I lay on my back doing bench presses, the entire time my mind on Jessica. I have to leave for college soon, and there is no part of me that wants to go without her. But I can’t bring her to live in my dorm at Penn State. Hell, no one even knows we’re a couple. I wanted to bring her home to meet my family when my dad finally came to town last weekend but she refused. She doesn’t want anyone to know about us because she knows no one will approve.

She’s not wrong about that. My parents won’t want me with her. They want me with someone who was raised like I was, with money and every opportunity, someone refined and graceful. Jess may not be those things, but that’s what I love about her. She doesn’t have that sense of entitlement that most of our generation has. She knows that the only thing that matters is what’s inside a person’s heart, not the cost of their car.

Finishing my last set, I get up and wipe the sweat from my brow. The gym is quiet today, as it has been all summer. I'm one of the only people who has to keep training this time of year, but if I make it to the AFL, it'll all be worth it. Then no one can stop us from being together. We'll be set financially and we can get married and start our life.

“There he is,” my dad’s voice calls across the gym.

I turn and give him a wave, glad he’s here. “Hey, Dad. What’re you doing here?”

He strides over to me and sits down on the bench next to mine, facing me. “Your mother wanted me to check on you.”

“Why?” My Spidey senses are tingling and I know whatever he’s about to say isn’t good.

“Well, we know you’re seeing someone and you’ve got your mom really worried that you might be taking things more seriously than you should.”

I shrug and wipe my face with a towel. “Tell her not to worry.”

“Who’s the girl, Ethan?”

I drop the towel and get up to take the plates off the bar. “Who says I have a girl?”

“Drop the crap. We found the candles on the yacht.”

I feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, then sigh and turn to him. When I look at his face, he’s wearing a knowing grin. “I was nineteen once, you know.”

“Her name is Jess. She’s really smart and sweet. You’d love her. Mom would, too.”

“Is it serious?”

"I'd like it to be, but we're both smart enough to know better than to get too caught up too fast. She's got plans, and so do I."

“Good,” my dad nods. “That’s good. We didn’t put in all this effort just to have you give up on your dreams now.”

“I won’t. And to be honest, I don’t think Jess would let me. She’s a bit of a hardass.”

“Good. In that case, you should bring her by the house for dinner so we can get to know her.”

“I’ll see if she’ll come. She’s…really shy.”

He gives me a hard look, then says, “Well, ask her anyway. And make sure you take it slow, all right? No sense in getting tied down when you’ve got the whole world at your feet.”

An image of her tying me down flashes through my brain and I have to force myself not to smile. “You were my age when you met Mom.”

“That was different. People were older back then.”

“What?” I laugh. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

"Sure, it does. Everybody got married when they were twenty. Nowadays, kids are smarter. They play the field a bit, grow up before they make commitments." He stands and pats me on the shoulder. "Trust me on this. Don't let yourself miss out on a whole lot of fun that's waiting for you."

* * *

That night, Jess and I lay on a blanket in the secret park, staring up at the stars, wrapped up in each other’s arms. “My parents know about you.”

She freezes her hand that was tracing the stubble on my jaw. “Oh, how did they…”

“The found the candles on the boat.” I turn my head to look at her and see that she’s burying her face in her hand.

“Oh, God! I’m so embarrassed. Do they think we did it?”

“No. I told him we’re both too smart to rush things, but I don’t know how much they believe that.” I run my hand up and down her arm to warm her skin. “They want to meet you. They’re really nice, Jess. They’ll love you, I promise.”

“You can’t promise that. No matter how wonderful they’d think I am, they won’t want you getting involved with someone right now. Not when you’re so close to getting everything you’ve spent your life working toward.” She sighs. “Besides, I’m not exactly from the same side of the tracks as you.”

It bothers me to hear her talk like that—like she’s some trailer trash. “I hate it when you talk like that about yourself. You’re so much more than you think. You’re beautiful and smart and fun and you’re going places, Jess. I know it.”

“Oh, please. I pump gas for a living. I’ll probably never get out of this town.”

“Don’t say that. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise. We’re going to build a life together and you’re going to have everything you’ve ever wanted and all the stuff you never dreamed you could have.” I kiss her gently on the lips, then press my forehead to hers, hoping she knows how I feel.

"You're going to leave here in a couple of weeks and you may come back or you might meet somebody better, someone more like you. And that's okay, Ethan, because, for this entire summer, I've felt special. I felt like I mattered and, even if it's all I get, it'll be enough for me to know someone loved me."

“I do love you and nothing’s going to change that. I’m going to show you that you’re special every damn day of your life, Jessica Anderson.”

We kiss and hold each other until the air cools down and she starts to shiver a bit. The nights are getting colder now which means our time together is coming to an end. As we make our way toward her street, she tells me that she can't face the idea of meeting my parents and I agree to let it go, afraid to push her too hard and have her take off on me. She needs everything to go slow until she can learn to trust me, to trust our love. I walk her home and this time, she lets me walk her almost to her house. We stop a few doors down and she points to her home. It's a narrow, two-story clapboard house. The lawn and weeds grow wild and even in the dark, I can see it's pretty rundown. I turn her to me and give her a long hug, then whisper, "I'm going to get you out of here, Jess. I promise."