asked. “You’re going to say no to whatever I say.”
“I am willing to listen,” Nate said, working to keep his voice calm. “Because it’s a special occasion, I will consider suspending your grounding for one night. But I need to know where you’re going, who you’re going to be with and what you will be doing.” Maybe if he was reasonable and willing to compromise, Michael would be too.
For instance, if Nate said yes to Michael taking Shannon out, perhaps Michael would agree to buy and use a box of condoms.
Nate forced himself to unclench his teeth and relax his shoulders.
He also very much wanted his son to be more responsible than he had been. Nate had been used to doing whatever he wanted and having his grandfather bail him out of trouble. Consequences simply hadn’t been a part of Nate’s reality. Which was why he hadn’t paused for one second to think about a condom when Stacie Franklin—his high school sweetheart and Michael’s mother—had slipped off her panties in the backseat of his car.
He wanted Michael to understand consequences and being responsible. But he had no idea if he was handling this well. He’d never had to ground Michael before. The rebellions and the disrespect were new. Nate knew, on some level, that they were normal, but they’d started almost overnight and he was adjusting too. He also knew that his role model, his grandfather, would have never been in the running for Father of the Year, but Nate didn’t have a lot of other examples.
At least if Michael was grounded, he was safe.
Of course, grounding an eighteen-year-old was nearly impossible.
“I’m taking her out. Dad, you need to trust me.”
“I did. You messed up. Now you need to earn back my trust, Michael.”
“How can I do that if you never let me do anything?”
“How can I let you do anything when all I can think about is you skipping school to have unprotected sex in your bed in my house?”
“Is that what you’re upset about?” Michael demanded. “That we did it in your house? Which, by the way, I thought was also my house.”
“It’s the house you live in,” Nate said tightly. “But I believe I make the payments.”
“So that is what bothers you most?” Michael sounded amazed.
“No.” Though it did bother Nate that his son would be so brazen as to bring his young girlfriend to the house like that. “What bothers me is that you were irresponsible on so many levels—skipping school, having sex in the first place, having sex without a condom or any other protection. You’re going to be leaving home soon and I have to know that you’re able to make the right decisions.”
“Yes, I’ll be leaving home soon,” Michael repeated. “Thank god.” And he hung up.
Nate gritted his teeth and squeezed his phone tightly, resisting the urge to hurl it against the wall. Fine. He’d had his say. He’d expressed his concern. Michael was eighteen. Nate couldn’t babysit him.
Nate paced to his desk and tried to concentrate on his work messages, but his mind kept going to Michael. He was directly defying Nate. That had never happened before. Nate wasn’t sure what Michael expected to happen now. Did he think that Nate would respect his honesty and let him go? Did he think that Nate would realize it was pointless to try to curtail his legally-an-adult son’s activities? Right. Probably more the latter.
While it was true that he couldn’t send the cops to retrieve his son or anything, that didn’t mean he had to roll over and let this happen. Michael needed to understand that Nate was still in charge here and while he knew Michael had a lot going for him, the kid still needed guidance.
He needed to find Michael and talk to him.
After jerking his lab coat off and loosening his tie, Nate punched the button that would connect him with his receptionist.
“Shelby, I need Dr. Chapman to cover the rest of my patients or I need them rescheduled if he can’t see them.”
Chapman was a new