Page 82 of Where We Met

I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Nothing.”

I can tell nobody believes me, but I have absolutely no interest in making this a family intervention.

“I think he’s still upset that he got busted by his student's father for sleeping around with her,” Marcus blurts out.

“Dude! What the fuck?” I bark back at him.

I can’t believe he did that. I still haven’t had the nerve to tell my parents what happened. I’ve been meaning to, but every time I start, the words get stuck in my throat.

“What?” Ma gasps in surprise. "When? With who?"

"It happened weeks ago," I say shamefully, eyes focused on the ground.

"It was the girl from the wedding," Marcus joins in. "Savannah."

Ma's face brightens. "She was a very sweet girl. Beautiful too."

She should be scolding me by now.

"He's been miserable since. I'm trying to convince him to call Savannah," Mia tells everybody.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, hurt etched in her voice.

I look away from her, not wanting to see the pain in her eyes. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

The words break as I try to make sure I don’t cry. I hate crying in front of people, just about as much as I hate disappointing anybody.

“You think we’d be disappointed?” Ma asks.

I confirm with another head nod, still not looking at her. Next thing I know, I feel a slap on my arm.

“Ow!” I shout. “What the hell was that for, Ma?”

“You stupid boy! I don’t care what mistakes you make—I’ll always love you. Sure, you shouldn't have touched her while she was your student. But I know you, I know you must feel strongly for her. It's not like you to break a rule, so she must be somethin' special.”

“I know you’ll love me. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

She shakes her head. “You’ve always held yourself to impossible standards. You would cry if you got anything lower than a B+ in school cuz you thought we’d be mad.”

Marcus laughs in the background. “Damn. I would’ve celebrated a B+.”

“That’s because you’re a moron,” Gabe smacks him then winks at me.

Marcus just laughs again and nods his head. He’s used to the teasing, even though he knows we’re kidding. He’s a damn smart guy and an asset to our business.

Ma mumbles something in Italian under her breath.

"When is school over?" Pa asks.

"Next week," I answer.

"Are you gonna call her?" he continues.

"I don't know. Obviously I want to, but I'm afraid her dad will never be okay with us. I know if I go back to her, we're gonna be together. There's something big between us. I also know that I could never be the one who gets in between her and her father. She lost her mother when she was young, she can't lose what she has with her father."

"Huh," Pa says.

"What?" I ask him.

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