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“You’re going to look so beautiful. Oh, I can’t wait for pictures,” my mom gushes.
My mom took to Rory immediately. Over the summer, the two of us were almost inseparable. When practice started up, most days I’d come home and Rory would be here waiting for me. Just like today. It gave her and my mom some one-on-one time to get to know each other—which is something Jameson’s girlfriends never did. Hell, even my dad likes Rory. He’s a hard man who doesn’t easily show emotion. But now and then I catch him teasing her about her taste in music, or about being a city girl. Something pointless like that. That’s his way of showing he cares.
“Mom, we gotta go,” I tell her before chugging the last of my second Gatorade.
“Ok, ok. Be safe and don’t stay out too late.”
“I’ll make sure he’s home early!” Rory calls out.
We walk out of the house and straight to my truck. I follow behind Rory and open the passenger door for her.
“You don’t have to do that every time, you know?”
“Yeah, I know that. My mom would have my neck if I made you open your own door, and you know she’s watching,” I lie. Yes, my mom would be upset if I didn’t show Rory respect, but I enjoy doing things like this for her.
Once behind the wheel, I start the truck and Rory scrolls through the radio stations. When she finally finds one she likes, she rolls the window down and takes her hair out of her ponytail. Once her curls are wild and free, she kicks off her flip-flops and puts her feet up on the dash. She sings along, loudly, and makes up words to the parts she doesn’t know. Lately, Rory seems to have more good days than bad, and I’m hoping maybe that’s because of me. Our friendship has been easy so far. We get each other. But tomorrow, all of that might change.
I invited her to homecoming way before any of the other guys got the chance to. She thinks we’re going as friends, but tomorrow is the night I’m going to tell her how I feel. I want what we already have and so much more. Tomorrow night, I’m going to ask Rory to be my girlfriend. Even the thought of it has my stomach in nervous knots, but in a good way.
“Jackson? Hello? Earth to Jackson.”
I’m so focused on thinking about tomorrow, I don’t even realize she has stopped singing. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a minute.”
“Are you worried about the game?”
Rory thinks my nerves are about the scouts. Good, we’ll go with that. “Kind of. To be honest, I love football, and playing throughout college and even after has always been my dream. But that scholarship is what I’m really after.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I’ve written so many essays for these scholarship applications my laptop is almost out of memory. I’ve started recycling them, hoping that no one will notice.” Rory looks over at me. She runs her fingers through her hair to move it away from her face. “I’m going to miss not having you around next year.”
Rory is only applying to colleges within driving distance to Hawk Bend. She refuses to be further away from her dad than that. I’m the opposite. Most colleges I’ve applied to are out of state. I figure college is the best time to get out and explore life outside of our small town. But I won’t stay away for long, especially if Rory is here. She will always bring me back.
“We’ll make it work. Trust me, you’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Pinky swear?”
She holds out her pinky and nervously chews on her bottom lip.
Wrapping my pinky around hers, I smile. “Pinky swear.”
