If I Were Your Boyfriend (26 page)

  "No. Wesley isn't like that," I said. "He's more of a renegade with a bruised heart that is pure. Like mine. He's had some problems dealing with emotional abuse from his mom, as well as alcohol abuse, but he's doing much better now." I decided that I could trust Barbara and tell her everything.

  "Go on, I'm listening," she said. So I continued to tell everything I knew about Wesley. I even surprised myself and told her about the magic of our first kiss and she didn't scold me for it.

  I phoned Wesley late Saturday evening and asked him to come over for brunch. He was excited about the idea of seeing me again but wasn't too thrilled about meeting my father and stepmother.

  "I don't know about that one, Keysha," Wesley said nervously.

  "Why not?" I asked.

  "Because, what if they don't like me or think that I'm all wrong for you?" Wesley voiced his concerns.

  "It's okay. I had a really good and long talk with my stepmom and she knows everything," I said with both pride and confidence.

  "Everything?" Wesley questioned.

  "Well, she doesn't know that I spent all Saturday afternoon with you at the mall, but she knows about your struggles and your mom and how you're living with your dad now."

  "And she was cool with that?" Wesley asked, not fully believing me.

  "To my surprise, yes, she was. It's like my grandmother Katie told me. She said that Barbara and I have more in common than I think. Barbara even told me about this motorcycle bad boy she dated when she was eighteen. So trust me, compared to all of the sneaking around she was doing with him, you're tame. Besides, she said that she didn't want me to feel as if I had to sneak around. She wants to meet you."

  "Okay," Wesley said hesitantly.

  "Be here at my house by 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Oh, and wear the shirt I picked out for you," I said.

  "Okay, I'll see you then," he said, and hung up the phone.

sat down next to my dad, who was lounging around on the sofa down in the basement where the home theater and entertainment systems were. He was watching
The
Matrix,
which he'd rented for the weekend. He was at the point where the characters Neo and Trinity entered an office building, shot up all of the guards and blew up the elevator shaft all in an effort to save their friend Morpheus.

  "Dad, I have a question for you." My dad pressed Pause on the remote.

  "This is a really good movie," he said. "Have you seen it?"

  "Aah, yeah, Dad. It's been out for a while now," I answered.

  "You know that I don't go to the movies much. The girl at the video store said that I'd like this and she was right."

  "Well, just so that you know, they're making part—"

  "Don't tell me." He cut me off. "Don't tell me anything right now about it. I just want to finish it. So, what's going on?"

  "Remember how I was telling you about the girl I liked, named Keysha?"

  "Yes. The one that is kind of feisty and likes to read. Didn't she invite you over to lunch or something?" he asked.

  "Yeah, the lunch thing is today. I'm going to head over there but I'm not sure of what to expect. I mean, I've met the parents of other girls before, but I got a feeling this time things are going to be a little different."