Page 81 of Summer Love
"I know so."
"I want her to be happy," he said before shooting again.
The ball swished in the basket, and I passed it to him. "She's happy with you guys."
"Yeah, but I think she needs more than just work and us kids."
"You think a boyfriend would be good for her?" I asked.
"Not someone like the last one. He didn't like us and didn't want us around when they went out. But maybe someone like you, who's nice." He flashed me a smile.
"Yeah, your mom deserves that. I think she'll find someone that's good for all of you." I hoped it would happen for her. I didn't like giving him false hope, and no one could predict the future.
"It would be cool to have a dad, you know? Like a real one."
"For now you're stuck with me, and I'm not going anywhere." Instead of passing him the ball, I took a shot, and it bounced off the rim.
He chased after the ball. "And you're awful at basketball."
"Take that back!" I called after him.
He grabbed the ball and brought it back. "One-on-one?"
I nodded. "Whoever loses has to do burpees."
His face screwed up. "Ugh. Those are the worst."
"Then you'd better win." I crouched into a defensive position as he tucked the ball into his side. He took off dribbling to the right, then behind his back to the left. I kept up with him, holding up my hand to block a possible shot. He fake pumped and moved past me for the easy layup.
"Yes!" Shane cheered.
I high-fived him. "Great move."
We played one-on-one until we were both out of breath and sweaty. Then I handed him the Gatorade I'd brought for him.
He drank deeply, then set the bottle aside. "What do you think about the drums?"
I raised a brow, wondering what he was getting at. "They're loud."
"I'd like to try them. It seems like a cool thing to do." He seemed reluctant to admit that to me.
"Do you have band in school?" I asked, trying to remember when we were offered instruments to play.
"I don't want to do that. They learn bells and other stuff. I want to learn how to play a drum set." He demonstrated hitting various drums and a cymbal.
I nodded. "I gather that a drum set is cooler?"
His nose scrunched. "Yeah, I don't want to be a band nerd."
"You know most bands have a drummer, right?" I asked him, amused by his reaction.
"I'm not talking about a famous band. I don't want to be in the school band."
"Oh, right. It's not cool."
He nodded seriously. "Yeah, they're dorks."
"Let's not call people names. What do you need to start?"
