“Of course it is.” She smiles and pats my cheek.
Coach Carver shakes his head and says, “Take your damn cookies,” but there’s humor in his eyes as his wife hands them over.
I open the container and pop one in my mouth right away.
He chuckles as he slides into his seat. “As excited as I am to see you, kid, I might be even more excited to be back at The Blue Crab. I’m starving.”
This man will probably be calling me “kid” until I have the same gray hair and beer gut he’s sporting now. And I’ll happily let him. He picks up a menu and scans it thoroughly. I don’t know why he’s bothering to look because he orders the same thing every time we’re here.
“You getting the seafood club again?” I ask.
“You know it.”
When Regina comes over to take our order, Coach Carver asks her for the restaurant’s signature sandwich, and I order a crab cake. Ms. Ruth orders the soup. She catches me up on the latest news about their kids and grandkids.
“How was the big wedding?” Coach asks. “The new roommate working out?”
I nod. “So far, so good with Jake. The wedding was actually at his parents’ place.” I take out my phone to show them a group shot of the wedding party while another picture forms in my brain. I remember Shelley in her dress standing by the water, then later that night back at the hotel in her pajamas.
Frank must notice something in my face because he points at me and asks, “What’s that look? Something happen at the wedding you want to share with the class?”
I set my phone on the table. “Not really. It was a nice time.”
Ms. Ruth gives me a soft smile as she takes a sip of sweet tea. “I have a feeling there’s more to that story.”
“Nah,” I say, shaking my head.
Coach arches a brow and sets his elbows on the table, one open hand clasped over the other fist, resting his chin on both. They know I’m not telling them something, and I know them well enough to realize they’ll get it out of me eventually.
I sigh. “Fine. Maybe there’s a girl,” I mumble from behind my water glass, taking a big swig so I have somewhere to look besides their faces.
“Oh, yeah?” Coach prompts.
“I mean, she’s cool or whatever, but it ends there. She lives all the way in D.C. Plus, her brother is my friend. It’s too complicated to start anything.”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t sound very complicated. D.C. is an easy day trip from here. And in my day, it was a good thing for a guy to know his sister was with someone he could trust.”
“I’m not sure Mike would see it that way.” I voice my concern and understanding crosses his brow.
Ms. Ruth peers at me thoughtfully. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this. Whatever is going on between you and this young lady, it looks good on you.”
When Regina returns and sets down our food, I thank her and pick up a fork to push my crabcake around the plate. They’re right. I haven’t felt this way since my only serious girlfriend, and they know how that worked out with Tiffany. She’s not here, is she?
I fell hard for my high school sweetheart, but my home life was too unstable. Eventually she decided she couldn’t chance falling into the kind of life my family lived. I still remember what Tiffany said the day she dumped me.You’re a nice guy, Jordan. You really are. But I need someone with a brighter future.It gutted me, but even then, I understood. The evidence was on her side. Now here I am, a full decade later, and my future’s still a crapshoot.
Shelley is smart and she’s driven. She’s going to be a lawyer. I, on the other hand, barely managed to get through high school and I’m probably going to be out of a job in a few months. Even if she has feelings for me, I’m sure they’ll fade fast as soon as she realizes I’ve got nothing to offer. That’s the way this goes.
My phone lights up with a new notification.
Shelley:Just had the Worst. Date. Ever. Not exaggerating. Worst one in the history of the world. God awful.
I’m hit with a queasy feeling that has nothing to do with the crab cake.
Shelley’s dating?
Then again, why wouldn’t she be? I told her outright nothing would ever happen between us and catapulted myself into the friend zone the first time she tried to touch me.
I hate this. And I did it to myself. I can’t blame anyone but me.
