Page 13 of That Summer
“And yet, you don’t look a day over twenty-five.”
Deb stared at me for a beat, the soft taco in her hand mid-way to her mouth. We quietly stared at each other. The ticking of the clock above the fireplace in the next room was the only sound filling the space.
And then, we started to laugh.
“You’re a charmer, aren’t you?” She took a bite of her taco and leaned against the island.
I smirked and with a mouth full of my own taco replied, “Not really. I’ve only had one girlfriend for the past two years.”
“Really?”
“It was what it was.”
“And what was it?” Deb grinned.
I leaned onto the island and dunked a chip into the cheese and then shoved it into my mouth. “All the girls loved me, of course.”
She snickered. “Of course.”
I gave a slight chuckle. “I dated plenty of girls my freshman year, and then at the start of my sophomore year, my brother got hurt at college and life just changed. Everyone thinks I’m a fuck up—especially my folks—but that’s just a façade.”
“Why do you hide who you are?”
I thought for a moment as I took another bite of my taco, finishing it off. “I don’t know. My brother is the golden child, and I’ve always been the funny, wants to have fun guy.”
“After Brandon got hurt, you weren’t able to have fun anymore?”
“Oh, no, I did. But that was when my parents put all the pressure on me to become a pro football player.”
“And I take it that’s not what you want?”
I shook my head and then ate another chip. Deb slid a glass of sweet tea toward me, and I took a sip. “I want to be a club owner.”
“Like a nightclub?”
“Yeah.”
“Because you like to have fun?”
“Because alcohol in bars and clubs have an eighty percent markup. I want to make moneyandhave fun doing it.”
“You’re eighteen,” Deb countered as soon as I talked about booze.
“Right, but money is money.”
“Wouldn’t you make more than a club owner if you turned pro?”
I watched her take a bite of a chip she’d dipped, and the cheese dripped onto her chin. I had the itch to reach out and get it off with my finger before sticking it into my own mouth. “My parents already had their dreams crushed the moment Brandon got injured. I didn’t want to watch them go through it again if I never got drafted.”
“Aren’t their dreams crushed now since you aren’t going to A&M and trying to go pro?”
“I guess, but it’s not like what happened with Brandon. One minute they thought they’d one day cheer him on in the Super Bowl, and then the next they didn’t know if he’d walk again.”
“I’m sure your parents will love you no matter what you choose to do with your life.”
“Hope so.”
We spent the next fifteen or so minutes finishing our plates and chatting before we cleaned the kitchen together. We talked about how she and Jeff never had kids of their own because they never wanted any and wanted to be able to travel whenever they wanted. Afterward, Deb went to take her nightly shower, and I soaked in the hot tub before crawling into bed because I had to get up at the ass crack of down. But as stared up at the ceiling, thinking about my night with Deb, I knew something had changed in our relationship.
