Bender (31 page)

Only a few minutes went by and Camden came up the stairs taking two at a time. When he reached me he kissed my nose in typical Camden fashion, melting my heart and making me forget my worries. I was sure whoever she was it wasn’t a big deal. And if she was, well maybe he’d share at some point when he felt like it. We continued on through the rest of the tour. His parents still kept each of the boys’ rooms exactly the same since the day they left. Granted, Wrigley still lived at home, because he was still in high school. But he’d be graduating this year and going off to college. I loved seeing each of their individual styles. Turner was only a year older than Camden, so he was twenty-six, and his room was decorated in plaid bedding and collegiate posters. Camden had weights, trophies, and an overall sense of a typical guy’s space. Dodger’s room had a couple of guitars and some pictures of girls in bikinis. Wrigley’s space was trashed. He had clothes laying all over the place, it smelled like a high school boy’s room, and the walls were riddled with baseball things. Yep, pretty typical boy’s room. Out in the hallway I pushed Camden up against a wall. He looked down at me in amused surprise.

“Thinking about getting frisky, Blue?” he teased.

“Nah.” I playfully rubbed up against him.

Chuckling he said, “Okay, then what did I do to deserve the rough treatment.”

I brought one of my hands up and touched his lower lip. He parted them, and his pupils dilated. “I wanted to say thank you.”

He licked his lips and his tongue touched the pad of my thumb. “For what?”

“For saying what you did downstairs. You called me your
friend
to your mom, and it was a sucker punch, but I get it, we don’t have labels. Except, when Turner pushed, you staked your claim. Not only that, but you did it in front of your brother and dad. So thank you. It made me feel wanted.”

“You
are
wanted, Keegan. More than I think you know. And I’m sorry about my mom. I wasn’t sure what your comfort level was, so I didn’t want to push the issue. If you are wanting to define us, then we can do that.”

I shook my head. “No I don’t want to force you into something you might not want to do.”

He furrowed his brows. “What the hell are you talking about? Am I with you right now?”

“Yes.”

“Then what about that says you’re forcing me? Nobody
forces
me to do anything. You should know that more than anyone.”

Sighing I looked down. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start a fight.”

“Are we fighting? Pretty sure if we were, you’d fucking know it.” He tipped my chin up with his finger. “But, if we are, I’m ready for the make-up sex. It’s my favorite kind.”

Now I was the amused one. “I thought gym sex was your favorite.”

“That too.”

“Mhmm…”

He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me so softly it felt like a feather’s touch. The delicate sensation of this kiss gave me butterflies; it made me feel like I was floating, it made me wonder how deep my feelings were for Camden. What began as a slow caressing of our mouths shifted into something more. I leaned into him, pressing my full weight into his chest and stomach. His tongue glided along the seam of my lips wanting access to more of me. I could feel his arousal against my front, and I let myself forget where I was and who was downstairs. Camden made me lose myself whenever he kissed me like this. He consumed me.

“Turkey’s ready!” Sarah yelled from the bottom of the steps.

My sweet brooding man tenderly pecked my mouth once more and smiled down at me. I pouted at the interruption. The look in his eyes seemed different. More loving and open. I knew every wall I had was crumbling down, and I felt my heart pick up its pace. I was falling for Camden Brooks, and the “L” word was trying to sneak itself into my vocabulary. He made me very happy, happier than I think I’ve ever been. I needed to slow myself down though. There was no way, despite how it seemed like he was seeing me right now, that he could be feeling anything but like. Camden didn’t do love, and least of all, not with me. I’d have to be more careful with my emotions around him so that I didn’t slip and say something that could make him walk away. The “L” word would ruin everything.

“Come on, let’s go eat. I swear I could hoover a whole cow right now,” he said, breaking up my thoughts.

“You mean turkey,” I corrected.

He laughed. “You’ve never seen one of my mom’s Thanksgiving spreads. I meant cow. Come, I’ll show you.”

He tugged my hand, and we went downstairs to join the family at the table.

“O
H
MY
GOSH
SOMEONE
IS
GOING
to need to wheelbarrow me out to the field,” Paul said, rubbing his distended belly. “The turkey was delicious dear, you outdid yourself again.”

She beamed at him.

“Yeah, I feel like a stuffed bird. Get it? Stuffed….bird?” Wrigley joked, trying to be sarcastic.

A napkin was chunked at his face, and there was a round of grumbles. In the short period of time that I’d been at Camden’s house, I’d learned that Wrigley liked to tell the cheesiest jokes. What made them even funnier was how he delivered them. Being the baby of the family, he got the most flack but could get away with anything. Turner, the oldest, was the practical one. He’d gone off to college at LSU on a baseball scholarship, then was picked up by a major league team. However, he chose to come back home and work on a doctorate degree. Their parents were very proud of him despite loving the idea of one of their boys joining the big leagues. I think they were actually holding out hope for Wrigley. Scouts had their eye on him, and it was his last year in school. Camden was the serious brother, the one that took on the role of family protector. During dinner I listened to him grill his brothers on the things going on in their lives, letting them know that he’d be there if they needed it. Always my broody man. Dodger’s personality was easygoing. He was the most passive of the four of them, but I knew from the Halloween party that he had a strong side that didn’t take shit. He was like the quiet storm that brewed out at sea. I could easily see how someone like Dodger was good for Macie. He let her get away with things when necessary, but reeled her in when she needed to be caught. I loved all of their individual personalities, and yet they somehow were all the same, because they were the product of their parents. Parents who looked on with pride while we ate. This was a family who was close and supported each other no matter the battles. I envied them.

“Ready to get your asses whooped?” Dodger stood up from the table and pulled out Macie’s chair.

I had been slightly shocked that their parents weren’t offended by some of the things that their boys talked about, but I realized that not a lot really bothered them.

Turner barked a boisterous laugh. “In your dreams Wild Thing.”

I leaned into Camden who was grinning from ear to ear. “Wild Thing?”

“Yeah, Dodger here, thinks that he has the best pitch in the family. Except he can’t get it over home plate for shit. He started calling himself Wild Thing after Charlie Sheen’s character in the movie,
Major League
. He even has some of those black frame glasses around here somewhere,” he replied.

“My pitch is awesome, you fuckers. Keegan, you can be on my team, that way you know what
winning
feels like.”

Camden shook his head. “She goes to bed with
me
every night, so I’m pretty sure she already knows what winning feels like.”

“Camden!” I scolded. Could he embarrass me any more today?

Paul chuckled when Camden shrugged. “No worries honey, we all know Cam’s all bark.”

Oh boy they had no idea there was certainly more than a bite that went along with his bark. He looked down at me, confirming that he was reading my mind. Winking at me, he got up as well. “We’ll divide the teams when we get to the field. Let’s go.”

I started picking up my plate to take it into the kitchen when Donna put her hand on my forearm and said, “Don’t worry about that, we always clean up after we play.”

I smiled at her and set it back down. Out in their garage were two golf carts and a couple bat bags sitting next to them. We all loaded up, Paul driving one cart, and Turner driving the other. Sarah sat on Dodger’s lap since there wasn’t enough room for all nine of us to ride over there. I was sure she was thrilled. We went about two blocks over and stopped at a baseball field that was well maintained but looked like it wasn’t used often.

Camden spoke into my ear. “My parents bought this acreage when I was a kid because they wanted a place that they could take us to practice and not worry about us slamming any balls into the neighbor’s windows. They made it into a baseball field and opened it up to anybody that wanted to come use it. We still come out here after every family dinner and play. It’s been our tradition for over fifteen years now.”

Unloading, we all stood near the fence that ran along the catcher’s position. “Alright time to choose teams.” Turner was taking charge. “I’ve got Mom, Dad, Keegan, and Macie. So Cam that leaves you with Wrigley, Dodger, and Sarah.”

“Sounds fair.” He nodded.

“Y’all can bat first. Macie, how’s your arm?”

“Honestly, I kind of suck at throwing balls.”

He smirked. “I’m sure you’re better playing with them.”

She laughed, but I heard Dodger growl. “Watch it asshole, or Wild Thing might peg you in the face with a fastball.”

“Alright, play nice boys, and Turner cut it out with the wisecracks,” Donna chided.

“Sorry Mom,” he said. “Okay since Macie can’t pitch, how about you Keegan, can you toss a ball? You don’t have to do anything crazy, just underhanded softball pitching.”

I had no idea whether I could or not, but I shrugged and said, “Sure, I can try.”

“Good girl,” he praised, which made me think about Camden saying the same thing to me in the bedroom. My face reddened, but thankfully nobody noticed. “Macie you go stand between second and third base. I’ll take the spot between first and second. Mom, you and Dad go in the outfield. Everyone good?”

We all nodded and went to our prospective positions. Everyone else was off to the side waiting for their turn to bat, while Sarah was up first. Dodger helped place her feet the correct way and put her hands on the bat where they should be. He nodded at me when she was ready. I stepped in a little closer to go easy on her. First toss, she swung and missed. We all clapped and told her to keep trying and to keep her eye on the ball. Her second swing she clipped the ball, but it was a strike. The next one I threw was way off its mark. She laughed at me, and it warmed me that she was having such a good time. Dodger stayed close to her and was coaching her when to swing. My fourth pitch, she swung and hit the ball. It went rolling on the ground, and Macie took off after it. Sarah ran to first base, and we all slowed down to let her get to the base. Dodger whooped and cheered for her. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a bigger smile on her face. Next up was Wrigley. He wound his arm around while holding the bat, warming up his arm.

“Don’t worry pretty girl, I won’t hit it too hard,” he taunted.

“I’m sure you don’t,” I dished. I heard Donna laughing in the outfield, and I saw Camden shaking his head.

“Just hit the fucking ball asshole,” Camden yelled.

I tossed my first pitch, and he swung and missed. Granted it wasn’t the best throw, but I think Wrigley had planned on swinging at everything I threw his way. The second ball, he hit, and it went sailing past my head and out toward Turner. Sarah took off running at Dodger’s command, and she made it to third base before she stopped. Wrigley made it to first base, and he looked all too pleased with himself.

Camden was up next. When he walked up to the plate, his baseball cap shadowed his eyes, and I took my time to shake my shoulders out. When he brought his face up, and our eyes connected, I swallowed hard.
Holy shit… keep it together Keegan, he’s trying to intimidate you.
He nodded at me, letting me know that he was ready. Why did I love his serious face so much? I brought my arm back and underhanded the first pitch. It went wide, and Camden let his bat fall to his side as he went to get the ball. Tossing it back to me he smirked. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. Fine, two can play at this game. Everyone else was chanting, “Here batter, batter,” over and over, not paying attention to the tension that Camden and I had going on between the two of us. I kicked my feet back and forth on the dirt and held the ball up to my face. I licked my lips, knowing that he could see it, and gave my hips a little wiggle. His eyes narrowed at the movement. Throwing the second ball, he swung and missed.

“Come on Cam!” Wrigley yelled. “This isn’t fuckin’ tee-ball, let’s go.”

Camden flipped him the bird and repositioned himself. “One more time, Blue. Give it to me good.”

Oh I’ll give it to you.
He already had two strikes, and I was pretty confident I could get him to swing and miss a third time. His deep chocolate eyes were silently challenging me, testing me to see if I’d waver. I gave him another pitch. If a ball could move in slow motion, I swear this one did. I watched as it went straight toward home plate, Camden was focused as he brought the bat around and took a swing. The ball never connected with the wood, and I let out a “whoop.”