Chapter 8
Brooks
I’m already regretting my agreement to “date” Brielle Walters.
Mostly because her aunt is nuts. In a nice way, nuts, but nuts all the same.
She gave me a fifty-dollar bill and told me to take her niece somewhere “lovely” for dinner.
Who does that? Then she gave me four tips for meeting her older brother, who was Brielle’s dad.
Look him in the eye.
Keep your answers short.
Don’t infuse any emotion.
Whatever you do, don’t lie.
Well. So much for that last one. I was going to do whatever I could to avoid Brielle’s dad. I’d told her a week, and I’d give her a week, but there was no way I was getting inducted into her family any more than I already was.
Although kudos to the Walters family, they had a killer basement set up for staying in shape during the baseball off-season.
Their floor was pretty much all rubber gym mats, and aside from an old couch and TV in the far corner, they’d turned the entire length of the house’s basement into a gym.
There was a mirror on one wall to check swing mechanics.
Reece stood in front of it, taking swings with his bat and analyzing his form, because even though he didn’t have to bat, he wanted to.
There was a section of the room that had an agility ladder, resistance bands, a medicine ball, and, at the far end of the basement, a rebounder net for throwing.
The Walterses were serious about Reece’s high school pitching career.
Reece had told me it was his goal to get into the Minor Leagues and, from there, hopefully the Majors.
Big dreams. Sure. But why not?
In the meantime, I was downstairs working on resistance training when this peppy, middle-aged woman came bounding downstairs with Brielle.
As Brielle’s Aunt Elle handed me a fifty and asked me a zillion questions, Brielle stood behind her with a wide-eyed expression that begged me not to out her. I wouldn’t. I didn’t.
One week, I mouthed.
She nodded.
After her aunt left to go back upstairs, Reece had also retreated upstairs for some electrolyte-infused water. That left me alone with my brand-new, totally unexpected girlfriend.
“So,” I started, “that’s your aunt?”
“One of them.”
“There are more of those where she came from?” I joked.
Brielle winced. I wasn’t sure if it was because she loved her aunts and thought I was being critical, or the idea of all of her aunts at once was overwhelming. Maybe both.
“I have four aunts on my dad’s side, and a pile of cousins. But if you stick around long enough, you’ll meet Jake and Jadon. They’re . . . special.”
Not sure what that meant, I just nodded, bending to pick up a tennis ball. I tossed it between my hands. “So. We’ve got fifty bucks. Where do you want to go?”
“Go?” Brielle’s voice lifted in surprise.
“Yeah. To eat? I mean, your aunt’s paying.”
“You’re seriously wanting to take me out?”
“Do I have a choice?” I wasn’t about to pocket fifty bucks.
“Oh!”
I heard a muffled ohhfff come from somewhere else, but I couldn’t quite figure out where. Brielle put her hand to her back pocket and pulled her phone out, glanced at it, then jammed it back into the pocket.
“Tomorrow night?” I asked.
“That’s a Tuesday,” Brielle observed as though people weren’t allowed to eat on Tuesdays. She bit her lower lip.
That was distracting.
“Uh—yeah.” I blinked. “I mean, you want everyone to see us dating. So, let’s go out before the week is up. We can even take a selfie if you want.” I meant to tease her, and I think Brielle knew that, but she eyed me as though she doubted I was serious.
Then her face paled.
“Umm, if we’re going on an actual date, you’ll have to meet my dad. He won’t allow it otherwise.”
“Even though you’re sixteen?” I had hoped to avoid her dad. “I mean, it’s just an actual fake date, really.”
“Well, yeah. My parents are—involved. They want to know our friends.”
“That’s cool.” I dropped the tennis ball back into the plastic basket that held other balls. “I’ll pick you up at five? That’ll give me time to meet your dad.”
“Okay?” It was a question. Brielle was questioning if I was serious.
To be honest, so was I. I didn’t have time for this. But now I had money burning a hole in my pocket and the obligation to see it through. “What’s a good place to eat around here?”
“Finnegan’s?” Brielle offered. She tucked some hair behind her ear. “They make good hamburgers. Unless you wanted something different.”
“Burgers are great.”
She gave me a small smile.
I gave her one back.
What was one week and free burgers? Nothing.
Except I had to meet her dad.
"Brooks, eh?”
I met Brielle’s dad far sooner than I’d planned. With our plan set for tomorrow night, I’d followed Brielle upstairs to meet Reece and instead came face to face with a man who looked like he was nice but could turn cold and brutal in an instant if he needed to be.
And it was obvious Brielle was his little girl, because he literally said so. “How’s my little girl today?” and then gave her a quick side hug.
She ducked as though she was embarrassed to have me see the affection.
Reece rounded the corner from the kitchen. “Oh, hey, Dad!” He had a protein bar in his hand and tossed me an extra one.
I caught it without giving it much thought.
Mr. Walters eyed me. “We’ve not met before.”
Great. What was I supposed to say to that? Any other time, I’d introduce myself. But how did you introduce yourself to your girlfriend’s dad? I’d never done this before. Why? For this exact reason. It took too much thought.
I wished I were back downstairs, playing tennis-ball-catch with the net.
“That’s Brooks,” Reece said with his mouthful. He had a glint in his eye that spelled danger, and he was looking at Brielle. “Brooks just started at school today.”
“Oh, really?” Mr. Walters swung back to look at me. He was smiling. Right now, anyway.
“Yeah, and he’s dating Brielle.” Reece dropped it like a bomb, and his mouth worked back and forth against a grin.
Brielle paled.
I wasn’t sure what to do.
Run?
Mr. Walters was very silent. He stared at Reece, then shifted his attention to me, then onto Brielle. “Oh, really?”
Man, this guy didn’t show emotion at all. I couldn’t tell if Mr. Walters was upset, interested, or just bored.
“I mean, sort of!” Brielle stammered. “We—kinda—like—just started dating today.”
“That’s what your brother implied.” Mr. Walters looked to me. “So. Brooks.” He said the words like bullets from a gun. “We’ll need to chat.”
“Yessir.” I nodded. I mean, I couldn’t really do anything else, could I? But I hadn’t bargained for this when I’d told Brielle I’d give her a week. What had I been thinking?
“Daddy, I—” Brielle started.
Mr. Walters put up his hand. “We’ll chat too.” A smile, and then, “Don’t worry.” As though he needed to reassure his daughter that she’d have his full attention.
Brielle and I exchanged looks.
We were committed to this now. There was really no getting out of it.
“He plays baseball.” Reece offered it like a peace offering.
“Oh yeah?” Mr. Walters was hanging his jacket on a peg that jutted out from the wall. “What position?”
“Uh, catcher.”
“Catcher. Nice.”
“He’s a Brewers fan,” Brielle inserted.
Mr. Walters gave me a side eye. “That’s one good mark for you then, son.”
Son.
I really didn’t like it when dads called me “son.” It made me feel very, very young. Like I was about to be disciplined.
What was it Brielle’s Aunt Elle had said?
Look him in the eye.
Keep your answers short.
Don’t lie.
There was something else, too, but I couldn’t remember. I struggled to find something to say, and then I managed the first thing that came to my mind.
“Well, I gotta get going.”
Brielle shot me a look of panic as if somehow I was supposed to keep saving her.
Reece took another bite of his protein bar as he leaned back with one foot against the basement door frame. The dude was enjoying this! I shot him a glare. He smiled.
Mr. Walters saw all of it. The looks between the three of us, Reece’s foot on the wall, which made Mr. Walters snap his fingers and point at the floor. Reece put his foot down.
Dang.
Mr. Walters turned to me. “I won’t keep you tonight. I’m sure we’ll see you soon.”
“We were going to get supper tomorrow night,” Brielle said quickly. I think she said it now so if her dad was going to get super mad at the date we’d planned, he couldn’t politely erupt in front of me.
But again, Mr. Walters stayed chill. He just nodded. “Come a half hour before.” He stuck out his hand to shake mine. “So we can talk.”
He was squeezing my hand tighter than I preferred. When he released it, I fought the urge to flex my fingers.
“K.” I said. “I’ll—see you guys around.” I tossed Reece a wave and nodded at Brielle.
She opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut.
I won’t lie. I made it out of the Walters’ house as fast as I could and jogged to my car parked on the street.
Today had not gone as expected. I woke up this morning with my biggest worry being how to prep for baseball team tryouts next month and who I should get to know at school to make that happen.
But tonight? I was going home with trouble, a girlfriend, fifty dollars, and a dad who most definitely was not my biggest fan.
No hamburger was worth this.