My name is Alex. I’m twenty-five, got a decent job at a marketing firm downtown, and for the last six months I’ve been seeing Sarah. She’s pretty, laughs easy, and kisses like she means it. But something always feels off. Like I’m going through the motions. I tell myself it’s just how relationships get after a while. Nothing serious.
Then one Saturday she drags me to her dad’s place for a backyard barbecue. “You’ll love my dad,” she says, squeezing my hand as we pull up to the big house on the edge of town. “He’s old school but cool. Just don’t talk politics.”
The place smells like charcoal and fresh-cut grass. David—her dad—stands at the grill, flipping burgers. He’s forty-eight but looks like he could still bench twice my weight. Tall, broad shoulders from years running his own constru
