AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But with Bex and Coach Bryant here, the group has expanded. My dad made some room for Coach Bryant on his side of the table, welcoming him into the family. Bex is on my right, in the middle of the table with my usual crew. It’s a full house, only one seat open and that belongs to JP.
My mom glances up every so often, looking for JP. She didn’t want to start dinner without him, but everyone was starving. We’d run out of snacks an hour before and we were slowly getting drunker and more irritated.
“Bex,” my mom says. “How would you like to help me out with Philly Clean this year?”
Philly Clean is a youth basketball event my mom has sponsored and helped run every year since she started working at DMG. The players from the Sixers work with kids on ball handling and various skills, and all of the proceeds go to Philly Clean, a charity that helps drug addicts get off the streets and get clean. My grandparents were addicts, both of them dying from drug overdoses, which is how my mom ended up in foster care. It’s also the reason she met Jameson.
Bex’s eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”
Mom nods.
“Yeah. Uh… I would love to.” She smiles so wide her teeth are showing. “Thank you.”
Her excitement radiates off her. I love that she gets along with my mom. Things between us could never work out if she didn’t.
“I hear you’re a big Dante Fisher fan,” Mom says to Bex.
“The biggest,” Bex replies, smiling.
“Bex has posters of him on her bedroom walls,” Coach Bryant says.
Bex turns beat red, shooting her dad a warning look down the table. “Dad, c’mon. Don’t embarrass me. Please.”
The table erupts into laughter.
“If you come, you’ll get to meet him.” Mom finishes chewing her food. “Dante, I mean. He’s helping out with the kids this year.”
Bex squeals, covering her mouth with her hand. “Shut. Up.” She fans herself with her hand. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean for you to shut up. I’m just… wow! Like I have no idea what to say. Dante is so—”
Mom waves her hand. “I know what you mean. No need to worry. Even after ten years of retirement, he’s still the same player I signed out of high school. He’s arrogant, and a little much to take in all at once.” She points at my dad. “This one was the same way. Actually, all three of them were.”
She’s referring to Tyler Kane and Carter Donovan, who are sitting at the table, laughing.
“Tyler was the most arrogant player I’d ever met,” Aunt Kennedy chimes. “He was infuriating. Trying to get an interview with him was like pulling teeth.”
“Hey, babe, you got more than interview.” Tyler winks at her.
Three of their children make gagging sounds. The second oldest of the Kane’s, Tucker Jr., who everyone calls Tye, is missing this year.
“Daddy, that’s gross.” Ava, the oldest, flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “People are trying to eat.”
“Hey, princess,” Tyler says, “I didn’t say anything wrong.”
Ava sips from her wine glass. “It was implied.”
She’s gorgeous, a fashion model who travels around the world for work. All of the Kane’s have the same blonde hair, blue eyes, and light features. Their mom has dark hair, all of them the spitting image of their dad. If Ava wasn’t like a sister to me, I would have been all over her years ago.
“So, how did you two meet?” Ava looks down the table at Bex and me.
“I ran into him in the locker room,” Bex admits, her cheeks flush.
Ava gives her a funny look. “Like the men’s locker room?”
Bex nods.
“Oh, now this I have to hear. Sounds juicy.”
“More like horrifying,” Bex says. “My dad told me to meet him after practice. I didn’t realize the guys were still in the locker room, and well, let’s say that was kinda awkward.”
Coach Bryant shakes his head. “Needless to say, Bex found the side entrance to my office after that day.” He looks right at Bex. “No more entering through the locker room.”
“No, definitely not,” Bex says. “That’s one place I never want to walk through again.”
Everyone at the table laughs.
In the middle of dinner, JP shows up. He strolls into the dining room, his black coat dusted with snow.
“Sorry, I’m late.” JP bends down to kiss my mom first, followed by my aunts. “I got stuck in traffic on my way back from New York.”
“Take off your jacket, baby,” Mom says to him. “You’re getting snow all over the table.”
She still talks to us like we’re little kids, even though we’re grown ass men.
JP removes his coat, leaving it on a chair in the corner of the room. Dad stands up to hug him, and them pulls out the chair next to him. With JP across from us, he stares at Bex, wondering why he she doesn’t look familiar. I haven’t talked to him in so long he doesn’t even know I have a girlfriend now. He also has no idea it’s a secret.
