Page 60 of Fate in Motion
“If I’m being honest,” I say, “I agree. I’ve been to places with him where he’s introduced me as his friend. But seriously, it’s still so early, and he just came out to his team. I'm pretty confident he will be fine.”
Debi smiles. “I think so too. I might have a little talk with him tomorrow, just to say my piece.”
I chuckle. “Are you planning a party or something?”
She grins. “Not a party. But since it’s a night game, Carter’s heading to the stadium around four. I thought it’d be fun to have a barbecue at one in the afternoon, with just our family.”
She pauses, then adds with a mischievous look in her eye, “And I may have secretly invited his old teammates: Roman Phillips and Spencer Daniels.”
My eyes go wide with shock. “Wait, they’re both on Boston! I totally forgot. They’re incredible!”
“I know,” she says proudly. “And Carter was so close to them when he played for Boston.”
“He's randomly brought them up in the past, but I have no idea if they still talk regularly,” I say.
She shrugs. “I think it’s one of those friendships where you might not talk a lot, but when you see each other, it’s like no time has passed.”
I nod, impressed. But a part of me is nervous. “Don’t say anything,” she adds. “I didn’t tell Carter. Let’s keep it a surprise.”
I try to smile, but inside, I’m freaking out a little. She finishes scrubbing the meat residue off the large metal pot, and I excuse myself to the living room with my fingers crossed. I hate lying, but I have to tell Carter. I’m going to be there, and if they look at me, then look at him, they’re definitely going to ask, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’
Maybe I can say I’m Dustin’s best friend? I mean, they’re football players. They won’t be smart enough to connect the dots. At least that’s what I hope.
I walk into the living room. Carter sees me and immediately reaches for my hand. “Help me up.”
I smirk. “Can’t get up on your own?”
“I’m tired and lazy,” he mutters. “Let’s go upstairs. It’s almost ten.”
Scott glances over. “And I thought I was old.”
We both laugh, and I say, “You’re not wrong. I’m not fully functional past 10 p.m. I definitely need to crash, especially with the barbecue tomorrow.”
Carter pauses. “What barbecue?”
I glance at Scott, then back at Carter. “We’ll talk upstairs.”
Scott hugs us goodnight. “You guys can crash in Carter’s old room. We left it untouched.” Then he smirks. “I hope I can trust you’ll behave. Don’t make us separate you two tonight.”
I freeze. “You’ve got my word,” I say, mortified.
As I walk ahead, Carter taps my ass lightly, clearly in full view of Scott, who just shakes his head and laughs.
We pass by his brothers’ room, where they’re locked into an Xbox game, then slip into Carter’s old bedroom. We sit on his queen-size bed, which barely fits two grown men, and I look around with curiosity.
I sarcastically say, “Wow…cute room. I love the yellow walls, the blue-and-white checkered comforter…and the half-naked women posters everywhere.”
Carter grins. “What did you expect? I was a straight teenage boy, at one point.”
I chuckle. “Sure you were.”
He lies back, hands behind his head. “So my love, what’s this barbecue?”
I bite my lip. “I’m supposed to keep this a secret. And by the way, your mom is hilarious, but also sneaky.”
“Don’t get sidetracked,” he says. “Spill.”
“Okay, fine. Your family’s having a barbecue. Your mom invited your old teammates, Spencer Daniels and Roman Phillips.”
