Chapter 59: You're Still Too Young to Handle It
"Ron."
Ron was struggling with his mother's meatloaf. Mary called him and he looked up, his face still covered with food crumbs. "What's up, Mom?"
"Here," Collins casually handed him a napkin. The little troublemaker's head slowly emerged from under the table like a gator surfacing from a swamp, letting out a mischievous "Gotcha!"
Annoyed, Collins picked up an onion ring and threw it at him.
"Leigh Anne and I are going to a charity fundraiser together. Could you please drive Collins back to school? She has cheerleading practice today. If you're not too busy, it would be great if you could wait there for her. You can come back for dinner tonight."
Mary and Leigh Anne, two elegant middle-aged women, smiled at each other knowingly, their plans clearly coordinated. This, however, put Ron in a tough spot as he tried to figure out how to avoid being alone with Collins.
"Hey, Mom, I've got a meeting with Viktor soon to discuss purchasing equipment. It's a major deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!" In desperation, Ron had to invoke his arms dealer contact.
Viktor was well-regarded by the family. After establishing a long-term business relationship with Ron, he made it a point to visit Ron's parents every Christmas Eve with gifts. The Cooper family thought highly of him.
"Don't worry about business. I can call Viktor and reschedule for tomorrow." Mary pulled out her phone but hesitated to dial. The threat was crystal clear.
Collins, looking slightly concerned, tried to intervene. "Is this too much trouble? If it's inconvenient..."
"No, it's no trouble at all!" Ron, under Mary's stern gaze, quickly interrupted the sweet Collins. Collins's worried expression melted into happiness, and she beamed at Ron with a smile that was even more radiant than before.
Oh no, that heart-skipping feeling again!
Ron quickly looked down to continue eating. Across from him, SJ picked the onion rings his sister had just thrown from his hair. He looked from Ron to his sister, munching on them while grinning.
What the hell are you smirking at, you little punk! Ron glared at him fiercely, and SJ glared right back, not backing down. "I've been so nice to you, but I've decided your Christmas present this year will be a complete set of practice SATs!" Just wait, kid, you'll be crying later!
Fifteen minutes later, Ron, who had been using eating as a stalling tactic, finally had his utensils confiscated by an impatient Mary who hustled him into the car. She dropped not-so-subtle hints:
"Drive safely. Leigh Anne and I just discussed it—we're not cooking dinner tonight. You two can grab something to eat before coming home. Ron, remember the gentlemanly manners I taught you!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Mom, you might as well just tell us to go on a date."
In the car, Collins was the first to break the silence. "Thanks for driving me back to school, Ron. I didn't mess up your work plans, did I?"
"No, it's nothing. I can have my associates handle the equipment negotiations." Ron couldn't help but show off again. It was this damn reflex—he couldn't stop himself around beautiful women.
"Do you want me to drop you off a block away? I know high school kids can be gossipy. They'll say anything. I'd feel terrible if I caused problems with your boyfriend."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ron wanted to smack himself: Why can't I control what comes out of my mouth?
Sure enough, Collins smiled brightly: "I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't plan on dating those immature boys at school. They're too naive and don't understand anything."
Ron could barely handle Collins's intense gaze, so he decided to expose his flaws to reduce her interest: "Dating older guys is even riskier. There are more players out there. For instance, I'm seeing two women at the same time."
Ron tried to discourage Collins by painting himself as a bad guy. It wasn't that Ron wasn't attracted to her, or that he felt guilty about it.
The main issue was that with Max and Caroline, since they were casual relationships with no real commitment, he could be as much of a player as he wanted. After all, they liked him anyway. But Collins was different.
She came from a well-educated, wealthy family, and this wealth was different from Caroline's unstable upbringing. Caroline had grown up in a very unpredictable social environment. Caroline's family was very liberal, so Caroline had always maintained a relatively open mindset.
Collins, on the other hand, came from a conservative Southern Baptist family. Don't assume everyone in America is liberal just because you've seen a few Hollywood movies or TV shows. That's not accurate. Everywhere has both open-minded and traditional people, and the Tuohy family definitely fell into the latter category.
Furthermore, given the close relationship between their families, if something happened, Ron would be expected to take responsibility. This responsibility was serious—he'd be expected to marry Collins.
"I don't believe that." Collins smiled even more happily. "You're not that type of person. Nobody would do something like that and then openly admit it. We have guys like that at our school too, but they always hide it carefully, afraid of getting caught."
"I really am like that." Ron was at a loss. Girl, you're using your intelligence in the wrong direction. "You're still too young to understand how complicated relationships can be."
"Okay, then I'll take your word for it," Collins crossed her arms, looking slightly indignant, and cut straight to the point. "But since you're already dating two women, why can't you add one more? Am I not as good as them?"
"Of course you are," Ron said with a bitter smile. "You're different from those other women. You're so innocent and kind, and considering the relationship between our families, if anything happened between us, we'd definitely end up married.
Otherwise, I'd feel like I was betraying Mr. Tuohy and Aunt Leigh Anne's trust."
"So in your heart, I'm the most special one?" Collins's eyes practically turned into crescents, full of youthful charm as she processed this revelation.
"Hey! How did you get that from what I said? That's not what I meant!" Ron protested.
"So you think I'm the same as them? Then why can't I be with you too?" After this circular conversation, Ron somehow found himself back where he started.
He was completely outmaneuvered. He'd rather grab a pair of nail clippers and challenge a drug cartel to a gunfight.
"Fine, you're different. You're the most special. Happy?" Ron surrendered. Fortunately, they'd arrived at the school, and Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief. He just wanted some peace and quiet while Collins practiced.
But Collins didn't get out of the car—instead, she leaned closer.
Before Ron could react, she quickly kissed him on the cheek.
Ron turned around, startled, to see Collins's blushing face. "Our practice runs about two hours, and we allow spectators. Can you wait for me and take me to dinner afterward?"
With that, she hurriedly opened the car door and got out. She'd barely taken a few steps when she came back and, facing Ron's puzzled expression, tapped on the window. Ron had no choice but to lower it.
"Also, I'm not little anymore—I'm already eighteen..." After saying that, she blushed and walked away again.
(End of chapter)
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"What do you think will happen next? Drop your theories in the comments and leave a review!"
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."