Page 87 of Golden

Mom steps behind him and places a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t do that, honey. You’re hurt, but you know what Wes is saying makes sense.”

I give her a grateful smile, but her answering one is sad.

“Maybe some time in the future, my career path will cross with WebWeb. I’m not saying never, I’m just saying I don’t want your legacy to be my starting point.”

Dad sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “Fair enough. I know this can’t have been easy, but I’m glad you finally came clean.”

“Excuse me?” My eyebrows shoot up. “What do you mean?”

He gives me a wry smile. “You’ve been acting weird since winter break. Your mother and I weren’t sure if it was a boy or something to do with school. But when you blew off the work experience before Christmas, I had a feeling in my gut it was something to do with that.”

“I’m so sorry.” I shake my head. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Well, at least it’s done now.” He reaches forward and takes my hand between his. “And for the record, there’s nothing you could do that would ever disappoint me.”

My stomach twists and I squeeze his hand and pull away as I drop my gaze.

“Wes?” Mom says, sliding back onto her seat. “Anything else you want to get off your chest?”

I groan loudly and tip my head back to look at the ceiling. “No.”

“Wes?” Mom repeats, her tone stern. “You don’t have to tell us what’s on your mind, but I hope you know by now that this is a judgement free space and we both only want to help you.”

Exhaling, I take off my glasses and scrub a hand over my face. I didn’t shave this morning and my scruff is a little thicker than usual. “Fine. I met someone.”

My mom’s face remains neutral, but she extends a perfectly manicured hand to my dad. “Pay up.”

“Great.” I huff a laugh. “The pair of you are betting on my misery.”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. Who is he? And why is he not here?”

I press my lips together, then shake my head with a sigh. “His name is Sol. He’s captain of the lacrosse team. You’d love him. And he’s not here because I’m a coward and an idiot.”

Mom’s face scrunches into a frown. “What did you do?”

“He’s not gay. He’s not sure what he is yet, and I didn’t want the pressure of that in my last year, so I told him we needed to keep things casual.”

“Got him!” Dad says, his face lit with a triumphant smile. He holds up his phone and there on the screen is Sol’s photo. It was taken yesterday when they won. Theia took some great shots, and I had the torturous task of choosing the best one for this morning’s edition of The Howl at stupid o’clock this morning before I drove home.

“Oh my,” Mom says, taking the phone. “He’s very handsome.”

Groaning, I rest my head on my folded arms. “Seriously?”

“Sorry,” Mom says. “So, what happened? He didn’t want to do casual?”

“It’s hard to explain,” I say, wishing I’d stuck with denial. “We both want more, and he told me as much, but I shut him down.”

“Why the hell did you do that?” Dad asks.

I groan loudly into my arms. “Remember the part where I told you I’m a coward and an idiot?”

Mom’s long, slender fingers stroke my head, sliding under my chin and fishing my head out from my arms. “You are an idiot, but you also know what you need to do to fix this.”

“I don’t think I can fix this,” I admit. “I’ve hurt him too many times. You don’t understand. He’s the nicest guy. He’s perfect. Sol deserves someone that can give him the moon and the stars without hesitation, and that’s not me.”

Mom’s face crumples and Dad reaches across the table and squeezes her arm.

“I’m going to my room,” I say, pushing back my chair. “I’m sorry.”

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