“Business,” Austin and I sing out in chorus again, causing us both to chuckle. Austin has already finished prepping his pizza and slides it into the oven. I copy him with my pizza. It’s just spreading sauce on dough, then covering it with cheese, but I feel accomplished in my contribution to our meal.

“I’ll be entering an MBA program next fall, if I’m lucky enough to get another scholarship, that is.” Austin puts my pizza in with his before turning back toward my father with an easy confidence. I’ve always seen Austin as strong, but juxtaposed to my father, he’s both young and powerful.

My father has a way of making me feel small, in both stature and importance. I’m dwarfed in comparison, somehow perpetually the eight-year-old little girl who needs to learn not to interrupt the adults. But Austin commands the room with the simple way he carries himself. For the first time in my life, I see my father not as some unquestionable force, but as what he is. Just another man. It’s oddly empowering.

“I have no doubt, if you continue in your dedication to your studies, you will receive one,” my father acknowledges.

I gloat at the understated compliment.

Before long, the three of us are digging into our pizzas. It’s good. I’ve always been more of a deep-dish girl, but Austin’s simple thin crust is delicious.

“This is amazing!” I profess with a slight groan of delight. Even my father can’t deny it.

“Quite good indeed,” he adds, a roaring endorsement as far as my father is concerned.

“I’m glad you both enjoyed it.” Austin has a humble but satisfied smile. It’s beautiful on his handsome face and I desperately want to kiss him. Really kiss him, the kind of kiss that isn’t appropriate in front of my father. I bite my lip to resist the urge and Austin catches me. I don’t hear him laugh, but the shake of his shoulders tells me he’s holding one back.

I clear the plates in front of us after we finish eating, not believing the night has gone by so quickly. The three of us have made happy small talk all throughout dinner with my father and Austin casually chatting about business, both Austin’s classes and my father’s experiences. I don’t think they’ll be going out for beers any time soon, but it seems as if my father approves of Austin, at least as much as my father ever approves of anyone.

Austin is charming. His easy confidence never falters. Grown men are usually intimidated by my father, but not Austin. He’s discussing the benefits of a market economy, capital expenditures and managing operating expenses. He makes being sexy seem as easy as breathing.