Blake
I hug her. “You too, Mrs. Bennett. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, please. Call me Rachel. Mrs. Bennett makes me feel like my mom.” She chuckles.
Briar’s parents just arrived at the house. Nick’s parents are here too.
The doorbell rings, and Poppy heads over to answer it. Her parents walk in. After introductions, everyone starts talking and visiting.
“Briar told us that you got drafted by the Nashville Wolves,” her dad, Henry, says. “Congratulations. What an accomplishment.”
“Thanks. I’m definitely excited. A little nervous too.”
Henry waves a hand and chuckles. “No need to be nervous. We’ve seen how well you play. You’re going to do great.”
“Can I get you guys something to drink? We’ve got bottled water in the fridge, beer in the cooler in the garage, and Briar is making mimosas in the kitchen.”
“I think I’ll wait for Briar to bring out the mimosas,” Rachel says. She gives me a pointed look. “She’s still staying here at the house with you, right?”
“Yes. She found an apartment she likes though, and she’s going to check it out soon.”
Rachel sighs and shakes her head. “She had such a nice apartment in Chicago. It was close to campus too. It’s a shame she gave it up because of a breakup.”
I bite my tongue to keep from saying anything. Briar’s mom has always been nice to me, but I hate how dismissive she’s being to Briar.
I know she doesn’t know the full story about what happened with her ex, but still. She should be supportive of Briar instead of criticizing her.
“Rachel, we said we wouldn’t bring that up, remember?” Henry says.
She exhales sharply. “Right.”
A minute later, Briar walks out of the kitchen holding a mimosa in each hand. When she smiles at her parents, it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Hey, guys.” She hands a drink to her mom. Rachel pulls her into a side hug, then she turns to hug her dad.
“Good to see you two,” Briar says. “How was the drive in?”
“Good,” Henry says. “The traffic wasn’t too bad when we got in last night.”
“Oh. Good.” Briar clears her throat. She’s quiet for a second. Her parents exchange a look. I have no idea what that’s about, but it’s kind of awkward that they’re standing there, not saying anything.
“Mr. Bennett, wanna grab a beer in the garage with me?”
“Sure, that sounds nice. Thanks, Blake.”
When we come back into the house from the garage, my parents are walking through the front door. I head over to hug and greet them.
“You guys remember Briar’s dad, Henry, right?”
They immediately start catching up. I glance over to where Briar and her mom are standing and starting to talk. From their serious expressions, it seems pretty stilted.
I turn to my mom. “Mom, you wanna say hi to Briar’s mom?”
“Oh, I’d love to.”
I walk over with her.
“Hey, you should ask her about her garden,” I say, remembering that Briar’s mom is a serious gardener. “She could probably give you some good tips on how to get your tulips to bloom next season.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.”
Rachel’s serious expression fades when she sees my mom. They greet each other with smiles and hugs, and immediately start talking about their gardening projects for next summer.
Briar steps away, letting the two of them talk. She turns to me. “Thanks for that.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Honestly? Really tense. I can tell the only thing my mom wants to do is tell me off. She asked me about my classes, which I thought was a good sign, but then she started asking if I would have to graduate late because of the transfer, which annoyed me.” She sighs.
“But then you and your mom came over and distracted her. You saved the day.”
She aims a small smile up at me.
“Anything for you, babe.”
Her eyes light up. I’ve only called her babe when we’re fooling around…but I think she likes it when I call her that outside of the bedroom.
Maybe I shouldn’t. It feels like something a boyfriend would do. And I’m not her boyfriend.
But she likes it. So as long as she likes it, I’ll do it.
“Okay, everyone! Brunch is served!” Nick announces from the dining room. He gestures to the dining room table, which is covered in all the food we spent the morning cooking and preparing. “Parents, you eat first.”
All the parents head over to the table. Leo grabs a plate for his mom and hands it to her.
When he walks off, I stop him.
“Is your dad not coming?” I ask.
“Guess not. My mom said he got roped into doing an interview for some sports podcast.” His tone is on the edge of hard.
I frown. That seems like a shitty reason to miss spending time with his son. His parents live in Breckenridge, which is less than two hours away from Denver. If he was dead-set on doing the interview, he could have arranged to do it before or after coming to see Leo.
“Sorry, that sucks,” I say.
Leo shakes his head. “It’s better this way. I’m not in the mood to see him anyway.”
He walks off right as Nick stands in the middle of the room.
“After we eat, we’re having a parents vs. kids beer pong tournament,” he says. Everyone laughs.
“I don’t like beer,” my mom says. “Can I do wine instead?”
I shake my head and smile. “Absolutely.”
* * *
An hour later, my mom is kicking my ass in beer pong.
She sinks another shot and pumps a fist. “Yes!”
I roll my eyes, grinning as I drink my glass of beer. Leo and Travis are playing beer pong with their moms on the other side of the dining room. Nick’s parents and Poppy’s parents are grazing on the snacks and drinks while playing a card game in the living room.
Nick walks past me. “I can see where you get your competitiveness.”
My mom and I both laugh. I glance around for Briar. She and Poppy are talking while drinking mimosas.
When I make my next shot, my mom groans.
“Here, I’ll drink it,” my dad says as he walks over to her. She smiles at him while he downs the wine in the cup.
“I’m pretty sure that’s cheating,” I joke.
“You’re twice my size, which means you can drink more than me. I’m just making things even,” my mom says to me.
I laugh, then clear my throat. “Hey, thanks for talking to Briar’s mom for so long.”
“It’s my pleasure, honey. It’s been nice catching up with her.”
“You took the heat off Briar, and I think she really appreciates that.”
“Are she and her mom going through a rough patch or something?”
I rub the back of my neck. “Her parents aren’t happy that she transferred from Chicago to Denver. They’ve been arguing about it a lot. And they didn’t tell her they were coming until last night. She was pretty stressed out about it.”
She glances over to Briar. “That’s too bad. Briar is a sweet girl. Really smart too. I’m sure she had a good reason for transferring.”
“She did.”
My mom looks at me for a long second. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She seems really happy at Hollis.”
My mom starts to smile. “Probably because you’re here.”
I fight a smile and shrug. She starts to laugh.
“What?”
“Oh, honey. You think I don’t notice the way you look at her? The way you’ve always looked at her?”
My face heats.
“You think I haven’t noticed that you’ve never looked at anyone the way you look at her?”
I clear my throat, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t expecting my mom to read me so easily.
“We’re just friends, Mom,” I say.
“But you want something more, don’t you?”
I look at her and nod.
“Briar wants to take things slow, though. She had a bad experience with an ex at her old college, and she’s pretty skittish about relationships.”
Recognition flashes in my mom’s eyes, seeming to put it all together. “I see,” she says in a quiet voice. She glances over at Briar again. “Poor thing.”
“Yeah,” I say through an exhale.
We continue playing. A minute later, I hear raised voices in the kitchen.