Past
Waking up with Parker tucked in my arms was the definition of heaven. She was snuggled against me and the small hairs on the back of her neck tickled my nose. Her breathing was even and low. I placed a small kiss on her temple and held her closer. School was starting in a couple of weeks and both cheer and football had grueling schedules over the summer. We spent every minute together knowing that once school started, our precious time would become scarce.
Parker’s breathing changed and I smiled when she stretched against me and pulled my arm closer to her breasts. “I could wake up like this every morning.”
I wasn’t used to sleeping next to another person and the excitement of her nearly naked body was too hard to resist. Sleeping wasn’t a thing. We’d make love, take a quick nap, eat food, make love again, fall asleep for a few hours, repeat, and repeat. This was our fourth Sunday morning together, our fourth overnight as a couple, and a month since we both lost our virginity.
I looked at the clock. “It’s almost time for you to leave.” I held her closer, praying just once she’d want to forget about family obligations and several hours of church to stay with me.
“I know. Plus, I hear your dad downstairs. He’s up early this morning.” Her voice was soft and quiet in the early morning stillness. She tapped my leg and slipped out from beneath the covers. I watched her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth with the red toothbrush she had stashed in my bathroom. She winked when she noticed me watching her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” I playfully pulled her back on the bed and was rewarded with a refreshing kiss.
“I would love to, but God needs me.” She laughed.
“I need you more.” My pout had no power which made me pout for real. “Okay, I’ll call you later.” I fell back on the bed when she left, hoping to catch another hour of sleep, but my dad had other ideas. He knocked but walked in before I had a chance to say anything. “Dad.” I scowled and pulled up the covers.
“I made pancakes. Come on downstairs. We need to talk.” He sounded sad.
“Okay. I’ll be down in a minute.” I threw on sweats and a sweatshirt and met him at the kitchen.
He placed a plate of peanut butter pancakes and bacon in front of me. “Did you sleep well?”
Barely, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Yes. It’s nice to have one day where I can sleep in.”
He poured us orange juice and sat at the table. “Sweetheart, I know you need your privacy and your freedom, but given your relationship with Parker, she can’t stay the night anymore unless her parents sign off on it.” He held up his hands. “I’m not comfortable with her parents not knowing.” He knew her parents were religious and were vocally against homosexuality. While he knew I was responsible and respectful, I could tell he was worried about how they would take the news.
“They just think we’re friends, Dad. It’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, where do they think she was last night?”
I blew out a deep breath. “Missy’s.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just not okay with you lying. Even by omission. I don’t want them to ruin your chances at getting a scholarship and I definitely don’t want to lose my job if they start talking. People are looking at you closely because of who you are. You need to be careful, kiddo.”
“Okay, no more overnights.” My heart dropped to my stomach at the news, but I didn’t want anything to happen to him. Parker’s parents were the kind who would cause trouble and the last thing he needed was the community getting up in arms about him promoting gayness or whatever.
“You can have sleepovers. As long as her parents sign off on it.”
“That’s not going to happen. I don’t think her parents like anything about me.”
He gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry they don’t try to get to know you. You’re a wonderful person and you have so much to offer the world. It’s their loss.”
I smiled because he genuinely believed it. He was proud of me. “Thanks, Dad. Why are people like that?”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand it either. Some people’s belief system is so rooted into religion that they can’t believe anything else. If they are challenged, they fight even if they hurt the people they love.”
“Sounds stupid. Parker tells me all the time how her parents shame her. They sound like horrible parents,” I said.
“It’s not an ideal situation for her, but she’ll be an adult soon enough and hopefully can make her own decisions. Life changes once you go away to college,” he said.
It dawned on me that I would be going away and leaving him all alone. “What about you, Dad? Maybe you can transfer to a school down in Texas.” The realization that we would be apart made my heart sink into the pit of my pancake-filled stomach.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I can retire early and write that book I’ve always wanted to write.” He wasn’t joking. Ever since I could remember, my dad wanted to write the next great American novel. Since becoming assistant principal of Oak Grove, he never had the time.
“Please retire to a beach somewhere so I can visit. But don’t be one of those reclusive writers who forgets to bathe and walks around town muttering to himself, okay? Like that’s just going to be too much for me. I can’t field daily calls about your well-being.”
My dad pretended to be crushed. “I’ll try my best to not be an embarrassment to you.”
“Do you have a five-year plan?” It was a question he always asked me.
“I plan to get you off to college, sell the house, maybe move down to Florida to be closer to Uncle Ronnie.”
I barely hid my gasp when my father mentioned selling the house. We had moved into this house when he became assistant principal six years ago, a year before my mother died. We needed more space and my mother wanted a larger kitchen. She wanted to start a catering business but when she got sick, that dream was forgotten. I didn’t hide my surprise well enough.
He patted my hand. “We’re not doing anything for a while. Let’s get you through college first.”
I finished my breakfast and drove to the gym to work on core strengthening exercises. My phone started ringing loud enough to cut into the alternative rock on my headphones. I took off my headphones and flipped open the phone.
“Hey, you’re finally up.” I sat up on the weight bench, excited that Hayley called.
“You only called me like six times. Not all of us get up at the crack of dawn to work out and pump iron,” she said.
“Sorry. A lot went down this morning. Parker can’t spend the night anymore unless her parents know about us and that’s not going to happen. And my dad is thinking of selling the house and moving to Florida when he retires.”
“No way. Is he retiring soon?”
“No. We were just talking about going away to college and it came up,” I said.
“Got it. What about Parker? Does she know where she’s going?”
“Fingers crossed for Abilene but wherever she goes, we’ll make it work.” We were in love and nothing was going to keep us apart. She had more options and more money than I did.
“But what if she goes somewhere else? What if her dipshit parents ship her to some remote Christian college in Canada or something?”
My heart slipped a bit at the thought of her being so far away but revved back up when I realized nothing could keep us apart. We were destined to be together. “I’ll just have to make sure I get a passport.”