It Began With a Smirk

29: A Day With the Guys

I laughed as Spencer hoisted me over his shoulder and started to jog. I’d intercepted the ball for a touchdown. Again. With the ball still in my hand Spencer crossed over his endline with the other guys laughing as well. “Touchdown!” he yelled spinning me slowly.

“That’s cheating!” I responded, laughing as I had to close my eyes to keep from getting dizzy. “Put me down!”

“Maybe I should spike you like the football you refuse to let go of?” he said, grinning at me evilly. He’d tried and failed to tickle it out of my grasp after I’d made the last touchdown declaring the game was over and I was tired.

“I give I give!” I responded even though I knew he was kidding. I dropped the ball and he set me down with a smile.

I looked over to where Frankie, Jakeson and Brendon sat in the grass watching us and laughing. A few others sat with them but I hadn’t remembered any of their names. It didn’t matter though. Kale wasn’t around. They’d originally come to play with him but he stood them up, which I learned he did quite often, so I invited them in anyways saying I needed company.

After a few minutes of arguing about whether it had been fair putting me and Brendon on the same team (we were quite the evil little duo, able to communicate just through our eyes) I finally got them to shut up.

“Who wants food?” I said. The magic phrase for teenage boys. In a matter of seconds the arguing had turned to a bombardment of “ME!” and other random food related prhases. I smiled inwardly. Just like the guys back on base. With a smile I brought them out one of the flats of poweraid bottles and told them to hold their horses while I raided the fridge to see what I had to work with.

Lucky for me there seemed to be quite an abundant amount of food in the second kitchen where the cooking help prepared food. Rich people. I thought sourly when I had realized they had a show kitchen and a cooking kitchen. It just seemed stupid. But I shrugged and trudged out to backyard and the pool patio.

“Any disagreements with burgers and brats?” I asked as I eyed the grill that sat out under the canopy covered section where lounge chairs sat in the shade.

Of course there were none. “I’ll help.” Spencer offered jumping to his feet.

“Me too bug-a-boo.” Brendon offered with a smile.

I happily accepted and dragged my minions into the second kitchen ordering them about. They didn’t seem to mind though. “Do you cook a lot?” Spencer asked me as he stood beside me forming the hamburger patties.

I nodded. “For myself, yeah. Everyone else here eat food prepared by other people. I prefer making things for myself.”

“A girl who can cook.” Brendon smiled at me. “You sure have a lot of talents. Don’t tell me you can fly too?”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, but I do have telepathy.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah and all I hear are a bunch of thoughts about empty stomachs coming from outside.”

Spencer and Brendon laughed and the three of us proceeded to bring out prepared food out to the patio to cook for the waiting posse on a perfect warm sunny California day. Jakeson, Brendon and I stood around the grill as Spencer grilled up the food. We’d made an assembly line due to boredom. Spencer cooked, Jakeson picked the finished ones up with the tongs and set it on the bun that sat on the plate Brendon held and then I’d take the finished plate and bring it to the guys. Frankie had even made himself useful and gotten the condements from the kitchen, passing them around amongst the guys.

“You grill out a lot?” I asked Spencer who seemed almost amazingly pro with how he worked the grill. I wasn’t a ditz with it but I could never have managed to get every single burger looking so perfect.

He nodded. “I live with my dad. So it’s kinda a bachelor pad and we have our man-outs a lot.” he chuckled and I smiled at him.

“Nice. I had to learn since my dad was too lazy and he and the guys always got hungry.” I admitted.

“The guys?” Jakeson raised a brow.

“Daddy is a military man so I lived on the base. It’s how I learned football and such.” I nodded and gratefully took the burger that Brendon handed me for myself. We’d finally finished making enough for everyone and a few to spare just in case.

“Why’d you move?” Spencer asked conversationally as the four of us took our own seats and began to eat.

Opal. Her name popped into my head and I looked away from them. I couldn’t very well tell them the reason. It wasn’t something I even wanted to admit to myself. “Just needed a change.” I replied lamely not wanting to get into it.

Brendon seemed to pick up on the hint and changed the topic, “So what do you think Kale ditched us to do anyways?”

Jakeson smiled over at me. “I don’t know and don’t care. He’s the one who missed out on a good time.”

Surprisingly everyone agreed. I guess I wasn’t hopeless after all.

Feel So Good - Jamiroquai