Chatoyant College Book 7: Upon What Soil

Chapter 3: Embarrassment

Corrie picked at the bagel in front of her, pulling out one of the raisins. She lifted it to her mouth and nibbled at it, still staring at her plate. It was quiet in the coffee shop, the loudest sound the hiss of the heavy rain hitting the roof and the sidewalk outside. The view was even distorted from rain running down the window.

She still felt uncomfortable sitting alone with her father, even though this was the second time he'd taken her out to eat. He sat across the small, round table from her, holding his cup of coffee and staring into it. Apparently he didn't have any idea what to say, either.

After a few minutes, the silence started to bother her more than talking, so she dragged up something to say, even while she was still staring out the window. "So I guess you don't have any romantic prospects, huh?"

He laughed, putting down his coffee. "Corrie, what kind of a question is that? You don't think your mom and I are going to get back together, do you?"

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, her embarrassment only growing. "No, I guess it's unlikely at this point. I guess I was more wondering if I'm ever likely to get any little brothers or sisters."

He laughed again. "No, I don't think so. I mean, unless you decide to count the pack as your family, though I think a few people would disagree with that."

Well, that wasn't helping. She picked another piece off the bagel. Did he have to remind her of how he'd been trying to get his werewolf pack to accept her? She wasn't a werewolf, so she was pretty sure it wasn't going to work, and from the one time she'd met any other pack members, they hadn't seemed to like her much. Besides, she wasn't sure she really wanted to be accepted by a werewolf pack. She had her own family and friends and they were plenty.

Not that she wanted to tell him that. She might be hurt that her father had gone most of her life without contacting her at all, but now that they'd met again, she didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize their tentative relationship. Anyway, he would start asking her why she didn't want to be part of the pack, she wouldn't have any good answers, and she'd just feel even more uncomfortable.

So she just let the silence stretch on again, taking careful sips from her mocha, until he spoke again. "Speaking of romance, what about you? Talked to that Byron boy recently?"

Oh, great. She wished she'd never brought up this topic. The mocha turned gritty in her mouth, and she swallowed it uncomfortably. "No. I don't need to, I mean, he made it pretty clear he didn't trust me. He might have been right about Leila but if he wants to get back together he's going to have to make the first move." She was surprised by how much she'd said and took a hasty bite of her bagel. Of course, it would be nice if Byron decided he wanted to get back together, even though she'd probably never take him back. If she wanted a date, she was sure she could find one easily.

"Well, good for you. You stick up for yourself. Don't do anything you don't want to do, especially if it's just some guy that wants you to do it." Her dad grinned. For some reason that made her even more embarrassed. Maybe it was just that he seemed proud of her, like a normal dad, when nothing about her relationship had ever been normal.

"Don't worry about that." She swirled her mocha around in her cup. "I've always been good at taking care of myself."

"That's my girl," he said. "And what about Paul?"

Corrie squirmed. She couldn't wait to get out of here all of a sudden, even though she'd been looking forward to this coffee. "Nothing's changed," she told him. "I still see him pretty often, but he still has to stay away from me. I just haven't figured out what to do with him. I guess I'm hoping he'll transfer to another school. But between schoolwork and everything else... I'm just too busy to worry about it." She looked up and into his eyes, disguised with dark contacts, hoping he'd get the hint.

He nodded. "Well, schoolwork is important. They give you a lot of work at that college?"

"Yeah. Professor Lal is really tough." Thinking about her magic class just made her feel worse. But at least now she had come up with an excuse. "Actually, I just remembered that I have a paper due tomorrow that's only half done..."

"Hey, now that's no good."

She shook her head. "I always get my work done in time, don't worry, I just think I'd better get back to it."

"Oh. Right." He looked down at his coffee, then pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'll take you back, then."