We sit in companionable silence, eating the frozen dessert.
“Are you worried about the Glenmont game?” Natalie eventually asks me.
“About losing? No.”
“What else would you be worried about?”
Maeve Stevens hating me.
“There’s going to be a lot of scouts there,” I say instead, which is true.
“Isn’t Lincoln pretty much a sure thing at this point? I know you’ve still got your official visit this week, but that’s what Chris and Adam were indicating, at least.”
“Yeah, it is,” I affirm. “I’m just not sure if I want it to be a sure thing.”
“Oh,” Natalie replies. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s not really anything to discuss,” I tell her honestly. “I’ll see what my options end up being, and then I’ll have to make a decision.”
She nods.
“What about you?” I ask. “Any idea where you want to end up?”
“No idea,” Natalie replies. “Probably someplace far, far away from here. I’m over this town.”
“Small towns are exhausting. I definitely miss living in the city,” I respond. “For example, if we were there, I don’t think every person would be staring at us.”
Natalie laughs. I’m not exaggerating.
We finish eating, and I drop Natalie off at her house before continuing down the street to my own. When I pull into the driveway, I’m surprised to see both Charlie and Chris’s cars already parked. I enter my house to find them both sprawled out on the couch in the living room.
“Funny running into you two here,” I inform them. “In my house.”
Chris laughs. “We thought you might want to play some pick-up, since today was a film day.”
“Adam had to get home,” Charlie adds. “But we told him we’d fill him in on whether you and Natalie are back on.”
“So that’s why you two are here,” I realize. “Seriously? You weren’t even in the parking lot when we left.”
“Oh, how sweet and innocent you are,” Charlie teases. “I’m sure the whole school knows you drove her home. What took you so long, anyway? We’ve been her for like twenty minutes, and we left after you did.”
“We stopped for ice cream,” I admit, knowing they’ll hear about it anyway.
“How wholesome,” Chris remarks. “Do you think you’ll manage to move on to holding her hand sometime this month?”
“It’s none of your business, but nothing is going on with me and Natalie,” I inform them. “We’re just friends.”
“You’re just friends,” Chris states disbelievingly. “With the hottest, most popular girl in school, who’s had a thing for you since you moved here?”
I shift uncomfortably. We barely talk in public. I hadn’t realized Natalie’s feelings were evident to anyone else.
“We’re just friends,” I repeat.
“Well, that’s seriously disappointing,” Charlie remarks, sighing. “But I guess we can play some football anyway.”
We head out into my sprawling backyard. Colorful autumn foliage surrounds us as fallen leaves crunch underfoot. We’ve just started tossing the ball around when my father’s flashy car pulls in the driveway. I groan as he parks at the end of the row of cars already filling our driveway and steps out.
Charlie and Chris send me questioning looks that indicate the sound wasn’t very quiet. I’ve never hidden how I feel about my father in front of them, but I’ve also never told them why I treat him with such disregard. Considering he acts like Father of the Year in front of them, I know our tense relationship confuses them.