Page 54 of Foul Line

Leslie balks, like the air is taken out of her. In the next second though, she snaps her mouth shut and nods. “I didn’t realize it was going to come out like that. I apologize.”

I swallow. My skin crawls. I’ve about had it with this dinner. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to deal with all this, but I at least have the rest of camp to process it. I pick my napkin up from my lap and place it on my plate in front of me. “Thanks for dinner, Dad. I’m going to head out now.”

Ryan stands after me. “I’m going with Tessa.”

He and I turn from the table. We leave two very confused parents there, but it serves them right. When we get outside, Ryan intertwines his fingers with mine. He holds them so tightly wrapped in his that when he lets go so we can both get in the car, my hand feels like it’s lost something.

“Do you know somewhere where we can be alone?” Ryan asks.

I start the car up and reverse out of my space. I know the perfect place.

27

Up the road from where my dad and I parked to eat our doughnuts the other day, there’s another boat launch, but it’s not as maintained. It’s basically a rut-filled drive down a small dirt path that leads right to the lakeside. The Mustang jostles us as we make our way down, and I put the car in park facing toward the water. Across from this spot, I can see the small square that’s my cabin at Camp Holly.

“My mom was out-of-line,” Ryan says. “I swear she doesn’t think.”

I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn toward him in the car. The sun is low in the sky. Wispy oranges and pinks mix with the twilight that’s rolling in. Soon, this place will be buzzing with mosquitoes, but right now, it’s kind of perfect.

“She probably didn’t mean it like that. I’m just sensitive about it, I guess.”

Ryan takes a deep breath, leans his head back against the headrest, and stares up into the darkening sky. “I never thought in a million years this would be happening.”

I crack a smile. “Of all things,” I say. It’s not all that funny, but I’ve always preferred smiling over crying.

“I’ll tell my mom she needs to respect your mom more.”

“Oh God,” I groan. “You don’t think we’re going to have awkward family meetings and Christmases, do you?”

He grins. “Definitely.”

I wipe a black thread off my knee. “I can’t leave my mom on holidays. I’m all she has now.”

Ryan reaches over and places his hand on my shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to.”

“My parents still fight, you know. It’s all still raw and bitter at my house. Don’t tell me what goes on at yours, but I’m sure it’s nothing like mine.”

I peek up to see Ryan look away and swallow. That tells me everything I need to know. It’s exactly as I thought. They’re all playing house while my own is exploding from the inside. Ryan and Dad probably sit and watch sports every night. They probably talk about the draft and who’s playing baseball on TV that evening. Or golf. Or track. Or whatever sport happens to be on that night.

His fingers dig into me. “I’m sorry, Tessa.”

I place my hand on his, and he intertwines our fingers again. He brings our clasped hands to the center console between us. “I wish I hadn’t pretended not to like you now. Maybe I would’ve introduced my mom to your parents as my girlfriend’s parents and then we could have avoided all this mess.”

My stomach twists and turns and flops over like it doesn’t know how to feel about that statement. “Or it could have been worse,” I suggest. “Maybe the same thing would’ve happened only under more scandalous circumstances.”

One side of his lip pulls up. “I guess. We’ll never know now.”

“No, I guess we won’t.”

My throat feels so clogged with emotion that I swallow it down. It takes several times before I feel like I have myself under control.

“Tessa…”

I look over at Ryan. His gray eyes suck me in, and before I know it, I’m moving toward him and he’s tugging me over the console. I land on his legs and he grunts. “Sorry,” I say, right before he silences me with a searing kiss.

He lets my hand go, then pushes my knees to the sides of his hips before pulling on the underside of my thighs, moving me closer to him. He wraps his hand in my hair, tugging me closer until I moan into his mouth. He breaks away from me. “I’m an idiot.”

“I know.”

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