20. JOSH
JOSH
Beachers Bay. I turned off the highway, following the sign to the quaint, little beachside town that Jake and Millie had a place in. With it being the All-Star break, they’d be here too, with her family and the kids more than likely.
What were the odds April’s family also had a cottage here?
Unfortunately for me, too good. When April had given me the address to the place, I’d recognized it right away.
I’d been here a few times visiting Jake and Millie.
I wasn’t one for small-town life, but this one wasn’t so bad.
People kept to themselves and the locals were good about privacy when team members were in town.
But that was because Millie was a townie and her family was a huge part of it.
Frankly, I was a little worried about running into Jake.
I hadn’t quite filled him in on this little side trip.
He knew I had been spending time with April and I could tell he had some suspicions, but hadn’t come right out and said anything.
To them, I was seeing Summer, but I never lied about the small details, and her name was hers.
Just, altered slightly. None of them had even connected the dots. It was comical.
April and I were laying pretty low in case the coach found out.
Although, with us spending more time together, the rumblings through the clubhouse were starting to be heard, except most people brushed them off.
For now. Which gave us a bit more time to make this thing believable. Our plan was working.
Following her directions, I noted her family’s cottage was on the opposite side of town as Jake and Millie’s.
Thank God. The knot in my stomach eased.
Main street looked the same, the storefronts vibrant with color.
People meandered through the shops, spilling onto the street, which wasn’t uncommon at this time of year.
“Do we need to stop and get anything?” I asked, glancing at April, who was chewing her thumb.
She’d been gnawing at it most of the drive and even I was starting to feel the pain from it.
I brought my hand to her wrist, pulling it away from her mouth.
The inside of my thumb rubbed tiny circles around her wrist. She smiled at me.
It was a smile that melted me. She looked nervous, and yet, beautiful.
Her hair was clipped up and she had on a pretty sundress with a spot you could see the swell of her clevage, which I had to force myself to divert my eyes from multiple times on the drive.
She let out a long breath. “No. I have everything we need.”
The cottage was off a quiet street, with a long private driveway, surrounded by trees.
When we came through the clearing, there sat a small bungalow, faded-green paint with a crystal-clear view of the lake as a backdrop.
The cottage may not have been much, but the view was incredible. I smiled at April. “This is great.”
She simply shrugged. I chalked it up to nerves and pulled the bags from the trunk before taking a minute to observe the surroundings. April came around. “It might be a little tight once the party starts, but most people will be outside.”
“No worries.”
Just as we headed toward the house, I heard a booming voice call out, “Spud!”
Spud? Her grandpa ambled over from the side of the house with his cane and a wide smile as he embraced her in a very tight hug. He wasn’t particularly tall, but he sported thick grey eyebrows and a matching moustache that would have made Magnum P.I. proud.
“Spud?” I whispered under my breath to her. Her face went a bright crimson.
“Her nickname,” he responded flatly, as if it was common knowledge. Somehow, in all the get-to-know-me-so-when-we’re-questioned-our-story-is-plausible scenarios, the kid nicknames never came up.
“I think she left that one out,” I chuckled.
He searched me up and down. “No wonder. She doesn’t like it much, but not many kids like their nicknames, especially because when she was born, she looked like a potato. Scrunched face and all. Thought it was gonna stay that way.”
Oh, Jesus.
“Okay, Papi. Thanks for the story.” Her voice was well above her normal range as she wrapped her arms around his skinny frame and gave him a good squeeze.
He let go of her and looked over to me. “This here must be your fella everyone’s going on about?”
Fella?
I watched her swallow a lump in her throat, as if she was nervous to lie to him.
I wanted to reach out and grab her hand to tell her it was okay, but watching how he was staring at me, I thought I’d better not.
His demeanor suggested he was a formal man of an era lost long ago, and I would almost expect him to ask for a chaperone for me to take her out for a stroll in the garden.
“This here is Josh,” she spoke in a soft tone.
Her Papi swung out his hand for a formal handshake, which I, of course, extended mine. His grip was firm for a man turning ninety.
“Happy birthday, sir.”
“That’s a good handshake, son.” He nodded at me. There was a long-paused silence as I watched April shift on her feet. I also noticed the crowd of eyes on us. “I hear you play ball.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I like baseball.”
“It’s a great sport, sir. I can get you tickets any time you’d like to come.”
“April gets me tickets. I don’t go too often anymore, since my hip and all,” he drifted off.
I don’t know why I didn’t think that April could get her own tickets, but it’s usually an automatic reflex. I was gonna need to sharpen up for this.
“Dad, come sit before you injure that hip again.” A tall woman with perfectly curled, jet-black hair and thick makeup came over and strung her arm through his, leading him back to a wooden rocking chair over by the set up tables.
The woman smiled at me with a slight blush on her cheeks and stage whispered, “You’re late. ”
April’s shoulders instantly fell. “Hello to you too, Mother.”
That was an icy tone, and shocking, from April. Not off on the right foot already. Time to rescue my girl. I gave an apologetic smile to her mother. “That would be my fault.”
Her mother’s face instantly softened as she gazed over me. “I see. No harm.”
“Are you going to introduce me to this fine-looking young man?”
April’s cheeks flamed. “Mom, this is Josh. Josh, this is my mom, June.”
I smiled politely and took her hand for a gentle squeeze, to which her mother flushed.
“Was the drive okay?”
As we walked away, I couldn’t help but notice there was zero resemblance between them. April was on the shorter side, pear-shaped and red hair. Her mother was taller by a few inches, but lean, as if she was heavily into yoga and dressed in designer clothing.
“Come on,” April said, sounding slightly defeated.
As she walked away, I gripped onto her hand and entwined our fingers.
She glanced down and bit her lip, but we made our way through the fifty-something people making small talk until a spitting image of her mom, only taller, came bouncing across the lawn.
“I thought you said twenty people,” I murmured out of the side of my mouth.
“That’s what I was told.” She did the same back.
“You’re so much more handsome in person than on TV.” June smiled brightly at me. I watched as April subtly rolled her eyes.
I grinned at her. “You’re everything April says.”
April snorted and then coughed to hide her laugh. The inside joke was that she hadn’t told me anything, but clearly her mom had other opinions. Just then, an arm wrapped around April, catching her off guard. April lurched forward in shock.
“Hi May,” April stuttered. She looked stunned by the affection.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” May laughed. A flash of embarrassment crossed April’s eyes. “Why don’t you give Josh a tour. I put you guys in the bunkhouse tonight.”
April’s face morphed into terror as she stuttered, “The bunkhouse?”
Clearly, I’d missed something.
“Yes. The main house is already full. Don’t be so difficult. It was a long time ago.”
April’s eyes widened with fear as she glanced toward a small wooden house in the back by the water. She swallowed hard. “Fine.”
She grabbed our bags without warning and damn near stomped off toward the back sliding doors.
Hauling ass, I trailed behind her, down the deck, across the huge yard towards the water and a large shed-looking building that I assumed was the dreaded bunkhouse.
She nudged the door open with her toe and peeked inside before entering.
“Seriously, you need to tell me about this,” I whispered out the side of my mouth, stepping in ahead of her, and locating the light switch. It was a small room with a futon, an old rocking chair, and side table in the corner.
“This seems fine.”
“Sure, until you have to sleep in here as a kid, and your sister and her friends lock you in, terrorizing you by making scratching sounds all night, making me think there was a killer trying to get in,” she said it fast and in one breath; I barely got it all.
I chuckled. She shot me a look that could kill. Still not amused by that. “That’s pretty fucking brutal.”
Her voice shook. “It took me three summers to even get close to this place.”
Instinctively, I closed the gap between us and wrapped her in a tight hug. Her nose nuzzled against my chest. The scent of her shampoo wafted at me and shit, she smelled delicious. Sweet, and sexy, and that was a problem. My arms relaxed against hers.
“No need to be scared, the only noises they’re gonna hear might frighten them this time.” I winked at her.
She playfully swatted at me. “Jesus, do you ever not think about sex?”
“No.”
She shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Anything you want.” I smirked.
She locked her eyes on mine, a flicker of something crossing through them. She bit the side of her lip, then tapped her hand against my chest. “Not sure you could handle that.”
Now that sounded like a dare.
One I didn’t have time to process, because she was already halfway out the door. “Come on, boyfriend. Let’s get this shit show started.”
Boyfriend. That word packed a walloping punch right to the center of my chest. If only I’d be so lucky, outside of a bet. Trailing behind her, I finally caught up and grabbed her hands, stopping her. Her eyes tracked our interlocking fingers.
“Eyes are on us.” I smiled, stepping in closer to her, inhaling her sweet scent.
“Really playing this couple thing up.”
Ignoring the ticking in my chest, I shook our hands together. “This is standard protocol.”
I tightened my grip, so she couldn’t get away as we walked over to the deck where her mother and sister were fixing up a table and some other decorations.
Without hesitating, I offered to help. Their eyes drifted towards our hands with a raised eyebrow, but put me to work, nonetheless. April shot me a sorry glance, but I shrugged it off. This was what couples did, right?