Climb on My Stepfather (Ashley and Alex) novel Chapter 64

16: Tristan.

Something is wrong.

The first couple days of my business trip, Lia is her usual, incredible self when I call her at night or between meetings. Her voice is soft and inviting in my ear, she tells me she misses me, asks if I'm taking stress breaks. Late at night, she sends me mirror selfies from our hotel suite wearing nothing but a scrap of yellow material that vaguely resembles panties—and purrs to me over the speakerphone while I jack myself raw in the bathroom.

But at some point, her tone loses its usual brightness. She sounds almost sad? Although she won't tell me why so I can fix it. No amount of gifts sent to her doorstep seems to help. Finally, she stops answering my calls altogether.

I can't concentrate on a single thing. I can’t think about anything but her, replaying our last ten conversations, trying to figure out if I missed something. How the hell have I fucked this up so fast?

I miss her. Beyond belief. I'm sick without her.

I was an idiot to think I could spend this much time away from Lia and not go berserk.

For someone so worried about giving me a heart attack, she’s certainly got the damn thing firing on all cylinders in my chest. Good thing Eric almost never looks up from his phone or he would notice that I’m sweating bullets, even in the air conditioning of the charter club. As we wait to board my jet, my insides are in shreds. I've pulled some strings and sent a local cop to make sure Lia is safe and she’s fine. Swimming in her lavish pool, meeting friends for lunch, going to the gym and the beach. Usual summer activities. Nothing that would prevent her from answering my calls, though.

If I don’t hold her soon, I’m going to lose my head.

Unfortunately, a storm keeps us grounded half of Sunday night. By the time we're able to fly safely, it's Monday morning and my assistant calls to remind me of the round of golf I have schedule with John, Lia’s father, in just a few hours. There's no way I can make it. I'm tied in knots and my legs feel like lead—not the ideal condition for a friendly golf game.

After we land, I call John to cancel from the tarmac.

My plan is to take Eric home and track down Lia.

I need to understand what’s wrong and repair it. I need her to climb into my lap and whisper into my neck and make me feel whole. She’s the only one who does.

I'm in love with her.

Jesus.

I'm in love with this eighteen-year-old who's been coming to my house since middle school, who has transformed into a young adult. I’m in love with her unique perspective, the way she cares, her giggle, her touch, her spontaneity and optimism. She’s my little girl. She’s my...girlfriend. She’s mine. Why the hell has she cut me off?

John answers in my ear as I’m handing my luggage to our driver and climbing into the back of the limousine. “Hello, John—”

“I'm throwing the ol’ clubs into my trunk as we speak,” he says. “Our tee time at the club is eleven fifteen.”

“Yeah,” I sigh, rubbing my gritty eyes with my thumb and index finger. Eric slept on the flight, but I couldn't manage to close my eyes for a second.

“Listen, about our game—”

“Bring Eric along, if you can. Lia is going to be there later on. They can hang out at the pool while we hit some balls.”

My mouth snaps shut on the news that I can’t make it.

Lia is going to be at the country club.

My entire objective today is to get her in front of me. To demand to know what I’ve done and how I can make it up to her. If the conversation has to happen at the country club, so be it. I don’t care who knows about us anymore. In fact, I’m going to tell her father face to face. There will be some outrage and gossiping and a tough reaction from Eric, but Lia is more than worth it. I'm going to have her in my life forever. The sooner people start getting used to seeing this old ogre with his beautiful, young angel, the better.

I'm in love with this girl. Real, heart-rending love that I've never experienced before—and I’m not willing to let her go.

With Eric’s agreement, we land and go straight to the club.

I'm like a caged animal as soon as we're dropped off at the entrance, an attendant bustling around me, informing me they've coordinated with my housekeeper to have my golf clubs and attire brought to the club and have arranged it all in the locker room. Eric quickly throws on a pair of trunks and heads to the pool, throwing me a wave. Instead of going in the direction of the course, I follow behind Eric and—from a distance—look for Lia at the pool, but I don’t see her. Is she changing? Or avoiding me?