Chapter 23
Lily
I pressed a palm against my stomach, over the scar, as if that might settle my nerves.
Today’s a good day… I think.
I wore a long-sleeved, maroon shirt with a wide neck.
It was the kind of shirt that sat snug but comfortable, tucked into my high-waist jeans.
The only issue was that I hadn’t factored in the weather when I dressed for the soccer game this morning.
It was cooler, and the thin sleeves of my top were doing nothing to prevent the tiny goosebumps rising on my skin, but I wasn’t cold, cold.
The shivers I was experiencing felt different. It made me feel out of place.
Maybe because I hadn’t been out of the house much, other than going to work. It's the nerves from that.
Just nerves.
The crowd didn’t seem to help either. Although I knew most of them from the PTA Mom was head of, there were so many of them.
I inhaled deeply, trying to focus on the game instead.
His hoodie-clad arms wrapped around me from behind as we stood along the fence line of the soccer field. In an instant, the shuddering was gone. The warmth was back. I felt safe despite not being in any real danger to begin with.
“I think the ref is blind,” Dean muttered from over my shoulder. His gaze was firmly on Jane’s soccer game.
I grinned and leaned my head back against his chest. “Maybe you should referee. I’m sure the mothers on the PTA would love that.”
Those same mothers who hadn’t stopped with the uneasy, side-long glances in our direction since we arrived.
Once word had spread of my plus-one to the game being someone far outside their social pool, they hadn’t stopped muttering or staring.
A clear indication that Mom liked to gossip to them about my love life.
“You’d think they’d never seen a tattoo before,” I said quietly, offering a polite wave to another mom I saw watching us.
She promptly diverted her attention back to the game and raised her chin.
“I think they might be worried I’ve corrupted you. And it might spread.” His voice was like warm honey down my spine with light hints of humor laced in every word.
Maybe I was corrupted. Dean told me about what he and Seb had gotten up to last night with that teacher, and I had barely batted an eye.
Well, I was still shocked, but based on the fact the teacher was a douchebag and the world had shown itself to not be as black and white as I once thought, I wasn’t nearly as upset as someone should be if they discovered their boyfriend gently threatened a teacher.
And broke the man’s finger.
I half smiled, closing my eyes for a second. “I think some of them are a little jealous too.”
“Because none of them are in a happy relationship?” He chuckled, and it vibrated through my body.
Our small talk drifted through easy subjects and soft laughter, warmed by the sun and the orange and yellow hues of the trees around the field. It was a moment painted in gold.
“Who’s the guy?” Dean asked during halftime as Jane’s team gathered on the far end of the field.
My eyes found who he was talking about: a tall, lanky teen handing out water bottles to Jane’s team members.
And he hadn’t taken his eyes off Jane since they started talking during halftime.
His smile was broad and unwaning, meanwhile, Jane hadn’t stopped twirling her auburn ponytail around her finger.
She never twirled her hair.
“That’s what she wanted my opinion on,” I said quietly in realization with a smile.
My sister had a crush. Or maybe something more based on the way she was giggling and grinning.
Dean straightened behind me. Arms still around my waist, but a small frown appeared on his face as he watched the interaction.
“Relax. I think he’s harmless,” I said as the mystery boy hesitated and then awkwardly brushed a strand of Jane’s hair behind her ear.
I looked to my right, where Mom was talking with several other moms. Clutching coffees in their hands with buttered bagels, they hadn’t noticed the boy interacting with Jane.
I doubted Mom knew about him. Any boy she deemed fit for her daughters was paraded and talked about nonstop.
She would’ve talked all about him when we got here earlier, probably around the time she had looked at Dean and said, “Oh, I thought this was a family-only thing.”
When halftime was over, Jane jogged back onto the field and noticed us watching. She raised her thumbs as she mouthed, “What do you think?”
I smiled and raised both thumbs too.
Mom was none the wiser.
“I could get a job,” Jane said, keeping up with our mother’s fast stride as we left the field. Her cleats tapped the sidewalk as she went. “That way I can save up for my own car.”
Dean and I followed them loosely, hand in hand.
“And if I had my own car, it’d mean you wouldn’t have to drive me around everywhere. I’ll have more freedom.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Mom shook her head in a way that tidied up her shoulder-length hair. “You aren’t getting a car, Jane.”
“Could I at least get my license?”
Mom remained silent.
Jane rolled her eyes and looked back at me, desperate for backup as she pleaded silently. She had been so happy about her team winning today.
“Dad could teach her,” I said. “You’d know she’s learning from the best with all his knowledge of the law...” I wanted to cringe at how doting I sounded towards my father. At the moment, I wanted nothing to do with him after the trick he pulled.
“I’ll think about it,” Mom said. The finality about it really meant no.
Jane’s shoulders slumped as we shared a look again.
I mouthed an apology.
“I’ll teach her,” Dean said, shrugging a shoulder.
Jane spun around, walking backwards with a new skip in her step. “Hell, yes!”
Mom stammered with a scoff. “Definitely not.”
Jane’s eyes shot to Mom, but her arms gestured wide to the Cadillac parked across the street. “Mom, he drives a Caddy. Can you imagine me arriving at school in that thing?”
“It is too big to learn in.” Mom’s frustration was bubbling beneath the surface. It was evident in the way several strands of hair had dared to stray from her neat hairstyle. “I’d much rather you learn in my Volvo. It’s practical. And you’ll only be learning from me or your father. No one else.”
Despite the sharpness in her tone, indirectly aimed at Dean, it was the fastest I had ever seen her flip on a decision.
The happy gleam on Jane’s face only grew brighter. “That’s a yes to getting my license?”
“Yes. But don’t push it.”
Jane squealed with delight and jogged the rest of the way to Mom’s car, waving briefly back at us before she climbed in and began frantically texting the good news to her friends. Or maybe mystery boy.
After a curt goodbye from Mom, we headed to Dean’s car. Arm in arm as we walked, I leaned into him.
“Did you just use reverse psychology on my mother?” I muttered as we watched Mom’s Volvo leave.
“Maybe.”
When we got to his car, and he caught my eye again from over the roof, a small smile played in the corner of his mouth.
“How come you never got your license?” he asked.
“Anxiety,” I grimaced.
“Fair enough,” he nodded, but then tilted his head, squinting in the sunlight. “Would you consider it, though?”
I folded my arms on the roof of the car and smiled. “Are you sick of driving me already?”
“Lily, I’d drive you everywhere for the rest of my life if I could.
” He mirrored me, leaning on the roof. The happy little glimmer in his blue-gray eyes caused my heart to skip.
“But considering where my future is headed, I don’t really wanna imagine this thing gathering dust in my garage.
So, maybe if you learned to drive, you could take care of it for me. ”
My eyes widened. “Your car?”
“Why not?”
I laughed in bemusement, running my eyes over the sleek lines of the vintage car.
From its glossy, emerald-green exterior to its silver hub caps and detailing.
“I don’t think you understood what I meant when I said anxiety prevented me from learning to drive.
I almost crashed each instructor’s car. And my parents’ cars. ”
“Key word being almost.” He pulled back from the car, slid on his shades, and flashed a smile as he opened his door. “Get in.”
That smile.
Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I grinned wider and climbed into the passenger seat.