I offer to walk Veronica out to Cindy’s car but she declines, and I stop at the door, giving her one more kiss. For as much fight as I gave Taylor for wanting to have his stupid party, I’m silently thanking him as she leaves. We talked most of the night, we watched TV, made out for a while, and then fell asleep together. And it all felt so natural.

Then this morning, even if we didn’t have sex, there was no awkward morning silence. No stumbling over words, wondering what we should do now. Again, everything just feels so comfortable with her. Natural.

As I’m closing the front door, Taylor walks out of his room. “What’s up, asshole?”

I immediately start laughing. “Dude, you have to admit, that was funny.”

He flips me off, heading to the bathroom. “At least one of us got some last night. About damn time for you, might I add.”

“We didn’t do anything.”

Taylor stops and stares at me, shocked. “Excuse me? It sounded like you just told me you didn’t hit that, but that can’t be right. You two were practically inseparable last night.”

“Well, I mean, we made out a bit, but we didn’t have sex.”

He gives me an apathetic look, shaking his head. “Micah, I’m disappointed in you.”

“Whatever.” Laughing it off, I head to the kitchen.

“Hit the gym after breakfast?”

“Can’t. Meeting up with my dad.”

“All right, cool. I’ll text him to make sure he gives you the birds and the bees conversation again, since apparently, you forgot how that shit works.”

“Ass.”

Debbie, our waitress, comes by and sets down a couple of cups of water. “Same ol’, same ol’ for you guys?”

“Please,” I respond, giving her a smile.

I just ate an hour ago, but whenever I meet up with my dad, we almost always meet at Mick’s, a small diner down the street from his office. He’ll get a Cubano sandwich, and I get a club sandwich. We usually meet once a week, just him and me to catch up and talk. We started it my junior year in high school, and it’s sort of stuck. He’s my best friend, even though I don’t tell Taylor that. He’s been my hero since grade school.

“So, how’d your finals turn out?” he asks.

“Good,” I answer with a nod. “Aced my English class and high B’s in biology and math.”

“And your art final?”

“Good. The instructor loved the mural I did. She said I should consider an intern job this summer for her brother. He runs an advertising agency in West Covina.”

“That’s great. You know, you can still work at my office if you want.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll just stay at the gym for the time being.”

He’s offered me a spot in his office for three years now. I worked for him for the summer between my junior and senior year, but I felt like I was getting special treatment. I mean, I was, but it seemed obvious to everyone else that worked there. It’s a small graphic design company he started years ago, and a handful of people work for him, so everyone is close. I don’t want to feel like the boss is giving me special treatment. Maybe if people who worked there were jerks, it’d be different, but they’re all really nice.

“Anyway, how’s Mom?”

“She’s good. Her and your aunt are helping your cousin with her wedding stuff.”

I shake my head. “I still can’t believe Judy’s getting married. A month after graduating high school no less. That’s crazy.”

“When you know, you know, son.”

“Yeah,” I reply, staring at my glass of water.

“Everything all right?”

I still haven’t told him or my mom about Lana and I. They’ve both been super supportive of us as a couple and my mom seemed to love Lana. They both did. I guess it’s time to rip off that bandaid. “Yeah, everything’s good, but … me and Lana. We, uh … broke up a few weeks ago.”

“A few weeks?”

“Last month.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just …” I trail off, taking a deep breath. “I really thought we could have a story like you and Mom.”

“Micah,” he says my name and doesn’t continue until I look up at him. “Everyone’s story is different. Sometimes things don’t work out. Don’t feel bad about that.”

“I know.”

“Do you think there’s any chance of you two getting back together?”

When we broke up the first time, I only told them we got into an argument and broke up. I felt bad about it at the time, but when we got back together, I was happy I did. It didn’t seem like such a big deal to them that we got back together. But I know there’s no chance of that now. “No. I caught her cheating on me.”

“Oh,” he says, staring down at the table. Looking back up he gives me a sympathetic smile. “Well, you know, people make mistakes.”

I don’t want to correct him. I don’t want to tell him it’s not the first time. So I just shake my head. “No. This … it wasn’t a mistake. We’re done.”

“Okay.” He stares at me with understanding.

“Here you guys go,” Debbie says, putting the plates down in front of us.

“Thanks, Deb.” I offer her a smile.

Eating in silence, he seems quieter than usual, but maybe he just doesn’t want to bring up Lana. I’m pretty sure my parents thought we might eventually get married one day.

No matter what I tried to tell myself, no matter how hard I tried not to think about it, it was never the same after the first time she cheated. I wanted to trust her, but there was always this nagging in the back of my mind, a constant fear of betrayal. I think that’s why I went out of my way so often to try and do nice things for her. On the one hand, that’s who I am. That’s how I was raised. My father has treated my mother better than anyone. I want to be like that.

But on the other hand, I think I was hoping if I went out of my way; if I took her out to dinners, or bought her gifts, or surprised her with flowers on her birthday, I could mask over my memories. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time, it didn’t.

We finish our food and pay the bill. Heading out to the parking lot, I unlock my small Chevy pickup truck. It’s a few years old, but still in good condition. A graduation gift from high school.

“How’s the truck running?”

“It’s good.” I give it a reassuring knock on the hood.

“You gonna be coming over this weekend?”

“Maybe.” I look away with a smirk, remembering the date I set up with Veronica.

He raises an eyebrow. “What’s that smile about?”

“Nothing. I, uh, have a date.”

Now both eyebrows go up as he slaps my shoulder. “Jumping back in already, huh? Good for you, son.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see. She’s nice.”

“Just give your mom a few more weeks.” He averts his eyes, rubbing his ear. “She really liked Lana. She was ecstatic when you guys got back together. I’ll let her know you guys broke up.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I reach over and give him a hug. “We still on for the Angels game next week?”

“Right behind home plate,” he answers with a smile.

“Sounds great.”

I take off and head to the gym. Now that the semester is over, I’ll be picking up more shifts, but I don’t start for a couple more hours. A quick workout session should be useful. It helps get my mind off of everything that happened.

I’m not sure how long I’ll still be angry over everything. Last night with Veronica was great though. I don’t want her to be a distraction. There is something there. But it’s probably too early to think of getting something serious going with her. I still need to get rid of the anger from what Lana did. Actually, I still want to be angry over what she did. It’s better than feeling like an idiot for falling for it again.