Zane, Evie, and I keep the conversation flowing easily, but I can’t help but notice that Slater stays quiet. I eye him a few times, but he doesn’t say anything. He just continues to eat. Quint and Reid both come back in for refills. When Evie andZane get up to refill their plates, I knock Slater’s knee with mine. His eyes jump to mine. “You good?” His brows knit together. “You’re so quiet,” I add.
“Slate’s always quiet,” Evie says, overhearing my comment.
It’s my turn to frown. “No, he’s not.”
“Well, that must just be around you because he’s always quiet here,” Evie says.
I eye Slater. “Is that true?”
He shrugs. Before I have time to dwell on it for too long, Zane pushes back from the table. “What sport is it today?” he asks.
“Basketball,” Reid says from the other room.
Evie frowns. “I think it’s football.”
“Actually, it’s soccer,” Slater says with a smirk.
Evie groans. “Really?”
Zane seems to think about it a moment. “Yeah, he’s right. It’s soccer today.”
I start picking up my plate and look down at Slater’s empty plate. “Are you done?” At his nod, I grab his plate and mine and take them to the sink. He stands up behind me and starts picking up the leftover food.
“Thirty minutes,” Zane calls out.
“For what?” I ask Slater when he walks over to the sink to drop a bowl off.
“Until we play soccer.”
“Oh, that’s great. I can’t wait to watch.”
Evie laughs, but I ignore it. “You don’t get to watch,” Slater says with a smirk.
“Oh, but I do,” I argue as I wash our plates.
“House rules. Anybody who eats here on Sunday plays sports,” Zane calls out.
I scowl. “Well, that would have been nice to knowbeforeI ate.”
“Would you have skipped that meal?” Evie asks doubtfully.
“No, but I would have considered it.”
Evie and Zane laugh, and Slater smirks at me. He nudges me aside. “I’ve got this.”
I nudge him right back. “Actually, I was here first.”
“Yeah, well you’re our guest; you don’t need to do the dishes.”
Quint laughs behind us. “Since when do you do the dishes, Slate?”
Slate turns around and throws water at him. Quint blinks and wipes the water off his face. Then in a move so fast, I don’t see it coming, he grabs a water bottle and launches the contents of it at Slater. The problem is—Slater is an athlete. He’s fast. I, however, am not. Slater spins out of the way of the water, leaving me to take a huge spray of water to the face. Quint laughs. “Sorry, Tess. That wasn’t supposed to be for you. I was aiming for—” I grab the bowl of water from the sink and throw all of it at him. He blinks as water drips off his face, and I laugh out loud. Slater turns towards me with a grin and high fives me. I’m feeling really good until Quint moves. I shriek when he picks up the container of sour cream. “Slater!” I shout and duck behind him. He moves to get out of the way of incoming sour cream and ends up backing into me. I start to fall backwards, but his hand shoots out catching me and holding me up.
“Enough,” Zane says, taking the sour cream from Quint. “Go get the game set up.”
Quint only grins at us and then leaves the kitchen. Slater turns to me. “You good?”
I smile broadly. “Yes.” Together, Slater, Zane, Evie, and I pick up what’s left of the food. Zane and Evie leave to go get ready for the game, and I finish putting the last dish in the dishwasher. “Do I really have to play?” I ask Slater.
