The Bar Stool

Who say's you'll make a home run?

The natural alarm clock my brain has set for me each day goes off first thing at ten a.m. Even when I try to fall back asleep to rid of my massive headache it doesn't come.

Carly and Bella are still asleep as I climb out of my sisters bed and head straight for the medicine cabinet in the kitchen where I find my dad cooking up breakfast.

I move around him, a calm silence filling the space around us as I reach for the ibuprofen and spill four in my palm.

"Did you have fun last night?" He asks flipping the french toast on the skillet.

"If you call countless rainbow shots and being dragged out by a mad man because he thinks I've had too much to drink fun...then yeah I had a blast." I gulp down my pills and the whole glass of water in hopes this will kill the pain.

"Let me guess, this Tanner guy right?" He turns to me, spatula in hand with a tight grip.

I sigh, my shoulders slumping. "Yes."

"What's his deal, you can't just let him run you like that Tayzley... have respect for yourself." His eyes roll, he turns away from me flipping the rest of the French toast on five plates. "Get everyone up breakfast is ready."

I get that my father is trying to protect me, but I'm almost twenty-two. I know what's right for me.

When I wake up my friends I'm not nice about it. I flip the lights on and off like a strobe light and horribly sing a made up wake up song.

"Please Tayzley whatever you do, don't quit your day job!" Bella groans, throwing the covers off her body.

"What time is it?" Carly groans as well. Her face still shoved against my pillow.

"Time for your lazy ass to move." I jump on the bed and slap her butt. "Up and at'em sunshine, breakfast is ready."

"I will murder you one of these days."

"Empty threats my friend." I move from the bed and grab her feet about to tug her out, but she kicks me away and moves our up the bed sending me a warning glare.

"You really love pushing buttons don't you?"

"Only yours Carly," I laugh, following her and Bella our into the kitchen. Carson must have smelt the food, because there is his piling extra food onto his plate.

"You smell like the bar." He complains, his nose scrunching upward.

"Thank you Carson, best observation you've made in months since you've had your face stuck in those damn videos games."

"I have you know that's my job you noob." He nudges my shoulder. "And its better money than you make and I'm still in high school."

I flip him off, half tempted to shove his ungodly amount of breakfast food in his face. "Go away." My annoyance running thin.

"You two need to quit arguing, its quite old." I hear my dad complain from his room but ignore him, sitting down at the dinner table, where my friends are silently nibbling at their food.

***

Me: so what the plan today... I'm slightly nervous, my stomach has been in knots since last night. I'm honestly surprised I ate my breakfast and then some this morning.

Tanner: be ready in about an hour. That's all I'm telling you.

It's not that I hate surprises. It's the fact that I'm meeting someone I'm sure is close to him. We aren't ready for that. We aren't even dating. Just a casual, hot steamy make out session every other day. Where he has tour feeling rip from the core of you then get sucked back inside to stay till he does it again.

The mixed signals are going to kill me.

A slow painful death.

After debating on what I should wear since I own nothing but the clothes I wear to work. I decide on an old pair of fitted jeans I had in the back of my closest and my favorite baggy light brown sweater.

I may look like a hobo in some ways, but I’m comfortable yet I look put together in a way that I think I am.

When the front door to my house creaks open and Tanner’s deep voice rings through my ears i want to slap him for just barging in without knocking.

“Manners? Do you have them?” I ask slinging my leather coat over my shoulders and down my arms. My mouth slightly falls when I take in the sight of him. Today he more dressed up and I suddenly get this feeling that i should have tried harder on finding something to wear.

Tanner being Tanner he isn’t wearing a coat. Yet, he’s wearing a dark grey t-shirt accompanied by a red and blue checkered flannel and dark dress slacks. It may seem like an odd combination, but if you were looking at him through my eyes you would think he’s some runway model with an incredible jaw line.

“Really only when it comes to you. The door was already open.”

“Who’s here Tayzley?” My fathers words sting my ears. s**t…

“We have to go…” I try to shove Tanner towards the door, but my dad steps in the livingroom his gray hair now combed to the side and his attire very presentable.

“You must be Tanner?” God f*****g damn it, I spoke too soon.

This is all way too soon.

The knots in my stomach twist and I feel sick as my dad greets Tanner with a handshake. Tanner’s features are neutral compared to mine. Horrified.

“I am and you must be…”He pauses. I never even mentioned my dads name. I’m going to be sick. “Eugene, you work as the manager at the Rent-to-Own place right?” I’m shocked. My eyes bulge from their sockets, my mouth surely on the ground.

“Yes, have you rented from us before?” Both their postures straight and forward, very business like, very professional. I can tell by the way my fathers eyes becomes softer that he already likes Tanner, but the thing is I don’t know how to react to this. I’ve never once in my twenty-one years had my dad meet a guy I’ve been talking to.

So I will just stand here, speechless.

“My sister has. She a very loyal and truthful customer of yours,”Tanner bloats. “For that I think I owe you guys something in return for being such a wonderful service to her.” What is even going on?

“And what’s that? Hopefully treating my oldest with the respect she deserves.” He c***s a brow at him.

Tanner laughs and my father joins in. “Of course, sir. But I say we must be heading out I’m taking her to meet someone special to me and we don’t want to be late or I will never hear the end of it.” His arm snakes around my waist, the pads of his fingers lightly digging into the flesh exposed there.

“Ah, well then I will leave you two to it. It was a pleasure meeting you Tanner.” They shakes hands once more.

“You too, sir.” My father leads us to the door before kicking us out as nicely as possible.

The breath that was holding in my lungs now becomes the solid crystal of the air outside. Its a fog in front of, but dissipates quickly. “What was that? And how did you know his name?” I pull from his grip walking to his truck, my back pressed against the door as I face him, arms cross over my chest.

“He’s delivered to us before, when I saw him I recognized him. Its not a big deal Tayzley,” he sighs.

“The hell it isn't! We aren't even in the position in whatever this is to be meeting each others parents.” I tell him, my styled up hair whipping in the winter wind. My frustration running thin.

“Did my little confession at the hospital, or last night not tell you enough what we are in this position.” he waves his hands between us, his words mocking me.

I huff the air from my lungs hard and turn around climbing into his truck, closing the door. I have no clue as to why I’m so frustrated with him. Maybe I am with myself for even letting this happen. I mean then again if he didn’t just walk inside maybe my dad and him wouldn’t have met.

“Why are you making a big out of something so little?” He asks when he climbs into the truck roaring it to life.

“I’m not..” But I am.

“You are Tayzley. If you must know we arent meeting my parents...They aren't really around for you to…” His words come out softly, quiet like he wasn’t ready to share that bit of information yet, but because of my freakout he had no other choice but to.

I want to say I’m sorry or attempt to apologize, but I know if I do it won’t be much help. So instead I resort to keeping my mouth closed until we arrive at our destination.

***

When we pull into a small driveway off of state road nine a little past my old middle school. I stretch my legs out once I open the door and jump down from the cab of the truck. Looking around, its honestly nothing new to me, nothing but white blankets of snow cover our never ending corn fields. Living in Groves, Indiana is nothing special unless your wanting to sightsee corn for hours.

The house the comes into my view is a small red brick house with black trimming around the windows. A blue Sunfire is parked in the open garage as Tanner leads us both through the door into the house. This door leads straight to the kitchen. In my hope to at least get a few deep breaths in before I meet anyone, but that doesn't happen. A woman stands at the sink cleaning off the last bit of dishes in the sink. Her long blonde hair is pulled up into a very messy bun. When she turns her smile mimics the one I've seen countless times from Tanner. This must be his sister.

“Oh wow I didn’t think you were coming this early, I must look a mess.”

“No better than me,” I laugh. “I look like I stole clothes from a hobo.” I joke.

“You look comfortable. You must be Tayzley. I'm Sicily Tanner's sister." She smiles. I expect a handshake but instead I get a warning hug from her petite body. "Gosh, you're so tall compared to me."

I laugh awkwardly. "Thanks, I think I get it from my mother."

"Are you two hungry? Emerson is asleep right now. I can whip us up a quick lunch before she wakes?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice. We'll be in my room just let us know when it's ready."

"It was nice meeting you Sicily." I thank her with a warm smile.

Tanner's grip around my wrist as he leads me through the small living room is tight and somewhat aggressive as he yanks me down the hallway.

What's his deal?

Entering the room at the end of the hall, I look around my eyes scanning the walls full of baseball trophies. His grip loosens as he shuts the door behind us.

I can feel his presence behind me, his hands moving up my arms, over my neck where his lips soon meet.

"You were in baseball? I was more of a football kind of gal. I had my eyes on the quarterback. I guess that explains the reason why I had no idea we even went to the same school." I tease, my nerves slowly calm as his lips move up my jaw.

I was nervous because I had no clue who I was meeting. But meeting his sister was nothing that I couldn't handle. And meeting her daughter will be cake, I love kids.

"Well now that I got you in my room for a minute how about I show you how I hit all the bases." His teeth nip at my ear, my nerve endings spark in a flame.

Fuck.

"Who's says you'll make a home run?" I close eyes listening to the ragged stir of both our breathing.

"Mmm, I'll make su--" before he can finish his sentence, the tiniest knock comes from behind his closed door. But the words that come from the child's mouth nearly has me choke on the air in my lungs.

"Daddy?"