Chapter 17
The Family
Bentley
Zah has been busting ass all season. I’m so proud of her. She has a meet this morning and our entire family is here for the weekend.
They came for her and me. I have a spring practice game tonight. I’m so hyped. We plan to tell everyone about us this weekend. I mean, everyone on campus already knows she’s my girl.
I made that very clear after that debacle with Pacey. Rumors had already gotten out fast about the band showing up to play for Zah for me. By the time we got back to campus the following Monday, it was pretty clear we were together.
I don’t shy away from showing PDA anymore. I had wanted to give Zah time to make up her mind about us, but once she agreed to be mine, I pulled no punches. We still have our game going, but she’s my girl no matter the outcome.
“She looks good,” Mr. Nickels says as Zah and the other runners take their places.
“She’s been working hard,” I say proudly.
“The vibe here is great,” Erica says excitedly beside me. “You both look so happy here. I’m not getting this on my campus. My school is so lame.”
“You have options, sweetheart,” my mother says.
“Quiet, they’re about to start,” my youngest brother, Eddy, says.
He’s nine and has a thing for Zahirah. She babies him and protects him from the rest of us. In his eyes, Zah is a star. I can’t blame the kid. She lights up my world too.
We all chuckle at him, but turn our focus on Zahirah and the track. I lift my hands to my lips and blow into them. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. This is a huge weekend for us.
I’m hoping our families will receive the news well. I don’t know what I will do if they don’t approve of us. Zahirah isn’t one to defy her parents much.
Her decision to come here against their initial wishes is probably the most defiant she’s ever been. If her parents don’t agree, this could be the end of us. The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
“Come on, Zah, go,” her dad bellows, pulling me from my thoughts.
I smile with pride as our family rises to their feet to cheer for her. I’m standing with my hair in my hands as I watch on. There’s one girl ahead of her, but Zah is gliding as she stays on her heels.
“Come on, baby,” I yell as she gets right up on the other runner.
Zah runs right by the other girl and leaves everyone in her dust. There’s a clear gap between her and the others. There’s no way they’re catching her now.
My baby glides right across the finish line. I roar with excitement and rush down to the sideline. Zah races over to me and slams into me as she hops on my waist, wrapping her legs around me.
She had been worried all night that she would choke in front of our family. I told her she could do it. I knew she would crush it. When she picked up her hip number and was given eleven, I knew today would be epic.
“You did it, baby. I’m so proud of you,” I croon as I hold her tight.
She cups my face and kisses me. I take the kiss a little further as I move one hand to her ass and grasp her face with the other. Whistles and catcalls ring out.
We’re used to that around campus. It’s not until throats are cleared that I remember where we are and break the kiss. I release Zah to allow her to slide down my front. Taking her hand in mine, I lace our fingers together as we turn to face our family.
Our dads are standing with expressionless faces and their arms across their chests. Our moms are on either side of them with smiles on their faces. I think we’ll be fine with them.
“How long has this been going on?” Mr. Nickels asks.
“Since about two weeks after I arrived,” Zah replies.
“Wait, you were the cheating boyfriend?” Erica says.
“I didn’t cheat.”
“He didn’t cheat,” Zah and I say at the same time.
“It was a misunderstanding. We cleared things up.”
Someone calls Zah’s name. She turns to find her coach waving for her to come over. Great, I’m going to be left to deal with this alone.
“I’ll be back,” she says to me as she grabs my bicep and lifts on her toes, puckering her lips.
I dip my head and peck her lips before she turns and runs off. Watching after her with a smile on my face, I take a deep breath. This isn’t really how we planned to do this. I guess we both got caught up in the moment.
I turn back to our parents and groan. This is the moment of truth. I look to Mr. Nickels and stand up straighter.
“What are your intentions for my baby girl, Coswell?”
“I’m in love with your Zahirah, sir. In a year or two, I plan to propose. I should be settled and in the league by then. We can wait to get married after she graduates. Maybe plan the wedding for the spring or summer of the following year.
“I’ll pay for grad school for both of us. I want to buy a house back home, but I understand we might have to move around for my team depending on where I get signed. I’m in full support of whatever Zah plans to do after school.”
“Sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” my father says.
My siblings are looking at me in shock, with the exception of Erica and Eddy; those two are scowling at me. I get that Erica is pissed we didn’t tell her sooner. It’s been eight months.
We’ve been home since we’ve been together, but there hasn’t been a moment to come clean. Neither of us has been in Arizona at the same time. Between camps and training with specialty coaches, we’ve been missing each other when going back home.
“Unbelievable,” Erica huffs.
Zahirah
Bentley pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly as he kisses my lips a few times, then presses his forehead to mine. “I’ll see you after the game,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Have a good one.”
He releases me and waves to everyone else before he takes off. Butterflies fill my belly as I think of later tonight. We plan to hang out and celebrate.
“This is all so weird. Why didn’t you tell me?” Erica asks after Bentley is out of earshot.
I shrug my shoulders and bite my lip. “I don’t know. It just never seemed like the right time.”
“When you called crying to tell me a guy—my brother, who you slept with—cheated on you would have been a great time,” she whisper-yells.
I grab her by the arm and tug her away from her other siblings before they overhear. The last thing I want is for everyone to know I’m having sex with Bentley. Although they might already assume we are.
“I was wrong. He didn’t cheat. That girl who trashed his car set him up.”
“But you were sleeping with him before that,” she accuses.
“He took my virginity on my birthday. Things happened really fast, and I didn’t know how you would feel. Please don’t be mad at me,” I plead.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“So it’s a mutual thing,” she says as if speaking to herself. “I think it always has been. Now so much makes sense.”
“Are you mad?”
“No. I don’t think so. Will you be mad when I move here? Am I going to be a third wheel?”
I gasp. “What? You’re coming here?” I say excitedly.
“That’s the plan. I’ve been looking at new colleges, but you coming here made me miss you and Bent even more. I think this is where I want to be.”
“Yay,” I squeal and pull her into a hug.
“I want to see you this happy when I’m here getting all up in y’all’s business. Bent is going to hate this.”
I giggle at my best friend. “No, he’s not, it’s going to be like old times.”
“Ugh, you two still study too much like little nerds?”
“Yup,” I say, popping the P.
She groans and rolls her eyes. “You know that’s the only reason our parents aren’t freaking out. You two haven’t dropped your grades in the last eight months, so you’re getting a pass. If this was me and Jamie, it would be a whole different story.”
I burst into laughter. “Jamie? As in my imaginary brother, Jamie?” I snort and laugh.
“Yes, he’s hot now that he’s older, you know,” she says with a huge grin.
“I can’t believe you remember that. Ugh, I wanted siblings so bad,” I groan.
“That’s why I shared mine. I wanted them to love you as much as I did. I didn’t know one would fall in love with you. Scratch that. Make that two. Poor Eddy.”
I turn to look over at Eddy talking to Garret and Baker. His little face is so long, like he just lost his best friend. He sees me looking at him and turns away quickly.
I catch Baker’s eye, and he gives me a little grin. He’s Bentley’s best friend from back home. I’m not surprised he came in with the family. Baker is to Bentley as Erica is to me.
“My little buddy is mad at me. Do you think he’s canceling all his plans to take me to senior prom?”
“Probably, but he’ll be over it in nine years. You’ll be married and having little nieces and nephews for us by then.”
I laugh and tug her into a hug. I’m so relieved that she’s okay with this. I was most worried about how she would feel.
“I should talk to him,” I say.
“Nope, you should come with me to get something to eat. The parents are okay with it, but they still plan to drill you at dinner. You probably won’t be able to eat a thing. It would be wise to get something down now.”
I palm my face. I know she’s right. My parents are just waiting to get me cornered.
“Fine, let’s grab something now.”
***
“Zah, I’m not going to lie and say I’m surprised about this,” my mother says as we all sit at dinner.
The Coswell kids were all sent off to the Arcade next door, while Bentley and I were asked to stay to talk. Bentley reaches for my hand under the table and links our fingers together. His palm is sweaty, telling me he’s as nervous as I am.
“I am,” our dads say in unison.
“Bill, you mean to tell me you have never noticed the way Bentley looks at Zah or how he can’t keep his foot out of his mouth around her?” Mrs. Coswell laughs.
“And Kerry, you have never seen how Zah gets stars in her eyes when she looks at Bent. We didn’t even know she was applying to come here until the last minute. I saw this coming a mile away.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Daddy says, dragging a hand down his face.
“I think what your fathers really want to say is we’re happy for the both of you. Our main concern is whether or not the two of you are being safe,” Mrs. Coswell says.
“And don’t give us that look. We know you two are having sex. We saw that kiss and the way Bent couldn’t keep his hands off you,” my mother says as she gives us that knowing mom look.
“Just kill me now,” I mutter as I try to shrink into myself.
Bentley chuckles and leans over to kiss the side of my head. I pinch him under the table. This is so embarrassing.
“We’re always safe. Zah and I are both focused on school and our respective sports. We do have a sexual relationship, but we aren’t indulging as much as you think.”
“If your coach didn’t rave about your grades and the increase in your film time this year, I wouldn’t believe you,” Mr. Coswell says.
“I really don’t want to talk about you deflowering my baby girl,” my father grumbles.
“Oh, get over it, honey. She’s becoming a woman, and I couldn’t be happier with her choice.”
“I like Bent too, but they’re still so young. So much can happen. Life hasn’t begun to challenge them yet.”
“That’s why I love this for them. We will be here to guide them. They will always have us,” Mom says with a smile.
Thank you, I mouth.
Bentley
My father pulls me into a hug as we stand outside the hotel my family is staying at for the weekend. Releasing me, he palms the side of my face. He looks into my eyes and smiles.
“Zah is the girl you called about, isn’t she?” he says.
“Yeah, you remember that call?”
“Of course. My boy calls me in the middle of the night for advice; it sticks with me.”
“That talk meant a lot to me. The thought of losing Zah causes me physical pain, but you were right. She supports whatever I plan to do.”
“I love that girl like one of my own. If you ever need direction, come to me. I’ll give you the best advice I have.
“Although I do believe the love you have for her will be your compass. I’m proud of you, son and I’m happy for the both of you. I truly believe in my heart you can be the man you promised me and Kerry you can be tonight.
“You always make good on your promises. You’ll be everything Zah has dreamed of and what her father and I want for her. Really proud of you, son. We’ll talk later. Go get some sleep.”
I get choked up by his words. When he and Mr. Nickels pulled me aside, I hadn’t known what to expect. The talk we had made me feel a greater responsibility to Zah and our love.
I meant every word I said. I’m going to love Zah with everything I am, and I plan to provide for her for the rest of my life. I want to be the man I’ve learned to be by watching my father and Mr. Nickels.
However, I don’t tell him I don’t plan on going to sleep anytime soon. Once I leave here, I’m meeting up with Zah. We’re going to celebrate and hang out.
“Good night, Dad. It was good to see you,” I say instead and pull him into a hug.
“Good to see you too. Even better to see you win. What a game. That’s my son,” he says proudly and cups the back of my head as he presses his forehead to mine.
I close my eyes and absorb the strength he’s giving me. I don’t know why, but it feels like we need this moment. He kisses my forehead and releases me, patting me on my shoulder before he turns to leave.
I turn and head for my car with a smile on my lips. This was a good day. A very good day.