Chapter 7
*Victoria*
Halftime was almost over so I headed back to my seat in the bleachers. Soon the football players were back on the field. I searched around for Aaron's mother and sister, but saw them nowhere. Did they not stay for his game? Why wouldn't they?
Our team won the game like they usually do. Our team is unbeatable and I'm sure that has something to do with Aaron. He's an amazing player.
After the bleachers were mostly empty, I left to go find Aaron. He should be done showering and changing by now. I got to the locker room and found Aaron standing outside talking to a man I a suit. Aaron wore a smile on his face as did the man. They shook hands and the man walked away.
I walked up to Aaron and he smiled when he saw me. He leaned down to give me a kiss.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"That was a scout. He liked my playing and is offering me a scholarship."
"That's great! I had no doubt that you could do it. Football is your calling."
"Thanks."
Aaron wrapped his arm across my shoulders, pulling me close. We walked down the hallway.
"Great game." I complimented.
"Thanks. I'm extremely exhausted now though."
"I'd bet. You only left the field at halftime. How do you do it?"
"I'm superman." he joked, causing me to laugh.
"You really are great. I saw your mother and sister come talk to you during halftime. I'm glad they could make it to see you play."
I felt him tense and I gave him a confused look. What was that about? Was I not supposed to see?
"You saw that, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah. You're little sister is the cutest thing I've ever seen. And your mom seems nice. I really can't wait to meet them."
I wonder if he'll invite me over for dinner now that I've at least seen them. I don't understand why he's avoiding me meeting his family.
"Victoria," he started, stopping us from walking. "I know we've only been dating for two weeks, but I'd like to know how you feel about me."
"What?" I gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"I wouldn't say that I'm in love with you. But I know that I really like you and want to spend as much time with you as I can. You're beautiful inside and out. I never want to lie to you, or keep things from you. You're the first girl that I've ever found myself falling for."
Where is all of this coming from? All I mentioned was his mother and sister. What did I say to trigger all of this? But I guess I'll play along.
"I really like you." I said, not wanting to tell him the whole truth about my feelings. "I love being around you too. You're my first real boyfriend and I'm proud of that."
"Good, then I want you to come over tonight to meet my family."
A huge smile crossed my face. So was that some kind of test to see if I was worthy to meet his family? If it was I'm glad I passed. I've been dying for this day.
"Really?" I asked to be sure.
"Yes." he smiled. "Be there around 6:30?"
"Of course. I won't be late."
Aaron walked me to my car and gave me a kiss before leaving. I can't believe I'm going to meet his family tonight. This is the second most exciting day of my life. The first being the day he asked my out.
As soon as I got home, I ran upstairs to my closet searching for something to wear. I have to look presentable tonight. I don't want his mother to think bad of me. I want to impress her and get her to like me. It's important that I get her respect. After all I'm dating her son and she could very well ban me from ever seeing him again.
*Aaron*
I really hope that I don't regret this. I wouldn't be having Victoria over for dinner if she hadn't seen Sophie. Of course she automatically thought she was my little sister. Why jump to the conclusion that she's my daughter? It may be common nowadays for teens to have kids, but still you never just assume.
I got home where Sophie greeted me at the door. She leaped into my arms and I tossed her in the air. She laughed and I smiled.
"How'd the game go?" my mom asked, coming from the kitchen.
"We won of course." I answered. "And a scout offered me a scholarship."
"Really?" she said without a smile. "Are you going to take it?"
"Look, I know you don't want this for me, but I can make my own decisions. I have a good feeling about this. Trust me, okay?"
"Whatever." she put her hands up in defense. "You never told me how the dinner went last night."
"It went well. Her mom likes me. She seems chill."
"And now I'd bet your girlfriend is dying to meet your family right?"
"Yes."
"When are you going to tell her?"
"Tonight. I invited her over for dinner. She saw me talking to you during halftime and assumed Sophie was my sister. I don't want her to keep thinking that, so I'm going to tell her."
I'm scared to death of this dinner tonight, but I can't let that change my mind. If I back out now, I may never tell Victoria about Sophie. I don't want to lie to her. It only makes things complicated. I'm doing the right thing.
After playing with Sophie for a while, I helped my mom make dinner. It's the least I can do since I sprung this on her all of a sudden.
"Are you nervous?" my mom asked.
"What do you think?" I asked. "I'm introducing my girlfriend to my daughter. I don't know what it is, but I really like Victoria. I've never had feelings like this towards anyone. Sometimes it even scares me, but for now I'm going to embrace it. I don't want to lie to her. If I want this relationship to continue, I want her to know about Sophie and have her make the decision whether to stay."
"I know that when it comes to you dating, I can be a little unsupportive. But that's only because you've gotten yourself into trouble once. I don't it to happen again. You're 18 with a two and half year old. I don't want you to have anyone more anytime soon. But you really seem to like this one. Really like her. And I hope that she'll be different for you."
"When you meet her, you'll see that she is different."
*Victoria*
Since it was already 5:30 in the afternoon, and I didn't have a clue what to wear, I called my mother in to help me. She searched through my closet and drawers before laying out a dark blue dress, a brown belt, and a pair of brown wedge sandals.
"You're going to let me do your makeup right?" she asked.
"Yes." I said, smiling.
I slipped on the dress and the sandals. I placed the belt around my waist and buckled it.
"Makeup time." my mom sang.
I sat in a chair and allowed my mom to do my makeup. She applied a thin line of liquid eyeliner and a neutral colored eye shadow and light pink lip gloss.
"Done." she said.
"What about hair?"
"Keep it the way it is. You're curly hair is beautiful."
"Thanks."
It was already 6:00 so I decided to leave. I said goodbye to my mom who wished me luck. I smiled excitedly as I drove to Aaron's house. I followed the directions he gave me.
I really hope that his family likes me. It'd mean everything to me if they did. I want to make a good impression. I'm sure if Aaron's family doesn't like me, he won't continue to see me anymore.
I pulled in front of what I hope is Aaron's house. It was two story and white. There was a nice flowerbed lining the front and perfectly mowed grass. Black shutters hung open on each window.
I nervously got out of my car and went up to the door to ring the doorbell. A moment passed before the door swung open revealing Aaron in dark jeans and a grey t-shirt. He gave me a small smile.
"You look great like always." he said as he let me in.
"Thanks." I said nervously.
"Hi." a woman said from behind me. I turned to see a tall, curvy woman in her late forties. She had dark brown hair just like Aaron's that was shoulder length. Her eyes were hazel which means Aaron's probably got his eye color from his father. She wore a smile on her face that instantly made me feel better about this dinner.
"Mom," Aaron stated. "this is my girlfriend Victoria. Victoria, this is my mom."
"It's nice to meet you." I said kindly as I shook her hand.
"Same." she responded.
I was surprised not to see his little sister around. Maybe she's asleep? Though I would like to meet her too, I won't bug him about it.
"You have a lovely home." I complimented, looking around.
We stood in the living room which had light blue walls and white curtains. The couch and chairs were beige and a flat screened TV sat on stand. Pictures hug on the walls.
"Thank you." she said. "Dinner will be ready soon."
She returned to the kitchen, leaving Aaron and I alone again. I stared up at him and noticed something off. It seemed like there was something bothering him. He twiddled his fingers and wouldn't look me I the eye.
"Is everything okay?" I asked him.
"What?" he finally looked at me, looking shocked. "No, why would there be something wrong?"
"I don't know, you tell me."
He let out a sigh and took my hand, leading me over to the nearby staircase. I gave him a concerned look. Shouldn't I be the one getting nervous?
"There's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you right away. But I was scared and didn't want to lose you. But now I have a good feeling that you'll understand because you actually have feelings for me, even if it isn't love yet."
"Just tell me." I said, giving his hand a light squeeze. "You can tell me anything."
"I really hope so." he muttered. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
He ran up the stairs and I leaned against the railing to wait. I wonder what it is that has him so flustered. I'm beginning to wonder what big secret he's intrusting me with.
I heard footsteps on the stairs and looked to see Aaron carrying his little sister in his arms. She wore a pretty pink dress with white flats. Her long brown hair was in two pigtails. She clung onto Aaron's shirt and stared down at me.
"You're little sister." I said with a smile. "She's so adorable."
Aaron stopped in front of me with his sister in his arms. He straddled her on one hip.
"This is probably the hardest thing I've had to tell anyone. Not many people know this. Only my family and Caleb. But since I don't want to keep things from you, I'm telling you the truth."
He took another deep breath before placing a gentle kiss on his sister's forehead. He gave me a small smile.
"Victoria, I'd like for you to meet my daughter, Sophia."
I stared in awe for a moment. This little girl he's holding isn't his sister? Aaron Evans is father? It's like I'm dreaming. Aaron Evans, this guy who I fall for every single day, has a daughter. Where is her mother? Does he still speak to her? Does he pay child support?
I'm 17 and a senior in high school. I'm getting this feeling that he's a little too mature for me. I mean, he helped bring a child into the world. A living, breathing person. I'm not sure whether to stay or run.
"Say something." Aaron said, a look of sadness on his face.
"What should I say?" I asked. "You have a daughter. I don't know how to react to that."
"React well?" he asked. "This shouldn't change anything. It's not like I'm the only one with a kid."
"No, but you're first person I've dated with a kid."
"I don't want you to be her mother or anything like that. I'd never ask that of you."
"Where is her mother?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. She left Sophie on my doorstep when she was only a newborn. As far as I'm concerned, Sophie doesn't have a mother."
That's a sad thought. Every child should have a mother or father. But no matter how sad that is, I can't be a replacement mother. I'm not ready for that.
"All I ask is for you to accept her, because if you can't I have to end things right here." he said. "No matter how much I like you, Sophie always comes first."
I smiled. I like the fact that he puts his daughter first, as a father should. I'm not offended that he'd choose his daughter over me. How could I possibly ask him to do something like that?
"Hi." I said to Sophie with a smile. She rest her head on Aaron's shoulder and held on tighter to him.
"Say hi, Sophie." Aaron encouraged her. Sophie put up her small hand to give me a wave.
"You're too cute." I said.
***
After a nice dinner, I helped Ms. Evans clean up despite her disapproval. It's the least I can do since I helped create the mess. Aaron was putting Sophie to bed.
"Thanks for having me for dinner." I said to Ms. Evans.
"It was no problem. Besides, I guess it was time to meet you. Aaron is very taken with you."
"Really, you think so?" I smiled.
She nodded. "I was beginning to worry about him never having a steady relationship. But I'm glad it's with you. You seem like a really sweet girl."
"Thank you." I said with a blush.
I'm so glad his mom likes me. I was worried she'd hate me and not want me to see Aaron anymore.
"Victoria." Aaron called, poking his head in the kitchen. I turned to face him. "Come with me."
I excused myself and left with Aaron. He took my hand and lead me up the stairs. We ended up in his bedroom. The walls were a very light blue, almost white looking. He had a queen sized bed with dark blue sheets. A few posters were on the wall and two shelves were filled with trophies. A few toys laid on his floor from Sophie. A desk with a laptop sat in front of his window and 50 pound weights sat beside the desk.
"I want to thank you for not leaving me after I told you about Sophie." Aaron said.
"Well, it's not the worst thing in the world. There are a lot of teen parents out there these days. And from what I can see, you're one of the responsible ones." he smiled. "Besides, how could I leave when Sophie is such a cutie pie."
"Yeah, she is pretty cute." he said. "She gets that from me."
"Of course she does." I laughed.
I do see the resemblance between Aaron and Sophie. She has the same dark brown hair, the same nose, and the same smile. Her eyes I guess she gets from her mother.
"I don't know how I got so lucky." Aaron said, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close. I rest my head on his shoulder. "You're the most perfect girl I know. And the fact that you're sticking with me after finding out my big secret, only makes you more perfect. "
"You're not so bad yourself." I said. He placed a gently kiss on my head as he held me in his arms.