“Absolutely.”
This time I laughed and twisted around, pressing my lips to his. “Yes, Braden, you win.” He was an amazing kisser.
The day had turned to dusk when we walked back to my house, kicking the soccer ball back and forth between us as we went.
“So . . .”
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “What?”
“Are you going to tell my family about us, or am I?”
“Probably better if you do. I already have one black eye.”
“Funny . . . wait, you don’t think my brothers would hit you, do you?”
“I hope not.”
Now I was scared. Braden was right; this was different than just some random guy I met. This was Braden. He was practically part of the family. I knew how much pressure that put on us. I knew my brothers and father would understand that as well.
Braden studied my face. “Oh, great. You’re terrified. If you’re scared, how am I supposed to feel?”
“I already told you to stop reading me.”
“I can read you because I know you better.”
“In your dreams.”
“Yes, you’ve been there, too.”
I backhanded him across the stomach, but couldn’t help but smile.
When we walked into the house with a foot of space between us, my dad looked up from the game he was watching—an NBA classic.
“Don’t even think about it,” I told Braden, whose eyes lit up when he saw what was on television.
“Where have you been, Charlie?” my dad asked. “You’re supposed to be grounded.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot.”
“You’re grounded?” Braden asked. His eyes seemed to say If you’re already grounded, maybe we should tell him later.
I felt the opposite—if I was already grounded, might as well get this out too. I couldn’t get in any more trouble.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
My father’s eyes darted to Braden as if searching for clues to what I was about to say. He wasn’t going to find his answers from Braden this time.
“Maybe we should get everyone in here,” I said.
“Everyone?” Braden asked. “Right now? Don’t you just want to talk to your dad first?”
“No. Might as well talk to them all at once.”
“This sounds serious,” my dad said, finally using the remote to turn off the game.
“It is serious. But good serious.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Okay.”
I yelled up the stairs to my brothers and soon the three of them, plus my dad, were crammed on our long couch. They barely fit shoulder to shoulder. I stood in front of them with Braden behind me.
I cracked my knuckles and took a deep breath. “Okay. So . . .” I had no idea where to begin. I felt like it needed a lead-in, but what could I tell them that they didn’t already know?
Wait. Gage already knew how Braden felt. Had he told the others? I eyed Gage, and he gave me a rare hard look, daring me to confess to the whole family what he already knew.
My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow. My tongue felt twice as big as it should. Finally, I squeezed my eyes shut and spit out, “I love him.” I pointed over my shoulder and opened my eyes at the same time.
Gage’s jaw tightened. So he still hadn’t gotten used to the idea. Everyone else just stared at me like they were waiting for me to finish my point. They all loved Braden. They didn’t understand what I meant.
I reached behind me blindly, hoping he’d help me out. It didn’t take him more than a second to put his hand in mine. “We’re together,” I said.
I wasn’t sure who started the outburst, but soon they were all talking at once and it wasn’t to congratulate us. Jerom was the first on his feet, and he said, “How dare you take advantage of her right now?” His cold stare was on Braden. They all seemed to stand up in unison after that.
I held up my hand before someone else said something hurtful. “Stop. He is the only one who had the guts to even hint that something more happened with Mom. So don’t you dare act like he is taking advantage of me.”
Jerom fisted his hands. “It sure seems that way.”
“I’m not breakable. Don’t you all get that? I can handle things. I can make my own decisions. This didn’t happen today. I’ve liked him for a while. We just admitted it today.”
“I love her, guys,” Braden said.
Nathan stepped forward like he was going to give Braden’s black eye a match. My dad grabbed him by the arm. “That’s enough, boys,” he said, and everyone went quiet. “I’ve asked this young man to keep an eye on Charlie on numerous occasions. How is it fair to now say I don’t trust him?”
I could feel the tension drain from Braden next to me.
My father looked at Braden and in a chilling voice said, “You better not betray my trust.”
“No, sir.”
“Then it’s settled. But you’re still grounded until the party, Charlie.” He looked at Braden. “So get out of here.”
Braden had never been kicked out when I was grounded before. But he’d never been mine before, either. I squeezed his hand and he left. As soon as the door shut, my brothers’ smiles were back.
“I wondered when he’d say something.”
“It was so obvious.”
“But, Charlie,” Gage said, “I had no idea you felt the same.”
I nodded, and they continued to talk about who knew what and when. Then one by one they all went quiet. It was the first time we’d all been in the same place at the same time since I found out about my mom. I had been avoiding this.
I looked at my dad. “I think it’s time we all talked about Mom. Together.” I grabbed the box full of pictures from beneath the table. I was still beyond angry with her, but I knew the first step to getting through that was to learn more about her from the people who knew her better than I did.
I sat on the couch and opened the box. They all still stood there, staring, like I had asked them who wrote Pride and Prejudice. Then Gage snatched a picture from the box and held it up. “This was the day that Nathan pushed me into a tree because he said I was cheating at hide-and-seek. Mom totally took my side, by the way.”
“You were cheating. You always cheat,” Nathan said, sitting next to me and reaching in for a stack of pictures. My brothers all had their hands in the box now and were talking over one another again. I looked up and saw my dad standing there, staring at the pile of pictures on the table. She was in most of them. His expression was hard and it seemed he too was still angry with my mom. But then he met my eyes and his whole aura lightened with a smile. It seemed to say She gave me you, Charlie, and I’ll always love her for that. That was a lot for an aura to say, but I was sure Linda would’ve agreed.