Page 10 of This I Promise You
“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes and take a sip of my frozen treat. It’s not like I want to date him. Sex? Sure, but that’s it. He’s a total douche. No question about it.
“So how are things with Quinton?” Aidan asks Cameron.
I don’t have a clue who that is, so I sit back and listen, while the douche’s face keeps scrolling through my mind. I can’t get the image of him wrapping his hands around my neck out of my mind, and it’s got me all worked up.
“I don’t know.” Cameron smirks. That doesn’t sound good. “I think maybe we’re just too different.”
“Oh.” A’s lips form a tiny O. “Sorry, Cam. That sucks. He seemed really nice.”
I zone out for a moment. I don’t know who Quinton is and it doesn’t sound like it’s going that well. All I catch between more flashes of the Paul-sized-douche is something about there being too much of an age gap and wanting different things, and Cam’s thinking about calling it off. Then Cameron gets up.
“I gotta get going. Can’t be late for Chemistry again.” Cameron rolls his eyes. “Hat looks good by the way.”
Cam’s looking at me and nods toward my cowboy hat. I finally decided to wear it today, and my cowboy boots to match. I might be in Charlotte, and I might be gay, but I’m still country. That’ll never change.
“Thanks.” I smile and we say our goodbyes before he heads off.
“It actually does look good,” Aidan says.
“Of course it does.” I put on a little fake confidence. I mean it is a cowboy hat, of course it looks good. It has nothing to do with me though.
Aidan shakes his head. “You’ve really got—”
My phone rings on the table, serenading the room with Kane Brown’s “Heaven” and saving me from whatever pep talk I’m sure A was about to give me. I check the screen. “It’s Dad.”
I accept the call and put it on speakerphone. Dad loves A. The music fades as the line opens.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?” I answer.
“Hey, bud—” Dad’s voice comes over the line before Aidan yells.
“Hey, Dad!” Aidan always calls him that. It’s weird, but I don’t say anything about it.
“Is that Aidan?” Dad laughs.
“Yep, it’s me!”
“Hey there, Aidan,” Dad says. “Just thought I’d check in.”
“It’s only been four days,” I remind him, laughing and shaking my head for Aidan. “And aren’t you at work?”
“I’m sitting in the parking lot,” he says. I have to bring the phone closer to hear over the chatter in the cafe. “Got another ten before I have to go in and just thought I’d see how your classes are going. You too, Aidan.”
Before I can respond, Aidan scoots his chair right against mine and starts up. “Classes are exhausting, Mr. Belle. I’m in my first actual nursing class and ugh. It’s going to kill me, I swear.”
“Nursing’s a hard major,” Dad says.
Before Aidan can reply I speak up, eyeing A jokingly. “Classes are good so far. This class on the planets is going to be hard though.”
“But so much fun,” Aidan tails my sentence.
“Sounds difficult,” Dad laughs, and then his tone changes. It gets quieter. “How’ve your eyes been?”
“They’re okay.” I tell him while Aidan shrinks a little and eyes me caringly. There’s still a small tingle behind them, but it’s barely noticeable. The week before last my vision got all blurry and oh my God my eyes hurt. It was a relapse. I have multiple sclerosis. Didn’t know until junior year when the very same thing happened and I thought I was going blind.
I don’t like thinking about it.
The line goes quiet for a moment. Dad knows it’s not my favorite topic, but he wouldn’t be Dad if he didn’t ask, I guess. I hear him cough on the other end.
