Page 35 of Off Limits
‘Done.’
‘You won’t be needing this, then,’ she says. ‘Now get out of here before somebody asks for another selfie.’
She takes her pen and doesn’t give me another backward look. I watch the woman at the other end of the bar chew her out and I’m mad on Serenity’s behalf. The girl has two fucking jobs, cheerleader and waitress, neither of which appear to be very well-paid.
So, despite my reluctance, I leave.
‘Hey, son,’ my dad calls from the living room where he’s watching baseball. ‘How was practice?’
I toss my bag down on the carpet. ‘Hey. All good.’
Mom’s voice floats through from the kitchen. ‘Jake? Jakey, is that you, honey?’
‘Hi, Ma,’ I say, raising my voice.
‘You didn’t call what’s-her-name,’ Dad grunts at me, and his eyes don’t stray from the TV.
‘What?’
‘Your mom saw her at tennis class. You know, the weather girl.’
‘Oh. Right.’
Mom appears from the kitchen clutching what looks like pink lemonade. ‘Hey, sweetie, how was practice? You want a drink?’
I take the glass and down the contents. ‘Thanks, Ma.’
‘Somebody’s thirsty. We thought you’d be home earlier.’
I hand her back my empty glass. This is why I sometimes regret bringing my entire family with me to Canyon. ‘You don’t need to track my movements every minute of the day.’
‘I saw Olivia at my tennis class today. She told me you never called her.’
‘She was nice, Ma, but I didn’t wanna ask her out on a date.’
‘Why not? Why would you not wanna go out with a girl like that?’
Because you chose her for me, I think to myself.Plus, I got somebody else in my sights.
‘I’m serious, honey,’ Mom continues, and I see Dad roll his eyes. ‘One, she’s gorgeous. Two, she’sverywell-educated. Three, she got that job at the TV station she went for.’
‘So now she’ll actuallybea weather girl?’ Dad pipes up with a chuckle.
‘Four—’
‘There’s a four?’
‘I’ve seen the kind of girls these players like to date. You know, with their fillers and their Instagram pages andalldripping with jewellery…’
‘What’s wrong with any of that? Did you meet Dalton Briar’s wife, Ally? She seems pretty down-to-earth to me.’
‘I’m just trying to help you make good choices, sweetheart.’
‘I don’t need your help, Ma. Like I told you, I’ll find my own girlfriend, alright? Where’s Riv?’
‘Upstairs. Sulking.’
‘Why’s she sulking?’
