Chapter 23
Something Brewing.
Being the baby of a loving, successful family isn’t always easy. I had not one but two older siblings who’d done exceptionally well. My sister, Danielle, who is four years older than I, had been married for two years and had just passed the bar. She and her lawyer husband had just moved to one of those trendy apartments in downtown Houston where cars weren’t necessary. Then there was my brother, Darryl, two years older, a newlywed, living his best life with his wife, who jointly owned a small contracting business in Beaumont. My parents had partially funded their business, had worked hard as bankers, and had excellent financial management skills. My parents may have started living in an efficiency when they married, but they had done well over the years. During my last years in high school, they could finally afford their sprawling five-bedroom dream home. To say they were overly thrilled that I finally had a boyfriend, one who was bound for success, was an understatement. I didn’t even get the usual criticisms about my wild hair or grades, which hadn’t been the best lately because of my Carter fever.
My brother and sister left their respective spouses to join our parents for dinner at my condo, and it was cool to be the original five again. We preferred home-cooked meals so that we could actually hear each other and bond. My father, who’d always been the better cook, insisted on grilling his favorite rib-eye steaks in the pit outside the complex near the beach despitethe fifty-degree weather. Grey and Darryl joined my father to drink beer and catch up. Meanwhile, my sister, Mama, and Chelsea prepared fresh mashed potatoes, corn, and lemonade. They allowed me to sit at the table and brag about Carter, who would be arriving later because he had meetings with his team.
“I can’t wait to meet him.” Mama beamed. I was the only one to inherit her deep indentations, and she would remind me of my beautiful smile when I doubted my looks. She was the youngest of five children, and she understood my position all too well. She would temper my father’s tendency to compare his children with warmth and praise. “The picture you sent of the two of you is so cute.”
“Which did you send?” Chelsea asked as she pushed the pitcher of fresh lemonade to the side and sat beside me.
“This one.” I picked up my phone and showed her a selfie of us after one of his victorious games. Our cheeks touched while we grinned at the camera. We looked happy and in love.
She looked but didn’t say anything. Lately, she’d been distant. Even when we were together, Chelsea didn’t say much. She didn’t seem angry or sad, just caught in her world. A world I no longer knew, and it saddened me because it reminded me that my close friendships would change. Carter and the family we would create one day would be my focus. I’d seen it with my siblings and my parents. Though they had friends, they now only gathered during special occasions and holidays. I would be moving in with Carter. Since we were both graduating, we could end up living out of the state for jobs, school, or if Carter changed his mind about playing professional football.
My cell rang while she still had my phone and announced, “Speak of the devil.”
She passed me my phone, and I stepped out on the balcony for privacy. “Are you on your way?”
His deep voice replied, “In a little while. Still on campus. Should I bring something?”
“Trust. My family has plenty of food, and Chelsea made a big pitcher of lemonade. Just bring yourself.”
“Oh... Chelsea is there.” He sounded disappointed.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she be?”
“Thought tonight was about your family and about me meeting them?”
“She’s like my family, and besides, she lives here.”
“I guess that means Grey will be there, too?” I could feel his irritation.
“Yeah. Sorry, I thought you knew.”
“How could I know if you didn’t tell me? When you spend time with my family, it’s not me, you, and my friends. It’s just us two. I’m already nervous about meeting your parents, and then you add Grey and Chelsea in the mix,” he grumbled.
I closed my eyes and silently prayed that Carter would magically like my friends. I met a couple of his friends, and we’d gotten along well. I enjoyed spending time with the people he cared about. And I kept hoping that the more time we spent with my friends, the more he would loosen up around them. “I should’ve said something. I didn’t think.”
“No, you didn’t,” he replied sharply. “I’ll see you in a few.” He hung up without saying goodbye.
“Shit.” I shivered from the cold air, and before I could go back inside, Grey placed his jacket around me. His jacket, still warm from his body, immediately comforted me.
He leaned against the rail, nursing his beer bottle in his hand while I still faced the beach. “Everything good?”
“I messed up.”
He quirked a brow. “You? Mess up? Never.”
I rolled my eyes. “Carter assumed it was just him and me with the parents.”
“Why did he think that? Your peeps are like my peeps.”
“I need you not to be so cozy with my folks in front of Carter.”
Grey took a long sip before replying, “He jealous?”
“Not jealous. Just nervous about meeting my parents.”
