Becoming a Scott

Chapter 7

Half an hour later Christina was being led through the kids daycare and introduced to the care givers and encouraged to play with some of the snot filled kids. "You know, you keep saying that we're visiting Riley's favorite places to go but..."

"But what?" Ander said as he handed one of the lego pieces to the little girl sitting beside him. "See, just place it right there," He instructed to the girl.

"But I find it hard to believe Riley would be caught dead wiping spit off of her hand." She tugged at a marker one of the kids was putting in their mouth, "Don't eat that."

Ander scoffed while he rubbed his hand over his shirt and feigned ignorance. "What do you mean? Every single lego piece, block cabin, and teddy bear is as clean as when they came off the factory line."

Christina wrinkled her nose, "I'm not judging the condition of the toys but don't act as if I'm dumb."

He sat up in the small, purple, fuzzy seat and placed his hands over the kids table. "I would never treat you as if you were dumb." He answered with all the seriousness in the world.

She stared at him, struck dumb by the scene in front of her. One of the wealthiest men on the mainland was sitting across from her in the kids play room and seemed happy to be there. "Right..."

"Fine," he let out a breath, "I can tell this is a bit too edgy for your style so let's move on."

Some moments later the two of them were walking through the rock path just on the outskirt of the tennis courts when a tennis ball flew at them. Christina let out a yell and jumped out of the way as Ander stepped forward to grab it in his hand.

"I've been yelling out your name!" A man yelled from the other side of the fence. "Figured that might grab your attention."

"Consider it grabbed," Ander said in an odd tone before turning towards his friend and allowing the smile to spread on his lips. "Make sure to avoid my face next time, would hate to try to explain away a black eye!"

Christina still stood where she had run off to and didn't really feel like moving. She watched the group of people in the tennis court who had all suddenly turned their attention to Ander and were waiving him over, demanding he play with them. She even spotted Riley's face in the group.

"The tours not over yet!" Ander called to her, pulling Christina from her thoughts.

She stepped up beside him, "We found Riley."

He hummed, tossing the tennis ball up in the air and grabbing it. "Have you ever played tennis before?"

"No, stop stalling."

"Ander! Hurry it up! I want to get a game in before the sun sets!" His friend yelled.

"Have you met William yet?" Ander asked hurriedly.

Christina knitted her brows together, "If William's in need of being humbled just like Irvin was last night then I will pass on any introduction."

He made a pfft noise over his shoulder, "He's a great guy, he'll keep you company while I entertain your cousin." Ander didn't wait for Christina to respond and slowly walked around the court to get past the fence.

Christina sighed but followed, it was time she started shopping around for a potential husband and there was a whole group of them standing at the tennis courts waiting for Ander. By the time she came around they were all gathered around Ander, handing him a glass of lemonade and shoving him towards the tennis court.

He leaned closer to one of the men, a tall one with a shaved head and a firm jaw, and spoke in a low tone before nodding his head to Christina. The bald man squinted his eyes over towards her and responded back to Ander as he was pulled out into the court.

"Sorry to pull him away from you like that." The tall man spoke as he jogged over to her. "He tends to be in high demand."

Christina looked up at him, accidentally noticing just how handsome he was. The man was sweaty and out of breath, but he was all lean muscle and strength. "It's okay, he's just returned from abroad so it's expected."

The man let out a breath of laughter, "I've just returned home too and I don't find people vying for my attention. Not that I'm jealous of it though, I'd rather be unpopular than be a self-indulged character like Ander is."

"Those are some blunt words." Christina smiled.

"He's been my friend for years, I've only ever insulted him out of love." The man turned his head to watch the tennis match. "So, Christina, I've already heard so much and I haven't even met you yet."

"Why do you sat that?" She tensed, wondering if Ander had mentioned something about her.

"You were all anyone could talk about last night. Everyone was speculating, sharing what little they knew. Nothing bad, obviously, just trying to get to know the newest Scott." He sighed, "I'm William, by the way."

Christina nodded while watching Ander swing the racket and score a point; he let out a yell of victory. "Ander knew better than introduce the two of us." 

"Oh?" He raised a brow, "Why would that be?"

"Huh?" Christina turned back to William. "Yesterday, he introduced me to someone called Irvin and I told him I didn't really like... how he did it."

William smiled in thought, "Irvin? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. Ever since you were announced as the receiver of the scholarship he's been going around telling anyone who would listen that he knew you. Irvin even promised to introduce some of our peers to you. And, well I guess Ander couldn't help but try to make a fool out of him."

"And me," Christina mumbled just at the moment that Ander had failed to hit the tennis ball. He huffed and pointed a finger at his opponent, "Jerald! I might as well be playing with my grandmother!"

Jerald laughed, "You're much better at striking insults than tennis balls!"

Christina smiled, when she realized Ander didn't want to respond and decided instead to continue on with the game.

"If we stick around any longer you might loose your sense of hearing." William spoke up from beside her.

"Ha! I already did on the ride over here." She laughed, "My cousins were arguing and I was stuck in between them."

Willaim cringed, "I've seen Riley and Michael fight before... I'm surprised you didn't jump out of the car. But, I didn't realize Michael was here. Do you know where he is?"

She shook her head, "He's hungover," was the only explanation she could offer. From across the court Jerald let out an angry stream of curse words causing Ander to bend over in laughter, clutching at his stomach.

William let out a sigh, "A drink sounds like a good idea at this time, what do you say Christina?"

"That sounds amazing."