Matchplay by Dakota Madison

Then he whispered into my ear, “I hope I see you Friday, Sunshine.”
     
    ***
     
    I was so happy to see my dad when he arrived on campus early Friday evening. He looked tired. I knew he had worked all day and drove up right after he got off but I felt like there was more to it than that. Maybe he was lonely. He gave me a big hug as soon as he saw me.
    “I’ve missed you, Dad .”
    “Have you been having fun like you promised you would?”
    I nodded but he raised an unconvinced eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
    “I’m not lying .”
    That seemed to convince him— a little.  
    “We’ve even been invited to a party tonight,” I said as if to prove my point. 
    My dad raised an eyebrow. “Party, huh?”
    I nodded. “It’s at The Clubhouse. It’s one of the social clubs. I have to warn yo u, though. The guys are kind of—well—different.”
    “Different how?” my dad said suspiciously.
    I winced. I wasn’t sure exactly how much to reveal about the guys and their reputation. “The guys all come from very wealthy families. Most of them are a bit on the egotistical side.”
    My dad looked even more suspicious. “That doesn’t sound like the kind of people you’d be friends with.”
    “I know.” I glanced down at my feet trying to compose my thoughts. I sighed and then said, “There’s a guy that I like and he’s in The Clubhouse. He invited us to the party.”
    When I looked back up at my dad, he was grinning. “A guy, huh? I should have known. He’s not one of the egotistical ones, is he?”
    I didn’t want to lie to my dad but I also didn’t want him to have any negative preconceptions about Aaron either. “Well, sort of,” I admitted.
    My dad seemed to consider my words carefully. “Okay,” he said finally. “I’ll meet him and be the judge.”
     
    ***
     
    I put on the only dress I had brought with me to school. It was a just above the knee LBD, which I paired with black pumps. Not very original but I thought I looked presentable. When there was a knock at the door, I assumed it was my dad but when I opened it, I was surprised to see Lucas and his parents.
    Lucas’s jaw dropped slightly when he saw me. “You look beautiful” he muttered, seemingly without realizing the words had come out of his mouth. He continued staring at me.
    Then his mother stepped into the room. “Where’s Olivia?” she muttered impatiently.
    His father added. “We’ve got dinner reservations in fifteen minutes.”
    I hadn’t seen Olivia all day but I suspected she was probably with Marney. Of course, I didn’t want to drop that bit of information on her family, so instead I said, “I’m sorry. I haven’t seen her.”
    Lucas’s mom heaved a dramatic sigh. “My daughter is very good at keeping people waiting.”
    I shrugged. “I hope she gets here soon.”
    I slowly eased toward my door. “Well, I’ve got to meet my dad. He’ll be here any minute. I think I’ll go wait in the lobby.”
    Lucas was still standing in the threshold staring at me. “Excuse me,” I said to him hoping he would realize he was blocking my exit. Luckily, he took the hint and moved out of the way.
    “I hope you all have a great evening,” I said.
    Lucas’s mom gave a sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, it’s going great already,” she moaned.
    I scooted out the door and breathed a sigh of relief that dad had agreed to go to The Clubhouse and we didn’t have to spend the entire evening with Olivia and Lucas’s mom. I suddenly felt very sorry for my roommate and her brother. 
    I caught my dad in the lobby and we headed over to The Clubhouse. The building and front grounds were absolutely stunning and immaculate. It was just beginning to get dark and the house was illuminated by a single antique lamppost at the front entrance. The scene reminded me of The Empire of Light by René Magritte.
    When we entered, the interior was equally stunning, with dark hard wood floors and beautiful mahogany furniture. It definitely didn’t fit