Page 81 of Summer Love

"I know so."

"I want her to be happy," he said before shooting again.

The ball swished in the basket, and I passed it to him. "She's happy with you guys."

"Yeah, but I think she needs more than just work and us kids."

"You think a boyfriend would be good for her?" I asked.

"Not someone like the last one. He didn't like us and didn't want us around when they went out. But maybe someone like you, who's nice." He flashed me a smile.

"Yeah, your mom deserves that. I think she'll find someone that's good for all of you." I hoped it would happen for her. I didn't like giving him false hope, and no one could predict the future.

"It would be cool to have a dad, you know? Like a real one."

"For now you're stuck with me, and I'm not going anywhere." Instead of passing him the ball, I took a shot, and it bounced off the rim.

He chased after the ball. "And you're awful at basketball."

"Take that back!" I called after him.

He grabbed the ball and brought it back. "One-on-one?"

I nodded. "Whoever loses has to do burpees."

His face screwed up. "Ugh. Those are the worst."

"Then you'd better win." I crouched into a defensive position as he tucked the ball into his side. He took off dribbling to the right, then behind his back to the left. I kept up with him, holding up my hand to block a possible shot. He fake pumped and moved past me for the easy layup.

"Yes!" Shane cheered.

I high-fived him. "Great move."

We played one-on-one until we were both out of breath and sweaty. Then I handed him the Gatorade I'd brought for him.

He drank deeply, then set the bottle aside. "What do you think about the drums?"

I raised a brow, wondering what he was getting at. "They're loud."

"I'd like to try them. It seems like a cool thing to do." He seemed reluctant to admit that to me.

"Do you have band in school?" I asked, trying to remember when we were offered instruments to play.

"I don't want to do that. They learn bells and other stuff. I want to learn how to play a drum set." He demonstrated hitting various drums and a cymbal.

I nodded. "I gather that a drum set is cooler?"

His nose scrunched. "Yeah, I don't want to be a band nerd."

"You know most bands have a drummer, right?" I asked him, amused by his reaction.

"I'm not talking about a famous band. I don't want to be in the school band."

"Oh, right. It's not cool."

He nodded seriously. "Yeah, they're dorks."

"Let's not call people names. What do you need to start?"

---