Chapter Four
Tyler
It didn’t surprise me to find Mom waiting in the living room when I got home. She gave me her usual disapproving look, and I knew I’d have to bring Hadley by soon. Setting my stuff down by the door, I sat in the chair beside her.
“You don’t have to lurk in the living room waiting for me to come home.” I’d told her that a million times, but she never seemed to listen.
“Out partying with your friends, I suppose.”
What she really wanted to ask was if I’d been getting hot and heavy with some girl in the back of my truck. If only she knew that the girl I was with now wasn’t about to let me get that far. Honestly, I was surprised Hadley didn’t smack the hell out of me for kissing her as much as I did today.
“Actually, I took my new girlfriend out for ice cream and then I had dinner at her house.”
Mom mumbled something under her breath that sounded like another tart.
“I think you’ll like Hadley, Mom. She’s really sweet and completely different from any girl I’ve dated before. She was dating this total loser though, until just a few weeks ago. I figured she’d had enough time to get over him so I made my move today.”
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that? If you’re really going out with some nice girl, I’m sure it’s only because of what I said. If I hadn’t threatened military school, you’d still be with Alicia, and we both know what that relationship is about.”
I felt my cheeks burn. Having your mother flat out tell you she knows you’re having sex with someone is uncomfortable to say the least. But she wasn’t wrong. The only reason I was ever with Alicia was because she put out. That chick would do anything I wanted, whenever I wanted. And while there was a certain attraction that couldn’t be denied, she wasn’t good for much else. While being with Hadley was going to put a kink in my usual activities, something told me she might be good for me. Yeah, I’d flirted with her today, doing my damnedest to make her blush, but it had been fun. I couldn’t remember the last time hanging with a girl had been fun.
“You can believe what you want, Mom, but Hadley is the real deal. I’ve never been with someone like her before, and I’m not going to screw it up. I’ll take things as slow as she wants because she’s worth it.”
Mom straightened in her seat. “This isn’t that girl you wrote about in your diary when you were younger, is it?”
My embarrassment was now complete. It was one thing to crush on the geek girl in elementary and middle school, and another for your mother to know about it. Or anyone for that matter.
“Guys don’t keep diaries, Mom. And yes, Hadley is the girl I talked about. As to how you know about that…”
She smiled.
“You know, some things are meant to be private.”
“You’re seventeen. You have no privacy in this house.”
All the more reason to go to a college out of state, or at least far enough away I’d have to stay in a dorm. Hell, maybe some girl would tame me between now and then, and we could play house. Getting an apartment didn’t sound so horrible, if there was someone to share it with.
“When do I get to meet her?” Mom asked.
“I’ll bring her around soon. I’m going to try giving her some space between now and Friday’s game, but she’s going to the after party with me. I’m sure she’ll have to be home by midnight or something, so I doubt I’ll be out late.”
“You aren’t going back to the party?” she asked. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open.
“The point in going to a party solo is to hook-up with someone, and I’m not going to do that to Hadley, so no, I won’t be going back to the party. Once I leave with her, that’s it for the night. And I promised her mom I wouldn’t be drinking anything but soda or water.”
There was something that looked suspiciously like pride shining in my mom’s eyes, and I decided to get the heck out of there before things became really weird. When I got to my room, I checked my phone for the first time since leaving school with Hadley. I wasn’t surprised to see missed texts from Colin and Robert, wanting to know what the deal was with Hadley.
I wasn’t sure it was any of their business, but I sent both of them a message that I’d asked Hadley to go out with me. Immediately, my phone rang.
“You’re seriously going to date that Hadley chick?” Colin asked. “She’s in band or something. You’re going to lose major cool points if you don’t drop her tomorrow morning.”
“I’m not dropping her. I happen to like Hadley.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. I did like Hadley, maybe more than I’d realized.