You and Everything After

“You know your mother. She just likes a reason to shop,” Dad says, shaking Nate’s hand, and then mine. He’s already curious about the two girls standing behind us, and when he raises an eyebrow at me, I shrug. I know, this is a big deal…but let’s not make it one, Pops.

“Mom, Dad, this is Rowe and Cass,” Nate says, taking care of the introductions. That’s probably a good thing, because I would probably screw this part up. Without even realizing it, I’ve brought my hand to my mouth and I’m actually biting my knuckle. What the hell? I’m nervous!

“Cass,” Dad starts. Thank the heavenly lord Dad’s the first one to talk to her. “We have heard absolutely nothing about you,” he says, and I want to punch him. Yes, it’s true. I’m not a sharing kind of person, but fuck, Dad? Seriously? Way to make me sound like an insensitive dick.

“That must mean you’re pretty special. We only hear the breakup stories, and we used to get one of those a week,” Dad continues. Okay, so that’s a little better.

Cass smirks at me quickly, like she just got some secret that she plans to use against me. “It was touch and go there for a while,” she says to my dad, giving me a wink. Ninja princess. “I painted his room pink.”

That’s right. She painted my room pink. And I may never change it back, because it reminds me of her. I look right into her eyes, my smile big, and shake my head while my dad laughs and looks to my mom, who’s also pretty impressed.

“It was Rowe’s idea,” Cass says, wanting to give her friend credit. This girl, she owns me, and I pull her into my lap without even thinking. And when my mother’s eyebrows shoot up to her hairline in shock, I hug Cass tightly, just to punctuate my point. That’s right mom—she owns me. And you’re going to love her.

My parents can be cool when they try. Nate and I sat near the front of the suite, the row making it easy for me to push between two of the sections. Our parents stayed near the back, at the food tables, giving us some space. There are a few people here from my dad’s office. He’s in accounting, which on the surface sounds about as sexy as working in cardboard. But my dad’s kind of high up with a big firm, and his accounting works in numbers with lots of zeroes, and that…that gets exciting. I get my business sense from him. So does Nate, though Nate’s more public relations.

The girls are sitting in front of us, their feet propped up on the bar at the front of the box, and their skirts tucked tightly around their legs. If I were a cameraman on the other side of the stadium, I know where I’d be focusing.

“Dude, there’s a lot of whispering going on up there,” I say to Nate, nudging him to look at Cass and Rowe, their heads close together. Every few seconds, Cass cups Rowe’s ear, then she pulls away again, crossing her arms. Rowe looks like she’s getting upset. Fuck me. Are they seriously fighting?

“Hey, mind if I get some time with my date?” I ask as I push in closer to their row. Cass climbs over to sit on the other side of me, and Rowe doesn’t flinch or bother to look our way. I cast a look to Nate, who takes a deep breath, then climbs over the seat to sit next to her.

“I made Rowe mad,” Cass admits. Shit. I hate girl fights. I have a brother, and I love that I have a brother. I’m also glad we don’t have a sister, because I wouldn’t know what the hell to do with all of her damn girl fights.

“Okay,” is all I say. I suck.

Cass turns to look at me swiftly, studying me for a few minutes with her brow pinched, trying to tell if I’m serious, so I shrug.

“You are such a boy,” she laughs, laying her head on my shoulder and cupping my bicep with her hand. It feels like she was meant to do this always.

“Yeah, but I prefer the term man, if it’s all the same to you. Just sayin’,” I joke, and her light laugh shakes my arm. I lift it up to put it around her and squeeze her to me. Looking over my shoulder, I notice my mom watching me the entire time. Her grin could not be any more obvious.

“Paige is spending the night at the sorority house tonight,” Cass says, bringing my attention back to her. “She’s joining one. She’ll be moving out.” I feel her breath stop. Mine stops too. It froze the moment I realized what this means: Paige will be gone, and if Rowe is with Nate, we would be alone. Not gonna lie, my pants just got a little bit tighter, and I’m pretty sure Cass can tell. There are some things that are difficult to hide.

“So…you’re saying…” I start, not wanting to presume anything—I usually do, but this one, this time? This is different. I need to be careful here.