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My cleats clicked on the cement as I finished my walk to the locker room.
“Where the hell have you been, Rice?” Coach yelled.
“Sorry, my dad wanted a word.”
Coach’s face softened, and he rushed me over to where the rest of the offensive line was going over the new plays. Coach told me the same as my dad, that I wasn’t getting out of the pocket fast enough, and he told my O-line to win me some more time by blocking properly.
On the way back out, I glanced at the stands and saw Ellery laughing at something my mom was saying. My dad was talking to the guy next to him, and when he pointed at me, I stripped my gaze away.
In the end, we won by only one touchdown. Maybe I’d been distracted, but it was hard to say by whom, my dad or Ellery.
I showered and got dressed. I’d been invited to the parties all my teammates were going to, but I had to go to dinner with my parents, which put a wrench in my plans with Ellery.
When I walked out there, the usual congregation of students congratulated us. I fist-pumped and gave them a high-five on my way through the group. A girl jumped into my arms, leaving me no choice but to catch her with my hands on her ass. She surprised me by kissing my cheek and telling me congratulations. The smell of alcohol on her breath could’ve gotten me drunk.
I finally made it to Ellery, who looked incredibly uncomfortable with the whole scene. Bryce sat on a cement ledge, uncaring because she’d witnessed this after trying to get us for interviews and one-liners for the newspaper.
“Hey,” I said to them.
Bryce hopped off the cement ledge.
“Congratulations,” Ellery said.
“Congrats, Cooper,” Bryce echoed.
“Thanks. Hey, I’m sorry about my parents. Last minute they decided to come and…”
“You didn’t want to put off this date with Ellery,” Bryce finished for me.
My head whipped in her direction, and she laughed.
“You’re not wrong. But now I have to go to dinner with my parents.” I sighed.
“No worries, we got invited. And if you think we’re going to pass up the best restaurant in town, you’re crazy,” Bryce said, but I wanted to know what Ellery thought.
“Excuse us for a minute,” I said and gently took Ellery’s elbow, leading her away from her best friend. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? It wasn’t my intention that you’d meet my parents, let alone sit through an entire game with them, on top of dinner.”
I couldn’t imagine the things she had probably heard from my dad in those stands, but I’d never ask.
“It’s okay, and we already accepted the dinner invitation, but if you’d rather we not go, I understand. This whole thing is a little awkward.” She gave me a small smile.
“No, I’d love for you to come.” I probably sounded too enthusiastic.
But she smiled at me and said, “Okay then, let’s go.”
A half hour later, we were at the restaurant where my parents were waiting for us. We sat down, Ellery next to my mom and Bryce next to my father so I could sit next to Ellery. For a second, Bryce tried to make it seem like she was going to sit between us, and that would not have been okay. I’d waited all week for tonight, and I wasn’t going to be cockblocked by Bryce and my parents.
We ordered, each of us getting a steak since my dad would only take us to a steakhouse.
“So, tell me about yourself, Ellery?” my dad asked.
I straightened. I knew he was baiting her to see if the friendship remark I made was true.
I loved my dad, and he’d been a pillar in my life. Taught me everything about being the quarterback I was. We’d rebuilt cars, including a Corvette that sat in their garage waiting for me to graduate from college. I’d always gone to him for advice, and I was in agreement with him about waiting until I’d gone pro to find a girlfriend, but I didn’t appreciate him sticking his nose in here.
He always said he wasn’t asking me not to sleep with girls, just not to commit, but that wasn’t the type of guy I was. I wanted the connection, the respect, and the love for one another. Maybe that was the product of my mom raising me since she was the one who was always home.
“I’m a pre-med student,” Ellery said.
