Here With You (A Laurel Heights Novel) - By Kate Perry Page 0,55

Jennifer?" She managed to say the name without gagging.

He shook his head. "In fact, when I told Jennifer what I was thinking, she yelled at me."

"You talked to her about me?" Rachel asked, not sure if she should be happy or angry.

"You're my world, Rach. Of course I talked about you." He cleared his throat. "I'd like you to meet her. I like her. I don't know where it'll go, but I don't want you to be excluded from my life."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll meet her. But I'm going to tell you if she's a loser."

"Fair enough." Her dad stuck out his hand and they shook on it. Then he got all parental again. "About this boy you snuck out with."

She shook her head. "It's not like that."

He raised his brow.

"Okay, I like him, but that's not what was going on that night." She took a deep breath and went for it. "I wrote a poem for Mom and wanted to give it to Griffin Chase."

"Griffin Chase, the singer?" Her dad frowned.

"Remember how Mom loved his music? I thought it'd be so great if he'd put the poem to music and sang it for Mom, and I found out he was going to be at that club. Aaron just helped me get in."

"You were kissing when I saw you, Rachel."

She nodded, mortified that she was discussing this with her dad. "That was it. The only time. I swear."

"You like him."

She sank further down into her chair. Maybe if she wished hard enough, an earthquake would happen and the floor would collapse and she'd fall through.

Her dad stared at her a long time, in complete silence. Then he shook his head. "I'm not sure I can deal with my daughter dating."

"Try having your dad date," she said under her breath.

He chuckled. Then he began to laugh, rich and deep from his belly.

Rachel hadn't heard him laugh like that since her mom had been alive. It made her smile.

"Okay, let's lay out the bullet points of our truce," he said when he stopped laughing. "One, you can't skip school any more. Two, you're grounded for the next two weeks. Sorry, but I have to lay down the law there."

"But we stay in San Francisco, and after I'm not grounded any longer, I can go out with Aaron sometimes."

Her dad sighed. "You being a teenager is going to kill me."

"He's nice, Dad," she said softly.

"Okay. Okay"—he held his hands out—"I'll deal if you promise not to be a brat to Jennifer."

"Fine." She leaned forward, hands braced on the table. "And I get to work part-time in the lingerie store on Sacramento Street. That's not negotiable either."

"Your grades have to come back up," her dad said, warning in his tone. "And we have to have dinner together, just you and me, once a week."

"Okay.”

They shook on it, and then he got up and hugged her. She squeezed him tight, burying her face in his chest.

He kissed her temple. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you, too, Dad."

"Dinner tonight?" he asked as he let go of her.

"Lobster mac and cheese?"

"You got it." He grinned. "I've got some work to go over. How about seven?"

"Okay." She had a few things to do, too. She ran up to her room and opened her laptop to Facebook. Opening a chat window, she hoped he was online.

He was.

Aaron Hawke: I thought you'd been sent to a work prison in Siberia.

Rachel Rosenbaum: Close. Dad was pissed.

Aaron Hawke: I'm sorry you got in trouble.

Rachel Rosenbaum: It was my fault, but except for my two-week jail sentence it's all good.

Aaron Hawke: We didn't get your poem to Griffin Chase.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm working on that, but that's not why I messaged you.

Aaron Hawke: You need help with chem homework?

Rachel Rosenbaum: Yes, but only if I can help you with English.

Aaron Hawke: I'll be a gentleman and not point out that was our original deal.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm rolling my eyes at you.

Aaron Hawke: I know.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm kind of hoping you'll go to a movie or something with me, too.

She waited, watching the screen for his reply. But when he didn't answer, she prodded him.

Rachel Rosenbaum: Well?

Aaron Hawke: I'm checking movie times.

Chapter Twenty-four

For the first time since she'd come to Laurel Heights, Rachel walked into school with her head high. For the first time since her mom died she felt...

Hopeful, she decided, smiling to herself. She hitched her bag on her shoulder and headed to her locker.

"Hey Rach!"

She turned as Lydia skidded to a stop