Loving Cross

11.

*Parker's POV*

We spent the whole day down at the track getting ready for next weekend. Piper ended up leaving around 2:30.

Anson headed up to the house around 3:30 to do some trampoline stuff.

I have no clue how those girls stay on the track they do with their training. 5 days a week in gym, 7 outside, certain diets other than Saturday cheat days, on top of Anson's riding schedule, doing maintenance on bikes, school, and managing to have a life. I give them both credit.

Dyson and I were down on the mound when we decided to take a small break.

"So, how are you feeling about Anson and Cash?" Dyson looked over at me.

"Why would I care." I shook my head.

"Dude, you know why." He nodded.

"He's a good guy, just hope he can handle her. She gave me a run for my money last night." I nodded.

"You should've just told her you were with Cadence."

"One more person says that, they're getting smacked. I know I should have. Her and I talked, we're fine. No more hiding things."

"So you're going to tell her that you're still in to her after 4 years?" He laughed.

My face went flat and I just looked at him. "I am not still in to her." I shook my head.

"Dude, you can lie to many people. But not me." He shook his head.

"I'm going to do my own thing while she's doing hers." I nodded.

"And when she's done you're going to swoop in, got it."He nodded.

"You want booted off that bike?"

Oh, lover boys here." He smiled and pointed up to the shop.

"Then why don't we go up and meet him." I nodded.

He and I kicked our bikes on and rode up.

We got up and his dad was helping him get his ROTC stuff off.

"Ow ow, lightly. Come on." He shook his head.

"What happened to you?" Dyson laughed.

"Hand to hand." He nodded.

"And we are not telling Anson he looks like that." Hal pointed at all the bruises on his body.

"You look like you got your ass whooped." I nodded.

"I actually won." He laughed.

"I'd hate to see the other guy." I shook my head.

"Did she come talk to you last night?" He looked over at me.

I nodded. "Thank you for telling her to."

"No problem. You guys can't fix your problems if she's over-reacting." He nodded.

"And you my friend, are fucking crazy." I shook my head.

"Now why would you say that." He laughed.

"Because she's nuts." Dyson shrugged.

"She just needs someone whose not going to let her walk all over him, but treat her right at the same time. I can definitely be that guy." HE nodded.

"I knew I liked you." Hal pointed at him.

"She's not about to let you walk all over her boy. Remember that." Kevin nodded.

"Which is what I need." He shrugged."If she goes out with me."

"She will if Piper has anything to do with it." Dyson nodded.

"Where even is Anson." He shook his head.

"Trampoline." I nodded.

"Does she ever sit down?" Kevin laughed.

"Nope." Me, my dad, Dyson, and Hal all shook our heads.

We rode for about 2 hours until it started to get a bit Dark.

"Do you think I could go say hi to Anson before we leave." Cash looked at Kevin.

"Have at it buddy. We've gotta go over a few things for next weekend." He nodded.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Feel free to shower too." Hal nodded.

"We have to run to town, need anything?" Dyson looked at Dan and Hal.

"No, but ask your mom and sister. See if Margot needs anything too." Hal waved.

*Anson's POV*

I was in the kitchen after I got done on the trampoline, because I needed to meal prep for this week, when Dyson and Parker walked in.

"We, are running to town, do you need anything?" Dyson asked.

"Uhm, mom made a list. I need more shrimp and rice." I nodded.

"You eat like a cat." He shook his head.

"Better than a cow. This is what happens when you have to actually stay in shape and train."

"Hey now, we are in shape." Parker crossed his arms.

"Yes, round." I nodded.

"Shut up." Dyson rolled his eyes.

"Shrimp and Rice please. Before mom kills me for using what she had."

"Alright, alright." He held his hands up, and he and Parker left.

I was finishing up sauteing the rest of the shrimp my mom had, which is why I sent them for shrimp and rice, when there was a knock on the back door.

I threw my towel over my shoulder and walked over to see Cash standing outside.

I opened the door. "You don't have to knock." I shook my head.

"Uh, have you met my parents?" He gave me a look.

"True." I nodded. "Come on in." I walked back over to my stove.

"What're you doing in here?" He asked as he closed the door behind him.

"I, am meal prepping for the week."

"Why?" He shook his head and sat down at the stool across from the stove at the island.

"Because I have to be on a strict diet to maintain muscle mass and energy. Saturdays are cheat days." I nodded.

"So our date has to be Saturday, got it." He smiled.

"And how do you know there will be one?" I gave him a look.

"Because of Piper." He shrugged.

"Good point." I pointed at him. "But, again, we will see Cashew."

"Anson." He pursed his lips. "I will beat the crap out of you."

"Something tells me I can take you." I shrugged.

"Yeah right." He shook his head. "It smells amazing in here. What all did you make?"

"Uhm, this is shrimp and rice. 3 meals of that. Grilled chicken, with a spinach salad with carrot, cucumber, and radishes, light dressing. 3 of those. "Steak stir fry, mostly veggies. 4 of those just in case. And lightly seasoned pork chops with sweet potato. 3 of those. Then I prepped banana pancakes, cut up my fruit for my smoothies and yogurt, got everything cut up for my avocado toast, and I'll just make eggs with that as I go."

"Now, I eat healthy, but not that healthy." He pursed his lips.

"It's mostly just proteins and counting calories, natural sugars, aside from my coffee and red bull." I nodded.

"Does any of it even taste good?" He gave me a look.

I pulled out my just in case stir fry and handed it to him with a fork."You tell me."

He hesitated for a minute, but did take a bite.

"Wow." He nodded.

"Good?" I smiled.

"You made this?" He smiled.

I nodded.

"You are a really good cook." He shook his head and took another bite.

"Have you met my mom?" I pursed my lips.

"Yes, and have had her cooking." He nodded.

"And you'll have to come over more and have it." My mom came prancing in to the kitchen. "Hi sweetie." She smiled and hugged him.

"Hi Miss Sherry." He smiled.

And then she looked at me. "Is that my shrimp."

"I told Dyson to get you more." I nodded.

"Good." She nodded. "But I mean it Cash, you and your family are welcome any time."

"Thank you." He nodded.

I cleared my throat. "Mom." I nodded out of the kitchen.

"OK." She held her hands up. "I can take a hint." She walked out.

I grabbed a fork and walked around to the other side of the island.

"How was training?" I sat next to him and took a bite.

"Long." He nodded.

"You know you've been holding your side since you sat down, right?" I nodded. "You're not the only observer here."

He sighed. "Just a little sore. I took a few hits is all."

"And how often do you have to do this?" I shook my head.

"Once a month." He pursed his lips.

I sighed, reached over, and lifted his shirt. And he was in fact covered in starting bruises. I pursed my lips and looked down.

"Hey." He set his fork down and lifted my face. "I'm fine, I'm used to it." He nodded.

"Looks really fine." I nodded.

"Awe, you really are concerned about me." He pouted.

"Shut up." I shook my head.

He sighed. "I promise, I'm OK." He nodded. "It's part of being in ROTC and Military, OK? Nothing I can't handle. Honestly, my shoulders probably hurt more than this from carrying gear."

"Well, that, I can help with." I hopped up on the island and spun his stool around.

I started rubbing his shoulders.

"You don't have to do that." He let out a small laugh.

"But I am." I nodded.

A few minutes went by and my dad and Kevin walked in. "Now, you don't even do that for me." My dad shook his head.

"You have mom." I shrugged.

"What are you eating?" Kevin gave him a look.

"Uh." He turned and looked at me.

"Steak stir fry." I nodded. "I meal prepped and used all moms shrimp too." I pursed my lips.

"It's really good." He nodded.

"If you can get him to eat healthy, all the power to you dear. But since you're both here, we'd like to talk to you." Kevin nodded.

I slid off the counter and on to the stool.

"Now, since we're going to be staying down at the camp next weekend, we want to go through some rules with you too." My dad nodded.

"Oh my god." I closed my eyes.

"1, stay out of the bike trailer." He pointed at me.

"You're not funny." I shook my head.

"2, you two are not in the same bed." Kevin nodded.

"Her pace." Cash held his hands up.

"Virgin." I raised my hand.

"Good." My dad nodded. "3. We don't care if you two hang out while we're there. But when it comes time to sleep, you, Piper, and Kinsley in one room." He pointed at me.

"And you, Dyson, and Parker in the other." Kevin pointed at Cash.

"We were going to hang out at the camp most of the time anyway." I shook my head.

"If I agree to all of this, do I 100% have your approval to take Anson on a date?" Cash looked at my dad.

"Yes." My dad nodded.

"Deal." Cash held his hand out.

"Atta boy." My dad shook it.

"Hal stop harassing her." My mom yelled from the living room.

"Thank you." I yelled.

"But, we, need to get home." Kevin looked at Cash.

He sighed and looked at me. "I'll call you later." He nodded.

"Let her call you. We need to talk to her." My dad nodded.

"Now what did I do." I shook my head.

"Nothing, we just need to talk to you."

I sighed. "I'll call you later." I nodded.

"OK." He let out a small smile and kissed my cheek.

"Bye Kevin." I waved.

"Bye sweetie. Bye Sherry." He yelled.

"Bye Kev. Bye Cash." She yelled.

They left, and I walked in to the living room and sat down with my parents.

"I am not OK with this." My dad shook his head.

"But, you're going to sit and listen." My mom smiled at him.

"I do not like this." I shook my head.

My mom sighed. "You are 16 years old." She nodded.

"I'm aware." I nodded.

"Which means you're getting to that age where you want to have sex."

"I'm leaving." I shook m head.

"No, just, listen." She nodded. "What your dad doesn't understand, is that there is nothing he can do to stop you from having sex."

"I own 12 guns." He nodded.

"Hal." She glared at him. "But, there is something we can do to make sure you're doing it safely. And that is make sure you know you can talk to us about anything." She nodded. "So, whenever you feel like you're ready to, we want you to come talk to us."

"I don't." My dad shook his head.

"But, you can." My mom raised her eyebrows at him.

"I'm uncomfortable." I nodded.

"Trust me honey, we are too. But when it comes time, we want you to be safe. Which means you need birth control, and condoms, and regular check ups. And with Cash being an attractive kid, and the kiss last night -"

"I didn't tell dad about that mom." I cut her off and pursed my lips.

"What kiss?" My dad looked at me.

"I'm 16 and there's nothing you can do to stop it." I scrunched my face.

"Again, I own 12 guns." He nodded.

"And they will stay in that safe because she is a big girl and we are not having a repeat of Garret Thomas. Cash is a good kid, you like him, and you know he will be nothing but respectful to our daughter Hallock. Now stop treating her like a baby." She crossed her arms.

His eyes got wide and he just looked straight forward. Because the few times we know my mom is serious, is when she's yelling, raises her eyebrows, or calls my dad Hallock. But the biggest, is when she calls him Hallock.

"So, you're saying, I can have sex, as long as I talk to you." I gave them a look.

"No." My dad shook his head.

"Yes." My mom nodded.

"I haven't even gone on a date with the kid." I shook my head.

"But you will be." My mom smiled.

"Not decided."

"Have you met Piper." She gave me a look.

"Good point." I nodded.

"So talk to us, safety, and we're good." She nodded.

"Can I please leave the room." I pursed my lips.

"You may." My dad shook his head.

I can not tell you how fast I jumped off the chair and ran up to my room.

I flopped on my bed and automatically called Piper.

P; Yes my dear.

A; My mother just sat me down in front of my dad and told me I was allowed to have sex.

P: What?

She was now laughing hysterically.

A; I am 16, and at that age where I would start to want to have sex, and Cash is an attractive dude, and with the kiss last night, that I didn't tell my dad about, they wanted me to know that when I am ready, to talk to them so I can get birth control, condoms, and regular check ups.

P; And what'd you say?

A; I asked to leave the damn room.

P; I mean, do you want me to be honest with you?

A; Not really, but I know you're going to be.

P; Boo, you have thought about having sex. So, maybe it's not a bad idea. Cause mom is right, Cash is an attractive guy, and if you'd kiss him, you may do more, and it's better to be safe than sorry if you get caught up in the moment. I mean, don't say that in front of dad. But, maybe it wouldn't hurt to start birth control and have condoms in case the situation ever un-intentionally escalates.

I sighed.

A; You have a point.

P; Exactly, and if my mom was still alive, I'd want her to make me feel like I could talk to her. You're lucky you have that. So talk to her, ok?

A; I love you.

P; And I love you. But I recommend messaging mom, so dad doesn't over hear.

A; Good idea. I'll see you tomorrow.

P: Goodnight my love.

A: Goodnight my dear.

We hung up the phone.

I took a deep breath, and against everything, I messaged my mom.

A; Will you make me an appointment please?

I waited a few minutes.

M: Yes baby, I will. Thank you for asking.

A; Better safe than sorry. Never know what will happen.

M: Very true. This is why we had that talk.

A; I get it mom. Thank you for being you.

"Shrimp and rice is replaced." Dyson came walking in to my room.

"Thank you." I nodded.

"Why do you look like you're about to throw up?" He laughed.

"Because mom just made me sit in front of dad and have the sex talk." I nodded.

"Ooo, no." He shook his head. "You are not having sex."

"I don't plan to, no. But things happen." I shrugged.

"Can you just, I don't know, wait until you're married?" He pursed his lips.

"You're sleeping with my best friend." I nodded.

"Good point." He pointed at me.

"What did they say to you?"

"That I could do what I wanted but if I get anyone pregnant that mom would chop it off and then dad would kill me." He nodded. "You?"

"That I needed to talk to them, and that dad owns 12 guns. Then mom called him Hallock and told him to stop treating me like a baby."

"She called him Hallock?" He raised his eyebrows.

I nodded.

He sighed. "Alright. So, I guess, being the big brother, I should give you this whole speech that they didn't."

"Oh my god." I shook my head.

He sat up and pulled me up with him. "Sex, is fun." He nodded.

"Can we not." I pursed my lips.

"But, when you do decide to have fun, there's a lot of things you need to do to prepare yourself, not just physically, but mentally too. When that time comes, you're probably going to have a rush of emotions that you've never experience before, or know how to handle. That's when, you need to talk. With whoever it's with, mom, Pipe, or even me. Don't pull your typical Anson shit and try to hold it in. Because even I had that problem, and I'm a dude. People will tell you that the most important part of sex is taking care of your body, which it is important, but it's even more important to take care of your mind and your heart. Am I cool with you having sex, not in the slightest. But, am I gonna stop you, no. If you promise me that you'll take care of all of you, not just your body."

I swear, I gave him the stupidest look. But nodded. "I promise."

"Alright then." He nodded. "I'm gonna assume this happened because of Cash?"

"Yeah, when I haven't even gone on a date with him." I shook my head.

"Have you met Piper?" He laughed.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because we know Piper." He nodded. "But, I do really like Cash. He's a good guy, he can handle you, he'll treat you right or Kevin might kill him. So, some brotherly advice, give him a chance. Obviously take the weekend with him to learn some stuff about him, but then give him a chance. It'd make me really happy to see you happy, and with a guy like him."

I sighed and smiled. "Any one ever tell you you're a really good brother." I nodded.

"Sometimes." He shrugged.

"Seriously, that actually, made things better."

"I aim to please." He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

I sighed. "I should probably call him since dad told him I would after our talk." I nodded.

"Good luck with that." He nodded and walked out of my room.

He closed my door behind him and I started a face time.

"Hi Belle." Cash smiled as he answered.

"Hi." I smiled.

"How was your talk with your parents?"

"Uncomfortable." I nodded.

"Does it involve me?" He gave me a look.

"Sort of." I scrunched my face. "And uh, my mom told my dad that you kissed me last night."

"Am I about to die?" He shook his head.

"Well, my mom called my dad Hallock, so unless he wants to deal with her, no." I shook my head.

"Good." He nodded. "Can I know about the talk?"

"With the look on my face and it being an uncomfortable one, I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together."

"Oh, so it's the same talk my parents just had with me when I got home." He laughed. "I cant tell you how many times I just heard the word condoms."

"It's like our parents are best friends." I shook my head.

"Not really a bad thing. They ever have this talk with Kinsley though, we're going to have a problem." He nodded.

"Now, that is where you and Dyson are starting to differ. Because he gave me a talk too." I laughed.

"Oh god, about?" He laughed.

"About my body not being the only thing that needs to be taken care of. My head and heart too. Like, I need to talk about how I feel, and actually use my words and not bottle things in. That he's not cool with me having sex, but wont stop me if I promise I'll take care of all of me, not just my body. Then told me he liked you, and that I should give you a chance."

"I love him." He nodded. "But he is right. If that ever happens, with you and I, I do need you to talk to me. OK?"

"You are so straight forward." I laughed.

"Like I said, you shoot your shot and don't bitch out." He shrugged.

"We will handle it when it comes to that." I shook my head.

"Oh so it's when, not if. Someones coming around." He nodded.

I sighed and smiled. "Have you met Piper."

"I have." He smiled. "Liking her more and more."

"Of course you are. You just may not like that she had me ask my mom to make me an appointment for birth control." I nodded.

"Does your mom still like me?" He pursed his lips.

"I think she likes you more than she likes me." I laughed. "And I'm pretty sure you're her teen boy fantasy now."

"Ooo, Miss Sherry." He smirked and nodded.

"Please never do that again." I laughed and shook my head.

"We'll see." He laughed. "But, I need to go pep talk Kinsley about the football team results tomorrow."

"Dyson said she did really good Friday, I have nothing but faith in her." I nodded.

"That's what I said, I'll see you in the morning?"

"You will." I smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Belle." He smiled.

We hung up the phone.

I think this may have been the most awkward night of my life.