She rolls her eyes. “Big baby. So, what position do you play? Probably not the bottom, since you can’t handle pain.”
“Fuck off. I’m a rugby player. I take hits daily.”
“Whatever. You’re a wimpy one.”
I laugh at that and then sigh. “I don’t know what I am. I know I’m not gay. I just…” I scrub a hand over my face. “I just like him touching me, but I hate who he is.”
“Will you tell me his name?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Maya. Seriously? You have to ask me that?”
She grins and then points to the vine. “All right, fair. I can just find out by snooping. I’m very good at it. Come on, let’s get this done. Plus, I bet by the time you leave, you’ll have told me his name anyway. It’ll save me time and energy.”
“Yeah fucking right.”
She smirks at me as we get back to work, the vine fully ripped from the ground by the time my twin pulls up and bounds out of her car. She looks a lot like me. Strawberry-blonde hair and blueeyes, same nose and eyebrows. But that’s where the similarities end.
“Butthole!” she cries and throws herself into my arms.
I swing her around, clocking Paulie standing on the porch, watching us. I flip him off, and he sends one right back to me. Asshole is probably jealous she isn’t touching him like this. Bet she’ll just give him a high five like she usually does. Or bump his fist.
“Mom said you were coming by,” Hailey says, swatting me on the arm. “I should have a sixth sense about this, but we both know I’m shit at that.”
“Yeah, well, it was a last-minute decision. Mom had chores for me to do. It’s the only reason she wants me around.”
“That’s not true!” my mom shouts and then huffs in annoyance. “Youareuseful, though.”
I grin at her, and she whispers something to Paulie, making him laugh. Listen, I’m just joking around. My mom is a hard worker, and while I give her shit about this kind of thing, I honestly don’t mind. For everything she’s done and continues to do for me, I give what I can back.
“Listen, I have an early job tomorrow, so if we’re going to start drinking, we should do it now,” my mom explains.
Paulie lets out a snort and follows her inside to help get everything ready. My mom’s a caterer. She started her own business five years ago after losing her job at the bank, and honestly, it was rough going at first, but she’s done really well for herself. I’m so fucking proud. But it’s also the reason I can’t fuck around like Colton does. We just don’t have it in us to survive any kind of financial calamity. It could ruin her.
Maya and I ditch the garden shears and wash our hands inside, then Mom loads us up with food to bring outside. Everything looks so good. Charcuterie, flatbreads, and some kind of salad.
We set everything on the table on the porch, and my mom and Hailey appear with a few bottles of wine.
“Who wants to do the honors?” Mom asks, looking around the table at the five of us, but finally, I raise my hand.
“I will.”
“How about you do it, Maya?”
I give my mom a look, and she chuckles. “Just kidding. I shouldn’t joke around like that. You can do the honors. Youaremy only son.”
She hands me the chilled bottle of wine, and I uncork it, pouring everyone a glass. I’m not a big wine drinker, but I can appreciate this with my family. It’s a bit of a tradition. I started drinking wine with my mom when I was fourteen.
“So, tell me everything that’s happened since I last saw you,” my mom says, popping a grape into her mouth.
I grab a cracker and some cheese and lean back. “Nothing much. Same old, same old.”
“Well, you know we’ll be at your next practice.”
I groan at that. The signs they make when they’re able to make it to my practices. I think they do it to humiliate me. I secretly love it, though. Not many people have a family that supports them like mine do. Paulie’s told me this before.
