Dating Sarah Cooper Read Online Free Page A

bench press me, and I think my crush died in that moment.”
    “Ew!” I wrinkled my nose and shook my head even as I stirred noodles into a boiling pot of water.
    “Right? Anyway, what I’m getting at is that those things rarely go the way we want them to. Mostly because you don’t actually know the person, so you put this ideal version of them on a pedestal, and that’s actually what you’re falling for instead. And once you finally do get to know them, you like them even less than you’d have liked them if it had just never occurred to you to date them, because then they’re just a disappointment when they’re not exactly what you thought they’d be.”
    “Mom, preaching to the choir.” I told her. “But you know how she gets. Once Sarah’s set on something, she won’t rest until she gets the outcome she wants.”
    “Well, I wish her the best of luck, but I have a feeling she’s going to be greatly disappointed.” Mom finished grabbing a second pot from the cabinet and opened a can of spaghetti sauce. “Anyway, is there something I don’t know about what happened between you and Austin?”
    I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what on Earth had made her think that. “No, why?”
    “Well, Sarah just mentioned it, and I know how things go. You tell your parents what you feel comfortable telling them and your friends get to hear the rest.”
    “No, she was just… being her,” I deflected. “He and I are fine. Just not talking.”
    “Well, I’m still sorry to hear that. He was a really nice guy. I think he would’ve made a good friend.”
    “Yeah, me too. I don’t think I get to decide if we stay friends or not, though. Not since I broke up with him.”
    “That’s true.” Mom brought the sauce to a simmer, and a while later, I helped set the table while she scooped out three plates of spaghetti and covered them with sauce.
    Dad walked in through the garage door just as dinner was ready, tossing his coat over the couch and calling out, “Where are my girls?”
    I rolled my eyes as Mom went to him and kissed him, and then I waited for him to hug me hello, like he always did. We sat down together moments later, and as we ate, Dad asked, “So how was your first day back? No Sarah today, right?”
    “She wasn’t at school, but she came over after and then left an hour or so ago,” I explained.
    “Ah. Of course.” He chuckled as he rolled a pile of noodles onto his fork, and then asked, “So did anything interesting happen today?”
    For a moment, I debated whether or not to tell them about Jake, but decided eventually to go ahead and say something. We’d talked about homosexuality before, and I think my parents were a huge part of why I’d never understood why gay people were bullied. My uncle was gay, and although he lived across the country and I’d only met him a few times, his existence meant that in my family, being gay was normal.
    “Yeah, actually.” I took another bite of my food as they waited for me to continue. “Um, there was this kid getting picked on on my way home. I saw him with this other guy from the football team; his lip was busted and everything. He said it was because he was gay.”
    “You’re kidding,” Mom cut in. “Is he okay?”
    “Yeah.” I nodded. “I actually let him come here and Sarah cleaned him up. But he pretty much left right when you got here. He was worried you’d try and get in contact with his parents.”
    “Well, we should certainly contact the school.” Mom looked across the table to Dad. “Don’t you think, Jeff?”
    Dad’s eyebrows furrowed as he chewed his food. Once he’d swallowed, he sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe he wants to handle it himself.”
    “How can you say that, with your brother being the way he is?” Mom asked him. “Would you have let Kevin take that from another boy back when you two were kids?”
    “Well, he did,” Dad pointed out. “And much worse than it is today. His solution was to take up boxing.”