“Hey,” I say, casting a side-glance at my father. “Before you say anything, you need to know that you’re on speaker and one of my dads is in the room.”

“One?”

“I have two,” I say. “They’re gays who want to repopulate the Earth with more of their kind. I think Pops is pissed that I ended up straight.”

I almost expect him to hang up after that. I think anyone else would, since it’s my stupid idea of a joke. But Miles just laughs. It’s not very loud, I guess because he might be half-asleep. The sun is barely up, so he must be.

“I thought you were exploring?” Pops asks. “Was that a lie?”

“Pops,” I hiss. “Really?”

I haven’t even told my friends about my exploring. Miles doesn’t need to hear about it, especially not from my father.

“Hi, uh, Mr. Hampton? Or Mr. Garcia?”

“Hampton. Garcia is a doctor,” Pops says, using his teacher voice. I shoot him a look. He never talks like that around my friends, and Miles is one of them now. “What’s up? Is that what you kids say these days?”

I facepalm.

“You work in a school,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “You know how we speak. God, I’m sorry, Miles. He’s—a big goof. It’s really embarrassing.”

“This is what happens when you call someone before the sun is fully up,” Pops says, leaning close to me. “Miilless.”

“Oh G—”

“Gosh?” Pops chides. He’s too close to my side. I need my space.

“Hey, Miles,” I say, sliding away from my father. “Maybe you can just text me?”

“I mean, I already have you now, so it’s fine,” he says. He doesn’t even sound bothered, which is definitely different. I’m more bothered by the man, and I live with him. “I just want to know if you’re doing anything later.”

My stomach drops like I’m at the top of a roller coaster. Pops raises his eyebrows at me, but I try to ignore him. He’s worse than Claudia and Lydia combined.

“Uh, I don’t think so,” I say. “But I probably can’t hang out. I think I have a family thing to do. Or something.”

I stick my lower lip out at Pops. He understands everything; he should be able to understand this. I’m getting too close to Miles—first it was kissing, then watching musicals, and now dates? After dates comes more kissing, which leads to sex. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. I’m not ready for this to shift from something light and fun to something that could possibly make me feel like shit.

“Actually, that family thing isn’t until much later,” Pops says, nudging me. “Much, much later. You two have been talking all night, after all. Go have some fun.”