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Finishing my last set, I get up and wipe the sweat from my brow. The gym is quiet today, as it has been all summer. I'm one of the only people who has to keep training this time of year, but if I make it to the AFL, it'll all be worth it. Then no one can stop us from being together. We'll be set financially and we can get married and start our life.
“There he is,” my dad’s voice calls across the gym.
I turn and give him a wave, glad he’s here. “Hey, Dad. What’re you doing here?”
He strides over to me and sits down on the bench next to mine, facing me. “Your mother wanted me to check on you.”
“Why?” My Spidey senses are tingling and I know whatever he’s about to say isn’t good.
“Well, we know you’re seeing someone and you’ve got your mom really worried that you might be taking things more seriously than you should.”
I shrug and wipe my face with a towel. “Tell her not to worry.”
“Who’s the girl, Ethan?”
I drop the towel and get up to take the plates off the bar. “Who says I have a girl?”
“Drop the crap. We found the candles on the yacht.”
I feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, then sigh and turn to him. When I look at his face, he’s wearing a knowing grin. “I was nineteen once, you know.”
“Her name is Jess. She’s really smart and sweet. You’d love her. Mom would, too.”
“Is it serious?”
"I'd like it to be, but we're both smart enough to know better than to get too caught up too fast. She's got plans, and so do I."
“Good,” my dad nods. “That’s good. We didn’t put in all this effort just to have you give up on your dreams now.”
“I won’t. And to be honest, I don’t think Jess would let me. She’s a bit of a hardass.”
“Good. In that case, you should bring her by the house for dinner so we can get to know her.”
“I’ll see if she’ll come. She’s…really shy.”
He gives me a hard look, then says, “Well, ask her anyway. And make sure you take it slow, all right? No sense in getting tied down when you’ve got the whole world at your feet.”
An image of her tying me down flashes through my brain and I have to force myself not to smile. “You were my age when you met Mom.”
“That was different. People were older back then.”
“What?” I laugh. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
"Sure, it does. Everybody got married when they were twenty. Nowadays, kids are smarter. They play the field a bit, grow up before they make commitments." He stands and pats me on the shoulder. "Trust me on this. Don't let yourself miss out on a whole lot of fun that's waiting for you."
That night, Jess and I lay on a blanket in the secret park, staring up at the stars, wrapped up in each other’s arms. “My parents know about you.”
She freezes her hand that was tracing the stubble on my jaw. “Oh, how did they…”
“The found the candles on the boat.” I turn my head to look at her and see that she’s burying her face in her hand.
“Oh, God! I’m so embarrassed. Do they think we did it?”
“No. I told him we’re both too smart to rush things, but I don’t know how much they believe that.” I run my hand up and down her arm to warm her skin. “They want to meet you. They’re really nice, Jess. They’ll love you, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. No matter how wonderful they’d think I am, they won’t want you getting involved with someone right now. Not when you’re so close to getting everything you’ve spent your life working toward.” She sighs. “Besides, I’m not exactly from the same side of the tracks as you.”
It bothers me to hear her talk like that—like she’s some trailer trash. “I hate it when you talk like that about yourself. You’re so much more than you think. You?
