AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you don’t mind that you heard it from Matthew first?”
“No. He’s such a loser. That’s what Billie told him when he was gloating about Miss Howell – I mean Zara – losing her job. You should have seen the look on his face.”
“Who’s Billie?” Tanner asks. “I don’t remember him.”
Nash shakes his head. “Billie isn’t a boy, Dad. She’s a girl. She’s my girl.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’ve spent the entire summer recess thinking about her, and on the first day back, I asked her if she’d be my girlfriend.”
“Is that why you were so nervous about going back to school?”
“Yeah, although I didn’t need to be. She said ‘yes’.”
“Naturally,” Tanner says, ruffling his hair and getting to his feet. “She’s clearly got great taste.” Nash grins, and Tanner looks over at me, struggling not to laugh. I shake my head, just once, and he takes a breath, keeping it together. “So, you’re dating Billie?”
“I am.”
Tanner folds his arms, looking down at his son. “And when were you gonna tell me?”
Nash blushes. “I was getting around to it.”
“Does your mother know?”
Nash frowns, shaking his head. “No. And neither does Dean. He’s only interested in Mom, not me, and you know what Mom’s like. She’d wanna know every little detail, and then she’d probably tell me I’m too young to have a girlfriend. But I’m not. Really, I’m not. I like Billie. A lot. And she likes me, too.”
“Is she the girl I saw you with in the schoolyard? The one with dark curly hair?” Tanner asks.
“Yeah. She’s got amazing blue eyes, and she makes me laugh… even when she’s not supposed to.”
“Then she’s a keeper, son.” Nash pulls off his backpack, dumping it on the floor. “There’s one more thing,” Tanner says and Nash looks up at him. “Zara and I aren’t just dating.”
“Oh?”
“No. She’s gonna be living here with me during the week… and with us, at the weekends. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I like Miss… I mean Zara.” He grins over at me. “Billie likes you too.”
“I don’t think I’ve even spoken to her,” I say, racking my brain and coming up blank.
“Maybe not, but her little sister is in your class.”
“Oh? What’s her name?”
“Skye,” he says.
“Oh. I know Skye.”
“She knows you, too. According to Billie, she doesn’t stop talking about you, and how kind you are. That’s why Billie likes you… because you’re good to her sister.”
I smile, although it breaks my heart to know those days are over for me.
Tanner seems to notice and strides across the room, putting his arm around me.
“Are you okay?”
I look up at him. “I’m fine.”
