“Uhhh, I…”
“Mr. and Mrs. Wright?” he says, as collected as ever, holding out a hand. He shakes Mom’s hand first then Dad’s. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Brooks.”
“Brooks,” Mom repeats, like she’s trying to place him. He gives me a look, like he’s unsure if he should give them any more information. But I smile, letting him know they’re safe—well, at least for some of it.
“Brooks Everett,” I say, and I watch as both of their eyes grow wide.
“Everett,” Dad repeats now, trying hard to hide his shock.
“We, uh…we met at a bar a few weeks ago,” I lie, “and, uh…”
“I’ve been trying to take her out since. She’s a tough nut to crack, though, this one,” he jumps in to rescue me. “But I’m a big Empire fan myself, so I invited myself to tag along today.”
My parents’ faces are still reading shock, and I clear my throat.
“Well, we better get going,” I say, trying to cut down the awkward silence.
“Thanks for taking them, Brooks,” my dad says. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“It’s my pleasure, sir,” he says. “I hope we can spend a little more time together soon.”
“That would be great,” Mom says with a smile. She’s giving me a look that saysWhat the fuck?but in the sweetest way possible. I kiss them both and promise to let them know when we get to the stadium.
As I settle into the car, I pull my phone out.
Please don’t mention to anyone that we are together. Or that you met him. It’s an anonymity thing,I send off. And I know that, with my parents, that’s all I have to say. They are my best friends, my biggest secret keepers, and the reason I believe in unconditional love.
When we pull out of the driveway, Brooks reaches under his seat and pulls out some sort of gaming console. Then he pulls out headphones and a controller and hands them to Cole in the backseat.
“You like video games?” he asks.
Cole’s eyes are like big saucers.
“Whoa! For real?” he says. Brooks nods. “Yeah, I do!”
“Have at it,” he says. “Just hit that button to turn it on, and it’ll connect to our hotspot.”
“This isawesome!”Cole says as he pulls the headphones on over his ears. I look back at Brooks and smile.
“Thank you for doing all of this,” I tell him. “This is a lot.”
“This is nothing,” he says. “And it’s certainly nothing compared to what you are doing for me and my family.”
I swallow, my eyes dropping to my hands in my lap.
“Your parents seem great,” he says, changing the subject. I smile.
“They are,” I say. “They always have been. Even when I was a teenager, I thought they were cool,” I giggle. He smiles.
“I wasn’t joking about what I said,” he says. “I really would love to spend some time with them.”
I swallow.
“I’d like that,” I say.
After he looks back to make sure that Cole is settled and fully focused on the game, he reaches over and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers. And we ride like that the whole way to the stadium. When we finally pull into the lot, Eddie takes us around to the back of the stadium. We pass through a few different gates then pull into a gated lot where Eddie parks. When we get out, a security guard leads us through two large doors, down a long hallway, and onto a small elevator.
“There you go, Mr. Everett,” he says. Brooks nods, handing him a wad of cash. “Oh my. That’s not necessary, sir.”
