Page 69 of Third and Ten

TENLEY

Ethan and I close the doors to my car at the same time, turning to face each other.

“Well, this has been an eventful day,” he remarks.

“No kidding.” I reach over and grab his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I guess you’re officially stuck with me now, for better or worse.”

“Are you sure it isn’t the other way around?” he asks with a smirk.

“Definitely not.”

“So?” he begins.

“I guess this conversation is inevitable.”

“Was it the suit?” he asks, grinning.

I roll my eyes and playfully smack him in the chest. “I’d like to think it was the flattering speech about my character, but the suit didn’t hurt,” I concede.

He chuckles. “We all knew it was only a matter of time. Mawmaw, Pop, and I had our own bets going.”

I cringe. “I forgot about having to admit they were right.”

“Oh, I already texted them. I don’t know if Mawmaw’s more excited to hear that you got custody of me or that you and Coach were making out in the back of the parking lot.”

My eyes widen. “Ethan, please tell me you haven’t been sending out that video.”

“What video?”

I glare at him.

“Okay, I only sent it to JD.”

“I don’t know if I believe you.”

“You probably shouldn’t,” he affirms.

I snort. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, though? You know I never intended on seeing anyone out here.”

“I’m more than okay with it. JD is probably the only guy I’d trust with you, to be honest. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to start dating him for me.”

I pause for a moment, impressed with his maturity. “Although I’d do just about anything to make you happy, I don’t think I’d force or fake a relationship with someone. And I could never do that to JD.”

“Good, because I don’t want either of you to get hurt,” he says quietly.

“And we don’t want you to get hurt.” I sigh. “The truth is that I’ve been afraid. I thought I was protecting all three of us by ignoring my feelings for JD until now. As it is, I have no idea what I’m doing as a parent, and now I’ll have to be careful not to jeopardize your relationship with him. The last thing I want is to make your life any more complicated than it needs to be.”

He shrugs. “My life has always been complicated, Aunt Ten, and none of that is your fault. I’m really grateful you’re willing to be my guardian, but you still need to have a life of your own. I’d rather see you take some risks and be happy than miss out because you’re being overprotective of me. I can handle more than you think.”

I smile. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Maybe you’re just easily impressed. I mean, look at your dorky boyfriend,” he replies, and I nudge him again.

I purposefully ignore his assumption since I don’t have the emotional capacity to add another official title today. “Temporary custodian” and “more than friends” are enough for now.

“Did you even know he was coming today?” I ask, redirecting the conversation.

“Not exactly,” Ethan says hesitantly. “Yesterday morning he made a joke about following me into court to make sure the judge knew the homecoming incident wasn’t your fault, but I didn’t think he was serious.”

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