My face flamed red. I was embarrassed that Jordan had to witness this abject humiliation. I hung my head as though I were five years old again. I hated that I wasn't able to stand up for myself with him. But it was like he zapped any spine I had right out of me.

Jordan lifted our interlaced hands to his mouth and kissed the back of my knuckles. I blinked in shock at his overt display of affection in front of my parents. He put my hand back in my lap and crumbled up his napkin and put it on the table.

“Mr. Ardin, sir, I think you're being entirely unfair. Maysie works her ass off, at the same time she's in a sorority and has a full work load. She does ten times more than most college students. I think you need to recognize what she has done instead of telling her what she hasn't,” Jordan's voice was clipped and angry.

My mouth fell open. So did my mom's. But my dad clenched his teeth and straightened his shoulders. “Excuse me, young man. But who are you to tell me what I can say to my own daughter? And how dare you talk to me with so little respect!” my father hissed out.

Jordan looked down at me and his eyes softened. “You want to know who I am? I'm the guy who's crazy about your daughter. And when you can talk to Maysie with respect, then maybe you'll earn mine.” He leaned over and kissed me gently on the mouth. “I'm sorry, baby,” he whispered before getting to his feet.

“Mr. Ardin, I apologize that this didn't go as well as it could have. But I hope next time I see you, we can spend the time talking about how amazing your daughter is rather than tearing her down.” His eyes bore into my father's and not once did he back down. Damn, I loved him. He turned to my mother. “Mrs. Ardin, it was a pleasure.” Looking at me again, he smiled. “I'll call you later,” he said quietly. Then he picked up his helmet from under the table and left.

When Jordan was gone, my father sputtered and fumed. He went on and on about how disrespectful Jordan had been. My father didn't want me to have anything to do with him. That if that was the sort of person I chose to spend my time with, then I couldn't be trusted to make reasonable decisions and maybe college wasn't the place for me.

My mom had finally come to my defense and told my father to settle down. I was more than a little surprised by that. But I knew for all of his shocking exterior, Jordan had charmed my mother.

After lunch, I took my parents down town and they spent the afternoon going into the different shops. By the time we had to head over to the Chi Delta house, my father had simmered down and was his normal, unpleasant self.

My dad had hated every minute of being at the sorority, but had dialed down his outright distaste. I had dreaded going there. But all of the sisters were on their best behavior. Not one nasty look was lobbed my way and several of them made a point to speak to my parents. Gracie was her perky, wonderful self and my dad actually liked her. By the time we left, my father had three glasses of wine and a belly full of pulled pork and potato salad. So he was feeling less combative. When they dropped me back off at my apartment, we agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast. My dad patted my back and told me goodnight. Nothing more, nothing less. Though I was just thankful he hadn't used the opportunity to make any last personal digs.

My mom gave me a hug. “I like Jordan. I think you did well, Maysie,” she whispered quietly before pulling away. I couldn't help but grin.

“Thanks, Mom,” I whispered back. She kissed my cheek as I pulled back from her open window. I waved as they drove off. And despite the awfulness of the day I felt warm at the memory of Jordan telling my dad he was crazy about me. Yeah, I was one lucky gal.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Several weeks had passed since Parents' Weekend. Jordan had apologized profusely for being disrespectful to my father. But before I could let him say any more about it, I had kissed him soundly, letting him know that I had appreciated the disrespect he had dished out.

No one had ever stuck up for me like that with my parents. And I realized, without a doubt, that I was with the most amazing guy ever. Because he was all about me. And I was all about him. And damned if we weren't going to make this thing between us work.

Now it was another Saturday night and I was finally making it to one of Garrett's infamous parties. I was a little nervous. Garrett was definitely the wild one of the group and Jordan had regaled me of his after show exploits. He was probably the least good looking out of the four guys. Yet he apparently got more girls than any of them. I guess he had something going for him.

I hadn't been able to make Generation Rejects' show that evening because Layne had needed me to come in late to help unload some inventory. I had cut back on my hours considerably since school started, finding myself unable to juggle work and school very effectively. So any extra cash was a plus.

We had finished up around midnight and I had driven to the address Jordan had texted to me earlier. I found myself on the outskirts of Bakersville in a rundown area I wasn't familiar with. I finally found the house at the end of a long gravel driveway. It was a non-descript two story home that still had the 1960's German siding that was full of asbestos. Jordan had told me that Garrett's parents had been killed in a car crash when he was still in high school and had left him the house. Apparently, he had been in it ever since.

The place was heaving. Cars were along the driveway all the way down to the street. Other cars had driven right up onto the lawn. I could see a huge bonfire blazing in the back yard and people were hanging out on the porch.