Page 136 of The Surprise Play
“What do I call you?” she whispers.
“Do you want them to know about us?” I whisper back as softly as I can.
She nods but then shrugs and starts shaking her head. “But if you’re not okay with that, I’ll understand.”
“What?” My head jerks back, and I give her a baleful look. I may not wantmyparents to know I’m falling for this girl, but letting hers know there’s a man out there who’s totally into her? Yeah, I’m okay with that.
Leaning down, I speak into the phone. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Satchwell. Wily Wilson here. I’m Elizabeth’s boyfriend.” Her mouth pops open, and I give her a funny look, leaning in and whispering, “After what we did last night, I’m not your boyfriend?”
“Well… I mean, I guess…” she sputters. “I just thought you didn’t want to be tied down with a label.”
“Boyfriend?” Her mom’s voice perks up. “Bessie, you have a boyfriend?”
“Well, I…” She looks at the phone, then back to me.
I grin and shake my head at her before answering her mother. “She certainly does, ma’am.”
“Oh, I see. Well, uh… this is a surprise. How long has this been going on?”
I take the phone from her hand before she drops it, holding it up to my mouth and telling them all about how Satch has been my tutor since the beginning of the year.
“She’s been helping me pass my classes with excellent grades.” I grin. “She’s one smart lady. I’d be lost without her.”
“She is,” her dad agrees. “The smartest girl I know. She gets it from her mother.”
I laugh, winking at my girl, who is blushing up a storm and covering those red cheeks with her hands.
“So, other than studying with my daughter, what else do you do?”
This opens up the door to an in-depth football conversation. Her dad never played but seems very impressed that I’m on my way to being drafted. Mrs. Satchwell gets all excited, asking what position I play,although I get the sense that she doesn’t really know what any of it means.
Satch stands there shaking her head and looking pained as her parents get overly excited about me and the fact that I’m dating their daughter.
I lay it on thick, trying to impress them with my first-date antics and dancing in the snow.
Mrs. Satchwell starts giggling, the same way my girl always does, and I’m loving every second of this. No wonder Satch is so damn cool—her parents are sweet and funny, and shit, I really want to meet them. I want to shake the hand of the man who raised this angel of a girl. I want to hug the woman who no doubt nurtured and loved her through every phase of her childhood.
They both sound like they adore her, so they must be pretty cool.
“So, are you free next weekend?” Mrs. Satchwell asks.
“Mom, I don’t… He’s very busy,” Satch tries to say, but I gently cover her mouth with my hand.
“I can be free next weekend.”
“Well, we’d love to have you. We’re putting together a special celebration for Bessie’s birthday. It’d be wonderful to have you join us.”
“That’d be great.”
“Are you sure?” Satch mouths, looking totally confused by the fact that I’m saying yes to this invite.
What does she not get?
It’s her birthday! Of course I’m going to be there.
Not only that, it’s Valentine’s Day, and like hell I’m missing out on celebrating it with her.
Satch’s parents get all excited about meeting me whilemy girl stands there blinking at her phone like she’s trying to decipher a foreign language.
