Damn. Avery might not want anything to do with me or the sport I love, but she’s definitely piqued my interest. And that hasn’t happened with anyone or anything other than baseball, ever.
5
AVERY
“Peace offering.” Bodie holds up the paper coffee cup as he bows his head down.
“Not forgiven,” I say while carefully taking the paper cup from his hands, “but there’s no point in letting a good cup of coffee go to waste.”
His smile tells me he knows he’s already exonerated, but that won’t stop me from giving him a hard time, which was exactly what I’d done during our shopping trip yesterday.
“Come on. You know it wasn’t all that bad. We got to meet Carter Barlowe. What more can you ask for?”
“A best friend who doesn’t drag me to baseball games.” Yes, meeting the baseball star had been … interesting. But being woken up by him while sleeping at the stadium wasn’t exactly ideal. Especially since I ran off because his stupidly enticing eyes left me a blabbering mess.
“Eh, could be worse.” He lifts his identical paper cup, drinking down a swallow. “Ready to go?”
“Yep.” I grab my phone and follow him out the door. We head to my parents’ house for our standing Sunday lunch. Bodie’s attendance is expected as much as mine or my siblings’， but he hasn’t made it too often lately.
Once we arrive at my parents’， we make our way into the house. Upon pushing the door open, the smell of Mom’s home cooking fills the air, making my mouth water.
“Anyone home?” Bodie calls out.
My younger sister, Presley, greets Bodie before she even looks at me. It’s been more than obvious that she’s had a thing for Bodie for, like, ever. But we learned the hard way that we didn’t want the drama of dating a best friend’s sibling after my relationship with Bodie’s older brother crashed and burned in high school, resulting in Bodie and I fighting with each other more than anything.
Ignoring my sister, I breeze into the kitchen, moving into Mom’s warm embrace as she tells me Dad will be home from the store in a few minutes. The feed store is closed on Sundays, but it never stops Dad from going in to wrap up things he wanted to get done during the week. If anyone asked me, I personally think it’s always been his solace. With four kids running around for two decades and now a rambunctious grandkid added to the mix, I didn’t blame him one bit. Though Mom thrives in the chaos, I get why Dad needs a little while to himself just to clear his mind and recharge for the week. Because as much as I’ve adapted to dealing with general bedlam, I truly recharge when it’s finally silent and serene. I’m unnecessarily reminded that neither of those things will be happening at this house anytime soon when my nephew runs through the kitchen, yelling and charging straight for me.
“What’re we running from?” I ask, scooping him up in my arms to wrap him in a secure hug.
“Him!” Finn shouts as I spot my brother rushing in our direction, a Nerf gun aimed our way.
“Seriously, Rhett?” I ask, turning Finn out of the line of fire. “Do you really have nothing better to do other than torment children?”
“Nope.” It doesn’t surprise me in the least as the youngest child of four smiles, firing the Nerf bullet that strikes me in the back. “Besides, he started it. I was minding my own business, taking me a good nap when this happened.” Rhett holds up his arm to show me where buttface is sloppily written in what appears to be permanent marker. And I know the guilty party as I hear Finn giggling at the sight of his artwork.
“Did you do that?” I ask, trying to bite back a smile.
Finn’s grin answers as he looks up to me with his pleading puppy dog eyes. “Don’t tell Mom.”
“‘Don’t tell Mom’ what?” Tessa asks as she enters the kitchen, looking to her son in my arms.
“Nothing,” I say in unison with Rhett as he hides his arm from our oldest sister. Serious and no-nonsense, Tessa wouldn’t be pleased to find out her son dished out some well-deserved payback to his uncle.
“Yes. Very convincing.” Tessa joins Mom as she finishes fussing at Bodie for missing so many recent family gatherings.
Still holding the Nerf gun at his side, Rhett angles it upward with his wrist, firing a shot that strikes Bodie in the chest.
“What was that for?” Bodie rubs over the spot.
“For taking her to the game and not me. Really, bruh. Why?”
“She’s prettier than you,” Bodie retorts, shielding himself as Rhett takes aim and fires at him again. “And she doesn’t shoot at me.”