Page 29 of The Future Play

“I thought you said you weren’t innocent.”

“I said I’m not inexperienced. And I’m not. I’ve watched porn—though I can’t say I’ve watched any anime stuff—but most people don’t casually say it.”

I give a little shrug. “I’d rather let people see the real me and decide if they like it from the start.”

He stares at me for a long moment. “I don’t know how anyone could not.”

“Well, I haven’t had the best luck with friendships. At least not until the hive mind came along.”

He chuckles at that. “They’re definitely good at building strong friendships.”

“How did you end up so close with everyone?”

“Aaron took me under his wing in middle school, and the rest of the guys he was friends with on the team—Joel, Miles, Trevor, their friend Nick, and even Joel’s older brother Jesse—all made an effort to include me. And as that happened, I ended up hanging around them more and got to know the girls too. Plus, my familyknows Rae’s mom’s family, so I grew up knowing the Abbotts and McKinleys from the periphery. But as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, once this group claims you, you’re theirs forever.”

“I kind of love that.”

“So do I. They drive me nuts sometimes, but I love them all. And as an introvert, once I got out of elementary school, I struggled with making friends. It was easy to get absorbed in the group.”

“Do you have any friends back home now?”

“Not in my grade really. I have a couple of guys on the baseball team who are cool, and I hang out with them at school, but the few I was friends with when I was young, I avoid as much as possible. Once they realized my family had money, they started taking advantage of that. I’ve always been friendly, but I didn’t like how that felt. Outside of the team, I don’t bother going out of my way to make new friends at this point. I’ll go out with guys from the team sometimes, but never for long. I don’t like spending too much time with random people. I’d rather be withmypeople.”

“But you’re here with me.”

“I thought we agreed we’re friends now. That means you are one of my people.”

“I like the sound of that.” I almost cringe at the words, but he smiles.

“So do I.” There’s a beat of silence before he continues. “You have any other close friends?”

“Not like this. My neighbor Jace back home is like a sister to me, but that’s it. I used to have a friend group that I thought was great, but…”

“I get it. Looks like we both ended up where we were supposed to.”

I lift my gaze to his. “Yeah. Guess so. I’m sorry you had people take advantage of you. No one deserves that.”

He shrugs. “It is what it is. I get it. Some people grow up valuing things, not people.”

“Be honest, if you’re ranking things, baseball then people or people then baseball?” I tease.

He laughs. “Baseball is number one, of course.”

“Somehow, I doubt that. You have too big of a heart. I bet you’re a total softie older brother. You probably play games with them and read them bedtime stories.”

“I’m that easy to read, huh?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. You just stand out to me. It’s easy to see your heart and your character.”

He stares at me for a beat. “Thank you.”

“So that means I’m right?”

He throws his head back. “I may have been playing a silly game with them before I left this morning. Yes, I read them bedtime stories regularly, especially to Mila. I even braid the girls’ hair.”

I blink at him, my heart melting a little at that. He’s a good big brother. Pete might’ve learned that if our age difference had been bigger, but Josh? Never.

“They’re lucky to have you.”

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