Page 70 of Shutout
He has the nerve to pinch his chewing gum between his teeth, before plucking it between his fingers. I move my hand away before he can dump it there.
“Wow, I hate you.”
A corner of his mouth twitches. “Missed you too, Aceituna.”
I wrinkle my nose as I watch them step into the house. Luz or my mom, I can’t tell from outside, exclaim upon their arrival. And then my oaf of a brother freezes at the door. I know why, but I still push him with all my might until he grunts and I can finally shut the door behind me.
I stand there, watching the faceoff between my brother to my left, and Brooklyn to my right. Brooke’s hands are in the pockets of his jeans, shoulders curled inwards as if making himself smaller. So much for him being taller than Aran.
“Oh my.” Maddie puts a hand on her cheek as she looks up at Brooke. “I can’t believe you got even cuter, kid. How is this possible?”
Aran grunts. “He’s no TDH.”
“Huh?” I ask.
Maddie leans closer to me. “Tall, dark, and handsome.”
“Oh. Yeah, no. Brooke’s tall, light, and…” I trail off when three pairs of eyes turn to me, equal amounts of amusement between them. Folding my arms, I say, “Super ugly. Like it hurts to look at him.”
“Excuse me, I am not ugly.” Brooke turns his nose up and points at the faint scar on his cheek. “I’m ruggedly handsome.”
“Hey, Dad,” I call out, ignoring Brooke. “The catcher’s here.”
“Finally.” Dad smacks the armrests of his armchair and gets up. “Catcher, pitcher, batter, and centerfield, let’s go,” he says, pointing at Aran, himself, Max, and at Brooklyn.
Aran’s the first out the door, since he’s the only one who didn’t even get to take off his winter wear. I try to make my way through the mass of dudes now blocking my way but it’s like they’re doing it on purpose.
But then two pairs of hands cinch around my waist andnext thing, I’m flying. When I land away from the melee, I turn over my shoulder and Brooke winks at me.
Did he just lift me up like I’m some fairy princess or something?
“Mierda.” I whisper when I notice that Luz, Maddie, and Mom all saw that little exchange.
I stand still as the men walk out the door. Our backyard is ridiculously tiny, but there’s a nice park a block away where Dad takes the hockey bros in our family and forces them to play baseball with him. Normally, the women stay back in the warmth of the house, sipping hot, spiced wine and watching trashy reality shows. Except I have a feeling I’m the reality show now.
“Well, well.” My sister singsongs.
“That was so cute.” Maddie pulls up her cellphone. “I’m so gonna write that into a book.”
“What?” I swallow hard.
My sister-in-law looks up with wide eyes. “He just Patrick Swayzeyed you.”
“He did not.”
“So, is this finally happening?” Mom wiggles her eyebrows.
I scrunch up not just my face, but my entire being. “What are you talking about?”
“Are you two finally getting together?”
“No!” I scream and hold tighter onto Maddie’s book against my chest.
“Why not?” Luz twists her face in confusion. “It’s about damn time.”
“Yes, but no—I mean…” I sigh, exasperated out of my mind. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to us.” Maddie pats the open seat on the couch next to her.
