Epilogue
Evan
Nate said there are never any spectators in the stands, but this is regionals, and people’s parents have come out in their nice clothes to watch their kids play tennis under the sun.
Ma and Stacie are sitting next to me in the stands, ready to cheer Nate’s team on.
I see Nate’s Ma and stepdad walk onto the court, stopping to say something to his coach. His stepdad shakes the guy’s hand before saying something to Nate.
Nate smiles and nods. Fuck, he looks good in his fancy-ass, Ivy League tennis clothes.
I’m not even embarrassed about having a thing for frat boys anymore—scratch that—having a thing for a frat boy.
My frat boy. He’s wearing some off-duty polo with the college tennis logo and a pair of beige chinos with his tennis shoes.
He might not be able to play for the rest of this season, but they still expect him to represent the school.
He is still a part of this team after all.
And he wants to be here to support his friends.
Ben looks up into the stands and waves at us.
Stacie waves back with the little Princeton flag Ma bought her at the college store.
When we were in there, Stacie got talking to the girl working in the store about athletics programs, and now she’s thinking about applying for a hockey scholarship here.
I still don’t like the idea of her playing that crazy dangerous sport, but if it gets her to Princeton? Yeah, maybe I could get behind it.
I’ve been brushing up on tennis rules over the past few weeks, watching matches with Nate of his favorite players.
I now know the names of at least three famous tennis players—though I’m not promising I can pronounce them all.
The doubles stuff is what I’m shakiest on, but I at least understand when the ball goes over the net and when it’s completely out.
I met Priestley and Nate’s gorgeous ex-girlfriend Mira at a sorority party a few weeks ago (yeah, a fucking sorority party!).
I’d expected them to be dicks, but they actually talked to me like I could be a student here.
Not the way I expected. Mira didn’t even seem that shocked that her ex has a boyfriend now.
Like Nate said, she was really fucking nice.
She even asked me about my electrician course like I was taking it at the same fancy Ivy League school as these guys.
These people live in a different world to the one I’m used to, and that’s a good thing.
I would rather be a visitor in this world than drag Nate into one where he gets hurt.
Even if it takes me a while to figure out how things work here. I’ll do it—for him.
Nate sits between his parents and my family, giving my hand a squeeze.
His wrist only healed recently, and his cast has been off less than a week.
You can still see the skin color difference on that part of his arm.
I fucking hate that he got hurt because of me.
And I don’t want it to affect the rest of his life.
No matter how many times he assures me his wrist is gonna heal by next season, I’ll never stop beating myself up over it.
Ben and Priestley are playing the double’s point together, and even for a novice like myself, I can see they’re hot shit.
I lean over and whisper in Nate’s ear. “Hey, how come you never told me how good Ben is?”
He shrugs. “Maybe I worried you’d run off with him.”
“Yeah, right. Because it’s your tennis prowess I fell for.” I give his leg a squeeze.
After Priestley and Ben take the first set, Stacie leans over and asks if the match is over now. “No, not yet, if they win this set it will be.”
Ma grins at me.
“What?”
“Look at you, learning tennis and stuff.”
“Psht, whatever.”
They take the second set easily and celebrate their win with the team. We all jump up to celebrate. In the heat of the moment, Nate grabs me and kisses me. When we sit down, Stacie pinches me in the hip and I slap her hand away. “Save that violence for the ice, bruiser.”
When Ben goes out to play his singles match, my heart is in my throat the entire time.
It must be Nate’s nervous energy—rubbing off on me. I barely know Ben, but from the way Nate talks about him—and the fact he helped me out when I’m a total stranger—he’s a good guy, and he deserves the win.
When Ben wins the first set, we all jump up to celebrate again.
My gaze wanders over to where Nate’s ma and stepdad are sitting.
They’ve stood up too and Bryce gives me a little nod while his ma waves to mine but doesn’t look at me.
I get it, Nate’s mom is still mad at me. I’d be mad at me too if I were her.
Ben wins his match and the rest of the team go out onto the court and get a win, advancing them into the next round.
I hang back and let Nate celebrate with his teammates when they all come off the court.
Ben comes over to say hi and introduce himself to Stacie and Ma.
Stacie kind of blushes when he talks to her and I have to resist the urge to step between them.
Even if Ben hadn’t told me he’s gay and I hadn’t witnessed Nate trying to be his wingman—adorable idiot—he’s not a creep. Nate wouldn’t be friends with a creep.
Nate gives Ben a sweaty hug. I’m half expecting Stacie to say Eww gross, until I remember she plays sports too. She’s probably used to sweaty athletes, hanging around in the girls locker room after hockey games. Anyone who thinks girls can’t be as gross as guys has obviously never lived with one.
“Hey,” Nate says when he’s finished celebrating with his friends. “I’d love you guys to come to dinner with me and my parents, get to know each other. I mean, I know you know my mom, but.…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.
“We’d love to, Nate,” Ma says.
His shoulders sag with relief. “Great.”
I tug him away and ask if he’s sure his ma wants me to come to dinner.
“Yes. She knows how important you are to me.”
I think about telling him that his ma was going out of her way to ignore me all through the match, but I don’t want to stress him out so I just smile and nod instead.
When we meet Nate’s parents outside the court, Nate’s ma gives mine a hug and Bryce shakes her hand and introduces himself to Stacie as Nate’s dad.
Stacie looks at Bryce like she’s confused.
I have to restrain myself from clamping my hand over her mouth to stop her from saying something stupid like—Didn’t your dad go to get milk and never come back?
But I guess I don’t give her enough credit, because she just shakes his hand politely and keeps her mouth shut.
Bryce takes us to some nice restaurant where they serve steak and lobster. It’s not so fancy that we look under-dressed or feel uncomfortable, but discreetly fancy. Like the food is amazing and there are no kids running around getting snot on everything.
Everyone is talking and enjoying themselves, but I can see Nate’s ma eying me every now and then. She’s quiet, and when her salad comes, she just picks at it before excusing herself to use the bathroom.
I excuse myself too and wait for her outside the restrooms. I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not, but I know I need to clear the air. I can’t have my boyfriend’s ma hating me forever.
When she comes out of the bathroom, I step in beside her and try to push down every instinct telling me to run.
“Hey, Ms. Carter,” I start. I think she’s gonna ignore me and keep walking. She doesn’t stop, but she slows down. “I just wanted you to know, I love Nate.”
She stops at that. Takes a deep breath and fixes me in her stare.
“I don’t have anything against you, Evan,” she says, her shoulders sagging.
“I understand you and your family have had a hard time of things since your dad got sick. Joe was a good man, he was always there for me and Nate after his dad walked out. And I know you two have an intense … bond. I just worry that you’re both trying to hold onto something out of nostalgia. ”
“It’s not nostalgia.” I shake my head. “We’ve changed. And yeah, I was in love with Nate when we were younger, but I fell in love with him all over again the second time we met.”
“You’re both still so young.”
“I know that. But I can promise you something—I’d rather die than do anything to hurt Nate.”
“And his wrist?”
I flinch. “Believe me, if I could have stopped that from happening, I would have. But we should both know that Nate’s capable of getting hurt or getting into trouble with or without me. We can’t wrap him up in cotton wool. He’s a grown-ass man. Pardon the curse.”
The smallest of smiles twitches on her lips.
“I’m not as bad as people think,” I say, actually believing it. Nate must have worn me down. “I don’t know why people always assume the worst of me, but I don’t want trouble. Never have.”
She shrugs. “Trouble just has a way of finding some people.”
I snort. “That’s the truth.”
She looks away, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I love him, I’m not gonna hurt him. Ever.”
There’s a silence that seems to go on forever before she speaks again. “You took the blame for that stupid stunt back then.”
It’s not a question so I don’t say anything. I have to stop myself from flinching when she reaches her hand toward me before letting it settle on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “I believe you.”
“Hey, everything okay?” We both turn to find Nate staring at us, wide-eyed.
“Everything’s fine, honey,” his mom says. I smile and nod my agreement, watching relief wash over his face.
“I just wanted to see if we’re ordering dessert.”
“Sure, why not?” His ma says with a smile.
When we get back to the table, Stacie’s telling Bryce about hockey and he’s talking about someone he knows who can put her in touch with the recruitment office of three different Ivy League schools.
I smile to myself and shake my head. I’m about to make a joke about Nate’s nepotism rubbing off on us when he jumps in.
“She doesn’t need your contacts Bryce,” he says with a smirk.
“By the time she goes to college, mine and Ben’s awesome tennis platform might have expanded to other sports.
We’ll be able to put her in touch with pro coaches and trainers from around the world, and help her apply for scholarships with all the top schools. ”
Bryce chuckles as he balls his napkin up and tosses it onto the table. “Save the sales pitch for your investors.”
Nate laughs, his green eyes with the brown flecks glistening under the ambient lighting.
I watch his pretty hands on the table, spreading the dessert menu out.
The way he licks his lips as he reads through the list of cakes and ice creams. Something lurches in my chest at the sudden, devastating knowledge that this is the person I’ve loved all my life.
And that nothing in the world will ever change that.
He turns, as if feeling a heat on the side of his face from the intensity of my stare. A blush appearing on his cheeks when he catches me looking.
“What?” he asks. “Do I have something on my face?”
“No,” I laugh, taking his hand, threading my fingers through his. I catch our moms both looking at us with sly smiles.
He leans over and kisses me.
“Eww, gross, get a room!”
We pull apart so I can flick Stacie for ruining the moment.
“A toast,” Bryce says.
Nate and I keep our hands entwined as we raise our glasses.
“To Nate.”
I’m about to say the toast, when he adds, “And Evan.”
Everyone looks at us, their eyes all shiny, big grins on their faces. I don’t know whether to groan or cry.
“To us!” I hear Nate say before sipping his champagne. I catch Stacie making a face as she sips her lemonade and my ma leaning in with a smile to say something to Nate’s ma as he leans in to kiss me.
THE END