Page 72 of Off Season

“I was going to ask if you could help me with the cakes.” He rubs his forehead, his shoulders sagging slightly. “I’ve been getting a little stressed out about food because they eat a lot, and I don’t know what everyone likes or how much to make…but Daniel suggested having a theme.”

“Yeah, so each person could bring something that reminds them of one of the twins. We can randomly assign them a name, and maybe like sweet or savory,” Daniel explains.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

Alex nods. “Yeah, it does. It’s kinda fun, and also that way I don’t get stuck with doing everything.”

“Are you thinking one big cake, then a few dozen cupcakes?”

We talk through amounts, writing down what ingredients we’ll need to order in, along with flavors.

All the while, I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for seeing Ethan in person again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ethan

Peyton: BBQ at mine in an hour.

Peyton: Don’t try and evade us, Parkes.

Peyton: I know where you live.

Peyton: Don’t make me come over there and sic Elliot on you.

Peyton: He’ll sit on you and tickle you like an annoying Tickle Me Elmo.

Ethan: You do the tickling with Tickle Me Elmo, not the other way around.

Peyton: Whatever. The threatstill stands.

Looking down at my phone, I huff out a laugh and shake my head. The group chat has been blowing up since I returned home a week ago, but my mood has been shit. I’ve avoided them all, not wanting them to see that I was a mess, but I should have known I couldn’t hide forever.

As I see the other messages there, my thumb hovers over Jacob’s name. I almost text him to tell him I miss him, but there’s something I need to do first.

Jonathan Peyton lives in Lakeview, a few doors down from Adam Kendrick and his wife Maria. The Kendricks are usually the hosts outside of our dedicated boys’ night, but since Peyton and his wife are currently living apart while they work through their marriage trouble, I have a feeling Peyton is hoping for some company.

I quickly shower and change, then make my way over. The circle drive is already filled with cars when I pull into the gates. I walk inside the large entryway and come to a stop at the sight of Elliot sitting on the kitchen floor with Jackson Wilde’s three year old daughter, Isabela. They’re both surrounded by boxes of colored beads. Elliot’s tongue peeks out the corner of his mouth in concentration as he threads the beads onto some string. Between his backward baseball cap and Pokémon socks, he looks like an overgrown child.

“Ethan!” Isabela shrieks when she spots me.

Her sudden outburst startles Elliot, and the beads in his hand scatter onto the floor in clinks and pings.

“Aw! Izzy, my girl! Why did you do that? Now I’ve gotta start over again,” Elliot whines, scooping everything up from the floor.

She ignores him and quickly gets to her feet, rushingover to me. I scoop her up into my arms, placing a big wet kiss on her cheek, causing her to burst into giggles.

I walk over to where Elliot's sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making friendship bracelets.” He grins up at me proudly. “I’ve decided yours is going to say ‘grumpy pants’.”

I glare at him. “No, thanks.”

Isabela giggles again.

“See, she likes it. It’s locked in; no going back now, dude.”

Isabela hides her face in my neck before wiggling to get down. I place her back on her feet, and she takes a seat next to Elliot, carefully going back to handing him the colored beads with one hand while the other lays protectively on his forearm.

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