My Best Friend’s Dad Novel – Janie and I have been best friends since she and her father moved into the house next door just before we both started sixth grade. I remember meeting her like it was yesterday. I was anxiously waiting to see who bought the house next door and as soon as I saw the rented moving truck back into the driveway, I ran outside to see who my new neighbors were.
I may or may not had been making it a point to sit near a front-facing window every day for hours for the last two weeks after the “Sold” sign went up. I hung behind a column on our front porch and watched as a tall, older man with short, salt and pepper hair got out of the driver’s side. Oh no, please don’t be boring senior citizens! But then my attention was diverted when a girl who looked to be about my age with long, blonde hair came running out from the other side of the truck hopping up and down and screaming “Hurry up, Dad, I have to pee!” “I know, you’ve only told me twenty times in the last five minutes! Here, Janie, catch!” her dad yelled back and tossed her the keys.
She took off into the house while her dad stretched his legs. He wasn’t as old as I thought he was at first. Don’t get me wrong, he was a lot older than me, but not anywhere near a grandpa. I leaned forward to get a better look, and the movement must have caught his eye because he turned and looked right at me. And that was the moment I fell in love with Janie’s dad. He had bright, blue eyes and when he smiled at me in greeting, he had laugh lines around his eyes and the most hot dimples that showed through the stubble on his face! I about fainted right then.
As he walked towards me, I could see his stomach muscles flex under his tight t-shirt. “Hi there, little lady. I’m John Shepherd and that crazy girl is my daughter Janie,” he said as he held out his hand. “Um, Piper?” I replied stupidly, and tentatively shook his hand. Afterwards, I’d cringe and think of all the witty things I could have said, but at the moment, that was all I could get out. I wonder if he realized I was staring at his lips. I was already imagining him leaning down to peck me and us rolling around in the yard undressed having wild monkey intercourse (whatever that was – I really didn’t understand intercourse back then but I’d heard the term before).
“So, your name is Piper?” he asked, and I nodded almost imperceptively. “Are you sure?” he inquired and just smiled patiently at me. “Uh…” I felt my face turn bright red but luckily, I was saved by Janie running up to us.