8. Chapter 8 #2
“Again, sorry, but not interested.” I get up and walk over to Gabby’s side. “Come on, let’s go get the guys,” I tell her.
When she tries to stand, Brett grabs her arm. Oh, hell no.
“Get your hand off me,” Gabby says in a calm, quiet voice, “or I’ll remove it.”
Brett laughs like she’s funny before Gabby karate chops his hand with her other arm, breaking his hold before punching him in the shoulder.
“Damn,” I mutter, taking her hand as we go over to the snack bar. Our guys are loading trays with food at the far end. “Way to go, Gabby,” I say.
She smirks at me. “No one messes with me, Summer. Nick and Troy made sure I knew how to take care of myself.”
“They certainly did,” I reply.
Once the guys have the food, we move to another table where Seb and Bay are just sitting down. Brett, Jeff, and Ralph are sitting at another table with a few girls who seem receptive this time. “Sunshine, where d'ya go?” Seb asks, pulling me down beside him.
“Small incident with a few guys while the others were getting food. Gabby schooled them though,” I smile.
“You go, girl,” Seb smiles at Gabby, asking for a high five.
Gabby rolls her eyes and acquiesces. The food isn’t great, but it fills us up enough to get back to the games.
Seb finds a basketball shooting game that he’s great at.
He challenges all of us one after the other, racking up a bunch of tickets.
We pool our winnings, and Gabby picks out a mood ring for me and a stuffed animal for herself before we leave for the movie theatre nearby.
We’re seeing the 4pm show today, a new comedy that just came out this weekend.
Holly, Jaxon, and Penny are waiting for us behind the ticket booth when we arrive. “Hi guys,” I smile.
“Have fun at the arcade?” Holly asks after I pay for my ticket and stop beside them to wait for the others.
“I did. It was fun. Glad you guys could join us for the movie.”
The rest of our crew quickly gathers. Bay slides his arm around Penny’s waist, and she leans into him. I thought after months my feelings for Bay would’ve subsided, but they haven’t, so it still sucks, but they seem happy, which is what’s most important.
Once we have our hands full of buttery, salty popcorn, soda, and chocolate, we find seats in the theatre.
It’s not busy since it’s in the middle of the afternoon.
Jaxon, Holly, Seb, myself, Alex, and E sit in a row with Penny and Bay behind us.
Gabby tries to sit behind us too, but Seb is having none of it, telling them to sit in the row in front of us so he can monitor them.
“Seb, she’s 16. Leave her alone,” I try to intercede.
“Nope. No can do, Sunshine. She’s my baby sister, and no one is gonna violate her while I’m still breathing.”
I hear Gabby groan. “Seb, I love you, but it’s not a violation if I want it,” she says, taking a seat in front of us.
“La la la la la,” Seb says, covering his hears. “I hear nothing. My baby sister will remain a virgin until she’s married.” He follows that statement up with a full body shudder.
I can’t help but laugh at his theatrics, grabbing his hand. “You’ll be okay, Hurry. Relax.”
“I see no sex, I hear no sex, I know no sex. Let me live in my fantasy land, Sunshine.”
Gabby rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Adam looks a little scared, while the rest are chuckling. I can picture Nick rolling his eyes at Seb, but also watching Adam like a hawk. I wonder if he would stand up under Nick’s intense glare. Nick, I hope your weekend is going okay wherever you are.
Seb grabs my hand when the preview starts, kissing my knuckles. It’s a great movie, and we have some laughs. As we’re walking to our cars, Penny asks to speak to me, so we step to the side of the theatre in view of everyone. “What’s up?” I enquire.
“I was wondering if you and Seb are together?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, we are. Why do you ask?”
“Would I sound like a terrible person if I told you I’m insecure about you and Bay?” She asks, fidgeting, her fingers twisting her sweater cuffs.
Now I understand the question. “No, you’re not terrible, Penny,” I respond. “Neither Bay nor I would ever cheat on anyone, nor would I ever try to interrupt someone else’s relationship. Bay and I are good friends, just like I am with Alex, E, Seb, and Nick.”
“Thank you for clarifying. I’ve liked Bay for a long time, and my insecurities got the better of me,” she shrugs sheepishly, her cheeks tinging pink.
“It’s okay.” I give her an encouraging smile. “Are you and Bay doing well?”
“Yes, we are. I got into my head is all. Seeing Seb kiss you at the arcade made me relieved, despite having no reason to doubt Bay. It’s my issue, nothing more. I’m sorry I even asked. Please ignore me,” she waves.
“No worries,” I reply. “We all have insecurities. You seem sweet, and I’m glad Bay has you.”
That brings a huge smile, her face glowing. “Thanks Summer. We’d better get back.”
I nod, and we rejoin our group to walk to our cars. I drive myself home expecting Zander to be back from his trip, and he’s getting out of his truck when I pull up. “Hi darling. I got your text. How was your day with your friends?”
“Fun,” I step closer, giving him a side hug. “Seb is as terrible at arcade games as he is at mini golf and carnival games, but he beat us at the basketball shooting one.”
Laughing, he nods. “It’s a miracle he is so coordinated at basketball.”
We go inside, and I make dinner while Zander showers and unpacks.
Since I didn’t run today, Alex is running with me in the morning.
I also need to make some more muscle cream for myself and the basketball team, as well as the lotion I make for Jake.
I gave Seb and E a supply when the season started, but they’ve run out from sharing it with their teammates.
Afterwards, Zander is taking Alex and me to the gun range, where I'll finally learn to shoot.