Just as the vibe in the living room was getting heavier between the two guys, Katie and her mom came out of the kitchen.
"Dad! Since when do you smoke?" Katie said, totally shocked.
Katie's dad jumped a little, quickly stubbed out the cigarette, and tried to play it off. "Smoking's a bad habit. I was just... critiquing it."
As a wildlife biologist, Katie's dad didn't actually smoke at all. That pack was purely a prop he'd pulled out to slap a "bad boy" label on Mike.
Looked like his little scheme had flopped.
[Biology Experience +100]
Mike casually hooked his fingers and snagged the glowing orb that dropped from Katie's dad.
The guy was now wearing this total daughter-obsessed grin—completely different from the cold vibe he'd been giving off earlier.
"You can explain that one to Mom," Katie said, slipping past him to plop down right next to Mike.
She had no clue what had gone down out here, but from Mike's face, she could tell the guy time hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows.
Katie's mom shot her husband a warning glare, then set the sliced beef on the table and warmly called Mike to dig in.
Thanks to Katie's mom smoothing things over, the dinner table vibe slowly thawed out.
Before long, she was chatting about their family's time living in Africa.
With his new beginner-level biology knowledge, Mike could actually chime in here and there, holding his own with this biology expert.
Katie's dad was a little surprised at how much Mike knew, and it softened his opinion of the kid a bit.
By the end of the meal, things felt a lot warmer between Mike and the family.
After clearing the dishes, while her mom went to brew some tea, Katie jumped in. "Mom, you guys go relax. I've got this."
She was thinking back to Janice's advice—trying to carve out some alone time with Mike.
Catching that hopeful look in her daughter's eyes, Katie's mom totally got it.
She'd been young once too.
Plus, she was pretty happy with a handsome guy like Mike.
"Alright. Since it's Mike's first time here, why don't you show him our collection?" Mom smiled, about to drag her husband off to give them space.
"I haven't finished my newspaper yet," Dad said, grabbing the paper like he was planning to camp out in the living room.
Mom knew exactly what he was up to—keeping an eye on Mike. She turned and gave him the look.
"Fine, I'll read it in the bedroom." Under his wife's glare, Dad got up. On his way out, he still added to Katie, "Sweetie, if anything bothers you, make sure you tell Daddy."
Once he got dragged back to the bedroom, Dad's attitude flipped again. He paced around, grumbling. "That punk's got pretty-boy looks—definitely no good..."
"Calm down," Mom said, pushing him into a chair. "I think Mike's a good kid. Nothing bad's gonna happen..."
...
Back in the living room, once the parents were gone, Katie suddenly got all shy.
Remembering Janice's plan, she asked softly, "Mike, you want something to drink? Tea or juice?"
"Thanks, I'm good," Mike said with a smile, sitting across from her.
"Ugh..." Step one already stalled—Katie felt a little deflated. Then she suggested, "How about I show you my parents' collection instead?"
"Katie," Mike said gently, giving her that warm look, trying to pop the bubble between them. "Forget the collection—don't you have something you wanna say to me?"
Normally Mike wouldn't push like this, but after her dad's subtle (and not-so-subtle) jabs, he had a little rebellious fire going. Plus, Katie looked stunning tonight—her feelings were written all over her face. How could he miss it?
Being understanding is part of being a gentleman, after all.
Katie gazed into Mike's captivating eyes and felt her strength melt away, like she was floating on a cloud.
Just as the air turned flirty and pink bubbles practically filled the room, a loud coughing fit blasted from nearby.
Turned out Dad couldn't relax and had snuck back into the living room.
Damn, slipped up, Mike thought, the romantic mood totally gone.
Katie got caught red-handed by her dad and felt awkward too. But seeing Mike pull back a little, her frustration won out.
She'd prepped for this forever just to get closer to him—and now, right at the key moment, Dad ruined it all.
"What are you doing here?" Teenage Katie snapped, fire in her voice.
Dad caved under her angry glare. "Just... grabbing some fruit to wash. You guys want any?"
Facing her deadpan stare, he knew his excuse sucked and could only flash an awkward, pleading grin.
Like the old saying goes: everything has its match.
For the rest of the evening, Dad kept popping up in front of Mike, barely even hiding that he was watching.
Feeling those eyes on him the whole time, Mike got super uncomfortable. After grabbing a few orbs off Katie, he told her it was time to head out.
Watching Mike leave, Katie's energy just drained away. Clearly, in her book, this family visit had been a flop.
"Happy now?" She whipped around to glare at her dad, who was pretending to sip water but looked a little smug.
"That kid got cold feet and left on his own—what's that got to do with me?" Dad tried to spin it, then warned her, "Katie, listen—stay away from pretty boys like that. None of them have good intentions..."
He kept badmouthing Mike, but he didn't notice his daughter wasn't hearing a word of it.
"You're the one with bad intentions!" Katie yelled, hurt, then stormed to her room and slammed the door with a bang.
Dad set down his glass, stood there stunned for a second, then remembered her teary eyes as she left. He sighed and started toward her room to talk.
"Let her cool off for a bit," Mom said, appearing in the living room and stopping him.
Dad, already stressed, couldn't hold back when he saw his wife. "That kid's clearly up to no good—how come I'm the bad guy here?"
"I told you to stay out of her business. You can't keep her tied to you forever," Mom said, shaking her head.
Thinking about how different Katie acted around Mike, Dad realized his little girl had really grown up. Accepting that hit him hard—he slumped into a chair, bummed out.
Meanwhile, the second Mike got home, Meemaw caught him in the living room with her drink.
"What's up, big-time Romeo? How come you're back so early?" Meemaw could tell he wasn't in a great mood and teased him about it.
"It's nothing," Mike shook his head, not wanting to get into it.
Then he sat across from her, poured himself a shot of vodka, and changed the subject. "What about you guys? Anything fun happen today?"
Mike knew wherever little Sheldon was, something wild was bound to go down.
Right now, Sheldon was the only one who could drop orbs for his main Intelligence stat. Getting to know the kid better would make it easier to "shear the sheep" later.
Meemaw, happy to have a drinking buddy, was glad to fill him in on how little Sheldon had debated Pastor Jeff at church.
In the end, she even called out the pastor for bullying a kid with grown-up arguments.