He drops his backpack and immediately starts rummaging through the fridge for snacks. He grabs a couple of cheese sticks and two bottles of water and then turns toward the table to have a seat.
“Wonder what this is.” he says, gesturing to a pile of photos strewn across the table as he sits.
I swallow a few glugs of water and am lowering my bottle from my mouth when Connor freezes, a polaroid in his hand. His head cocks to the side and his eyes narrow. He glances up at me and then back at the picture.
“What is it?”
“Coach, why…” He lingers on the picture in his hand. “Why are you in a picture with my mom?” He turns the picture toward me, his eyes narrowing with intense child-level suspicion. I take one quick glance and know exactly what the photo is.
Spring break.
Beach day.
Harper in my hoodie.
Me kissing her cheek.
Her laughing with her whole face.
My heart stops and my throat closes.
Shiiiiiiit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Fuck!
Shit!
What am I…
What should I…
Shit!
What do I…
Every molecule in my body panics.
“I—uh—well—we…” I stutter like an idiot. “She was probably a fan of mine from a long time ago and happened to run into me on the beach. Probably asked for a picture.” I take the picture from him and pretend to study it even though I don’t need to study it because I was fucking there. I remember how she smelled that day. I remember telling her I was in love with her that day.
He flips through some of the other pictures. “You look younger here. Wait.” He pauses. “In this one you’re holding hands.” He shuffles to another photo, his eyes widening. “And in this one you’re—OH EW—you’re kissing!”
I choke. “Hey, hey—okay—relax. It was just—kid stuff. Sort of.”
Christ.
I’m going straight to hell.
“So, you knew her? You knew my mom?”
I ram my hand into my hair because fucking hell, what am I supposed to say to this kid? I have no idea how much he knows or doesn’t know, nor did I get any kind of instruction from Harper on what she wants me to say or not say.
“Okay, so um, yes.” I nod. “Your mom and I, uh…we knew each other. A long time ago.”
Connor squints. “How long?”
“Forever ago,” I say too quickly pulling my phone from my pocket like I’m about to calculate just how long it’s been. “College. We uh, we actually went to the same college. That’s all.”
