AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A few minutes later, he sets two travel mugs in the cup holders and climbs into the driver’s seat.
“I’m ready. Say whatever you’re going to say,” I tell him.
He’s quiet as we pull out of the driveway.
I wait a minute, and then finally cave. “Are you upset with me?”
“No, son. Just gathering my thoughts.” He taps on the steering wheel. “I see a lot of parallels between you and Winter and your mom and I when we were dating. Grandma Iris raised her on her own, and Iris didn’t make the best boyfriend choices. She worried your mom would do the same. She sure didn’t like me at first.”
“Really? Why not?” These days Grandma Iris and Grandpa Tim adore my dad. Tim loves to talk hockey and sports in general.
“Because your mom’s biological father was an ex-hockey player who probably fathered countless children he never took responsibility for,” Dad says darkly. “And your grandma Iris didn’t want what happened to her to happen to Lily. She said a few things to your mom that left some marks. That was a long time ago, though, and they’ve worked all that out.” He pauses. “But back when we were first dating, I didn’t think I could be what your mom needed, mostly because me and your grandpa Randall are a lot alike, and he…wasn’t a great dad or a great husband. He’s cleaned up his act, and we have a better relationship now, but back then, it made me want to avoid relationships. And then your mom came along, and she turned my world upside down. I was such a fucking dumbass. Some of the stupid shit I did… I’m lucky she’s such a patient woman.” He shakes his head. “Anyway. Here we are. But back then, your mom was living in a tiny two-bedroom apartment in Guelph. Her life wasn’t easy, and there I was making millions of dollars a year, getting all the chances I could to succeed. Your mom, she’d lost her opportunity to go to the Olympics and still looked on the bright side of things.”
“You saw Mom in Winter, and you didn’t want her to lose her chance,” I say.
He nods. “If there’s anything I regret with your mom, it’s not pushing her to try for that dream again. I could have helped her get there, but she seemed so at peace with her choices.” He clears his throat before he continues. “Winter’s life has been hard—harder than I think either of us can realize or fathom. Your mom sees it very clearly. What I’m about to say…it comes from a place of perspective that you might not have yet. Although you’re far more astute and self-aware than I was at your age.” He glances at me. “Be careful with her, okay, son? She’s tough. And resilient. But she’s been taught to sacrifice her own needs and that her wants should not be a priority, and that’ll take some time to undo.”
“I think I understand what you mean.”
“Just check in with her to make sure the things she says yes to aren’t because she feels a sense of obligation, but because it’s what she genuinely wants.” He pulls into his reserved spot and settles a hand on my shoulder. “It’s the first time in years that I’ve seen you passionate about anything other than skating. I don’t know what the future holds for the two of you, but I think you’re good for each other.”
“I think so too.”
23 I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS THROUGH
BJ
Winter messages later to let me know she’ll be pretty late getting home. She’s going to an escape room in Lake Geneva with a bunch of her teammates, and it doesn’t start until eight. So when Lovey invites me to go to the movies with her, Lacey, and Rose, and promises we’re not seeing a rom-com, I say yes. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, and Lovey’s summer schedule is always ridiculous, as is mine, so we haven’t had much time to hang out. I message Winter so she knows where I am, and I get a range of gifs in return, a couple with FOMO when she finds out what movie we’re seeing, followed by:
Have fun! Say hi to everyone for me ??
When the movie is over, I have new messages from Winter. One sent an hour ago tells me she’s home and suggests that if I’m still with Lovey, we should all hang out for a bit. I give her an ETA of half an hour because we have to drop Rose off first. Lacey has to work at eight, so I drop her off too.
It’s after eleven, so the house is quiet when we arrive. Lovey isn’t planning to stay long since she has to work tomorrow morning too, but when we get upstairs, Winter is totally asleep, like I was last night.
I turn off her light and close her door, then cross the hall to my room and shut my door behind Lovey so we don’t disturb Winter with our chatter.
“She’s had a day.” I flop down on the bed and pat the spot beside me.
Lovey wrinkles her nose. “Did you change your sheets after last night?”
I laugh. “Yeah, I threw them in the wash this afternoon and put clean ones on. I have some class.”
She stretches out beside me. “I don’t know that my dad would be that cool about it if he found a guy in my bed.”
“Ah, the old don’t-touch-my-baby-girl double standard.”
She frowns. “It’s a thing, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I’m just glad my mom was chill about the whole thing, for Winter’s sake.”
“Yeah. She couldn’t believe they weren’t angry.” She side-eyes me, trying to seem nonchalant. “I didn’t realize last night was your first time together.”
“You’re the one who said I should change things up.”
“I know. But I didn’t have a lot of faith in your ability to hit the slow lane and stay in it. You’ve boned your way through the past three years at college. You should have double-majored in one-night stands.” She snort-laughs, but then grabs my arm. “Oh shit.”
“Oh shit, what?”
