Page 77 of Sportsball is for Lovers

“This is Jared,” she says as an afterthought. “J, this is my sister, Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you.” For the sister, I pull out my manners, offering my hand to shake.

Sarah’s grip is firm. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Why would you?” Sadie’s voice shakes. “It’s not like you’ve ever asked a single question about my life.”

Sarah inhales sharply. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Sadie shakes out her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m in a shitty mood. You don’t deserve that.”

“We haven’t been dating long,” I offer.

“Long enough to come to this party together,” Sarah says slowly.

“When you know, you know.” Even though I try to keep my response glib, deep in my chest, I know the truth.

I do know.

I like Sadie. A lot. But as much as I might want more, I know she’s like a skittish kitten. One wrong move and I’ll scare her off—for good.

So I can be patient. I can wait until she’s ready to hear what I want to say. I can give her the time to get to where I am.

Sarah offers me a smile. “I’d love to get to know you more. Are you guys sticking around?”

“We fly back tomorrow afternoon,” Sadie says. “The bookstore doesn’t give me a lot of time off.”

Carefully, I hold back my laugh. She’s in charge of the schedule. She could easily arrange for a week or more of time off. She has no problems doing so when she has a book signing or is under a deadline crunch.

When it comes to taking actual time off for personal reasons? It would be more likely to find a thunderstorm in the Negev.

Sarah’s lips purse. “You’re still working at the bookstore?”

I’m not sure if her family knows she’s the manager of the store or think she’s a low-level lackey. They definitely don’t know about Sylvie. She’s said multiple times they wouldn’t understand.

The longer I stand here, the more I get it.

Family is more than blood relation. I’m lucky that Yoni and I get along with our parents. They support us, they drive us crazy, but at the end of the day, I can trust that they genuinely want what’s best for us.

I don’t know that I could say the same about the Hershkowitzs.

Sadie’s posture is stiff as she introduces me to various cousins and family friends. She steers clear from mentioning either of our professions. I don’t know if it’s because I’m currently in a career transition or so she won’t have to hear the condescension about her chosen career path.

These people aren’t her people. She’s made it clear she’s here because she feels the obligation, not because she wants to be. She keeps her contact with them as minimal as possible. I get it. If I was constantly derided for what I look like, who I date, and what kind of job I work, I’d be uninterested in spending any more time with them than absolutely necessary.

Sadie’s other sisters look like her, too. Talia seems genuinely nice. Tamar… Well, if I hadn’t already heard from Yoni how much of a cunt she is, I probably would have come to the same conclusion within five minutes of meeting her.

The only people I haven’t met? Sadie’s parents.

“Is this the house you grew up in?” I ask as we skirt past the bathroom line to the kitchen.

She nods, chewing on her lip.

“Show me your room?”

Her eyes go wide. “We can’t fool around here.”

“Who said anything about fooling around?” Although normally I’d be down for some semi-public sex, the thought of putting her through that so close to people she doesn’t get along with makes my stomach turn. All they’d do is judge her. That’s not sexy.