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“I don’t want someone else. I want Haley.”
“I’m talking about going on a date or two. It doesn’t have to be anything serious. If Haley’s going out, why can’t you?”
He waits a beat, then says, “Yeah, maybe. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that. We haven’t even been broken up for an hour.”
“Just think about it. And if the opportunity comes up, maybe you go for it.”
“You really think some girl’s going to ask me out?”
“Probably more than one. You’re a good-looking kid, Jake. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Jake looks a lot different than he did a few years ago. He’s almost as tall as me and he’s put on some muscle. His acne is gone and he finally cut his hair so it’s not hanging in his eyes. Girls are always checking him out, but he never noticed when he was with Haley. Now that he’s single, he needs to pay attention when girls are around and notice when they’re smiling at him or showing other signs that they’re interested in him.
“Dean, I’m gonna go,” he says. “I need to get something to drink.”
“Hey, what’d I just say about that?”
“I’m talking about water,” he says, sounding annoyed. “My throat’s really dry.”
“Okay, well, call me anytime. And if I don’t answer, call Brook. Or Danny. We’re all here for you.”
“Yeah, bye.” He ends the call.
Brook comes over to the couch. “You’re already done talking to Jake?” She sits down beside me. “I was going to say hi.”
“You can talk to him later. He wasn’t in a good mood.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Haley broke up with him.”
Brook gasps. “When?”
“Just now. Right before I called him.”
“Why? What happened?”
“My guess is it’s a mix between not wanting to do the long-distance thing and her wanting to date other guys.”
“I don’t understand. She loves Jake. Why would she want to be with someone else?”
“Because she’s eighteen. She’s not ready to commit to the one and only guy she’s ever dated. I get it. I just feel bad for Jake.”
“How did he sound?”
“Like his world just ended.” I shake my head. “I knew they were getting too serious. They should’ve broken up last year, or even before that. Staying together that long was just setting them up to get their hearts broken.”
“But Jake still wants to be with her.”
“Because she’s all he knows. He hasn’t dated enough to know if Haley is really the girl for him. Honestly, I think it’s good this happened. It sucks for Jake, and I feel bad for him, but he wasn’t ready to settle down. He needs to be out there meeting other girls. Going on dates. Seeing what he’s been missing out on.”
“I thought you liked Haley. And liked that Jake was dating her.”
“I did. She was a good influence on him. She kept him out of trouble, which made my life a lot easier. It was a good relationship for when they were in high school, but now they’re at college. That’s a big change. I know Jake wanted to keep dating her, but I didn’t like the idea of him spending all his time in his room talking to Haley or waiting for her to call. I’m not saying I want him going to parties every night, but it’d be good if he at least had some kind of social life.”
“Do you think they’ll get back together?”
“They might, but I’m hoping they don’t. Jake didn’t have many friends here because he was always with Haley. Now that they’re not together, I’m hoping he’ll make at least a few friends he can hang out with.”
