Jesse said. “I would never miss your Sunday roast!”
“I’m very impressed with your sucking up skills,” I said, as Jesse sat down opposite me in Starbucks, and handed me my latte. “Telling my mum you wouldn’t miss her roast dinner is one of the best compliments you could ever give her!”
“I wasn’t sucking up,” Jesse laughed. “I meant it. We don’t do the Sunday lunch thing in our house because a lot of the time I’m at training, or at away matches. It doesn’t count as sitting down as a family if someone is missing.”
“Good point.”
“I like home-cooked meals. My mom tries, but she’s missing the cooking gene. She actually prefers if I eat at the training ground, because she knows I’ll be getting something healthy instead of burnt dinners or takeout food.”
I smiled. “Then your mum must have some other talents. Everyone is good at something.”
“She is an amazing mother,” Jesse said, thoughtfully. “You know how some people seem to be born to do one thing? For my mom, it was being a parent. She has that natural, nurturing thing going on, and a lot of my friends would go to her when they needed to talk about something they didn’t want to share with their own parents. She’s pretty special. I’m lucky to have her.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have a younger sister, Kayla. She’s fourteen and a total pain in the ass.”
He smiled when he spoke so I knew he didn’t mean it, and a little shiver ran through me. I loved the idea of him having a younger sister to take care of. I imagined him to be the protective type. Not in a scary big brother way, but in a way that let her know he would always be there for her.
“What does she think of you being a football star?”
“Well, at first she hated me. When we had to move to L.A, she told me I ruined her life because she had to leave all of her friends behind in Phoenix. She didn’t talk to me for weeks.”
“Not at all?”
Jesse shook his head. “Not a word. It really sucked because we always got along, but the move was rough on her. She eventually came around the first time she watched me play for the Warriors. Then she realised having a soccer player for a brother made her super cool at her new school.”
I laughed. “So it all worked out?”
“Yeah, I think so. I worry about people using her, but even at fourteen, she’s an excellent judge of character. She can look after herself.”
He spoke about his sister with such pride, it made me like him more. It was rare to find someone our age who would so openly admit to being close to his family.
We spent some more time talking about our families and friends, and I was happy to have the time to get to know him. Of course, there was still so much to learn about each other, but our time together was always going to be short. A week had already passed, and we’d only just started to connect.
You still have three weeks. Three whole weeks of spending time together.
We stayed in the coffee shop for an hour before starting the walk home. I was comfortable enough to reach for Jesse’s hand – a huge step for me – and when he looked down at me, I momentarily wondered if it was the wrong thing to do. But then he smiled. My heart gave a little jolt of joy. I felt it every time his lips curved upwards, and most especially when his eyes met mine. It was like a little ball of feelings growing between us, passing back and forth whenever we looked at each other.
How is that even possible? He’s only been in my life for seven days. Seven. We’ve been alone together three times, and we’re still learning the basics about each other. How can it feel this special so soon?
“Thanks for coming out with me,” he said, as we headed towards home. “I know with college, and Christmas and everything, it’ll be difficult but I hope we can do this again before I have to go home.”
“I think we can find some time. I don’t want to take you away from
“I’m very impressed with your sucking up skills,” I said, as Jesse sat down opposite me in Starbucks, and handed me my latte. “Telling my mum you wouldn’t miss her roast dinner is one of the best compliments you could ever give her!”
“I wasn’t sucking up,” Jesse laughed. “I meant it. We don’t do the Sunday lunch thing in our house because a lot of the time I’m at training, or at away matches. It doesn’t count as sitting down as a family if someone is missing.”
“Good point.”
“I like home-cooked meals. My mom tries, but she’s missing the cooking gene. She actually prefers if I eat at the training ground, because she knows I’ll be getting something healthy instead of burnt dinners or takeout food.”
I smiled. “Then your mum must have some other talents. Everyone is good at something.”
“She is an amazing mother,” Jesse said, thoughtfully. “You know how some people seem to be born to do one thing? For my mom, it was being a parent. She has that natural, nurturing thing going on, and a lot of my friends would go to her when they needed to talk about something they didn’t want to share with their own parents. She’s pretty special. I’m lucky to have her.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have a younger sister, Kayla. She’s fourteen and a total pain in the ass.”
He smiled when he spoke so I knew he didn’t mean it, and a little shiver ran through me. I loved the idea of him having a younger sister to take care of. I imagined him to be the protective type. Not in a scary big brother way, but in a way that let her know he would always be there for her.
“What does she think of you being a football star?”
“Well, at first she hated me. When we had to move to L.A, she told me I ruined her life because she had to leave all of her friends behind in Phoenix. She didn’t talk to me for weeks.”
“Not at all?”
Jesse shook his head. “Not a word. It really sucked because we always got along, but the move was rough on her. She eventually came around the first time she watched me play for the Warriors. Then she realised having a soccer player for a brother made her super cool at her new school.”
I laughed. “So it all worked out?”
“Yeah, I think so. I worry about people using her, but even at fourteen, she’s an excellent judge of character. She can look after herself.”
He spoke about his sister with such pride, it made me like him more. It was rare to find someone our age who would so openly admit to being close to his family.
We spent some more time talking about our families and friends, and I was happy to have the time to get to know him. Of course, there was still so much to learn about each other, but our time together was always going to be short. A week had already passed, and we’d only just started to connect.
You still have three weeks. Three whole weeks of spending time together.
We stayed in the coffee shop for an hour before starting the walk home. I was comfortable enough to reach for Jesse’s hand – a huge step for me – and when he looked down at me, I momentarily wondered if it was the wrong thing to do. But then he smiled. My heart gave a little jolt of joy. I felt it every time his lips curved upwards, and most especially when his eyes met mine. It was like a little ball of feelings growing between us, passing back and forth whenever we looked at each other.
How is that even possible? He’s only been in my life for seven days. Seven. We’ve been alone together three times, and we’re still learning the basics about each other. How can it feel this special so soon?
“Thanks for coming out with me,” he said, as we headed towards home. “I know with college, and Christmas and everything, it’ll be difficult but I hope we can do this again before I have to go home.”
“I think we can find some time. I don’t want to take you away from
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