Page 8 of What Is Love
Clay’s thumb rubbed along the skin just above my knee, as if to praise me for keeping quiet and letting Mother spew her false tale. I tried moving my knee away, desperate to get his appalling hand off me. The small pull away from him made him grip me harder, holding my leg in place.
“Are you certain Sullivan would be open to that?” Bill asked Mother.
What will Grandfather be open to?
“As I’ve said before, Bill, he will be family and Kendrys take care of family,” Mother said.
He who?
I glanced around the table to see if I could find the answer. Bill and Sharon were exchanging a look before they fixed their gazes on me. The way they stared made me want to sink into my chair and slide beneath the table to hide.
“So, Brandon,” Mother said, “I hear you’re the pitcher and captain for the baseball team.”
Brandon took a quick drink from a glass of water to wash down the bite of food he had been chewing. “Yes. Our first game is on Monday.”
“Have you and Charlotte spent time together outside of school before?” Mother asked. “I feel like I’ve heard her talk about you in the past.”
Another lie. To know who I was friends with, she’d have to care enough to ask me about my personal life, since I couldn’t exactly bring anyone home.
“I’d say we’re friends,” Brandon said, staring at me. “Wouldn’t you, Lottie?”
Clay’s grip tightened in warning. I forced myself to nod. “We have a lot of the same friends. We’ve gotten to know each other over the years.”
A strange glint showed in Brandon’s eye as he looked to Mother. “I have to confess that I’ve asked Lottie out before.”
Mother side-eyed me. “Oh, really?”
“But she turned me down,” Brandon added.
Mother cleared her throat. “Unfortunately, that’s my fault. I’ve been opposed to her dating because I worried it would distract her from her studies. I hope you won’t hold my strict parenting against her.”
Why so many lies?Did she not want to offend him?
“Of course he won’t,” Sharon said quickly, then smiled at her son. “Our Brandon has had a crush on Charlotte for quite some time.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Brandon said, sounding embarrassed, but he didn’t look it.
“Since it’s almost graduation, and now that Charlotte is an adult, there isn’t any reason for me to stop her from dating any longer,” Mother said. “If you would like to ask her out again, I know she would be happy to accept.”
Air locked in my lungs as Sharon put her hand on Brandon’s shoulder in an encouraging manner. “You should take Charlotte out for ice cream and a movie after dinner.”
“That would be a cute first date,” Clay commented after being quiet for most of the conversation. His tone told me he was enjoying himself.
Brandon’s brow furrowed. “There’s a party tonight.”
“Go together,” Bill said, and it sounded like an order.
Brandon’s eyes met mine. “Wanna go together?”
He asked me as if I had any choice in the matter. My lungs still refused to move, and I couldn’t even fathom a response.
“She’ll go with you,” Mother said when I didn’t answer him quickly enough. “Won’t you, Charlotte?”
I was finally starting to understand why we were here, and I was going to be sick if I didn’t pass out from not being able to breathe first. I felt like a puppet in the theater act that was this dinner and Mother and Clay were controlling my strings. Were the Carmichaels doing the same with Brandon? Did it matter? Mother wanted me to date Brandon. I just didn’t know why. What would she gain? Clearly the Carmichaels thought they would gain something from Grandfather. Or maybe they wanted to get their hands on the supposed shares I had in the Kendry company, but the only way they could was if I married Brandon.
Wait.
No!
