Page 59 of Holding On

"Becca."

"How'd you meet her?"

Part of me doesn't want to tell him. I don't want him judging her for being a maid.

"Ethan. How'd you meet her?"

"She cleaned my house. And before you say anything, if you make even one rude comment about her being a maid I'll kick your ass next time I see you."

He chuckles. "That'll be hard, given that your leg's in a cast."

"You know what I mean."

"I wasn't going to say anything. Other than it sounds like a porno. The hot maid coming to clean your house? Does she wear one of those sexy maid outfits? The short black dress with the white apron?"

"No, dumbass. And this isn't a porno. She wears a plain blue dress." As I say it, I imagine her in that dress, my hand slowly unbuttoning it as I kiss her.

"But she's hot, right?"

"She's definitely hot."

"Did you bang her yet?"

"No. And don't talk that way about her."

"What way? I was just asking if you had sex with her."

"Which you don't need to know."

"What the hell? We talk about that shit all the time."

"Yeah, well, we're not with her so shut up about it."

"Holy shit, you really like this girl."

"Yeah. I do."

"And she doesn't go to school?"

"She went for a year and a half. She's taking some time off right now. Something about her brother needing help paying rent." Now that I think about it, she never explained why her brother doesn't have a job. We don't really talk about her brother.

"Where'd she go to school?"

"Some community college in Cincinnati."

"Your parents are gonna freak when they find out."

"I don't give a shit. It's none of their business."

"They're still gonna be pissed. Their son dating a community college dropout? Just imagine your mom trying to explain that to her friends."

"I doubt my parents will ever meet her. They probably won't even be back here until I graduate."

"Shit, you're right. If you're not playing football, your dad won't—" He stops, then coughs a little.

"Want to come see me," I say finishing his thought. "You can say it. We both know my dad thinks I'm worthless if I'm not on the team."

"Sorry, man. I didn't mean to throw salt in the wound."

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