The next morning Genna woke up to the wonderful thought that not only was Brendon officially her boyfriend, but he was in her own house. She walked out to the kitchen still in her camisole and long pajama pants to the sight of her dad drinking coffee and watching the news via the Internet. He was already dressed up for work, minus the suit jacket and his tie hung undone around his neck.
"Morning," he said as Genna took a seat next to him.
"Brendon and I slept together last night," Genna said, taking a biscuit off a tray and biting into it.
Stephen spilled coffee down his front. He coughed several times before saying, "What?"
"We slept together. Had sex," Genna said nonchalantly.
"Wait, wait, wait," Stephen said, his brow furrowed in concentration. "What happened to abstinence till marriage?" He looked at his shirt and sighed. "Follow me," he said. "But keep talking." He led them to his room, the master bedroom.
"Well I guess I never really understood your point of view because I'd never had to think about it seriously. But I realized with Brendon that it might be okay, you know?"
Stephen looked at a loss for words and he busied himself undoing his shirt instead. Genna leaned against the doorway. "That's okay, isn't it?" Genna asked.
He didn't answer for a second. "I… I don't know, Genavieve."
Now she knew he was upset. He rarely ever used her full name.
"Don't you think you could've waited? I'm still confused. Did he change your mind?"
"I knew you were going to say that," Genna said. "He didn't! I made the choice on my own, I promise. You're okay with it, though?"
"Well, no, actually. I'm not," Stephen said. Genna could hear a hint of anger in his voice.
"But I thought you were okay with premarital sex. Are you changing your mind, too?"
"No! It's just… well, I guess. I never really thought that you would… I don't know." He pulled out a new tie and fixed it under the collar of his new shirt. "You've only been dating for a day!"
"So you've changed your mind?" Genna asked.
"I just… I realize you think you know him, but do you really?"
"Yeah, I do!"
"Don't you think you should've waited, though? You've said over and over that you'd wait. That you would never rush into this."
"I can't believe you've changed your mind so quickly," Genna said, half amused.
"I never thought about it with you! You were always a safe bet because I always relied on the fact that you would be against it. I just… I took that for granted I guess." He gave Genna a significant look. "I'm not okay with it," he determined.
"Too late now," Genna said and she left the room with a triumphant smile. She waited for ten seconds before standing back inside the room and staring at her dad. He stared back with a sort of sad, disappointed look on his face. "Dad, I didn't actually sleep with him," Genna said.
"What?" Stephen's voice had jumped an octave higher.
"I didn't sleep with him. I just wanted to teach you a lesson. You've taught me so many, I thought I'd return the favor. I still believe what I believed yesterday and the day before."
"You're serious," Stephen said, relief washing over his face.
"Yeah. I'm gonna go get breakfast." Genna rushed out of the room, happy that her plan had worked so well.
Stephen joined her in the kitchen five minutes later. Brendon was now awake and Genna and he were talking idly about the news.
"I cannot believe you'd put your father through so much pain," Stephen said, now fully dressed, jacket and all.
"It was for a greater purpose," Genna said, not taking her eyes away from the TV.
"Whatever! That's one way to give your old man a heart attack."
"What'd you do?" Brendon asked, clearly confused.
"She told me you guys slept together," Stephen said, staring down Genna forcefully.
"Whoa, whoa, what?! I promise we didn't," Brendon half-pleaded with Stephen.
"Oh, I know. She just wanted to prove a point." Stephen rolled his eyes.
"I got him to admit he was wrong," Genna said, shrugging.
"Except that you could've created an enemy for me," Brendon pointed out. "I'm really sorry. I feel like I'm apologizing for my mentally ill sister or something."
"I'll live. It's me who should be apologizing for bringing her into the world, honestly," Stephen said. He pulled on a pair of gloves. "I'm off to work. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye, Daddy," Genna said with an innocent smile.
"Those acting skills should be taken away," Stephen said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Bye, Mr. Colbert," Brendon said.
"Oh God. Call me Stephen," Stephen said. "Makes me feel old when you call me Mr. Colbert."
"All right," Brendon said with a laugh. "Bye, Stephen."
He left the room and they heard the door open and close.
"I cannot believe you told him we slept together," Brendon said. "That's just cocky."
"Well, my plan worked! I can't say much more than that. It could've gone a lot worse. He could've found you instead and tried to strangle you or something. That would've been hard to explain."
"You're so funny," Brendon said sarcastically. "I really think you're…" His phone went off. "Sorry," he said. "It's Analeigh. Hello?" he answered the phone. "Yeah…. I stayed with Genavieve and her dad last night… It's not my place to act…. If you want…. Sure, here she is…." Brendon handed over his phone to Genavieve. He looked harassed.
"Hello?" Genavieve said, taking the phone.
"Hey, Gen!" Analeigh exclaimed. Genna honestly loved Analeigh. She was always so happy and talkative. They could literally talk for hours and they had before.
"Hey Ana," Genna said. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. I'm just finishing packing to fly up. But I really have a huge favor to ask you and you are fully capable of saying, 'No,' to this, but they messed up my flight itinerary and I'm now flying up tonight as opposed to three days from now. Brendon said that the dorms have no heat or electricity and I know it's asking a lot-."
"You can stay here," Genna interrupted.
"Really? Gen, I don't want you to just be saying that. Is it all right? And it's okay with your dad?"
"Absolutely, Ana. Really, it is. We've got three extra rooms, so you can pick. Please come up. Do you have something to write down my address on?"
Genna gave her the information and they said good-bye.
"I'm really sorry. She's so rude sometimes," Brendon said, taking back his phone.
Genna laughed. "She's your cousin. I think you have to hate her, right? Besides, I've not been able to talk to her since the end of last quarter."
"I can't stand being in the same school with her, let alone the same house," Brendon mumbled. "But I suppose if it makes you happy, I can try not to kill her."
"Thanks, hon. It means a lot." Genna kissed him on the cheek. "So what do you want to do today? Ana's not coming until like eight tonight."
"First, we walk Tiberius," Brendon said. They had decided to name the puppy "Tiberius." Genna swore it was only because she liked the name, but Brendon made fun of her anyway, calling her a Star Trek junkie.
