Twenty-Six
Stacy
The sunny October day is completely electric.
Yet, my mind is elsewhere.
Evan, Tashia, and Gemma ended up getting in later than anticipated last night after there was a work emergency that Gemma had to take care of.
I didn’t think there could be emergencies in fashion and marketing, but what do I know?
Regardless, they ended up rolling in close to our bedtime since Reece and I had to be up before the sun today.
Gemma ended up crashing at Reece’s last night with Evan and Tashia so she wouldn’t disturb me but I secretly wish she would’ve come and stayed on my couch.
I like Gemma and I want Gemma to really like me.
Really really like me.
Basically, I’m being petty and I want Reece’s sister to love me way more than she loves Tashia.
I’ve been sick with anxiety all morning, my stomach roiling at the thought of seeing them all after the game, and it’s taken precedence over all other thoughts and feelings.
What if Reece’s family walks away from this weekend and decides they don’t like me?
What if Tashia crosses a line and I end up getting into my first ever fist fight?
What if something happens between Tashia and Reece after a couple of drinks and a night out?
That last thought twists up my gut more than I’d like to admit as I try to focus on the clock counting down the last twenty seconds of the game.
If Reece swears up and down that he no longer has feelings for Tashia, if he promises that this plan has never been a ploy to get back his ex-girlfriend, I have to believe him.
Also, why should it matter to me if he still has feelings for her? He’s not my real boyfriend, dammit. I have no claim over him. Zilch. Zero. He can sleep with any and everybody in the world and I have no control over that.
Okay, now I’m just nauseous.
The clock dwindles down to the last second as the crowd bellows and I put my incredulous thoughts to the side to begin our victory routine.
The smile is stretched across my face, wide and perfectly in place as per usual.
Reece tosses me into a lib as the October wind whips my ponytail around, and before I know it, I’m back on two feet with Reece’s hands at my hips.
Don’t think about the way his fingers feel on your hips, Stacy. You’re thinking about it. Why are you thinking about it?
After a couple of celebratory cheers, the squad hauls ass back to our practice gym. Everyone has exciting homecoming evening plans and there’s a buzz in the air that I haven’t felt in a while as we all collect our things.
“Want me to swing by and get you for Cider Days?” Reece murmurs into my ear as I’m shoving my bow into my bag. I jump, startled, and his hand lands on my lower back. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, no, I’m fine,” I tell him. I sound anything but. I sound flustered, and I’m convinced my reaction has less to do with somebody speaking into my ear unexpectedly and more to do with who was speaking into my ear unexpectedly. “I’ll head home, change, and meet you down there.”
Reece nods, shooting me a grin before hiking his cheer bag up onto his shoulder and walking with Drew out of the gym.
Wing Haven’s annual fall festival is this weekend.
It’s great fun with games and vendors, local bakeries with apple cider donuts and the microbrewery selling pumpkin ale.
There’s pumpkin carving, face painting, a beer garden, the works.
Though Evan just wanted to go quote unquote “get fucked up,” Gemma heard about the fall festival and put her foot down, begging to attend just for a couple of hours this evening before we hit the bars.
I think she got Evan to agree by luring him in with the beer garden and hard apple cider, convincing him that the festival is basically a pre-game for our night out.
I mean, she’s not wrong .
I could certainly use a drink or two with the way I’m feeling.
Nerves gnaw at my belly as I throw on some fitted jeans and a cream sweater, letting my hair down from it’s orderly ponytail and shaking out my curls a bit.
Something heavy looms in my chest at the thought of seeing Tashia but I shove it aside as I pull on a pair of brown boots.
This is for Reece and I have to be okay with being around Tashia for now.
The walk to downtown is quicker than if I were to drive with all of the homecoming traffic, and within ten minutes of trekking, the festival comes into view.
Bulb lights are strung across the whole town square, looping in between vendor tents and carnival games.
There are pumpkins and hay bales set strategically along the sidewalks, scarecrows sitting on benches and hung up outside of local businesses.
The smell of funnel cakes and kettle corn wafts through the air, the sticky sweet scent hitting me with a pang of childhood nostalgia.
The sun is starting to dip, the sky painted with streaks of purples and pinks, as I survey the thick crowd for familiar faces.
My gaze lands on an astoundingly tall man with brown hair that makes my heart flip over for a second.
“Alright, calm down,” I mutter to the stupid thing in my chest before heading towards the caramel apple stand where Reece is huddled up with his siblings, Tashia, and Lily.
Wonderful.
“There’s my girl!” Reece hollers as I approach, bringing me in for a tight hug before pulling back and taking a big bite out of his caramel apple. “Want a bite?” he asks with a disgustingly full mouth.
I scrunch my nose up at him. “I’m all good, babe,” I tell him before turning to the rest of the circle and putting on a brave face. “Hi! It’s so good to see you all.”
Evan, Tashia, and Lily all say their hello’s while Gemma pulls me into a tight hug like we’re the best of friends.
When she lets go, an awkward pause passes between me and the other girls before Tashia steps forward and wraps me in a quick, cold embrace.
Lily makes no such move, offering me a dutiful wave from her spot in between Evan and Gemma.
“I’m so ready for tonight. What do you guys want to do first?” Gemma asks, the bulb lights lighting up the thrill in her green eyes.
“Ditch this festival and go get a drink?” Evan suggests as he flings an arm around Tashia.
Gemma rolls her eyes. “Will a pumpkin ale work?”
Evan purses his lips. “For now.”
We meander off in the direction of the beer garden, “Somebody’s Watching Me” playing over the sound system as a couple kids in Halloween costumes shriek.
The air is getting cooler as the sun continues to drop and I find myself pressing my body against Reece’s to keep the chill away.
I don’t think he minds, though, considering he wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him as we walk.
We make it to the beer garden and dispense the pumpkin ale among the group.
The beer is smooth, malty with a slightly sweet cinnamon finish that warms up my insides.
I sip it as we wander around the festival, a startling sense of contentment settling into my bones.
Even with Tashia and Lily here, even with the uncertainty about my future and my weird relationship with Reece, I feel… happy.
It’s scary.
“Oh, babe, you’ve got to win me a stuffed animal,” Tashia says, derailing my train of thought and toting Evan towards a milk bottle knockdown carnival game.
I expect to feel Reece tense beside me, expect his visceral reaction to Evan’s hand on the curve of Tashia’s hip, but it doesn’t come. He just grins down at me, chugging the rest of his beer before handing me his empty plastic cup.
“Hold this for me?” he asks, walking over to the ring toss game next to where Evan’s throwing balls at milk jugs.
“Where are you going?”
He shoots me a wink over his shoulder. “You deserve a stuffed animal too, babe.”
I shake my head as he hands a dollar to the carnival attendant, a very real round of butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
Reece is ridiculous and vivacious, he’s overwhelming and incredibly irritating.
And as I watch his tall frame toss colorful rings at empty glass bottles, I can’t help but feel like he’s mine. Actually mine.
Gemma comes up beside me, looping her arm into mine and sighing. “He’s one of the good ones, you know.”
“Yeah,” I reply without taking my eyes off of Reece. “I know.”
I can feel Gemma staring at me but I can’t tear my eyes off of her brother when she speaks. “Be careful with him, yeah?”
This gets my attention. I pivot to look at Gemma, my face falling a bit. “What do you mean?”
Gemma gnaws on her lip for a minute, her gaze ping-ponging between her two brothers.
“You know Reece. He’s always happy, he loves harder than anyone I know, he never shows a negative emotion.
But that doesn’t mean he’s invincible, you know?
He’s… sensitive. After what happened with him and Tashia, I just…
” She trails off, shaking her head before meeting my eyes.
“As Evan’s twin, I’ll always support him.
But as Reece’s older sister? Sometimes I want to kick Evan’s ass. ”
I snort, glancing back at Reece. “That’s understandable.”
“I just don’t want him to get hurt again,” she says before pausing for a long moment. “Especially by you.” Gemma’s voice drops, soft and low as I whip my head in her direction.
“Why do you say that?” I ask.
Gemma shrugs before dragging her gaze back to her little brother. “I can just tell that he cares about you. A lot.”
I work a swallow down my thickening throat. “You can?”
Gemma scoffs, lolling her head in my direction. “Stacy. Please. We were getting drinks the day of that bad thunderstorm. He left like a bat out of hell in the middle of a severe weather outbreak to get to you so you wouldn’t be alone.”
This information makes me pause as the bells from Reece’s game ding. He throws his arms up in celebration but the scene seems far away as my vision gets cloudy. My chest squeezes as I nod back at Gemma, taking a long drag of my ale as Reece turns back to me with a stuffed animal in hand.
“Look. They had a teddy bear with angel wings,” he says with a beaming grin, hoisting the toy into my arms. “An angel for my angel.”
I bite down on my lip and blink tears away. “Thank you,” I whisper, holding the bear tight to my chest.
Reece cocks his head, probably confused by my genuinely emotional reaction to a silly plush toy. “Of course, Stace.” He steps up next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder again, turning me towards Evan, Tashia, and Lily. “Now, let’s go heckle my brother for sucking at carnival games.”
I nod and let him lead me, grinning as I shove my face into the top of the teddy bear in my arms.
It smells like Reece.