Page 181 of Plaything

“I didn’t say a word!” Aiden called back.

“Me neither,” Niko chimed in.

“None of them told me,” I clarified. I pulled out my phone, where I’d listened to all my voicemails earlier in the day. I clicked on one particularly long and unexpected one. I held the phone between us as it played on speaker. The kind, southern, familiar man’s voice filled the room, and Wyatt practically groaned.

“Hey, killer! It’s Pops—Chester; my apologies; all the kids call me Pops, the force of habit. Now, I know you’re busy being a celebrity and all, but I wanted to invite you to our family reunion. It ain’t much, but we have a big get-together with friends and family once every couple of years or so. My boy and my bonus sons denied my invitation, said they was busy... now I think we both know that’s a load,” he chuckled and I smirked at Wyatt, who was turning slightly pink.

“I know they wanna keep you all to themselves, but his mama and aunties wanna meet you. He calls his mama a few times a week talkin’ bout you—”

“Okay, alright, that’s enough—” Wyatt tried to take my phone, embarrassed. I held it behind me, shaking my head at him.

“She wants to meet ya real bad. I’m afraid if y’all don’t come out to the farm, she’s gonna come pay you a visit. Anyway, even if you ain’t brave enough to face the family, I’d really appreciate it if you talked some sense into those boys. They ain’t never missed a reunion, and lots of folks wanna see ‘em. I make a mean burger, and my old lady’s potato salad is famous, and we’ve got good drinks, good people, and good music. Alright, killer, I hope to see you all on Saturday.”

Wyatt was blushing. A lovely shade of pink tinted his nose and his cheeks. It was incredibly cute, and I couldn’t help but feel giddy at his reaction.

“Why are you blowing your family reunion off?” I started with a smile. “Obviously, everyone’s excited to see you, and you love your family. You all need to go.”

He sighed. “It’s complicated.”

I ate another pretzel, staring at him, waiting for him to respond. It wasn’t complicated. I’d be over every weekend if I had a family like that. He was so incredibly lucky, and I wanted him to realize it.

“Baby,” he cleared his throat, his blush fading as he considered his next words. “I love my family, but as you heard, they aren’t the best about minding their business. They can be... loud and a little crazy,” he looked down quickly before looking back at me. “Honestly, I want you to go. I think you’d have a lot of fun.”

My smugness was gone as I pondered the idea of attending. Meeting his family... Wyatt was asking me to meet his family.

“But I know you probably wouldn’t want to go, and that’s okay!” He added quickly. “I’d love it if you went, but I didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation.”

He was right. I was a chronic overthinker. If they invited me and I said no, I’d feel awkward about it. And the thought of meeting his family was intimidating.

“If the four of us go, my whole family will bombard us with questions about you because Pops told everyone about you, then Mama told the aunties and cousins... we just didn’t want to deal with it, so we decided not to go,” he explained. It’s really not that big of a deal. I’m sorry that my dad called you like that—I’ll talk to him,” he gently shook his head.

“Wyatt,” I deadpanned. “I’m glad that he called me; I’m not bothered. I actually thought it was really cute,” I admitted. “So what if you have to answer a few questions? You need to go. I appreciate the consideration for privacy, but you can’t use me as a scapegoat to get out of this event,” I lightly scolded.

His eyes traveled between us, and he gripped my ass gently. “This is hardly fair with you straddling me,” he rasped quietly. “You’re very persuasive.”

“So you’re going?” I giggled.

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll go if you come with us,” he bargained.

I widened my eyes. “An ultimatum?” I grinned.

“Protection,” he corrected. “You’ve met my dad, and he adores you. My mom has been begging to meet you... you wouldn’t leave us to fend them off for a whole day, would you?” He manipulated, a slight smirk growing. He leaned in, gently kissing me. “Come,” he urged.

I sighed, leaning back away from him. “You can’t do that,” I scolded.

“What did I do, Baby?” He defended but couldn’t hide his mischievous grin. He propped his knees up behind me, trapping me between his legs and chest. He trailed a lingering kiss up my jaw. “I’d never do anything to persuade you,” he teased. His lips touched mine again, and my eyes fluttered shut. “Even if you’d do anything I ask with a kiss,” he whispered.

Devil.

“Before you let Wyatt convince you,” Niko interrupted while leaning over the back of the couch. He was smirking, looking between the two of us. “We’ve been friends forever, so our parents are close. My parents were invited, too,” he chimed. “Just so you have all the facts before Wyatt stirs your brain and coerces you into going.”

I cringed. Wyatt’s parents and Niko’s parents—that was a lot. “That’s a lot of pressure,” I deadpanned.

Aiden exited the kitchen and lingered with his arms crossed. “Odette,” he gave me a pointed look. “For your sake, I’ll be incredibly blunt,” he glanced at his friends, who also looked intrigued. “Wyatt’s family is the biggest bunch of foul-mouthed hillbillies. They’re nosey, touchy, and downright crude and intrusive,” he informed.

Wyatt sighed before nodding in agreement.

“With that being said, they’re also good people,” Aiden continued in a more optimistic tone. “They’re kind and very accepting.”

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