Page 17 of Brick Wall
“Your brother knows that taking a marriage name is optional, right? It’s not a shoo-in even if it happened.”
“I know. They are dreamers, though. Would you be upset if your wife or family didn’t take your last name?” I question, not that this would ever apply to me, but a girl can make polite conversation.
“No, but I have two sisters, so the Goodick name would end with me. I guess it’s not that big of a deal, but it would be nice to see Goodick last.”
“Can’t argue with that. Goodick should always exist,” I can’t help but say with a laugh.
“Amen,” he says, bumping his fist with mine.
At least we agree on something.
Chapter Eight
Sebastian
The week has moved in a fast blur, and before I know it, I’m back pulling into that gravel parking lot. I only got lost once this time. Fine, twice.
And once again, Ryan is standing in that open parking lot with a giant wave and a smile. There are about a dozen cars, mostly smaller ones, and my oversized pickup stands out like a sore thumb.
It’s Sunday again, but tomorrow is the first official day of camp.
“Welcome to Camp Moore Fun!” Ryan excitedly says.
“Nobody calls it that, and I told you we are not changing the name to that,” Tristan grumpily says, following behind Ryan.
Tristan turns to me and shakes my hand. “Good to see you again.”
We move into the big brown building for more introductions of fellow coaches and other staff members. It’s an uneventful morning of meetings and expectations for theweek. It was technically optional for me as a pro athlete. I could have just shown up tomorrow ready to coach, but I didn’t want to miss pertinent information.
I’m a team player, which is why I’ll be staying at the camp this week as well. I won’t really be on camp counselor duty, but I’ll be around for questions or emergencies if needed. It also saved me the hour drive each way every day. I don’t mind driving too much, but it’s easier to stay put and focus my energy on the camp for the week. I also brought my laptop so I can work from here if there’s a good enough signal.
At the end of lunch, Ryan announces with glee that he has an amazing team builder planned, and he expects full participation.
My eyes wander over to the door, where I notice Annie for the first time today. Her shiny brown hair is tied up in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a simple white tank top and a pair of athletic shorts that show off her tall, fine legs. She turns around, and yep, it also shows her fine ass as well.
Shit. I need to stop staring at her. I don’t know what it is about this particular woman that makes me not want to look away.
Annie rolls her eyes at something Ryan says that I completely missed, but I’m assuming it has something to do with the impending team builder.
I totally missed the fact that Annie, Tristan, and Ryan are siblings. Moore is a common last name, and I only heard Annie’s last name once in passing, so I never made the connection. Now that I see them together, though, I can tell. They are all extremely tall, Annie being the only sibling shorter than me and I’m six five.
“All right!” Ryan says to everyone with high energy. I’m soglad that the other Moore siblings are more laid-back. I don’t think I could handle three people that match Ryan’s energy. “Let’s meet on the sand in five minutes! We’ll divide into two teams.”
“Two teams for what?” I say cluelessly to the young guy next to me.
“Dodgeball,” he says, but there’s a silentduhin his words.
We all slowly make our way outside near the water. I see a line drawn in the sand to mark boundaries near the water and the big brown building. The dodgeball court is quite large, taking up most of the beach frontage.
“Okay, this is a friendly game of dodgeball,” Tristan says while looking over at his two siblings. “Ryan and I will be the captains and pick our teams.”
Without saying a word, both Ryan and Tristan silently start a game of rock, paper, scissors. Tristan wins, but it quickly goes into another round, and Ryan wins the next two. Ryan fist-bumps after his victory. “Sebastian, you’re my first member on Team Moore Wins.”
“What a dumb name,” Tristan mutters. I have to agree with him on that one, considering they share the same last name.
Tristan picks the guy that I met but couldn’t tell you his name or anything about him, minus that he’s probably an athlete or a former one.
“Annie!” Ryan says with glee, and Annie makes her way over to me and fist-bumps both of us in a team greeting. “We are going to have the best team!”
