“Oh.” I smile at her, reaching for the sunglasses and placing them on my head. “Thanks, Nia.”
She nods and gently smiles back. “No problem.”
Mr. and Mrs. Callahan talk off to the side, both of them putting their things into the bag that Mrs. Callahan is holding open before Mr. Callahan reaches down to grab the ice chest.
“Need help with that, Mr. C?” I call out to him.
He turns to me, a smile already on his face. He shakes his head. “I’ll volunteer Lucas for the job but thanks, sweetheart.”
At the mention of his name, Lucas turns his attention from teasing Melody about her liking Preston more than him. And how she’s been moody because Preston didn’t come out with Lucas this year. to his dad.
Preston ended up going to see his mom in Boston instead of coming with us to San Diego for the summer.
Lucas said one of the two things is bound to happen.
Preston either comes back and he’s worked his shit out or he ends up becoming ten times worse.
I’m not sure what that entails or even the specifics of what’s been going on with Preston—I have full intention of pulling it out of Lucas one of these days—but I do know that if Preston doesn’t figure it out, I’ll bitch slap him myself.
Lucas notices the ice chest his dad is gesturing towards, nudges Melody’s shoulder one more time, and goes to stand and walk over to his dad.
Mrs. Callahan helps Melody pack up her things. Nia and London walk back toward the car, debating over which TV show they should start watching next. Lucas and Mr. Callahan both start carrying the ice chest and we all begin walking back to the car.
I hoist the shared bag with Lucas over my shoulder, moving to walk alongside Vanessa, her arm linking with mine. Within the first day of coming out here, I realized that Lucas comes from a very physically affectionate family, which explains why he’s always touching me in some sort of way.
Not that I’m complaining. It’s just nice to see where certain traits and mannerisms of his came from. Like his laugh. That’s definitely from his mom.
“You excited to head back home?” Vanessa asks.
I nod honestly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love it here but—”
“Home is home. No, I get it,” Vanessa agrees. “I love coming home for the summer but I miss Texas when I’m gone for too long. I think Lucas feels the same way about New York.” She chuckles.
We both look over to where Lucas and Mr. Callahan are joking around, laughing. It makes me miss my own dad. My family. I’ve spent the last few months trying to make up for my bitchiness and absence toward my family. Mom and Brian specifically. I’ve tried to make more of an effort with Brian. Stopped avoiding talking about feelings with Amiyah and Dad…well, I’ve tried to act completely normal around him.
He doesn’t know about Lucas’s and my relationship quite yet. I don’t care whether he knows but Lucas swears up and down that my dad will bench him this upcoming season.
I just laugh and agree to not say anything because Lucas has still yet to learn that my dad is all bark and no bite—at least when it comes to the threat of benching one of his best players.
Dad might grumble about it. Maybe even make Lucas’s life during practice a living hell but there’s no way he’s getting benched.
Over my dead body.
Vanessa’s grip on my arm tightens. I look away from Lucas and back at her. That cocky grin is replaced with something softer, something more like a concerned older sister to her only brother.
“He’s good out there though, right?” she asks. “Not driving himself too crazy before the season starts?”
I chuckle. “He’s been getting a little antsy about getting back out on the ice but yeah, he’s been good.”
Or at least I think he has.
“We just worry about him. He’s so far away from any of us, even farther than I am. We know he has Preston…it’s just—” She sighs, watching her brother like she’s seeing something beyond just his smile and laugh. Like that hasn’t always been there.
And I get it.
Lucas has moments where he doesn’t want to do anything but lie in bed and stare up at the ceiling. He disguises it as inviting me over to watch a movie but I quickly learned he’d grow quiet.
Lucas would sometimes want me around but not for sex. Or even to talk. Just simply to remind himself that with his family across the country, Preston out most of the time doing god knows what, and without the chaos of the hockey season, he’s not alone.