Page 56 of Undeniably Perfect

“What’s that, Nate, honey?” Nana Betty says from the kitchen.

“Nothing, Nana Betty. Just saying how awesome you are,” he calls out with a roll of his eyes.

“That’s what I thought,” she replies, and we all snicker.

“So, you guys ready to bring home the title?” Lyla asks Ward and Kent.

“Fuck yeah,” Ward says. “We are gonna crush ’em, right, Kent?”

Kent nods but he’s rather reserved about answering that tonight.

“Nervous?” I ask him with a bump to the shoulder.

“No, just a little humbler than others.”

I giggle.

Mrs. Moore comes up behind Kent and wraps her arms around him, placing her head on top of his. “They’re ready. They are gonna do great.”

Kent pats his mom’s arm, and I smile at the show of affection between them. “Thanks, Mom.”

She kisses the top of his head. “You’re welcome. Now, who wants cake?”

“Uh, Mom, we haven’t sung yet,” Clark says from the dining room where he sits with his cousins.

“On it,” Lanie pipes up as she runs into the kitchen and has candles in the cake and lit before anyone can protest. Everyone gathers around in the kitchen to sing. Kathy blows out her candles. I laugh at the cake which has a giant rubber duck sitting on it as well as a rubber ducky motif in icing on the cake. Who knew the Moores would have such a thing for rubber duckies?

“Cake?” Kent asks as he hands me a plate.

“Sure,” I answer as I take it from him and grab a fork.

As soon as the cake is served, people start leaving. Eventually, it’s just the Moores and me, again.

“Hot tub time?” Clark asks.

I look at him.

“Hot tub time?” I repeat.

Kent takes me by the arm. “Come on, we all go sit on the edge of the hot tub.”

I follow him out and everyone grabs a seat along the edge, rolling up their pants and taking off their shoes until we are all soaking our feet with little duckies bumping into our legs.

“That was a great party. Thanks, everyone,” Mrs. Moore says as she leans against Mr. Moore. They are like the most ridiculously cute couple ever, even though they look very different. I pause in my thoughts because Kent and I look different, too. It makes me wonder if we could ever be like that.

“Cat got your tongue?” Kent’s voice breaks me out of my inner thoughts.

“Huh?”

Kylie giggles. “What’d you think of the rest of the family?”

I blush. “They’re great. I had a nice time. Thanks for having me.”

Kathy reaches over and pats my hand. “It was a pleasure. You are always welcome in our home, Tabitha. Anytime, OK?”

I nod, feeling more loved than I have in…well, in all of my life. As I sit there surrounded by the Moores, Kent’s arm around me, his mom’s hand on mine, the love is palpable, and it excites me as much as it terrifies me. The thing about love is, that when you don’t have it, you have nothing to lose, but when you do…well, you have everything to lose.

Kent

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