Page 92 of Switch Pitching

“Oh, really?” There’s a stop in traffic, so Sofia turns to fix me with a disbelieving expression. “What about Luke? Your gay friend who had to deal with you getting drunk and cuddling him and kissing his forehead and fake proposing to him throughout high school?”

“That was just me being affectionate!”

Glancing back, I see Ethan cowering behind his hands, trying to contain his laughter. The second I make eye contact with him, he loses it and barks out a startling laugh at a volume I’ve never heard coming from him before. His borderline cackling is infectious, and Sofia starts up, too.

I’m so happy that my sister and boyfriend can both find humor in my rare moments of social unawareness. Yay.

“Oh my god, James, you’re an idiot,” Sofia says through giggles, huddling over her steering wheel. “The poor guy obviously had a massive crush on you until grade ten. Every time he’d come over and you’d pull one of your flirty jokes, it looked like he was in pain.”

“Well, shit. I should apologize to him or something,” I mutter.

“It’s not that deep, bro. He’s definitely moved on—” Sofia cuts her sentence short and swerves the car into an opening in traffic, punching the gas and lurching us forward into an express lane. She speeds up to normal highway speeds and sighs in frustration.

“When we get home, remind me to sell my car.”

After way too much time stuck in even more traffic, Sofia pulls up to our parents’ house, a sensible brick building with a finely manicured lawn. It’s classic Rosedale, but not over the top like the place Ethan and I have back in Boston. It’s still a lot, though.

“Welcome to the Hernandez house,” I say to Ethan as we slide out of the car.

Ethan nods, but I can tell he’s taking it all in. “Damn, this is where you grew up?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit much.” What else can I say? It’s Rosedale.

We all head inside, and the moment we walk through the door, Mom’s already rushing over to hug me. “James! It’s so wonderful to have you home!”

I hug her back. “I’m happy to be back.”

Mom pulls away and smiles up at me, then turns her attention to Ethan. “And you must be Ethan! It’s so fantastic to finally meet you! I’m James’s mom if that wasn’t obvious, and you can call me Maria.”

Mom proceeds to wrap Ethan in a massive hug before he can finish saying “nice to meet you, too”.

“Right,” I say to Ethan. “We’re a family of huggers. Guess I should have mentioned that.”

“All good,” assures Ethan as Mom unwraps herself and ushers us all inside.

We head into the dining room where Dad’s lounging at the head of the table with his tablet reading the news or something. He glances up and grins. “There he is! And you brought your partner in crime. Hey, Ethan! I’m Mark, nice to meet you.”

“Thanks for having me,” Ethan says, still looking like he’s trying to get used to the house.

Dad pipes up. “So, Ethan, James tells us you’re from Maine?”

Ethan nods. “Yeah, a small town called Machias. It’s way off the beaten path. The two of us visited over American Thanksgiving.”

My mom’s eyes light up. “Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m so glad you got to go up and see your folks.”

“Yeah, it was good. It was the first time I went back in a while.” Ethan looks briefly at me as he finishes his sentence. I can tell he isn’t going to elaborate on his family situation, and I don’t blame him.

“Great! Dinner will be in a bit, but first, I’m sure we have a ton of questions for Ethan!”

Sofia jumps in. “I handled it. He’s clear.”

He’s clear? What is this, a spy movie?

Mom and Dad seem to have the same questions as I do. “You cleared him? What does that mean?” asks Dad.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Just wanted to make sure he has good intentions with my baby brother.”

“I’m a year and a half younger than you. I’m not a baby.”

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