eyes are like ice. Jason moves next to me to make room for them at the table.
“Great game, man,” Jason tells Damian as they clasp their hands around their thumbs.
“Thanks, man.”
Arissa leans over and whispers, “So how’s the date?”
“We keep getting interrupted,” I whisper back.
“Hey. No whispering at the table, you two,” Jason teases.
“Have you ordered anything yet?” Damian asks.
“No, I got side-tracked,” Jason answers, sheepish.
Damian glances at me and grins.
“Don’t look at me.” I gesture around the restaurant. “Blame them.”
Damian laughs. “How about I order some food and drinks? Pepperoni okay?”
“And a pitcher of whatever,” Jason answers.
“So, Waters,” Arissa says, ”are you making sure my best friend is having a good time?”
“I’m trying to.” He flashes her a toothy grin.
“You better be. It took you guys long enough to get here.”
“You know who to blame that one on,” I say dryly.
Arissa snickers. “So did good ol’ Simon and Tibby put you through the wringer?” she asks Jason.
Wringer is mild. They asked dozens of pointless questions, then demanded to examine his car and that he give them his cell phone and home number. They eyed him up and down, weighing him and finding him wanting no doubt.
“Something like that.” He chuckles and then looks at me. “I’m sorry, Parker. But they give me the creeps.”
“They give everyone the creeps,” I state. “That’s why I go to Arissa’s instead of her coming to my house. They’re Ozzie and Harriet around other people, but psychotic Al and Peg on crack the rest of the time.”
Damian returns with the pitcher and glasses. “So what did I miss?” he asks, pouring the drinks and passing them around.
“Just talk about Simon and Tibby,” Arissa says matter-of-factly.
Damian wrenches his face in response. “I’m sorry,” he says, catching himself. “I haven’t even met them.”
“You don’t want to,” Jason, Arissa, and I respond in unison.
“Enough of my parents. Let’s talk about something else.”
“I’m throwing a party after the game next week and I want you two to come,” Damian announces.
“Cool. We’ll be there,” Jason says, sliding his arm over my shoulders. I neither shy away, nor lean into his display of affection.
“Could you give me a ride to the game next week if you’re taking Sara?” Arissa asks Jason.
“Sure.” He turns to me and adds, “If it’s okay with you that we have a third wheel.”
I laugh and Arissa throws the paper wrapper from her straw at Jason. “Thanks a lot. At least I know where I stand in your world,” she states.
“I don’t mind having a third wheel. I like tricycles,” I chime in.
Arissa extends her middle finger to me. I return the gesture with a grin causing her to double over in laughter.
“You can either be at Parker’s at six-thirty or we’ll come over after I pick her up,” Jason tells her.
“I’ll brave her house for a bit. It’s only fair, I guess,”
Joe brings our pizza when it is ready. He wears his long, blond hair in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
“Hey, Joe!” we greet him together.
“So what’s new with you guys?” he asks, placing the pizza in the middle of the table.
“It’s Jason and Sara’s first date,” Arissa announces, passing the plates around.
“I think this calls for something special. I’ll be back with a surprise.” He heads back to the kitchen and returns with dessert as the last of the pizza disappears off our plates.
“It’s not a real date unless you share a banana split,” he says, setting it between us. “I didn’t forget you guys either,” he tells Arissa and Damian, placing another banana split in front of them.
Damian and Arissa inhale their dessert, then say their goodbyes.
I’m finally alone with Jason.
“I wish we could’ve done this sooner,” he says, a wistful glint in his eye.
“Me too.” I smile.
“Parker?” He takes my hand into his.
“Yeah?”
“What really goes on at home?”
I choke down the lump forming in my throat, swallowing hard.
“Whatever it is, it won’t change my feelings for you.”
My eyes water. Jason squeezes my hand, stroking my cheek and wiping my tears with his free hand.
He says that, but it will change everything if he knew. The beatings. The rape. The pregnancy. The abortion. He would run for Arizona and never look back.
“I adore you, Parker.” He brushes his lips across mine. “You don’t have to tell me until you’re ready. I promised you before I wouldn’t keep asking you. But, I know something is going on and it’s hurting you. I can see it in your eyes.”