“Can I have some?” Nick asks from his spot on the couch.
“Are you twenty-one and I didn’t realize it?” Dad asks, setting the bottle down as I follow him into the living room. Cookies and snacks sit on the coffee table. Unwrapped presents are stacked under the Christmas tree in neat piles. Pictures from years of sitting on Santa’s lap line the mantel.
“No. But I’m eighteen now,” Nick whines. “I’ll be going to college soon. Shouldn’t I know the perils of drinking before then?”
“I don’t see you going off to college and becoming a binge drinker,” Pops tells him, dropping onto the couch next to Dad. The gray, cozy sectional takes up most of the living room. It faces the TV that hangs over the stone fireplace.
“He’ll be just like Angela.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Dad.”
“Ang is a Goody Two-shoes,” Nick says. “All she does is study.”
“So do you!” I defend. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Have you ever done anything that you’re not supposed to?” He looks at me over his shoulder. “Saint Angela always doing whatever is asked of her.”
“Nick!” Both my dads snap at him.
“Leave your sister be,” Pops tells him. “Turn on the movie, okay?”
“Fine,” he grumbles.
“Don’t listen to your brother,” Dad whispers to me as the movie starts.
“I usually don’t.” I laugh it off, but his words sting.
Is that how he sees me? Someone who will never step a foot out of bounds? Who only does what is asked of her?
If only he knew.
I’d hate to think that he’d be proud of me because of breaking all the rules. Neither one of us have ever been the rebels. It’s just not in our nature.
Leave it to me to push back against everything I’m told not to do when I’m a senior in college. It’s not like my dads are that strict.
Except I don’t think they’d see it that way when it comes to Troy. They would lose their shit if they knew I was dating him.
God. If only there was a way out of this.
A way to keep Troy and my family happy.
I didn’t think I’d have to worry about big life decisions like this until after college. I’ve known exactly what I’ve wanted to do since my dad started Team Rainbow. I’ve wanted to work for my dad for as long as I can remember.
He started the organization after he retired to help teams at all levels, from youth sports all the way to the professionals, to foster inclusivity in sports for LGBTQIA+ athletes. It’s something he is passionate about, and I want to help further the organization after college.
I haven’t had to worry about job interviews duringcollege or stress about where I wanted to live. It was always here in Denver.
Now? Now everything feels murky.
Troy. My job. Where the two of us stand post college. Our families.
“You okay, Ang?” Dad asks from beside me. It’s gotten dark. The movie flashes across the open living room.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You’re quiet, is all.”
“Thinking about school.”
