She pulls a frozen dinner from the freezer. "I have a hard time believing you could just be friends with a boy who looks like that."
"Mom! Were you checking him out?"
"Honey, being in my forties doesn't make me blind." She puts her frozen dinner in the microwave. "I can still notice a good-looking young man. And Dean is very good-looking. I never would've guessed he was the boy you keep talking about. He looks a lot older than 18. I would've guessed he was 25."
"It's because of his size. High school guys usually don't have muscles like that. And he started school late. He'll be 19 in the spring."
She leans against the counter as her dinner cooks. "I'm sure he gets a lot of attention from the girls at school."
I shrug. "Yeah, I guess. They all want to date a football player."
She crosses her arms over her chest. "You never answered my question. Did you tell Chad about Dean?"
"No. Why would I tell him?"
She sighs. "Honey, I know it's hard being away from Chad, but finding someone else to fill the time until you see him again isn't the right thing to do."
"Mom, for the last time, I am not doing anything with Dean. Even if I was single and wanted to date him, he wouldn't do it. He doesn't date."
"Oh, yes, that's right," she says in a disgusted tone. "This is the boy who sleeps around instead of dating."
"I never said that. You just assumed that because I told you he didn't date. The truth is, Dean doesn't have time to date," I say, not wanting her to know her assumption was right. "He has school, football practice, taking care of his brother, and he's trying to find a job."
"I suppose that does limit his time, and yet he had time to spend with you today."
"Because Jacob went out with a friend. And we didn't plan to go out. I just suggested it because I didn't want be alone all afternoon."
"I'm sorry, honey." She walks up to me, smoothing my hair. "I've been working too much. I need to spend more time with you."
"It's okay. I know we need the money. And I might do more tutoring. I like it and it gives me some spending money."
The microwave beeps and she goes to get her dinner.
"Have you talked to Chad today?"
Why does she keep bringing him up? I might as well tell her.
"Can we sit down?" I ask as she stirs the pasta in the tiny compartment of her frozen meal.
"Sure." She brings her dinner to the high-top counter and we each take a stool.
"I've given this a lot of thought," I say, taking a deep breath, "and I've decided to break up with Chad."
She was about to take a bite of her dinner but lowers her fork and turns to me. "When did you decide this? After you and Dean..." Her brows rise.
I roll my eyes. "For the last time, we didn't do anything."
The way she keeps accusing me like that, I'm starting to think she knows what Dean did to me earlier. But there's no way she would know, unless I have some kind of post-orgasm glow.
"This has nothing to do with Dean, or any other guy. It has to do with Chad. He's been ignoring me since we moved here. He forgets to call me. He hardly ever texts."
"He's busy. You know Chad. He's in a lot of activities and you know how stressed he gets the first week of school."
"That's not an excuse for not calling me, or sending me a text. He won't even come here to see me because he's worried about his precious car getting stolen."
"He might be right to worry."
"Would you stop taking his side? I'm your daughter. You should be supporting me."
