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He laughed way too hard as we made our way inside. We checked in, gave our IDs, and then Brax led me down the hallway toward his grandma’s place. We passed a large room where people were sitting on the couches, watching TV, or at tables playing board games. It smelled like antiseptic and old people but also like warm cookies and good times.
“How long has your grandma been here?”
“A few months.”
“You miss her a lot.”
“She’s close. I see her every week, sometimes more than once.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t miss her.”
Brax sighed. “No, I guess it doesn’t.” He nodded toward a door, and I turned for it.
I stood behind him as he knocked. When a soft, “Come in,” drifted through the door, he opened it.
“You’re scowling, Braxton. You’re too pretty to look so annoyed half the time,” was the first thing she said, and I immediately fell in love.
I peeked out from behind him and smiled. “Right? I tell him that all the time. He’s such a brooder.”
Her eyes widened, and her smile grew. Her hair was black like Brax’s but being taken over by a lot of gray. She was little, both short and skinny, but somehow I knew you didn’t fuck with her. That there wasn’t anything this woman couldn’t do.
“This was a mistake,” Brax said, but I just slipped around him and went for his grandma, who sat at a table by the window.
I held out my hand for her. “I’m Ty. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Matilda, and it’s nice to meet you too. The lacrosse player, I take it?”
“Fuck my life,” Brax mumbled behind me.
“The one and only. He still hasn’t come to one of my games, though.”
“Well, that’s not very nice of him,” Matilda replied.
“I agree.”
“We’ll work on him today.” She winked.
“I like you, Matilda.”
“I like you too, Ty.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Braxton
“Does your person appear to be a man?” Ty asked Grandma. The facility was busy today. We’d gone into one of the main hangout rooms, where they had lots of games, but many were already taken, so the three of us sat at a table in the corner, Ty and Grandma playing Guess Who. Ty choosing a game for eight-year-olds should surprise absolutely no one.
“Yes,” Grandma replied. “Does your person have glasses?”
Ty looked down at his board, rubbing his chin as if he had to put such deep thought into the question. “Hmmm.”
“You’re a dork,” I told him.
“I’m thinking.”
“Thinking about what? It’s not your opinion she’s asking for.”
Grandma swatted my hand. “Let the boy think, Braxton.”
“Yes, let the boy think,” Ty added.
“You’re a traitor, Grandma.”
“He’s quite charming.”
Ty’s smile grew. “I am, aren’t I? I’ve been trying to get Brax to see that for years now.” He turned to me. I was sitting next to him, Grandma across from us. “See? I’m charming. Matilda said so.”
“You’re annoying is what you are.”
Ty faced Grandma again. “He likes me more than he’s willing to admit. I think I’m one of his favorite people.”
“It would appear that way to me,” Grandma replied.
“Can you two stop ganging up on me?”
“For now.” Ty winked, and I found myself reaching out and resting my hand along his nape. When his muscles tightened, I almost pulled back, but him resting his palm on my thigh told me I shouldn’t. I really needed to stop this shit. We were acting like a couple. I’d brought him to meet my grandma. I liked to keep things about myself and the people important to me close to my chest. I hated exposing my vulnerable spots, but time and time again, I’d shown them to Ty.
“No glasses,” he said to Grandma, and I watched them play, realizing how much I enjoyed this, how much I liked seeing them together, and that he got to see how fucking cool my grandma was and wanted to spend time with her. Hell, my own brother didn’t even do that. “Does your person have red hair?”
“Yes,” she replied. “The two of you have the same major?”
Ty nodded, his eyes darting my direction, almost insecurely, before he said, “I’m thinking about changing mine. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, but…my dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps.”
“But it’s not his life,” I added, “and Ty should do what he wants.” When Grandma cocked a brow at me, I shrugged. “It’s true. He hates computers. He’d be miserable.”
“I thought you wanted me to be miserable?” Ty asked playfully.
“Most of the time, yes, but not in this.”
“He’s kind of a big teddy bear, isn’t he? A brooding one, but still,” he told Grandma.
“He is. He’s always been like that. Tough on the outside, but with a tender heart. Brax will always do the right thing.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, I know. I’m awesome. Can we not, though? Don’t the two of you have a game of Guess Who to play?”
