“That’s the plan.”
“Okay, I’ll wait here.”
“You don’t have to…” I wasn’t sure if she was suggesting it for me or for her.
“I want to. I need to go over some things with you.” She sounded serious, but she didn’t seem upset, so I figured it couldn’t be too big of a deal.
“All right. Be out in a sec.”
I took a fast shower. I didn’t want to leave her waiting too long. When I came out to get dressed, she lounged on my bed and stared out the window.
“How are you doing?”
She looked toward me with a slow smile spreading across her lips. “You look too good like that.”
“Like what?” I feigned innocence as I stood with a towel wrapped around my waist.
“If we weren’t in your parents’ house…”
“You won’t be able to use that excuse come Sunday.”
“I know.” She looked away. She always looked away when I changed, like she wanted to give me privacy or something. I, on the other hand, watched her like a hawk. I couldn’t get enough of seeing her body.
“I’m decent.”
She sat up and crossed her legs. “Okay, so I need to make sure I have this. Amanda is married to Mark, and their kids are Carrie and Andrew. Your brother David is married to Debbie, and they have Jason, Melanie, and Karen?”
I laughed. “Yup, good memory.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I can do this.”
I took a seat next to her on the bed. “It’s not that big of a deal. Relax.”
“Not that big of a deal? You drag me back here and have the nerve to say that?” Her voice went very high. She was really worked up.
Okay, obviously I took the wrong approach. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just they’re not intimidating people, and they’ll love you.”
“We’ll see.” She stood up, smoothing her navy t-shirt down over the top of her khaki shorts.
“You ready?” I let her take my hand to pull me off the bed.
“Sure.”
The sound of kids yelling outside meant at least one of my siblings had arrived. I really hoped they’d be on their best behavior.
***
“I don’t think my girls are going to let her go home,” David joked, leaning back in an Adirondack chair as my brothers and I watched Becca play with my nieces.
“Yeah, I think she won them over with those braids.” The girls had gone wild when Becca made these cross-over braid things for them. She called them braid headbands or something like that.
“She’s obviously good with kids,” David pointed out.
“That’s definitely true.” She seemed to be having as much fun as they were. She’d also had fun kicking the soccer ball around with my nephews. My sister and sister-in-law were as unathletic as they come, so I think my nephews were surprised to meet a girl who knew how to play.
David cracked his knuckles in that annoying way he always did. “So, you going to tell us how you ended up with this girl? She almost seems too good to be true.”
“It’s a long story.”
Brody tossed a football up in the air over and over. “We’ve got time.”
“First I tried to stay away, then I fucked up, and then I miraculously got a second chance.” Out of habit, I looked around to make sure my mother hadn’t heard me. Cursing was practically a capital crime in her house.
Brody caught the ball, holding it this time. “What did you do?”
“Nothing worth repeating.”
“No, you don’t. Spit it out, bro.” David was now at full attention.
I let out a deep breath. “I slept with her and told her we should pretend it never happened.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.” David stared at me like I had two heads.
“Afraid not. Like I said, it’s amazing she gave me another chance.”
“Putting everything else aside, why’d you say something so stupid? It obviously couldn’t have been that bad, or you wouldn’t have her here now…” Brody started up with the damn ball again.
“I knew she was only in town for the summer. I figured it’s what she wanted.”
“But it wasn’t…” David trailed off.
“No. And it gets worse.”
“Worse?”
I figured I might as well lay it all out there. I usually told my brothers everything. “I was her first.” I preferred to think of it that way, and so did Becca. What happened to her at seventeen didn’t change that I was the first one she gave herself to—even if she was incredibly drunk.
“Let me get this straight. You hook up with a gorgeous virgin and then tell her to hit the road? And I’m usually the screw up.” Brody laughed dryly.
“I know.”
“And how’d you get her back?” David ran a hand through his thick brown hair.
“I got her car fixed, took her out to lunch, got her some flowers, and took care of a drunkard.” I smiled. I still couldn’t believe how lucky I’d gotten.
“What changed your mind?” Brody set the ball aside once again.
“About?”
“Come on, about her. What happened to her only being in town for the summer?” he continued.
“I couldn’t resist her. I wanted more, and then I got more, and I needed more. You know?”
“Yeah. I get that.” David smiled, leaning back.
I looked out into the yard, unable to take my eyes off Becca.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Becca
I was making friendship bracelets with Gavin’s three nieces when his sister Amanda asked if I wanted to take a walk with her. I knew it was just an excuse to interrogate me, but I agreed anyway. I didn’t really think I had a choice, so I got up and followed her.
I was exhausted and still had a party to get through. The day went better than I’d expected. I spent most of it playing with the kids. When in doubt in a social situation, spending time with kids is the answer. I wondered if Gavin knew how lucky he was. He had such a loving family. I liked them all, even if they did seem a little overbearing at times.
We were barely out of the yard when Amanda started in. “How’d you and my brother meet? I haven’t been able to talk to him much today.” Her blond hair made her stand out from the rest of her family. I wondered if it was her natural color.
“He actually helped me out when my car broke down.”