it out. This is exactly why you’ll never have a girlfriend.”
Carlos grabs me around the waist. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Fiona and I look good together, don’t you think?” His arm slides down a little. “Wow, you’re toned, chica.”
I grit my teeth. Usually I savor every touch I get, but there’s something I don’t like about his. “Please don’t make me kick you in the balls.”
“Aww, don’t be li—” A soccer ball smacks Carlos right in the head, and he loosens his grip enough for me to get away.
Hector, Seth, and Bea’s other brothers are practically rolling on the grass in a fit of laughter. Bea and Brady join in, and even I can’t keep the smile off my face. That was some good aim and seriously perfect timing.
Carlos grabs the ball. “Okay, who ruined my moment?”
Without a hint of apology, Seth raises his hand. “Keep your hands off her. She’s nervous enough without you mauling her.”
Maybe I don’t mind his jerkiness as much when it’s used for my protection.
“You’ll pay for that!” Carlos drop-kicks the ball at them, and then charges. They pile on him, wrestling in a brotherly display of affection.
Bea sighs. “Boys.”
“Yeah. We suck.” Brady smiles, which is when I realize he’s not over there with them. He can’t be—he’d smash them all to bits. I ache for him, knowing how much it sucks to be on the outside even among powerful people.
“At least we’re in agreement.” Bea points out her other brothers, José and Antonio, who I’m told won’t answer if I call them that. It’s Joey and Tony, and they have a perfect sense of direction and the ability to “speak in tongues,” respectively. Very handy skills. They’re both in college, but they always drive home for the weekend family stuff. Then Bea introduces me to her parents, who seem too nice to be real.
“You’d better eat four burgers,” her dad says. “You’re too thin; I can hardly see you.”
“Alejandro, save your jokes. Start her out easy; tell her about your glory days in the National Soccer League instead.” Her mother, Rosa, turns to me. “He was one of the best in the Gifted Division.”
So that’s how he paid off Juan.
He nods. “Excellent idea.”
And with that, her dad regales us with tales from his more athletic days. Apparently he made the National Gifted Team because of his extralight body tissue and resulting speed. The year before the Olympics, he took a cleat to the knee and hasn’t been able to run the same since. “That’s when we moved here, and I started working for John as his second-in-command.”
“My dad,” Brady whispers to me. “Runs a construction company.”
“Oh. He doesn’t come to these?”
Brady’s Adam’s apple bobs. His hesitation tells me I’ve crossed into forbidden territory.
“Okay, boys!” Bea’s dad waves the spatula. “Come and get your buns ready!”
Bea hangs her head. “I forgot how embarrassing it is to bring people over here.”
“Don’t be embarrassed; your family’s cool. Minus Carlos.” I leave out the part where I’d kill to have a family this close to normal. This happy.
She laughs. “Don’t you want to spit on him?”
“Fiona can spit on me as much as she wants.” Carlos sits next to me. “Anywhere she wants.”
Almost everyone at the table smacks him across the head. His mother glares at him. “You are going to confession twice next week.”
His shoulders slump. “Fine.”
“You count those stupid comments up, Fiona,” Joey says through his food. I can tell he’s just what an older brother should be. “Give me the numbers each week, and I’ll make sure he pays for them.”
“You say that as if you expect there will be a lot,” I say.
“Because there will be,” Hector says. “Carlos practically has a degree in douchebaggery.”
Carlos straightens proudly. “I could be a professor of douchebaggery. Fiona can be my teacher’s aid.”
Tony, who hasn’t said a
Carlos grabs me around the waist. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Fiona and I look good together, don’t you think?” His arm slides down a little. “Wow, you’re toned, chica.”
I grit my teeth. Usually I savor every touch I get, but there’s something I don’t like about his. “Please don’t make me kick you in the balls.”
“Aww, don’t be li—” A soccer ball smacks Carlos right in the head, and he loosens his grip enough for me to get away.
Hector, Seth, and Bea’s other brothers are practically rolling on the grass in a fit of laughter. Bea and Brady join in, and even I can’t keep the smile off my face. That was some good aim and seriously perfect timing.
Carlos grabs the ball. “Okay, who ruined my moment?”
Without a hint of apology, Seth raises his hand. “Keep your hands off her. She’s nervous enough without you mauling her.”
Maybe I don’t mind his jerkiness as much when it’s used for my protection.
“You’ll pay for that!” Carlos drop-kicks the ball at them, and then charges. They pile on him, wrestling in a brotherly display of affection.
Bea sighs. “Boys.”
“Yeah. We suck.” Brady smiles, which is when I realize he’s not over there with them. He can’t be—he’d smash them all to bits. I ache for him, knowing how much it sucks to be on the outside even among powerful people.
“At least we’re in agreement.” Bea points out her other brothers, José and Antonio, who I’m told won’t answer if I call them that. It’s Joey and Tony, and they have a perfect sense of direction and the ability to “speak in tongues,” respectively. Very handy skills. They’re both in college, but they always drive home for the weekend family stuff. Then Bea introduces me to her parents, who seem too nice to be real.
“You’d better eat four burgers,” her dad says. “You’re too thin; I can hardly see you.”
“Alejandro, save your jokes. Start her out easy; tell her about your glory days in the National Soccer League instead.” Her mother, Rosa, turns to me. “He was one of the best in the Gifted Division.”
So that’s how he paid off Juan.
He nods. “Excellent idea.”
And with that, her dad regales us with tales from his more athletic days. Apparently he made the National Gifted Team because of his extralight body tissue and resulting speed. The year before the Olympics, he took a cleat to the knee and hasn’t been able to run the same since. “That’s when we moved here, and I started working for John as his second-in-command.”
“My dad,” Brady whispers to me. “Runs a construction company.”
“Oh. He doesn’t come to these?”
Brady’s Adam’s apple bobs. His hesitation tells me I’ve crossed into forbidden territory.
“Okay, boys!” Bea’s dad waves the spatula. “Come and get your buns ready!”
Bea hangs her head. “I forgot how embarrassing it is to bring people over here.”
“Don’t be embarrassed; your family’s cool. Minus Carlos.” I leave out the part where I’d kill to have a family this close to normal. This happy.
She laughs. “Don’t you want to spit on him?”
“Fiona can spit on me as much as she wants.” Carlos sits next to me. “Anywhere she wants.”
Almost everyone at the table smacks him across the head. His mother glares at him. “You are going to confession twice next week.”
His shoulders slump. “Fine.”
“You count those stupid comments up, Fiona,” Joey says through his food. I can tell he’s just what an older brother should be. “Give me the numbers each week, and I’ll make sure he pays for them.”
“You say that as if you expect there will be a lot,” I say.
“Because there will be,” Hector says. “Carlos practically has a degree in douchebaggery.”
Carlos straightens proudly. “I could be a professor of douchebaggery. Fiona can be my teacher’s aid.”
Tony, who hasn’t said a
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