Daddy Issues

Part Three: Patrick's Dad

Saturday evening came quickly and I managed to get dressed in record time. I'm wearing the dress that Patrick suggested and as he drives his nice car down the streets of New York I attempt to fix my mascara. His eyes focus on the road with his right hand on my knee.

"So this event, what exactly is it?"

"It's family, friends and staff, basically," He answers me, "My dad is just going to make his big announcement and we're going to have drinks with finger foods, I think."

Sounds boring, but it is what it is. Normally what I consider a party is going to a place where there's music and dancing, not finger foods and business announcements. Patrick stops the car and takes the keys from the ignition, outside there's a man standing there waiting to take the car to underground parking.

I open the door, stepping onto the sidewalk as Patrick passes the man his key in exchange for a paper with a number on it for the return of the vehicle later. Patrick walks around the front of the car and takes my hand, intertwining our fingers as he leads me into the hotel.

I haven't come here much since meeting Patrick, my usual hang outs at the bar decreased slowly and eventually stopped all together. Patrick was understandably not interested in hanging out at his dad's hotel, everyone knew he was the owner's son so it isn't like he could really relax.

Everyone is dressed up beautifully, wearing fancy clothes and their hair looking flawless. I, on the other hand, wore a dark green dress that fell to my knees and my hair is pinned back into a nice ponytail. At least I thought my hair looked nice until I begin to compare to other's.

"Don't compare yourself to everyone," Patrick whispers to me, as though he read my mind, "These are people that think looks and money are everything, you're better than all of them."

He always seemed to know the right thing to say to make me feel better in an uncomfortable situation. The thing is, this is Patrick's lifestyle, too. He would easily fit in better than me and the differences between us is the only thing about our relationship that concerns me. I'm afraid that maybe, eventually, things just won't click like they are now - and things right now are amazing.

"Lets go find my dad," He suggests, "Before he makes his grand speech."

Patrick gently pulls me around the room, his head turning in each direction as he searches for his dad, who is no where to be seen. 

Patrick lets go of my hand and turns to me, "I'm going to go look in the other room for him, just wait here, okay?"

I watch as Patrick walks away and I turn to look for some beverages. There's a punch table not far away and I walk to it, grabbing a cup and filling it with some nice smelling punch. As I sip my drink, I see two girls looking at me and I manage a small smile, "Hello."

"I'm so sorry for staring," One says to me as she steps forward, "I just love your dress. May I ask where you bought it?"

I look down at my dress with a smile, happy to get a compliment. This is one of my favorite dresses, "Oh, I got it at Walmart."

The girl's face changes and she looks unsatisfied with my answer, trying not to laugh she shakes her head, "Never mind. The closer I get, the less flattering it looks."

She walks away with her friend and I see them whispering to each other, laughing among themselves. Ugh. People like this is why I cannot stand events like these, they're so stuck up. The insult barely phases me because I know their type, but at the same time I'm bothered with the upfront rude behavior.

I roll my eyes, turning around to see Patrick coming towards me, "Hey, I found him, he's talking with some coworkers. Come on."

He reaches for my hand again, taking me with him through the people and across the room. We walk towards a man who is standing back on, wearing a suit. His hair is dark, unlike Patrick's blonde hair. The man is tall and as we near him, I realize he's taller than Patrick is. Perhaps Patrick looks more like his mother.

"Hey, dad!" Patrick calls out to the man.

The man turns around, mid smile from the conversation he seemed to be having with his coworkers. We come face to face, my smile fading when I see that the man in front of me, Patrick's father, is Alex. The same Alex that I slept with a few months ago.

Alex's smile shakes a little before fading completely as he looks towards Patrick, "This is..."

"The girl I'm seeing, her name is Avery. She's from Portland," Patrick smiles, gripping my hand with excitement in his eyes. He's so cute, but I can't seem to focus on that right now, my mind is on the man in front of me. The man I slept with and I'm not dating his son.

"I uh..." I pause.

Alex clears his throat, "Nice to meet you, Avery. Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go and prepare my speech."

Without another word, Alex walks away and I turn to Patrick who is stunned, "I'm sorry. I'm terrible with meeting new people."

"He was such a prick!" Patrick rages, letting go of my hand and rubbing his forehead, "Ave, I'm sorry he acted like that. He's usually not a dick the first time someone meets him."

"It's fine, I'm sure he's just busy," I attempt to change the topic, wanting noting more than to pretend this didn't just happen, but it did.

Patrick is practically my boyfriend, we're really close and the fact that I slept with his dad will be a huge gamechanger. If Patrick even takes a moment to hear me out, he might very well never want to see me again. I'm not even sure if I should tell Patrick, a part of me wants to just hide and pretend this never even happened. 

But it did happen and I can't just break things off with Patrick, he's really all I have here in New York. At the same time, I'm not sure that telling him is a good idea either.

My mind drifts to the night Alex and I met, remembering the way I complained about the price of the rooms or that Brandon would usually let me drink for free. The entire time I had no idea that I was talking to the owner of the hotel which makes me feel like a complete asshole.

"I need to go to the washroom," I tell Patrick, "Can you tell me where it is?"

"Yeah, just go through that door on the right and it's straight across the hallway."

"Thanks, I'll be right back."

I rush away, wanting to get as far away from Patrick as I can right now because I feel guilty for what has just come to surface. I feel like I betrayed him even though I didn't know him at the time and now I feel as though I'm lying by keeping it to myself.

When I reach the door, I exit the room quickly. The door closes behind me and I take a deep breath, slowly inching across to the bathroom. I walk into the ladies room, standing in front of the mirror and glaring at myself, "Why do you always get yourself into these kinds of situations? You had something good going for you and you ruined it."

I'm so angry with myself, splashing water over my face and closing my eyes. As I try to pull myself together, I pat my face dry with a paper towel before walking out of the ladies room. When I enter the hallway I see that Alex is walking out of the lobby where everyone is located. His eyes lock on mine and I quickly turn to run back to the washroom when his voice stops me.

"Don't even think about it. We need to talk."