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I stifle a chuckle as I notice she’s wearing bright pink fluffy slippers and walking through the grass in a matching short, tight dress. Her hair is perfectly styled with her black curly hair going down the length of her back and her makeup glistens in the sun.
“You must be Hunter,” she says while opening the gate and taking my bowl of potato salad.
I haven’t made this since Mom was alive. It’s her recipe, which means no mayonnaise, lots of spring onion, and entirely too much mustard. Dad and I never really liked it, but since she loved it, we ate it. It’s weird bringing potato salad to a barbecue Mom won’t be at.
“Yes,” I say uneasily as the woman gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m Evelyn. Adrien’s fiancée.”
“Ah, at last we meet,” I say teasingly, hoping I come off charming, but worried I come off as weird as I sound.
Evelyn promptly shuts the door behind me while the German Shepherd jumps up, putting its paws all over my jeans.
“Down, Brutus,” Evelyn says while grabbing the dog’s collar and pulling him off me. “I’m so sorry. He just gets excited when we have visitors over.”
“It’s fine,” I say, chuckling nervously. “I like dogs.”
“I’ll take this off your hands,” says Evelyn while strutting toward the back of the property. I shove my hands into my pockets and follow her, my gaze looking over the red brick of their townhouse. It’s a small yard compared to my parents’ house back in Aurora, but it’s big for Chicago. The townhouse is two stories and most likely has a basement, given we’re in the Midwest. Two windows take up most of the bottom floor, displaying a large kitchen and an eloquent living room with a flat-screen TV and a black sofa.
“Hunter is here!” Evelyn shouts to the men hanging around the table filled with food. She takes the lid off my potato salad and inhales deeply. “Oh, and this looks absolutely delicious.”
Adrien nods in greeting, holding up a beer while Brody wrinkles his nose. He peeks over Adrien’s shoulder and rolls his eyes. “Another potato salad?” he says with disdain. “You couldn’t bring something else?”
“Oh, will you shut your mouth, Brody,” Evelyn snaps. “You’ve hardly been here five minutes and already I want you out.”
“Must be the pregnancy hormones,” Brody mutters.
Unlike in the locker room, no one snickers, no one gives Brody a high five. Jeremy and Mark share an uneasy look while Brody shrugs. Evelyn’s hands fist, and Adrien wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and pressing his lips against her brow. “Don’t worry, honey,” he says, “Brody will get bored and leave within the hour and then you can eat all the potato salad you like.”
Brody rolls his eyes and moves to a table where beer pong has been set up. Jeremy and Mark join him while I sidle close to Adrien. “Sorry for the potato salad,” I say meekly. “I guess I should have asked.”
Evelyn shakes her head. “It’s fine. I love potato salad. Actually, it’s kinda the only thing I eat these days, which is why there’s so much of it.”
The door to the kitchen slides open and I watch as two girls, giggling and chatting, walk out with glasses of wine in their hands. I can already taste the sweetness on my tongue, can already feel the dizzying effects. My hands fist and I push away my need.An hour,I tell myself.Just deal with it for an hour and then you can leave.
“Hunter, these are the lovely journalists I told you about,” says Adrien while waving toward the two girls.
They stop in front of us. Their faces are already flushed. They must have started drinking as soon as they arrived. They’re dressed similarly in black—one in a short dress, the other in one that goes all the way to her ankles. Their smiles grow as they gaze up at me, as if I’m a target for them to play with.
“Amanda,” says the girl in the short dress.
“Charlotte,” says the other.
“Nice to meet you,” I say while shaking their hands.
“You’re the rookie,” says Amanda while tilting her head. “That was a nice throw. At the Cowboys’ game, I mean.”
“Thanks,” I say.
“Have you always wanted to play with the Bears?” Charlotte asks.
I bite my tongue. They’re interviewing me. I should have expected this. There’s no way I can say I wanted to play for the Broncos, especially since we just played them two days ago. “Umm, sure?” I say, grimacing at their giggling.Wrong answer.
“What Hunter means to say,” says Adrien while clapping his hand on my shoulder, “is that he pleads the fifth.”
The girls giggle in unison and quickly down their drinks. “That’s not what he said,” says Amanda.
“Oh, leave him alone,” says Evelyn while shaking her head at her friends. “He’s new. Be kind to him.”
