Page 67 of The Right Player
“By lying to her,” Dad said.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’d planned on telling her tonight, but then…” I waved my hand toward all of them. “Please, just don’t say anything about football. I’m glad you’re here, I really am. I’ve missed you.”
They all smiled at that, exchanging looks.
“Let’s go inside, have a nice dinner, catch up. I want you to get to know Belle.” It was my turn to smile. “I think you’ll fall in love with her just as I have.”
“Love?” Pania’s eyes dazzled in what was left of the setting sun, the crook of her lips even more curious now. “I’ve never heard that word from you before.”
I swallowed, not letting that four-letter word linger too long in the open air before I snuffed it out. “Please. Just hold this between us for tonight. I’ll tell her tomorrow, and everything will be fine. Okay?”
The look in their eyes told me they weren’t as sure as I was, but with them begrudgingly agreeing, we made our way back inside to Belle.
And I said a silent prayer for her that she’d survive dinner with the Kumaka clan.Belle“You cheated!” Oliana said, pointing her finger at one of the words Makoa had spelled out with his Bananagrams tiles. “That’s not a real word.”
“Yas?” Makoa shook his head. “That is absolutely a real word. Ask the , or consult the texts you’ve sent me.”
“It’s slang.”
Makoa shrugged. “Still works. You’re just mad because you can’t beat your big brother. Haven’t been able to since you were born. Well, unless you count the award for most drool on a pillow, because that one definitely goes to you.”
Oliana narrowed her eyes before she was up out of her chair and around the table, latching onto her big brother’s shoulders and driving her knuckles into his head. He laughed and spun around, tickling her sides before he threw her up over his shoulder as she screamed for him to put her down.
I laughed at the show, sipping the coffee we’d made to go with dessert and praying it would bring me back to life. The exhaustion I’d felt earlier had morphed into a new kind, one that was born from the adrenaline I’d felt when Makoa surprised me, followed immediately by the crash when we came in to find his entire family in his condo.
My heart was doing funny things in my chest as I watched him play with his little sister. It was a phenomenon that kept happening, over and over. I felt it when he set the table for his mom, when he hugged Pania and told me stories about the two of them when they were younger, when he and his dad sang one of their favorite songs and moved their hips like hula dancers by the fireplace, breaking us all into a fit of laughter.
It was one thing, to be in Makoa’s arms at night, to hold his hand at a Broadway show, to spend a day with him and my friends on a boat.
But to see him with his family?
It tugged at heartstrings I didn’t even know I had.
“Alright, you two. That’s enough,” Mrs. Kumaka said, and then her eyes wandered the sitting room, a small smile on her lips. “I love what you’ve done with this room. It feels like home, but different…”
“It’s a combination of Maui and Chicago,” Makoa explained, pointing out the details in the art and furniture as Oliana writhed to get free. Then, he smiled at me. “You can thank this design genius. She dreamed it all up and brought it to life.”
“I wish I could see it,” Oliana said, beating her brother’s back with her little fists. “If someone would put me down, maybe I could.”
“Why don’t you give us a tour?” Dad suggested when Makoa finally set Oliana back on her feet.
That made his mom light up, and she and Mr. Kumaka stood to join Makoa and Oliana, while Pania slyly grabbed my arm under the table to prevent me from doing the same. I looked at her curiously, but she just smiled up at her family. “You guys go ahead. Belle and I will clean up in the kitchen.”
Mr. and Mrs. Kumaka smiled at both of us, and Makoa took the lead, guiding them down the hall and back to the bedrooms. Oliana looked over her shoulder at us, winking at her big sister, and suddenly, my stomach was a bundle of nerves.
Anyone who thought facing a big brother was hard didn’t have to face the oldest sister of the one and only boy in the family.
We were both quiet for a long while, gathering dishes from the table and taking them into the kitchen. Pania started in on the dishes while I put all the leftover food in plastic containers.
