I took in a deep breath and explained, “Well, I haven’t finished it yet, but there better be one. I think I’ll die if they don’t make it work. It’s so obvious they are meant to be together.”
Ryker let out a laugh and said, “If it helps you in any way, I’m rooting for them too. I don’t want you to die, so I hope they work it out.”
“I’ll be sure to keep you updated on what happens,” I advised.
After a beat of silence, Ryker declared, “So, I’ve got good news.”
My eyes grew wide as my brows shot up. “Really? What is it?” I questioned him.
“I found a car,” he started. “And since today is payday, I’ve got enough saved up to get it. My parents are going to take me on Sunday to look at it, and if all is good with it, I’ll be getting it.”
“Oh, that’s awesome,” I replied. I knew how hard he’d been working. I was so happy for him. “I hope it turns out to be a good one.”
“Me too,” he agreed. “Because if it is, I’ll finally be able to do something I’ve been dying to do for weeks.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Take you out on a real date,” he answered.
My heart swelled. This guy was the absolute sweetest guy I’d ever met. Truthfully, it wasn’t like I’d had them banging down the door for me. I wasn’t what I’d consider a knockout like some of the girls I went to school with, but I thought I was pretty. Unfortunately, looks only took a girl so far. High school boys didn’t seem to be interested in a girl like me. I was a good student who liked to read a lot. I was the definition of a nerd.
It didn’t bother me.
Especially when I ended up getting a guy like Ryker who looked at me the way some of the guys at school looked at the girls I thought were knockouts.
That made me incredibly happy.
And that was why I responded, “Now I really can’t wait. Where are we going on our date?”
“Where do you want to go?” he asked. “I’ll take you anywhere you want.”
I thought about it for a moment and finally decided, “Ice cream. I want to go out for ice cream.”
“That’s it?” he asked.
I nodded. “Ice cream with you isn’t it, Ryker. It’s everything.”
Ryker let my words sink in. Then he extended his arm out behind my back and grabbed my opposite shoulder. He curled my body into his before kissing the top of my head. Then he said, “You’re the most incredible girl in the world, Scarlet. You make me so happy.”
“I know what you mean,” I returned, tipping my head back to look up at him. “I feel the same way about you.”
Ryker’s eyes searched my face. Then he touched his mouth to mine and kissed me for a long while. When he heard the lawnmower start, he knew break time was over and got back to work.
And before he moved on to the next house, I was lucky enough to get a few more minutes of kissing in. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
Two Months Later
“So, you don’t go to Norfolk Area High School with Scarlet, then?”
That question came from my mother, Adeline, and was directed at Ryker. He was meeting my parents for the first time.
I wasn’t sure if the fact that I’d been dating a boy for three months and my parents were just now meeting him was odd or not, but I was glad I’d managed to delay this meeting. I had a feeling it just wasn’t going to go well.
“No, ma’am. I go to Rising Sun High School,” Ryker answered.
“And did you say what your parents do?” my father, Charles, asked him.
Ryker shook his head. “No, sir. Um, but my dad is a plumber, and my mother’s a seamstress,” he replied.
The instant the words came out of Ryker’s mouth, I saw it. A pretentious look washed over my parents’ faces. It was like they believed they were too good to even be in the same room with someone like Ryker, let alone have their daughter dating him.
I hated that.
Ryker was, by and large, one of the most genuine, hardworking people I’d ever met. Considering my parents worked as much as they did, I would have thought they could at least have an appreciation for Ryker’s dedication.
Even though she and my father had already made up their minds about Ryker, my mother asked, “And what about you? Do you have any plans for what you want to do when you grow up?”
“Well, I’ve still got some time to figure it out, but as of right now, I think I’d like to become a mechanic,” he shared.
“A mechanic?” my father repeated. The tone of his voice made it seem like simply saying the word was making him physically ill.
“Somebody’s got to do it, right?” Ryker shot back.
I pulled my lips in between my teeth to stop myself from bursting with laughter. Ryker was right. The world was always going to need mechanics. So, if he enjoyed doing it, why not him?
“Do you think that a mechanic’s wage is going to support a family?” my dad pressed him.
“With all due respect, sir, I’m in my junior year in high school,” Ryker began. “I’m not exactly thinking about having a family right now.”
“Scarlet is going to be getting a four-year undergraduate degree before heading off to medical school,” my mom shared. “She’ll be following in her parents’ footsteps.”
That was right.
My parents had made up my mind for me.
My father was an anesthesiologist, and my mother was a general surgeon. It was only natural for them to assume I’d follow through on their plans for me to go into the medical field.
I didn’t have any problems with people who worked in the medical field. It was like Ryker said. Somebody had to do it. I just wasn’t sure I was up to the task. From the standpoint of passing tests and learning all the material, I knew I’d be fine. But I had the feeling that doctors needed something else to do what they did. They needed what anyone else needed, regardless of the career path they chose.
Passion.
Medicine was not my passion.
Even still, I wasn’t quite sure what my passion was, so I didn’t argue with them about it. Maybe things would change once I got to that point.
“If anyone can do it, Scarlet can,” Ryker declared, the pride in his voice unmistakable.
“Yes, she can,” my mother agreed.
“Yeah, let’s just hope that she’s not the sole earner,” my father mumbled, looking in my mother’s direction.
I used their distraction with one another as my opportunity to reach under the table to curl my fingers around Ryker’s arm. I hoped he knew I didn’t feel the way my parents did. I didn’t care what he chose to do with his life so long as he was happy doing it.
Feeling my touch, Ryker turned his attention to me. I could tell by the look on his face that the things my parents were saying to Ryker were starting to penetrate. I didn’t want that, but I wasn’t quite sure what I could say at that moment.
Later that night, long after the uncomfortable dinner had ended, I had gone outside with Ryker as he walked to his car.
“I’m so sorry about dinner,” I lamented. “I know how they are, but I honestly didn’t think it was going to be this bad.”