Ordinary World // Duran Duran

I'm worth it? Am I? Because if what I think he's going to have to go through to be with me is what he actually has to go through to be with me...I wonder.

"You don't believe me," he says. Before I can say anything in response, our order is up. "Hold that thought." Jeff stands up. "Wait a second. Don't hold that thought. Get rid of it. Because it's wrong." He winks and walks away to get the pizza.

I take a deep breath and try not to hyperventilate. My dad is great. At least I think so. But having a football coach as a dad has intimidated literally everyone else I know. Misty gets jittery around him and she's the most confident person in my life. He carries a presence, authority or something. I know deep down he's a teddy bear, but no one else sees that side of him.

Jeff returns with the pizza just before true panic sets in.

"I think you need some food if we're going to figure this out. You look a little faint."

"Ha!" I laugh but nothing is funny about this.

"Wow, you're really freaking out on me. Shouldn't I be the one flipping over this? He's my coach, you're his daughter. But I'm totally chill and you're..."

"Having an episode?"

Jeff smiles. "Something like that."

I grab a slice of pizza and slide it onto my plate. Before I say more, I take a few bites, sucking in air as I do because it's still scorching hot. I cool down with a gulp of soda, wipe my mouth with a napkin and focus my gaze back on Jeff. Who is now smirking.

"Ah, there's the look of determination I was waiting for," he says through the smirk.

"I'd call this realism over determination. I think you might be a bit deluded."

Both of his hands cover mine. "Or it's a healthy dose of optimism."

"More like denial. Which is never healthy."

"If it allows a person to face an obstacle and overcome it, maybe the denial can be a little healthy."

"No one will ever agree with that sentiment. Denial by definition implies that whatever it is that you refuse to face is a negative circumstance. Avoidance only creates baggage."

"Now this I agree with." Jeff pulls some money out of his wallet and throws it on the table. Then he walks to the counter where a guy hands him a box. I watch, dumbfounded, as Jeff packs the remaining pizza into the box. When he's done, he smiles at me.

"Let's go."

"Was I that convincing?" I knew this would kill the date, but I'm still surprised at how swiftly it ended.

"You could put it that way, if you want. Or-"

"What's with you always flipping the perspective?" I cut him off before he could give me an alternative.

This just causes Jeff to put his arm around my shoulder.

"Or you could say that you have spurred me into action."

"What kind of action?" I'm almost afraid to ask.

"The kind that gets results."

"Okay, enough with the skirting around the truth. Spill it, Miller." I use his last name the way my dad does thinking that maybe he'll listen.

Jeff squeezes me into him as we walk. "We are taking a trip to talk to your dad."

"NOW?"

"No time like the present."

"But...but...but-"

"I wasn't kidding when I said you're worth it, Alison. You are. And if I have to go talk to your dad face to face for you to relax and see where things go between us, I have no problem doing so."

"Oh crap." I feel a little faint again.

Jeff stops, puts the pizza box on a bench near us and turns me to face him.

"Do you not want to date me?" His demeanor and voice are calm, but I detect just a hint of worry.

My reaction to him has been the same since the instant I saw him. Attraction, desire, lust. But over the week of talking to him, finding the little things we share and even the differences between us, I can't deny that I really do want to date him. And for more than just the lust. Although that's still strong.

"I do."

"Is your dad's reaction the only thing holding you back?"

I straighten my spine, digging for the determination that Jeff is putting out there.

"Basically, yes. He's never made it easy for me."

"Has any other guy ever tried?"

I look down. "No."

"Asked you out?"

"No."

"To dance? To dinner? To hang? To fucking snapchat?"

I shake my head.

"Fuck. No wonder."

I look up again to find him looking in the distance.

"No wonder, what?"

Then Jeff shoots me with those eyes, the ones that I knew I'd say yes to anything for. "No wonder you have no confidence in me. No guy has ever proven his worth."

Jeff's brows drop, his mouth presses into a thin line and he grabs my hand before reaching his other hand to the pizza box.

"Ali, I'm about to prove all of those other guys wrong."

The steel in his voice tells me he just might do that after all.

***

Holy crap, this is really happening.

I direct Jeff to my dad's house, the house I grew up in from the age of 8 until I graduated high school, a small craftsman style house in a newer area of Fallbrook. Movies always seem to show football coaches living in luxury. My dad doesn't coach at a Pac 10 school or anything like that. He makes a good living, but no one gets rich coaching mediocre college ball. He's made improvements in the performance of the team over the years and they rank pretty well, just never at the top.

Jeff pulls into the driveway right behind my dad's car. Which means he's home. I was kind of hoping he'd gone to the store. But dad tends to hang at home a lot right before the season starts. We both get out at the same time. Jeff keeps trying to make me wait for him to come around and open the door for me but who's got time for that? I just want to get this fiasco over with.

He take me by the hand, winks and walks by my side to the door. I have a key, but we knock anyway. Something about this whole scenario feels like I'm visiting or intruding. I don't even know anymore. My brain is short circuiting at this point.

The door swings open, my dad standing on the other side of the threshold. He sees me first, a wide smile on his face. Then he turns his attention to Jeff. I notice the recognition in his eyes, and then the confusion.

"Hey, Ali. Jeff. You two know each other?" As he finishes asking his eyes zero in on our clasped hands. I brace for impact. But it never comes.

Dad steps aside, holding the door open. "Come in. I was just finishing up dinner, but you're welcome to some if you'd like. Baked salmon."

"No thank you, Coach. We have some pizza in the car."

"Well, bring it on in. I have a feeling you might be here a while."

Gulp. His tone doesn't give away any hints but I'm about to pass out, so it doesn't really matter what he's thinking.

"Sure. I'll go grab it." Jeff gives my hand a squeeze and returns to the car to get our food. I wait awkwardly at the door while my dad has already walked back to the kitchen.

When Jeff returns with the pizza, he once again takes me by the hand. This time, however, he leans in and kisses my cheek.

"Relax. We've got this. Your dad isn't even that scary."

"My dad is six five, two hundred seventy-five pounds of muscle and at his age can still run a twelve-minute mile." What I don't say is that he's also on high blood pressure meds and takes about four hundred different types of vitamins for energy and his immune system.

"I like a challenge." Jeff pulls me into the house and somehow finds the kitchen without my help. Well, the house isn't that hard to navigate. We aren't rich enough to have a house someone can get lost in.

Jeff puts the pizza on the table and the two of us grab a seat. My dad is doing dishes. I don't know if we wait for him to finish and sit with us or just jump right in.

"Sir, I want to date your daughter."

Okay. Looks like we're just jumping right in.

"I gathered that when I opened the door." He gives me a side glance that asks why I didn't tell him sooner.

Denial. That's why. I never came out and asked Jeff where he played ball so I wouldn't have to have this very conversation.

"How did you two meet? Alison doesn't go to Fallbrook U. and from what I recall, you didn't go to Miller High with her."

"No Coach. I went to Jefferson. We met at the Salt Creek Music Festival last weekend. I was there with Micah."

"Hm. Picking up girls at a concert?"

I gulp. Again. This doesn't seem to be going well.

"No, sir. Alison literally tripped and I caught her before she fell. Then we started talking and, well, that's all it took." Jeff runs a hand through his hair. I can't imagine how uncomfortable he is having this conversation.

Dad looks my way. "Is this the guy you stayed overnight with?"

Oh shit. "Yeah. He and Micah had a huge cabin. Four bedrooms. Misty and I shared one and everyone else had separate rooms."

"A cabin? That's quite pricey. You foot that bill?"

Jeff sits up straighter. "Micah's uncle owns the resort, so we got a good deal. I covered my share."

"Dad, back off." I've had about enough. This interrogation isn't fair. Jeff hasn't done a thing wrong and Dad is treating him like a criminal. Or a pervert.

"Coach," Jeff stands up and takes two steps closer to him, "I know your concern is that Alison be treated well. That's all I intend to do. I'm not a player or a party boy. I don't hook up or have a string of girls in my past. I like your daughter and want to get to know her better. The best way to do that is date her. That's why I'm here, to let you know my intentions."

My dad has his arms crossed now, giving Jeff his attention while still looking intimidating as hell. I want to scream and grab Jeff before running out the door. I don't know why he thought this would work.

"I know you're a good guy, Jeff. I don't have any problem with you dating Alison."

Wait. What? My mouth drops open, but Jeff looks cool as a cucumber.

"The bigger concern is the rest of the team."

"Coach?" And now Jeff is as confused as I feel.

"When it gets out that you're dating my daughter, everything you do on the field and every decision I make about your play time will be scrutinized. Players will have opinions. The other coaches will second guess me if I feel you need more playing time, wondering if I'm seeing your performance objectively. Everyone will have thoughts. Even the fans. The other parents. Officials for our division. It will get out and these things are real concerns."

"Oh." Jeff sits down next to me. "That never crossed my mind."

"Dad, if that's why you don't want me to date Jeff, what the hell was going on all through high school that guys never looked my way?"

My dad chuckles. "High school boys are a different breed, Ali baby."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Miller boys aren't worth your attention."

Jeff looks at me with a told-ya-so face.

My dad turns back to putting dishes away as he speaks. "My request is for you to keep this between the three of us for the time being."

I immediately hate this idea. It feels like I'd be a dirty little secret and I can't believe my own father would suggest it. Jeff speaks up before I can.

"I won't hide our relationship, Coach. With all due respect, it's not fair to Alison. What kind of message does that send?"

"No message. That's the point. Casually dating is one thing, but if you decide the two of you are more serious, by all means go public. If you choose. But trust me when I say that all of our lives will be under the microscope if everyone knows we are all connected. Why put that strain on things this early?"

"Dad, it feels like you're saying we're temporary." I can't hide the hurt in my voice. I feel like he's bet against us before we've even had a chance to begin.

My dad dries his hands and comes to sit next to me at the table. "That's not what I mean at all." His large hand engulfs mine.

"I know how fragile relationships are at the start. Your mother and I had so much to overcome at the beginning I wondered if we'd make it. I guess I don't want you two to have to deal with second guessing and outside interference before you have the strength to handle what's thrown at you." He looks over to Jeff. "Do you really feel ready for the questions, the accusations, the lack of trust your teammates will start feeling toward you? Because you're just starting with them as well. That bond hasn't grown deep enough for them to know your character. I see it, but I'm a grown man with decades of experience watching college athletes. I recognize a jackass when I see one, and you ain't it. I see a man with depth, quality of soul. I'm telling you to keep things private for a while because I do believe in you. I'd like you to have a fair shot to see where it goes."

Jeff looks over at me, face full of contemplation and confusion. I guess my dad has a point. Things could be bad for Jeff if we date publicly.

"I don't want to do anything that makes Alison uncomfortable," he says.

Me. He's more concerned about me than about what might happen to him with his team.

"I think we should take things one step at a time. We can keep things under the radar. For now." It's all just temporary while getting to know each other. I guess none of this is really a big deal, but it could make life a challenge for Jeff if we move too fast.

"We'll talk about it." Jeff's eyes haven't left mine. I can sense him evaluating my reaction.

"Good enough for me," my dad says. "I've got some game tape to review before practice tomorrow. Jeff, I'll see you there."

"Of course, Coach."

Jeff and I finish off our pizza keeping the conversation on lighter topics. What a strange first date. I'm not sure if his plan to reassure me worked or backfired. But at least my dad didn't scare him off.

Actually, I guess that remains to be seen.

This is one of those chapters that had so much momentum I was able to write really fluidly. I loved the date banter/awkwardness at the beginning. The way Jeff faced her dad was very on point for him. I'm not totally happy with how that conversation went. I feel like it didn't take the turns I had envisioned. If you've read All There Is, you may have some ideas or guesses about where this is headed. I can tell you right now, YOU CAN'T EVEN GUESS. I'm willing to bet you will be taken by surprise.

Anyway, music. As I said last week, the playlist bites. I've been adding and deleting songs constantly as the mood hits me. I have to be able to put the thing on shuffle and not cringe when a song comes on. That's not usually how I plot with music but for the current stories I'm writing (this one and Broken Promises) it has been really helpful. So far I cringe with this playlist constantly.

This song, however, is not cringy to me so I kept it. And Alison does not live in an ordinary college co-ed world.

If I haven't said so recently, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!!

ALSO - If you've read Inevitable and Unexpected, keep your eye open for another story in that world sometime in late spring as we finish Broken Promises and all of the roll out of its release.

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Thanks for being the best part of my Fridays! I love hearing from you guys ❤️