Page 25 of Dreaming at Seaside
“That can get hurt, actually,” he corrected him.
“Whatever. You know what I mean. Besides, what’s the big deal? Someone broke into a few cars and a cottage. They took a laptop and a couple bucks they had lying around.” Evan shrugged.
“What’s the big deal? Seriously, Ev?”
Evan sighed. “You know what I mean. It’s not like they killed someone, or they robbed them of everything they owned.”
Caden lowered himself to Evan’s bed and rubbed his temples with his finger and thumb. “Ev, you know how wrong that attitude is, don’t you?”
Evan shrugged.
“How is it that you can remember what I said about knowing your surroundings but not about respecting other people’s property?” Caden watched his son turn and face him. He might be running on hormones, but his face still held the soft qualities of a boy, and it was that softness that eased Caden’s worry.
“I remember. It’s not like I’m the one doing it, Dad. I’m going to study computers tonight. Remember?”
Caden smiled. “Yeah. I remember.”
Evan turned back to his computer. “I like Bella.”
“Yeah. She’s nice.”
“And hot.”
Caden raised his brows.Hot?His son was looking at women as hot?
“Yeah, she is pretty hot,” he admitted.
“Are you going out with her tonight?”
Evan asked it so casually that it took Caden by surprise.
“Whydon’tyou date, Dad? Is it really because of work and me?”
“You? Buddy, I don’t date because dating takes time, and in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have much free time.”
“So make it.” Evan spun around in his chair again. “She’s obviously into you. She looked at you all night, and she did the whole hand-on-your-leg thing.”
“What do you know about the hand-on-the-leg thing?”
Evan laughed. “I’m almost fifteen, not in second grade. There are YouTube videos about picking up girls and taking hints.”
“There are?”And you’re watching them?
“Yeah. You should watch them. There’s this one guy, MasterDater—”
“MasterDater?”
“I know. It’s a stupid name, but he’s really smart. He goes over everything.” Evan waved his hand in the air. “How girls like eye contact, and they hate when you talk about yourself. And how if you aren’t interested in what they have to say, you shouldn’t even consider dating them, because girls love to talk. He says you have to smell good, too, or girls won’t like you.”
“Really? There are videos on that stuff?” Caden made another mental note to look up this MasterDater dude.
“Heck yeah. There are videos on anything and everything on YouTube.”
“Wait. Does he go over sex stuff, too?” Caden had hadthe talkwith Evan when Evan was twelve. He’d come home from school one day talking about a boy who made out with a girl in the bathroom, and that spurred weeks of detailed conversations about sex and love and the importance of respecting women. Caden had expected to feel funny talking to Evan about those things, but Evan was a very practical kid, and he didn’t blush or act embarrassed. He wanted to understand it all, and it made for easy, open lines of communication.
“Nothing that you haven’t already told me about. He talks more about not pushing girls into stuff than the actual activity, if you know what I mean.”
Activity? That’s a great word.He was impressed with Evan’s attitude and pleased to hear that he was researching the more respectful parts of dating than the sexual side. He also wasn’t naive, and he knew that Evan could be cushioning the truth.
