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I certainly didn’t plan it, but I didn’t have any intention of lying to them when they brought it up.
“It’s been a couple of months of trying to figure things out with this guy, and he’s really cool. We’ve been hanging out, but we just decided to go on a date today, and I’m nervous.”
“You always get nervous before a date,” Dad says. “I remember the first girl you went out with in eighth grade. You threw up three times, then started panicking about her wanting to kiss you.”
I cringe. “Can we not go down memory lane?”
“It’s nice seeing you like this again,” Mom says. “You always seem so happy when you’re hopeful about someone, and your father and I have been hoping she was really special.”
“But now we’re remembering what happens when one assumes,” Dad adds.
So clearly I’ve been very bad at hiding my feelings for Ty from them, which doesn’t surprise me. If anything, they’ve been great at masking being aware of it.
“I mean, you couldn’t have known,” I say.
Dad shifts his head either way. “I think if we’d been better parents and tapped your phone, we would’ve.”
“We could have probably taken some days off to stalk you around campus to show we cared,” Mom follows.
“You guys are weird.”
“Aw, come here, my big man,” Dad says. He and Mom push to their feet and swarm me for hugs.
This is one of the reasons it was so easy to tell them. One of the reasons they knew I was interested in someone even before I told them. We’re just close like that. And it’s nice being open with them about what’s going on in my life.
Although, there’s a sting too. Because there’s one person missing, whom I can’t share this incredible news with. Who would have been just as happy for me.
“You know Kacey would have been happy for you too,” Mom whispers, intuiting where my mind had gone.
“I know,” I say, fighting back tears.
As they pull away and return to their seats, Dad says, “So tell us about him. We want to know everything. Talk to us until your mom gets her phone out because she’s bored.”
“’Scuse you,” she says, shooting him a look.
I decide I might as well tell them everything. “You know that Sigma Alpha frat president I sometimes mention?”
“Ty Lancaster?” Dad asks.
“Yes…”
“A Sigma Alpha?” Dad pushes to his feet and points toward the front hall. “Get out.”
He does his best to keep a stoic expression, but he finally gives, and then we’re all laughing.
I tell them a PG-version of how Ty and I got together, and then we move on to more mundane topics before finishing our meal. They wish me luck on my date, and after I return to Alpha Theta Mu, I shower and get ready.
As I get dressed, I keep thinking how nice it was sharingthat with my parents. But mostly, I’m thinking:Am I really about to go on a date with Ty? The player who could have any girl he wanted? The guy I had fun giving hell to for the past few years? The guy who pranked the hell out of me at the start of the year?
I stand before my floor-length mirror, checking my hoodie sweater and jeans to make sure they fit well, show off everything they need to so he’ll struggle to keep his hands off me.
For whatever reason, I can’t shake the nerves in my belly, the sort I always get before a first date.
It shouldn’t matter. Ty sees me all the time. The guy was up my ass last night, and he’s definitely seen me at my worst when I first wake up in the morning, so there’s nothing to be nervous about. But seems like knowing him better has made me even more anxious than I was back when I was dating girls.
I check the time on my phone, and it’s only five minutes until we said we’d meet at his room, so I run my fingers through my hair a couple of times, messing it in the front to give it that I-couldn’t-care-less look, which is amusing considering how much I care right now. I swing by Ash’s room to check on Frat Cat, who’s just sleeping. He seems fine, so I text Ash to let him know before leaving for Sigma Alpha.
Once there, I head to Ty’s room, approach his door, and knock. He opens it so fast, I would’ve thought he was waiting for me on the other side. And as soon as I see him in his cardigan and slacks, his hair done just right, I’m taken aback, reminded why this guy could easily get the attention of any girl he wanted. And also wondering why the hell he’s doing anything with me. But when his lips curl into a smirk, I suddenly forget about all that.