Page 71 of The Scout

Tonight was the night of the jamboree. From what I’d been hearing all week at practice, Jimmy had been asked to go by four different girls. Some guys were jealous and claimed it was because I was his dad, but my son was a good-looking kid. He seemed to skip the dorky teenager stage that I went through. Much to his dismay, Hannah and I had been asked to chaperone, as had Mia.

She smiled, probably happy that he wanted to wear something other than a T-shirt to the dance. “Yes, I’ll take you. Give me a minute to brush my hair.”

“I have a few calls to make,” I chimed in. “I’ll pick you two up around seven.”

“Sounds good, but Jimmy is going with Max. Something about not wanting to arrive with his parents,” Hannah said, laughing before running up the stairs.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, then looked at me with curiosity. “What’s on your mind?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I need advice.” My first thought was,Let me go get your mom. He then went on to say, “One of the guys said that Jasmine wanted to ... you know. With me.”

Shit.“Is the you knowyou’re referring to sex?”

“Yeah.”

Great.I glanced up the stairs, wondering how long it took someone to brush their hair. I could have showered by now. “Do you want to?”

“I mean ... kind of. Just not sure it should be with her.”

“Then that answer would be no. Here’s the thing, like I’ve said to you before, being intimate with someone, especially for the first time, should be special. Now, a lot of guys will say the opposite, and I understand that too. But you’re only fourteen, Jimmy. I know you’re mature for your age and hang out with older kids, but you’re young. My advice would be, if you need to wonder if it’s the right thing to do, most likely it isn’t.”

Hannah appeared, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she heard what I’d said. “Okay, I’m ready. Everything okay here?”

“Yup,” Jimmy answered before I could say anything.

“Great.”

He grabbed his baseball hat, put it on his head backward, and headed outside. Hannah hitched her purse onto her shoulder and looked at me. “In case you’re wondering, that was a perfect answer.”

“Thank you. Maybe I’m getting the hang of this.”

“You’re doing great.” She rolled up onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

* * *

After the jamboree, Hannah and I went to grab a bite to eat at the local diner. As soon as we walked in, heads turned and whispers started. It reminded me what it was like to live in a small town. Not wanting anyone to be confused, I took her hand in mine and linked our fingers together.

She looked up at me and smiled as only she could. Leading her to a booth in the corner, I nodded at a few people who looked familiar. Hannah, on the other hand, greeted everyone by name as she passed them.

Sliding into our respective sides, I pulled the menus out of the holder behind the ketchup bottle and handed one to her. “I could go for a greasy burger.”

“That does sound good.”

Our waitress came over, plucked a pencil from behind her ear, and said, “Hey, kids. Good to see you. Can I bring you something to drink?”

“Hi, Sadie. Can I have an iced tea, please?”

“Sure thing, Hannah. And you, Cash?”

“I’ll have the same. Unsweetened, though.”

“You got it. And if you don’t mind me sayin’ so, I’m happy to see you both together. Your boy is the sweetest thing.”

I couldn’t help but agree. “Thank you. I’m happy that we’re together too.”

“Does that mean you’re staying in town?”

“Yes, my family is here.”

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