Page 16 of Love at a 7-Eleven

"Is he an athlete Lila? A football player? I knew it! I've always seen you with a football player. How romantic! Your dad and brothers would be so excited. Wait, would they? Do they know him?"

"No, they don't… and he's not a football player."

"Who is he?"

"I can't tell you. Especially with how he's acting. What if he's with somebody? I shouldn't name names."

"Would I know him even if you did? Is he famous?"

"A little."

She shrieked. She was so excited.

"I don't know if you would know him or not," I said honestly.

"He's a football player, I know it! I bet he wasn't conflicted about another woman. He was probably conflicted about your dad. It would be a challenge for a football player to have Eddie Decker for a father-in-law."

I laughed at how certain she seemed. "You're funny. He's not a football player."

"Baseball? Of course. Your brother. Is he someone who played with EJ?"

"No."

There was a short pause and then she let out a long breath. "You're not going to tell me who he is, are you?"

"No," I admitted. "It's still so uncertain and new. I just wanted someone to be prematurely excited with me."

"Are you going to see him again?"

"Yes."

I didn't add that I was on my way to see him right then or that I was only one minute away from pulling up at the gym.

"He wants to do another history lesson tonight."

"Seriously? Is he really wanting to learn, or is he working on a slow-burn romance with you?"

"I wish it was that. I don't know. I don't know what he's thinking. I'll have to give you another update after the next lesson or two. We'll see if it amounts to anything."

"Please give me an update, Lila. You know I'm so invested in this. I'm going to text you in a few days. I can't believe you taught him Richard the Lionheart."

"He loved it. He's so smart."

"What does he look like? Give me something!"

"I don't know, kind of the bad boy type, maybe," I said casually, as if I hadn't put any thought into it, which was laughable.

Emma made a swooning noise, and that made me laugh.

We said our goodbyes just as I was pulling into the parking lot at the gym. It was 2pm, and I knew Caleb had made it there before me. He had texted me to let me know that Kevin was chomping at the bit to go.

It took me ten or fifteen minutes to find them once I was inside. My brother's gym was a campus-like facility, similar to the place where the Bears trained. Most of the buildings were connected by corridors, but it was a huge facility with multiple large buildings.

I caught up with the guys in one of the weightlifting rooms. It was Kevin that I first recognized. He was a little kid, so his size caught my eye. Then I saw the rest of them. There were three men with him… Marcus and Caleb, and the third was my brother, EJ. Kevin was standing on a block, looking like he was one of the guys. I smiled at the sight of them. It looked like Caleb noticed me coming and then looked away.

I got a little nervous when he did that.

"Hey, little sister!" EJ said, noticing as I approached. He put his arm out, inviting me into a hug. "Kevin was just talking about ice skating." He looked at Kevin. "I know you're not ready to get your skates on quite yet, but when you are, this is the lady to watch. This is my sister, Lila," he said to them. He glanced at me. "You've met Marcus before, haven't you?"

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