Clarissa Lincoln is a martini glass half full type. Heck, even when she slurps the last bits of icy vodka from the glass, she'll tell you it's plumb full!
Until a disaster of a night on New Year's Eve sends the daydreaming, serial dater spiraling as...
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"Conner, why are you driving so slow?" I whine as a car passes us again.
"It's winter. You're supposed to go under the speed limit."
"This year doesn't even count as winter, and we're on a plowed highway. There isn't an inch of ice in sight."
"I'd rather play it safe. It's not me–
"It's the other cars, yeah, yeah," I laugh. "Were you always a rule follower?"
"Pretty much, yeah," he says.
"Interesting," I murmur.
"You can't possibly be surprised by this fact about me." He casts a sideways look at me.
"What surprises me is how laid back and easy your parents are. They seem like the type that wouldn't have cared if you got in a little trouble at school."
"My dad was stricter when I was younger," he says and then pauses to make a turn. Thankfully speeding up a little when we get back on the next road, which is empty except for us. "Mostly about pulling good grades, chores, being respectful, that sort of thing. My mom was the easier-going one and would get him to loosen up on some things. They balanced each other well, but I wasn't the type of kid who challenged them. I liked the structure and never felt that comfortable pushing boundaries. I had a brief rebellious period around thirteen, but it didn't last long."
"Really? Your dad seems even more chill than your mom."
"He is now," Conner says as his lips curl into a wry smile. "Cami was the type of kid that challenged them at every step. But it got him to loosen up over the years. She could bring home a C, and they'd bake her a cake."
He lets out a little chuckle, and there's only amusement, no bitterness. I'm more than a little jealous of how close his family is.
"I hated report card day. I'd try so hard to act all casual, hoping they'd forget," I confess. "They never did."
"So, they were strict?"
"Very. My dad especially, but my mom also had this fixation with everything being perfect for him. She worked, too, and still was always home on time to make sure the house was spotless and dinner was ready before he got home. I was supposed to be perfect, too, but I wasn't."
"No one is, and I'm sure they still thought you were in your way."
"No, they didn't," I say with a humorless laugh. "They were both very studious in school. My dad was even the valedictorian. Those traits didn't pass down to me. I could tell them about every kid in my class, but I would struggle to recall what we learned that day. It became this ongoing push and pull thing as the years went on. He'd say schoolwork first and friends later, but I couldn't help myself."
"You need people in your life. You're a social person," Conner murmurs. "It sucks he didn't get that."
"He'd punish me for my bad grades by grounding me from my friends and stuff, but like your sister, I challenged them. I'd just do what I want anyway and let him get mad."
