The Summer I Met The Girl

fifteen

Matt spends the next few days avoiding Cameron. He doesn't feel good about it, but he needs time to think.

It's already mid-July and he leaves next week for football camp. The summer flew by.

Matt walks up to the house from surfing. His dad is sitting at the patio table, reading his book. He looks up when Matt walks up.

"What's up, bub?" He sets his book down on the table.

This makes Matt smile. His dad has always called him that. "Can I sit?"

"Of course," he closes his book. Matt leans back in his chair, his Dad mimics his position. "You okay?"

Matt looks over at him, "I don't know."

His dad inhales through his nose and crosses his hands over his lap. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"How did you know Mom was the one?"

His dad smiles softly, "Well," he pauses and takes a deep breath, "I think I always kind of knew. But it mainly had to do with the way she made me feel. She never judged me for my mistakes, or hated me when I screwed things up with her. She was graceful when I didn't deserve it."

"You always knew?" Matt asks.

"On some level. I'd known her my whole life, and it wasn't easy for me to make that jump from friends to more but she was always my constant."

Matt sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "How do I know which girl is the right one?"

His dad frowns, "What do you mean?"

"I'm dating Cameron, and she's great. I really like being with her, she's light and funny. She makes me really happy. But then there's Bethany,"

"Bethany?" His dad asks, clearly surprised.

Matt nods, "Yes. We were sort of together this spring while we were at school, but then we broke things off when I left for the summer. But her showing up here last week totally threw me off."

"How so?"

"I was surprised at how I felt when I saw her, and when we talked, it felt so normal."

"Well that could just be a friendship thing."

Matt shakes his head, "I thought that too at first. But there's something else there. I didn't even realize it until I saw her again, but I want her in my life."

"You need to talk to Cameron. It isn't fair for you to do this to her. If you're having feelings for someone else, you have to end things with her."

"Cameron makes me really happy," Matt comments softly.

"You just made it about you. This isn't about you. This is about these two girls who have feelings for you. You owe it to both of them to do the right thing."

Matt takes a deep breath, "I don't know what the right thing is, Dad."

His dad leans over the table and grabs his wrist, "Yes you do, Matt. You have to figure out who you want, and go after her."

"What if I make a choice and it was the wrong one?"

"It won't be if you take some time to think about it."

Matt nods, "Thanks Dad."

His dad reaches forward and slaps his knee lightly, "Sure."

Even after talking to his dad, Matt remains confused. It's hard to know what the right decision is. These girls are both amazing and more than anything, for some reason he can't put his finger on, they're into him.