Page 52 of Foul Line

“I can be nice.” His hand reaches out to drag the backs of his fingers down my cheek.

Flames scorch my skin in his wake. I brush him off though. “Nine times out of ten you’re not nice.”

He’s staring at me now. I peek over to see if I can get a grasp on what he’s thinking, but all I can see is my own reflection through his mirror-like glasses. I turn away quickly, pulling my hair to the side of my shoulder and holding onto it, so the wind doesn’t whip through it too much. Otherwise, it’ll look like I haven’t even bothered to brush it by the time we get to the restaurant.

“I like your hair down,” he says softly.

“You’re just saying that because you want to drive my car.”

“I don’t want to drive your stupid car, Tessa.”

I swallow. Okay…

A few minutes later, I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, and we both get out. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain anytime soon, so I leave the top down and just make sure there’s nothing visible in the car for someone to reach in and steal. I highly doubt this small town is rampant with theft, but you never know.

My dad’s car is already in the lot, so I take a deep breath and head for the front door. Ryan beats me to it, opening the door for me and holding it, so I can walk in first. He’s taken his sunglasses off now, so I can finally see the look on his face. It’s intense to say the least. It makes a shiver start at the base of my spine and stay there. Oddly, this seems like a date. If it was just Ryan and I going out, I feel like it would be exactly like this except my dad and his mom wouldn’t be waiting for us at a table in the middle of the room.

They both get to their feet when they see us. His mom is the closest to the door. When I walk up, she actually holds her arms out to give me a hug. I go into them like a tiptoeing cat. The slightest movement might make me want to bolt in the other direction. Doing this, acting like this is okay, seems like I’m betraying my mom. Realistically, I know that’s not the case, but it isn’t as if I can forget about the fact that my parents were together for years, and that if my mom had it her way, they’d still be together. Quickly, I move on and raise on my tiptoes to give my dad a kiss on the cheek before sitting in the chair to his right.

The waitress comes over. She’s a girl our age who’s more than likely waitressing during the summer for some extra cash. She’s all eyes for Ryan, but he barely looks up at her, which is so different than I imagined. We order right away, and Ryan’s mom, Leslie, launches right into asking us questions about basketball camp. I can tell she’s so proud of Ryan for his accomplishments, and she’s also doing the best she can to include me in those. “So,” she says, her pinky tapping on her water glass. “What are your chances for overall MVP this year?” she asks him.

My dad chuckles, but the questions only make my skin grow warm in embarrassment.

Ryan squirms in his seat. He peeks over at me. “I have a good shot, I think. Top two, definitely.”

I tilt my head at him, surprised he said that. “Top two? Who do you think could beat you?”

He takes a sip of his water. My dad leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with a smile. “Um, you?”

I recoil, my mouth dropping slightly. “Seriously?”

He shrugs. “Huh.”

“Come on, Tess,” my dad says. “You’re not one to usually act so modest.”

“Oh, I’m not trying to,” I assure him. “I think I have a good shot, I’m just surprised Ryan thinks so.”

It’s Leslie’s turn to look taken aback. “Ryan always says how good you are.”

“Mom,” Ryan says.

“Well, it’s true.”

“I think Ryan’s my worst critic,” I tell them honestly. “Otherwise, I don’t understand why I didn’t get any playing time this past year.”

“Can we not do this?” Ryan asks no one in particular.

“Well, Ryan wouldn’t have anything to do with that,” Leslie says.

She looks at me inquisitively, and I just shrug. She’s so out of the loop when it comes to her son. She probably thinks he walks on water, too. Why not? Everyone else at the school does.

Thankfully, we’re saved by the waitress delivering our dinners. Dad and Leslie start small talk again with Dad asking about her job, and she, in turn, asking about how running the camp is going. I pay attention only because it seems like there’s a brick wall to my right. The tension coming off Ryan is so thick that if I punched the air between us, the universe would probably crack right down the middle.

By the time we’ve eaten dessert and Dad and Leslie are each having a glass of wine, the tension seems to take over the whole table. I instantly know something is up because Dad and Leslie keep having silent conversations with their eyes. Ryan notices, too. He sits up straighter until both of us are just staring at them, hoping whatever they have to say will come out soon. My mouth is dry. I hope this isn’t some major bomb. I can’t deal with a bomb right now.

“So,” my dad starts. “You guys know Leslie and I have been together for more than a few months.” He grabs her hand on the table, and my stomach lurches. Suddenly, I’m praying the word baby or marriage doesn’t slip off his tongue. God, no. “We’re moving in together.”

I can’t help the gasp that escapes my lips. I peek over at Ryan and his surprise mimics mine. I can tell he didn’t know about this ahead of time either. “Wow,” he says. “That’s…great.”

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