Father Knows Best by Lynda Sandoval Page A

Instead, he slipped his hands around to cup my face and tilt it up toward him, then he kissed me. Softly at first, but more intensely after that, until everything around us disappeared.
    When we pulled apart, the hiccups were miraculously gone, and I have to say, the “hot kiss remedy” is much more enjoyable than hanging upside down while trying to drink water from the far side of a cup.
    “Lila,” Dylan said.
    I sniffed, smearing my nose on the back of my hand. (I know, I know, another real date-getter. I grew up with five guys, okay? Granted, my three oldest brothers are grown up and out of the house, with Luke soon to follow, but cut me some slack—habits are hard to break.) “What?”
    “You’re not going to lose me,” Dylan said.
    I peered up at him through wet eyelashes. “I’m…not?”
    He shook his head. “That’s what you don’t get. This isn’t about me or you. You’re opposed to our parents possibly getting serious.” He rolled his shoulder. “I’m not. We’re just talking things out.”
    “Oh.” But…but…how could he not be opposed?
    One corner of his mouth curved up into a smile. “If you say your hissy fit isn’t about my mom, I believe you. Especially after that uniform pants and slut heels deal, which I will hold you to.” His eyes gleamed as he, no doubt, pictured it. “But I had to tell you how I was feeling. It’s what couples do.”
    “I know. But we’re fine?”
    “Yes. Although you should cut your dad some slack in the relationship department. Everyone deserves someone.”
    “I get that.” I cast him another glance, not wanting to be needy, but I had to be totally sure. “We’re okay, though? I mean, really okay?”
    He nodded. “You have some whacked-out worries, no doubt. But where else am I going to find a girl as adorably snarky and low maintenance as you?”
    Relief washed through me, followed by the rocky detritus of shame. “I’m so sorry.”
    “I am, too.”
    I slid my palms up his chest. “I love your mom, Dyl. She’s really cool.”
    “She is.” He tucked in his chin. “But?”
    “I just—” I bit the corner of my lip.
    “Tell me.”
    “My mom died a long time ago, and it’s always been just us guys. Well, and me. I’ve never really known my dad with a girlfriend. It’s…weird.”
    “Maybe he was waiting until you were older?”
    “Could be.” I considered that. “Anyway, it would be weird anyway, no matter who he picked. But it’s weirder because of us and the fact that the girlfriend in question is your mom. But not because I don’t like her or think she’s good enough. It’s because I…like you.”
    He kissed me on the forehead, then took my hand and led me toward the car. “I understand.”
    “Riiiiight.”
    “I do. I’m not as clueless as you think. But don’t stress so much. They’ve only been dating for a couple of months. I know my mother. Trust me, they’re not going to get married any time soon.”
    “H-how can you be so sure?”
    “After my parents’ awful divorce, Mom’s in no hurry to rush back into wifehood again. She’s happy the way things are.”
    Happy? Uh-oh. A new horrible thought seeped into my brain, and I stumbled to a stop.
    Dylan cocked his head to the side. “What now?”
    “W-what if they break up?” I wadded the neckline of my T-shirt in one fist and searched his face for reassurance. “What if they break up, Dyl, and your mom doesn’t want you to see me anymore because it’s awkward for her to—”
    “Lila!” he barked.
    I clamped my mouth shut.
    He shook his head, smiling like I was some freakish specimen he should put into a large jar with Formaldehyde for further scientific study and evaluation. “Enough with the negativity, okay? Can you stop thinking so much? Please?”
    Bewildered, I asked, “How can I just stop thinking?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. Pretend you’re a guy.”
    Made sense in a eerie kind of way. I know my slack-jawed brother, Luke the Puke, didn’t