Page 44 of Scoreless Nights

Shit, Lil was quite the charmer, making my mom smile and blush.

Once Lily was back in her seat, my mom told me she would bring us something special, and that there was no need to order. I asked Lily if that was okay first, and of course she smiled and nodded with excitement.

“I feel like meeting your mom is like meeting someone famous,” Lily blushed after Mom left our table. “I’ve seen pictures of her, and heard stories, but seeing her in real life is such a treat.”

It wasn’t very often someone was more amazed at meeting my mom than they were me, and it honestly felt really good. My mom was a rockstar, and I loved that Lily jumped up and treated her like one.

While we waited for food, our conversation was casual, mostly talking about what to expect at our dinner. She wouldn’t have to do much other than stay close to me. I would treat her like any other date, and it would be fine. I didn’t want her to stress. I wanted her to have fun.

We also talked about college. She told me about how becoming an art broker wasn’t exactly her dream job, and I wondered if that was why she cried the day she got the offer. But I didn’t ask her because I told her she could come to me with that story if she wanted to tell it.

“You used to draw all the time. Do you still draw?”

“Nonstop. I draw everything.”

“I kind of draw. I mean, I write on my goal post, sometimes,” I laughed and shrugged. “Not to brag but I wrote, ‘Keep them Scoreless’ the other night and I did.”

“An artist in the making. Do you do that a lot? Write on your goal?”

“Actually, I do,” I swallowed, realizing I was telling her something I hadn’t told anyone before. “Mostly just my way of manifesting.”

“I need to manifest the art of making a living being an artist in this country. Unfortunately, the art business thrives on buying and selling, and I can’t afford to be a struggling artist while I wait on my big break.”

“Is that why it took you six years in college?” I teased, but she was already shaking her head.

“I always knew I was going to go the broker route. But life is crazy sometimes. Things change. I had some problems in college, some hurdles I had to get over, but it’s definitely not something I want to talk about.

I understood, not wanting to talk about things, especially with me, but I reached my hand across the table and took hers, using my thumb to rub her knuckles. “There's a lot you don’t like to talk about. But like I said the other day, I can be your friend. I can listen.” There was more I wanted to say, but my mom interrupted us with two plates ofropa vieja.

“Here we are,” she said joyfully as she placed them in front of us. I pulled my hand from Lil’s and sat back, trying not to feel uncomfortable with the fact that my mom probably thought there was more to that than there actually was.

While Lily was looking at her plate, I looked up at my mom, who beaded her eyes at me quickly to let me know she saw us holding hands. I just gave her a slight shake of my head, hoping she understood it wasn’t what she thought.

When Lily looked up, my mom transformed her face back to a smile and told her howropa viejawas my favorite. She waited while Lily took a bite, and when Lil’s eyes got big and she moaned, my mom gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I knew you’d love it.”

After Mom left, Lily and I chose to stuff our faces instead of talking. But my phone buzzed in my pocket and I checked it to see that my mom couldn’t even wait for me to leave before she had to say something.

Be careful, Lillian means a lot to your father. Don’t you dare treat her like someone you can fuck around with.

I couldn’t ignore the text so I lifted a finger, letting Lil know I needed to respond.

It’s not like that Mom. She got emotional over telling me about college. Trust me I’ve never held the hand of a girl I want to fuck around with. Stop worrying.

Before I could even slip my phone back in my pocket, a new text from her popped up.

I just needed to be sure, because even from across the restaurant, I could tell that look you gave her was not brotherly, or friendly.

She was right, it wasn’t. Because Lil and I weren’t that. My mom knew better than to say that to me, but she did anyway, and I got irritated. It wouldn’t do me any good to respond to her, so I tucked the phone away.

For the rest of dinner, Lily and I laughed as we swapped stories about our parents. When the original waitress cleared our plates, Lily lifted a finger and informed her that she would like the check.

The poor girl's eyes widened as I suppressed a laugh. Everyone knew my mom didn’t charge me for food. She never had and she never would, no matter that I could afford it ten times over.

Eventually, the girl just nodded and agreed, but I knew that check would never see our table. Except when she finally did come back, she put a bill down and slid it towards Lily.

What the hell?

Lily whipped out my credit card and laughed before placing it on top of the check. “I told you I was buying dinner.”

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