

Our drink orders are up, so we grab them and hit the road. The drive isn't far, just a couple of hours down the hill, but the road home always feels longer than the road towards a getaway.

We spend the drive listening to music—not The Circus Killers, thank goodness—and singing along. Misty has an eclectic taste and most of the songs we blasted were decent.

"We have arrived at our destination," Misty says as she pulls into the drive of my building. The 1920's complex was originally a school but sometime in the 70's a developer renovated it into what they call efficiency apartments, which are two room units. One room is a kitchen large enough for a table and some other furniture. The other is a bedroom/living room combination. My favorite part is the bathroom which is attached to a closet area big enough for a dresser.

My always out of town roommate, the one who was gone for two days longer than she promised me when I locked myself out of our apartment, ended up moving...out of town. Her boyfriend asked her to move in and since she spent more time with him than at our place, she took him up on his offer. I found this little place the day after she told me she was moving. It's perfect for just one person and much better than dorm living.

Although my dad would whole-heartedly disagree. And did so the second I signed the lease. And as I was packing. And on moving day. And, basically, every day since then.

But a girl who isn't going to college can't live in the dorms. When is he going to understand that?

Oh, right. Never.

I grab my bags and wave goodbye to Misty as she drives away. The neighborhood is another reason I love this place. Trees line both sidewalks, fully grown and overlapping on the street. Its canopy effect makes me happy, like living in a hidden woodland enchanted forest. My childhood fairytale dream come true.

Of course, my dad worries that one of the trees, being as old as they are, will uproot and crush me when I'm sleeping. I told him that was crazy. It's a three-story building and I live on the first floor. The two stories above me would be crushed first.

Clearly, I didn't think that one through before speaking it.

I unlock my door, drop my bag and run to the restroom. That Starbucks did me in. I haven't even finished washing up when my phone starts ringing. The picture of dad and I at the fair when I was eight glows up at me when I pull my phone out of my pocket.

"Hey, Dad."

"Are you home?"

Ugh. He's going to be irritated I didn't call him the second I walked in the door.

"Yes. I had to pee and then I was going to call. You beat me to it."

"You could have texted when you pulled up."

I roll my eyes. "I'm eighteen. I'm fine. It's all fine." If I keep saying it, maybe one day it'll be true.

I hear him blow out a deep breath. "I know. I'm trying. It's just been you and me, kiddo, for a long time. I'm having a hard time not being your dad."

My heart melts for him. He's loved me the very best way he could since mom died when I was six. It's never been easy for either of us but it could certainly have been worse. I should cut him some slack.

"Dad, you'll always be my dad. We just need to figure out how to both be grown-ups now."

"True." He pauses for a second. "I love you, lightning bug."

"Love you, too, Daddy."

"Now that you're back in town, how about we grab dinner?"

I cringe. "I would but I have so much catching up to do. Two assignments are due at midnight tonight. And I pull a double shift tomorrow to make up for taking yesterday and today off." My stomach hurts thinking of everything I need to get done.

"If you were taking in person classes, you wouldn't be so stressed with everything."

"Sure, I would. In person classes still have due dates. I'd still have to earn money and pay rent."

"But if you were at-"

"Don't say it, Dad. I'm not going there. This is better for me, I swear. I need to do this."

He's been trying to get me to attend his college. My tuition would be covered because he's on staff. I'd just have to pay for room and board. But it's not what I want. I have this opportunity to apprentice with a master. The experience is the payment. I'm taking a few courses online, not a full load, and I work twenty to thirty hours at a café. The tips are a huge bonus. It's all come together perfectly at just the right time. I can always change course next year if this apprenticeship doesn't work out.

But so far, it's been amazing.

"Okay, I'll stop. For now. But honey, if I still see you stressed and struggling in a few months, we need to revisit this."

"Fine."

"Promise?"

"Yes." I hear the worry in his voice. For a football coach who I've personally heard cuss out his players within an inch of their lives, he's surprisingly sensitive about his only daughter. And insecure. He's always worried about being a single dad. I think I turned out pretty amazing, if you ask me.

"Good. Well, I'll let you unpack and get to work. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." Although, I won't. He'll be calling me at least twice more tonight. Oh, the joys.

"Love you," he says.

"Love you." We end the call and I amend my previous thought. Being his daughter is a joy. Even when it's a pain.

Phone still in my hand, it pings with an incoming text. I groan.

"Couldn't wait ten minutes, dad?" I ask the empty apartment. But when I glance at the message screen, it's not from my dad.

Jeff: Hope you got home safe.

Dang. I think he broke every bro code in the book about hook up protocol texting less than three hours after last seeing me. Although it wasn't anywhere close to a hook up so I guess the protocol can be overridden.

Me: I did just now.

Jeff: Good

Jeff: Can I call you later?

I grin like a lunatic at the message. I want to play it cool but who am I kidding? I've got no chill and I'm certainly not cool. I might as well let my inner stalker out to play. He'll find out soon enough that I'm kind of a level five clinger.

In a good way.

Me: Sounds good. I'm sure I could use a study break

He texts a thumbs up and a winky face. I plug in my phone and skip, literally skip, the ten steps into my kitchen to grab some study snacks before hitting the books and completing my annotation assignments.

This trip turned into a beautiful accident in more ways than one.

Okay the 1920's apartment I described is actually the place I lived in when I was 25 and just started teaching. I paid $440 dollars a month. Like...in CALIFORNIA. And I lived in a college town with old trees lining the streets. It's the exact house in the chapter aesthetic this week! ⬆️

When I was thinking about where Alison should live, I realized she'd live in that efficiency apartment. And she'd be artsy and quirky and awkward. Jeff hasn't seen all of it yet but I bet he'll love it!

I love this song and it has the right feel for Alison in this one...but my current playlist is kind of meh. I need to do a better search for songs from this era because I am not inspired.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Love you guys!!