Page 83 of Afterglow
“Aunt Millie said not to bother you.” He looks between us, ears reddening. “Said you had a special guest, but…”
“That’s okay. What’s going on?”
“Um.” He nervously plays with the hem of his shirt. “Will you be ‘it’? None of the other adults want to.”
“Hmm.” I tap a finger against my lips, faking disinterest. “Should I?”
Usually, I would have said yes right away, but I don’t want to leave Bea alone with the rest of the family. Before I can agree, my girlfriend’s head pops up. “If you don’t want to, I will!”
“You will?” Charlie and I say together. His eyes go round.
Bea mirrors his wide smile and glimmers with excitement. “Sure! I haven’t played tag in forever. Sounds like fun.”
“Okay, c’mon then!” He trots down the steps, beckoning us with quick swoops of his arm. She escapes from me, squealing, and follows him with a gallop. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Bea.”
Her voice sounds distant already, and I clamber down the staircase after them, grabbing my sneakers from the front before going to the backyard.
The whole gang’s here: Charlie’s sisters, Greer’s two boys, even Miller’s toddler stepdaughter, Raven.
My vision goes dark with the tied cloth, but the kids give themselves away. I capture two of them mercilessly, scooping each up in an arm. I let one down, then lift the blindfold, realizing I caught Charlie and Greer’s youngest, Logan. Complaining groans reply.
“No fair!”
“You cheated!”
“Yeah, you’re way bigger!” Logan protests, squirming from my hold.
“That’s not what ‘cheating’ means.”
“It’s definitely not a fair match-up,” Bea says, taking off her socks before walking onto the grass. She cracks her knuckles with a look of mischief, poking her tongue from the corner of her smiling mouth. “Is it my turn yet?”
Before I can warn them to take it easy, they’ve already blindfolded her with a rolled-up bandana. They all shriek and scatter as she spins, arms outstretched, staggering barefoot across the lawn. She almost trips over her feet a couple of times but manages to maintain balance.
“If you get tagged, you get tickled.” She wiggles her fingers in the air, bellowing out a villainous laugh. My nieces and nephews giggle and scream, zigzagging around each other as Bea chases them like a short, busty Frankenstein.
What a goof.
God, I’m so fucking in love with her.
My sisters are in tears. Dylan and Lucas snort up their beers and use napkins to wipe away the dripping liquid from their faces. I think I see Parker let out a half-smile, but it disappears soon after. Mom covers her mouth to hide a laugh, but elbows me in the side as I approach. “She’s wonderful, Fletch. Where the hell’d you find her?”
More like she found me.
“And she’s stunning.”
“Isn’t she?” Pride bursts in my chest.
And she’s mine.
“I’ve never seen you in love before,” she says. “Except maybe that time you saw that blonde girl—what’s her name?—inThe Mask.”
My eyes fall shut, a blush creeping up my neck.
“Oh, my God, you’re so right, Mom!” Greer interrupts, slapping a hand to my shoulder. “You totally had a baby boner for Cameron Diaz!”
“Shut up.”
