Chapter 11
ELEVEN
ETHAN
Cooper’s meaty hand came down on my shoulder like an anvil as he passed me on the way out of the lockers. “Good game, man.”
“Thanks, Coop. You too,” I said. It had been a good game. We’d not only won, we’d slaughtered the other team. I should have been ecstatic, laughing it up with the other guys but instead, I felt like I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t find Collette soon and get some answers.
Ryan slid onto the bench seat next to me as he wrestled on his combat boots. “You coming out with us to celebrate?”
“I, uh…” I hope not. “I’m not sure yet.”
I glanced down at my phone. Still nothing. My after-game plans were entirely dependent on a cute little brunette who still hadn’t responded to my last text.
Do you have a boyfriend?
This should not have been a difficult question to answer. My gut churned as I realized that the fact that she hadn’t answered…? That was probably my answer right there.
Idiot.
I was such an idiot. How had I never thought to ask her that before? I guess I’d just assumed that she would have said something. We’d spent enough time together that surely a boyfriend would have come up by now.
But then again, I’d never heard her talk about Olivia before, and the two of them were apparently best friends.
I stared down at the T-shirt in my hands. Maybe it was time to consider that I didn’t know Collette nearly as well as I’d thought I did. But seriously, who was that blond guy sitting next to her?
How did she even meet him? He was wearing Oakwood colors so I went to school with him. Or did I? Man, my head was a mess.
“I’ve got to go find my parents,” I said, not bothering to stick around while Ryan finished getting ready.
I walked out into the crowded hallway and scanned the crowd.
No sign of a short brunette with curves to die for.
The thought of her sitting up there in the stands, all cute and natural and genuine…
The smile on my lips died a quick death when I remembered the blond guy leaning over and her smiling at him and—
“Great game, son!” My dad’s booming voice came from my left and I watched as the crowds parted for him like he was freakin’ Mayor Moses. He was beaming at me with pride, my mother smiling more sedately as she followed along behind him with Chrissy.
My little sister slipped away from my mom the moment she saw me and I abandoned my Collette lookout as I swept her up in my arms for a bear hug when she crashed into me.
“You did great, Ethan!” She pressed her face into me and hugged me tight.
“Thanks, squirt.” I messed up her hair. Right on cue, she glanced up at me her nose wrinkled in annoyance.
I smelled my mother’s expensive perfume before I felt her lips on my cheek. “You did great, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
And then my dad was next to me, giving me the sort of one-armed manly hug I never got except for times like this one—rare and fleeting moments when I’ve actually managed to make him proud.
“That last touchdown,” he was saying, “that was incredible.” His face was alight with excitement like he was still reliving that moment.
My moment.
This wasn’t the first time I wondered if my dad had any idea that the guy standing in front of him was his own man. That I was an individual in my own right and not some carbon copy he’d created so he could relive his glory days.
A group of cheerleaders jostled me on one side as more players came out of the locker room and into the already crowded hallway. It was getting hard to hear as people shouted over one another.
“Great job, Ethan.” My friend Claire, one of the senior cheerleaders, gave me a quick hug as she squeezed past me.
“I need to talk to you, Son,” my dad said to my left.
His movement brought Claire closer to me and in the confusion, Claire pressed into me.
I felt her giggle and I glanced down to give her a sympathetic smile and shrug.
We’d been friends since Kindergarten. If not, this would have been embarrassing.
But just then one of the cheerleaders shifted and from the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of brown hair.
Collette. I craned my neck to see if I’d been right, only to be met with Collette’s furrowed brow.
I didn’t have to worry about her spotting me as well.
Her eyes were fixed on me but she wasn’t smiling. If anything, she looked hurt.
I raised a hand and beckoned her over. She jerked forward quickly like she’d been shoved from behind, and that was when I saw Olivia behind her, pushing her toward me.
Well, at least one of them wanted to see me.
Fear had me scanning Collette’s features, trying to figure out what she was thinking.
The weird look. The wariness—it had to do with my last text.
I knew it. I’d shown my hand when I’d asked her point blank if she had a boyfriend and now she was trying to figure out a nice way to tell me that she’d never seen me as anything more than a friend.
“Did you hear me, Son?” My father’s voice lost its jovial tone. I whipped my head around to face him. Sure enough, he was all business once again. He placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip hard and unrelenting. “Good news, right?”
“Uh, what’s the good news?”
I tried to sneak a glance over to my right but my dad was in my face. I could feel Collette though. After weeks of dancing together, our bodies were somehow in tune with each other. I tried to move toward her, acknowledge her so she wouldn’t run off—
“Are you even listening?” my father snapped, all post-win good vibes officially gone.
“Oh, Jack, leave the boy alone,” I heard my mom mutter. “You’re making a scene.”
His grip tensed one more time as I saw the internal struggle flash inside of him. But then, he sighed and dropped his hand from my shoulder. His everything is perfect smile returned. The threat of making a public spectacle got through to him because of course that was all that mattered here.
“What were you saying?” I asked.
I felt Collette brush against my side, hovering just behind me, waiting for me to acknowledge her.
“I said…” My dad drew the word out and it took everything in me not to shake him in frustration.
Just spit it out. I had a girl to see. I needed to get a straight answer from her on whether or not she had a boyfriend, because if she did—well, I didn’t know what I’d do, but the mere thought was killing me.
Not knowing was even worse.
“The recruiter from Yale was very impressed, I’ll tell you that.
” My dad was once again happy, clearly pleased by whatever conversation he’d had with the scout.
I’d zoned out for a second but caught up quickly.
Recruit. Yale. All my dad’s dreams were coming true.
“He’s coming to the fundraiser on Thursday night so you two will talk then. ”
I opened my mouth to give my perfunctory, “yes, sir” but stopped when his words registered. Thursday. That was the same night that Ryan’s band was playing The Tailgate. “Um, actually Dad…”
He froze, his eyes fixed on mine. “What?”
The words got stuck in my throat. I could practically feel Collette tense beside me as she waited for me to continue. To say…something. Anything.
“Thursday night, I have plans.”
He frowned in confusion. “Then change them.”
“It’s not that simple, I made a promise and—”
“I don’t care what you promised.” His voice was low. Little more than a snarl as he leaned in so his face was inches from mine. “This is important to me—you. How can you not see that? This is your future. It’s all that matters.”
“Jack,” my mom hissed. I thought for a moment it was because she cared about sticking up for her only son but when I saw my mom’s gaze flit around to the oblivious bystanders, I realized she didn’t want a scene.
Of course. Chrissy clutched my left hand and to my right I could feel Collette. I knew what she wanted me to say, but…
It wasn’t that easy.
“I made a commitment,” I repeated like it was somehow going to change my dad’s mind.
“Then you will apologize and break it.” The words came out harsh and over-pronounced. “I’ve given you too much leeway with your after school practices and all this ridiculous ballet crap. But this is non-negotiable. Do you hear me?”
He didn’t move. Neither did I. Neither did Collette.
My jaw worked as I fought a wave of anger and humiliation that everyone around us was watching. That Collette was watching.
My dad wouldn’t move away until I was defeated—I knew this. “Fine,” I muttered.
My father’s posture eased, and he straightened the collar of his jacket. “Good,” he said, forcing a jovial tone once more. “Now, we’ll let you get to your celebrations.” He wrapped an arm around my mom’s waist and placed a hand on Chrissy’s shoulder. “You deserve it, Son.”
They turned and walked away. Chrissy glanced behind her and gave me a soft smile. She was the only part of my family that I liked. And most times, her smile was what brought me back from the insanity that was my father.
But tonight, I knew I had to face someone else and no smile from Chrissy was going to change that.
I stared after my family, feeling the seconds tick by. I knew I needed to look down, to face Collette. I just wasn’t ready. I knew she wasn’t going to let this go. That wasn’t the kind of relationship we had. But after our texts, I really wasn’t sure what kind of relationship we had.
My life was a big, giant heap of crap.
When I did finally turn, I saw Olivia backing away with a wary look. Her gaze kept flicking from me down to Collette and then back up to me. I didn’t have to see Collette to know she was upset. I could feel her anger. It was potent and pronounced.
“I’m just gonna…I’ll be over…” And then Olivia was gone, darting down the hallway toward the exit as Collette and I turned to face each other.
Those big blue eyes were filled with so many emotions I couldn’t begin to name them. I watched her swallow and then she looked away. “So…what? You’re just going to bail on Ryan?”