The One

Too Fast?

The next day the Underwood family had a BBQ. I got to meet Carrie's older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie along with their husbands and kids. We relaxed in their backyard and enjoyed the warm weather.

Carrie and her sisters sat around the porch and were catching up. While I was with the guys by the grill, making some hot dogs and burgers. We had a couple of drinks and discussed about sports.

I felt a little tap on my shoulder and I quickly turned around from my chair. "Max, what's up bud?" A smile escaped my lips as I looked down at Carrie's nephew.

The little boy's smile grew big, showing off his pearly whites. "My older brother and my dad don't want to play with me." He paused and shuffled his feet on the dirt. "Can you play with me?"

"Absolutely!" The sound of my voice was gleeful. I stood up from my seat and placed my beer on the ground.

"Aunt Carrie says you play Hockey. But is it okay if we play Football." He smiled and held out the small Football. "Do you know how to play Football, since you're from Canada."

I let out a small chuckle. "Of course I know how to play Football." I grabbed the ball from his hand and we ran down the fields.

Max and I threw the ball back and forth, for about twenty minutes. And after that, we just played tag and ran around the green fields.

"I'm gonna tackle you, Mike." He ran towards me and threw his hands up in the air. "I have super duper strength."

And within that instant, he tackled my legs and I threw my body against the ground. His laughter filled my ears as he crawled on top of my stomach. Max began to throw soft punches on my chest. "Man, for a little guy, you are strong." I laughed and quickly flipped him over.

I stood up and threw him over my shoulder and spun him around in circles. Carrie and her sisters had smiles on their faces and laughed as they watched us play.

"That was fun!" Max yelled as I put him down on the ground. "Mike, you are the coolest." He said and brought his hand up.

I brought myself down on my knees and gave him a high five. "You're a pretty cool dude, Max." We both smiled as I patted his blonde hair.

He put his arm around my shoulder. "You be nice to my aunt, I don't want her to be sad anymore." Max softly said. I pulled him onto my lap as we sat on the grass. "I don't like it when guys break her heart." He said and placed his hand over his chest.

"Well, I'm not going to break her heart like those other stupid boys." Max laughed as I mentioned the word stupid. "And I promise you, I'll do my best to make her happy, okay."

"You better! Or else I'll beat you up!" He said and brought up his two fist.

"Alright, alright." I threw my hands up in defeat. "Look at us, we look like dust monkeys."

"Ahaha! Dust Monkeys!" He threw his head back in laughter. "You're funny Mike."

•••

Later on in the day, I got myself in a scary situation. Carrie, Stephen, and her brother-in-laws went to the store to buy some wood for the fire pit. Which left me alone with her mother and sisters. The interrogation begins.

"Carrie is our little sister." Shanna began and crossed her arms. "And we want her to be happy."

"She dated a couple jerks in the past." Stephanie added.

"We just want to make sure that you aren't like the other guys that she's dated." Shanna half smiled at Mike. "She's fallen head over heels for yah. And there's no denying that."