b r y c e *
"Bryce!" I hear a voice call out my name and turn around to find my brother's best friend, and my teammate, Preston coming towards me. Preston and my brother, Elliot, are a year older than me and we're all on the baseball team.
"Eli told me to tell you to come to the car directly after school because you guys are taking me home to get my stuff and then I'm spending the night with you all because of how early we have to leave for the game tomorrow," Preston says when he reaches me.
"Okay, hey what time do we have to leave?" I ask him.
"We have to be here by 7:30...I think Eli wants to get breakfast though so I think we're leaving your house at 6:00."
I groan. "I am not a morning person! I will be grumpy!"
Preston laughs and smiles at me.
After school, I do as I'm told and go straight to Eli's car. Speaking of straight, I'm not. Also, they told me to be here right after school and I'm here before they are!
"Brycey!" Eli calls as he walks towards me. "Hey, real quick before Pres gets here, I think he wants to talk to you about something later."
"Did he say what it was?" I ask my older brother.
"No, I don't think he mentioned it,"
I have the sneaking suspicion my brother is lying to me, but if it's that important that I can't know about it beforehand, I'm cool with it. My phone buzzes and I pull my phone out of my pocket. It's a text from my best friend and Preston's cousin, Bailey, who lives on a farm.
bailes🐣🤠🌾- you left so fast I didn't get to wish you good luck about the game tomorrow
me- I'm sorry :( my brother told me to be at the car directly after school and when I got there he wasn't even here
me- we have to take Preston to get his stuff so he can stay the night since we're leaving so early tomorrow
bailes🐣🤠🌾- 😶
me- what?
me- BAILEY WHAT
me- WHAT DO YOU KNOW
bailes🐣🤠🌾-🤫😉😙 I know very little but I know some stuff anyways good luck tomorrow!
We sit in the driveway while Preston goes in to get his stuff. I look up to find that Eli is staring at me in the rearview mirror.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"Nothing...just...yeah," he says.
"Why is everyone acting like this? Like they know something I don't?!"
"Probably because we do,"
I groan as Preston walks out of the house with his bags, but I didn't groan because of Preston, but because of how everyone is acting.
Mom, Dad, and my little sister, Victoria, act the same as everyone else during dinner--suspicious: that's suspicious.
"How was the math test today, Bryce?" Eli asks me.
I look up with a grimace. "I don't think it went that well," I admit. "I studied, I really did, but I just can't seem to grasp the concept and when I think I might be starting to understand it, even just a little, we move on."
I indistinctly see Eli elbow Preston out of the corner of my eye. Preston looks up. "I can help you if you want me too,"
"I don't know if you'd want to volunteer for that, Preston," Dad says darkly. "It doesn't always go well...he gets so frustrated he either screams and throws things or he screams and cries,"
I blush. "Okay, I only threw something one time,"
"Once?" Eli asks pointedly.
"Okay, maybe like four times..."
"I think I could try," Preston says. "I'm really good at math, so I could give it a shot,"
"Okay, but that's your funeral you're planning," Ria says, earning a laugh from Mom, a smile from Dad and Preston, and a high-five from Eli.
I look up with my jaw dropped. "I'm not that bad."
"Yes, you are," everyone except for Preston says and I blush again.
After dinner, I go back upstairs to pack up my bags for tomorrow when there's a soft knock on my door.
"You can come in," I say through the door, knowing it's Preston because no one in this family knocks. Ever. The door opens and Preston pops his head in.
"Have a minute?" He asks me.
I nod. "Yeah, come in,"
He comes in, shutting the door behind him and sitting on the edge of my bed.
"What's up?" I ask him.
"Can you come over here?" He asks me. He seems a bit nervous.
"Yeah, sure...is everything okay? Oh my gosh, no one died, did they?"
"No, no one's dead--I mean, lots of people are dead, but no one has died." Yep, he's nervous.
"I just wanted to talk..." he says, looking at me.
"About what?" I ask, starting to feel nervous myself.
"I...." he trails off and looks at me. "I'll be right back,"
He gets off the bed and walks out of the room. I hear him go into Eli's room.
"Did you tell him?" I hear my brother's voice say.
"No, I..." I hear Preston start, but the rest is unintelligible.
Okay, well that was weird. I get off the bed and go back to my packing. Around twenty minutes later, I go to walk out of my room but Preston is standing there getting ready to walk in and grabs my face and presses his lips to mine, walking in my room and shutting the door. I stiffen at the sudden movement and show of emotion. He pulls away and then walks out of the room.
"Preston--!" I call after him, but he goes into Eli's bedroom, slamming the door behind him. I touch my lips, still feeling the presence of his lips against mine, and I'm finally forced to admit, something I've been refusing to admit for eight years, that I like Preston. I sit down on my bed and sigh. What a tangled web we've weaved.
It's 10:30 when Preston knocks on my door again, coming into my room for the third time tonight. When he walks in, I'm standing by my dresser trying to think if there's anything else I need.
"I'm sorry, I--" he begins, but I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. This time, it's his turn to stiffen as I kiss him. He starts to kiss me back after a few seconds and puts his hands on my waist. His lips are soft, and press against mine slowly. I tug him closer to me, wanting to be in his arms and feel his body against mine. I relish the feeling of his lips against mine as I try to tug him closer and closer to me. When he breaks the kiss, we're still so close our noses are bumping against each other and if he moved a half-inch closer, his lips would be pressed against mine again. It's silent for a few seconds, but I break it.
"Look, Pres, I like you, I do, but my brother..." I say, trailing off and hoping he'll get the gist.
"He knows, Bry," Preston whispers, cupping my face and kissing my lips again. "I told him. I told your parents. I even told Bailey." That explains everyone's behavior.
"I came out to my parents for you, Bry." Preston continues. "I came out to them for you, because I want you. I want you so bad, Bry. I've never wanted something or someone so bad. But they know, my parents and your family, and they accept it."
I look at Preston and close my eyes, laying my head on his shoulder for a brief second before lifting my head again.
I nod at him. "Okay..." I say softly, my voice and my face both breaking into a smile. "Okay, yes, I-yes,"
He leans in and kisses me again, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off the floor.
Preston pops his head in my bedroom around midnight and walks over to my bed.
"Goodnight," he whispers, bending down to kiss me.
"No," I whine. "Stay here, don't leave,"
It's his turn to question my parents and my brother. I get off my bed, go to the door and hold up a finger, signaling him to wait.
"PRESTON IS SLEEPING IN MY BEDROOM BUT WE'RE NOT HAVING SEX SO DON'T WORRY!" I yell so the whole house, and maybe the neighbors, hear.
I hear Ria and Eli burst into a fit of laughter as Mom yells my name and Dad yells, "OK, but no yelling!" down the hallway.
I turn to Preston, shutting my door. "Problem solved," I say, flopping back on my bed and pulling Preston down on top of me and rolling off of him. He smiles at me while laughing.
"This." He says. "This is why I love you."
"You love me?" I ask.
"How could I not?" He says, brushing his nose against mine.
"I love you too," I whisper, putting a hand on the back of his neck and pulling him into me for a kiss.
The next morning, we got up at 5:30 and left to get breakfast. We got to the field at 2:32 PM and our game started at 6:00 PM. We got there early so we could all eat, check into hotels and do whatever we needed to do before that evening. We won our game, 12-2. By the time the game was over, it was pouring rain, but I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and was met with Preston pressing his lips against mine, kissing me in front of my family, our teammates, people from school...and I didn't care, and I don't think he did either.
12/16/19
