My Dad's College Friends - Cassandra Dee Page 0,4

Roger just broke my heart and here I am aroused and attracted to a set of hot guys. Besides, this is all wishful thinking. If Roger didn’t want me, then there’s no way in hell guys as attractive as Ryan and Reese would want me. Besides, they’re my dad’s college friends. It would be totally inappropriate.

Shaking my head to break the trance, I make my way over to my dad. Stopping to give him a kiss on his bald head, I look around the table.

“Hi guys! Hopefully Daddy isn’t stealing all of your money tonight.” The men immediately begin ribbing each other about who’s winning this week’s poker game. Looking around at the table, I notice that as usual, Ryan has the most chips in front of him. Giggling a bit, I look at the group as I say, “From here, it looks like Ryan is on his way to cleaning you guys out.”

Ryan grins, those blue eyes flashing.

“See, Amelia knows a winner when she sees one. Maybe you’re my good luck charm, sweetheart.”

At this, Dad pipes up.

“If she’s going to bring anyone some luck, it’s going to be me, her wonderful, loving father. Right, Amelia?”

Laughing, I hold my hands up as I back away from the table.

“I think I’m going to stay out of this one. I just came over to say hi to you guys before heading upstairs.”

Dad cranes his head to look at me.

“What’s the rush? I saw the kitchen when I came in. It looks like you were making some of your famous brownies. Did you happen to save any for your old man?”

Glancing to the side to hide my pain, I smile tightly.

“Sorry Dad, but I’ll make you some tomorrow if you’d like.”

There’s a small hitch to my words, but I made it to the third step before my dad calls me back down. Slapping a smile back on my face, I poke my head out.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Are you crying?” Mike asks, bewilderment on his face. “Is it something I said?”

“Oh this. It’s nothing. You just make me so happy. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you for a father,” I lie. Seeing that he seems unsure, I continue quickly. “Dad, I think I’m going to head up and get ready to head to bed. You know, early day and all of that.” Of course, it’s only 7 p.m., but any excuse will do.

Waving once more, I smile again and run the rest of the way before locking my door behind me. Sinking down to the floor, I lean against my bedroom door as the sobs start again. This is without a doubt the worst day ever.

4

Ryan

Watching Amelia run up the stairs, I could tell that something was really wrong. She was lying about her tears being about her love for her dad. Not lying per se, but that wasn’t the reason why she looked haunted and fragile.

Looking at Reese, I could tell that he noticed the same thing, but there isn’t really anything we can do about it right now without raising anyone’s suspicions. Deciding to put our concerns aside, we tune back into the poker game.

The game goes a couple more rounds before I once again clean everyone out of their money. It’s like stealing candy from a baby. These guys haven’t improved throughout the years we’ve been playing together, and tonight is no different. Standing up to look at our group, I remark graciously, “Well, gentlemen, I thank you for your time. I’m sure Burger Heaven appreciates your contribution.”

Reece guffaws beside me.

“Hey asshole, Burger Heaven belongs to both of us, so I guess I didn’t lose after all.”

It’s true. Reece and I opened Burger Heaven ages ago. It took a while to get off the ground, but now we have a chain of restaurants famous for its fresh beef patties and delicious crispy fries. Even better, owning Burger Heaven is like owning a bank. It’s made us so rich that we literally have no idea what to do with our money.

But a lot of people don’t know exactly how wealthy we are, and that’s how we like it. We maintain relatively modest lifestyles, and still hang out with our friends from college for the occasional poker game. I merely shrug at Reese.

“We’ll bring burgers next week for everyone. On the house.”

The rest of the guys laugh and begin packing up to head home. It’s a good crew. We’ve been holding these weekly poker nights for years now, and