Page 76 of Third and Ten

“Are you teasing them again?” Tenley’s mom accuses her dad as she adjusts his cannula.

“I’m just trying to secure my daughter’s ticket to the genetic lottery while I still can,” he admits after catching his breath.

“Now, Jude,” Mrs. T fusses. “I’m sure you’d love all your grandkids to be ballplayers, but this isn’t a stud service.”

I cringe and scratch the back of my head, somewhat flattered and fairly embarrassed, though I imagine Tenley is ready to hide away forever. “Look, I make no guarantees, but I do come with a ‘third’ at the end of my name. That ought to signify something, right?”

Tenley groans when her parents chuckle at our expense, but she glances at me with a hint of appreciation in her eyes. She mouths, “I’m sorry,” and I smile as I gesture to the door.

“We should probably head out if we want to make our reservation,” I declare.

“Well, you heard him. Good night,” Tenley says, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I think I hear her dad cracking another joke about not waiting up for us and her mom scolding him again as we make our escape.

I stop abruptly on the front porch as the door slams behind us, surprising Tenley by turning her around and grasping her by the hips. Her eyes are wide when I lean in for a kiss, which, unsurprisingly, gets a little hotter than I intend.

“Um, okay, what was that for?” she asks once I back away, looking just flustered enough to imply that she enjoyed it.

“For our fan base,” I reply, waving at her parents through the security camera perched over her shoulder. It’s a lie, of course, but she buys it. She snorts and shoves me playfully, and I grab her hand to walk her toward the truck before helping her into the passenger seat.

“When will I know where we’re going?”

“When we get there.” I glance over to find her looking annoyed, which makes me laugh. “You don’t like surprises, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. I made a reservation at this place called Gusto in Lafayette. It’s one of those restaurants where they, like, curate a different menu each night with a bunch of tiny courses and the wine pairs well with everything. And it may or may not be vegan, I don’t know. Blake recommended it.”

“Oh. Okay. Sounds…interesting.”

But it comes across as though she means to say “disappointing” instead.

I clear my throat as the silence grows. “Tenley, is everything all right?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Well, to be honest, it doesn’t really feel like you’re into this.”

She turns and stares out the window. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you that impression.”

“Are you having second thoughts? You know I’ve always been kidding about trading dates for helping with Ethan. The last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to go out with me.”

She tucks her hair behind her ears before she turns back to me. “I haven’t changed my mind. If anything, I’ve been very anxious about our first real date.” My breath catches in my throat as she continues. “More like ridiculously nervous, actually.”

I can’t help but smile.

She’s nervous? Seriously?

“JD, I…I need to get something off my chest. Keep in mind my line of work, all right?”

“Okay,” I reply cautiously, hoping I’m not looking at her stupidly after she references her chest.

“I don’t use any kind of artificial or hormonal birth control. I don’t like putting that stuff into my body.”

“Okay,” I repeat, my eyes widening.

“Instead, I use a fertility awareness method to track my cycles very carefully. I monitor all these different symptoms and plot them in a chart, and it helps me to figure out what’s going on. You know, whether I’m fertile or not, and when to expect my period. Stuff like that. It’s basically what married women do for natural family planning.”

I nod calmly, even though I’m dying on the inside because Tenley is talking about—

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