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41. Josie
I was kind of secretly hoping I’d have a New Year’s kiss with Tyler, but the Crewmen unfortunately had a road trip scheduled for the weekend. So instead, me and Stevie were spending New Year’s together, and I was going to use it as an excuse to fit in a bunch of girly fun before school started back up on Monday.
We had a spa day at the apartment, where we did face masks and our nails with Claire, and we went to a new tween girl movie in theaters that she’d been begging to go see lately– I figured Tyler would be grateful that we took on that specific experience.
But for the New Year’s Eve Crewmen game, Tyler texted me that his brother was having people over his house for a watch party and that Stevie and I could go if we felt comfortable enough.
I was a bit hesitant about going because it felt weird to meet his brother without knowing exactly what we were to each other besides friends, but when I brought the idea up to Stevie, she was extremely excited to play with her cousins again, so I bit the bullet and drove over there. It helped knowing that some of the other girlfriends that I met were also invited. But again– it was a bit weird now considering Tyler and I weren’t exactly dating anymore.
Thankfully, his brother put me at ease as soon as he swung the door open for us. “Hullo Stevie, and Josie?” he asked me. He had the same square jaw and strong facial structure as Tyler, but his hair and eyes were lighter, and his build was a lot larger.
I nodded.
“Happy to see ya here. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said with a warm smile. My face must’ve faltered because he added, “All good things of course.”
Twin little boys wearing pointy New Year’s hats barreled into the doorway to greet us then.
“Guys, this is Miss Josie,” he told his boys.
One boy licked his lips, the other pointed at my face and announced, “Uncle Ty’s crush!”
“Did he get you? Dad said to go get his girl,” the other twin blurted out.
I could feel my face blushing as I laughed at how cute they were.
Casey rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you guys go play soccer? Stevie, please show them up.”
Stevie snickered and took off after her cousins.
“It’s true,” Casey said then. “We did tell him to go get you, my kids take everything very literally. The last time he was over here, he was having a hard time with everything. It is a strange situation. Did Tyler track down Stevie’s mom yet?”
“I don’t think so,” I said carefully. I avoided asking about it because it felt too personal. “He hasn’t talked about her at all.”
He nodded. “I never met her… Fiona,” he clarified, leading me into the den where the rest of the people were gathered in front of a huge flat screen tv. “I just know she was good at art and she had my brother wrapped around her little finger for a while, but I don’t think they ever truly dated. I think they were friends with benefits. Oh, and she pierced his ear,” he added with a chuckle.
“Sothat’show that happened,” I said.
“Yeah.” He laughed.
“How’d he get the lip scar?” That was another secret Tyler kept under wraps.
“Did he tell you he got hit by a puck? He tells everyone that,” he said, clearly amused. “What really happened was he tried to shotgun a Coca-cola when he was…” He snapped his fingers trying to recall. “Hey Adds,” he called out to his wife. “When did Tyler try to shotgun that Coca-cola?”
A beautiful pregnant woman with long dark hair let out a laugh. “Wow, that was a while ago. He was fifteen, I think?”
Casey’s eyebrows raised. “And then he got his lip…
Unfortunately, Casey’s words were drowned out by the sports broadcaster on their huge flatscreen. Because he said the one name that instantly sent shivers up my spine.
“The Columbus rookie, Garrett Sanderson, is a Detroit native, so I’m sure he’ll want to show up against his hometown team,” the broadcaster announced.
My stomach dropped.
I hadn’t even realized the game would be against him. I smiled and nodded as Casey and his wife kept talking, but I suddenly felt nauseous. Garrett was a master manipulator. What if he said something to Tyler? Would Tyler fall for it? I fell under his fucking spells foryears. He could ruin things for me. For us. And that knowledge had me shaking like a leaf.
Casey’s eyes narrowed on me. “You good?”
I let out a strangled “MmHmm.”
