Head Over Boots

10. Chicken Fried

The next day proceeded as the previous one had; breakfast with a (this time shirted) Nate, lunch in the park, and Ice cream at the garage, it was the end of the day that changed. Half an hour before Nate and Luke were due to finish work Jenny and I headed over to my house.

Unlocking the door I relished in the quietness, the only sound the distant playing of classical music that mom liked to paint to. I settled Jenny watching the small TV in the kitchen, after working out how to turn subtitles on, as I pulled out the food to prepare dinner. I'd decided to make a Lemon and Thyme roast chicken, with veg and roast potatoes, it was the only recipe my mother had ever taught me.

I was just pulling the chicken out of the oven when I heard the boys come through the door. Three sets of footsteps, meaning Nate was with them. They appeared in the kitchen, my brothers quickly greeting me before heading to wash up for dinner. Nate had obviously already showered and changed, even I have to admit he looked sexy in the flannel shirt with the top buttons open and I could smell his musky cologne from here. Jenny instantly ran to Nate as he scooped her up, watching it made my heart flutter. He put her down, signing to ask how her day was and what we had been up to.

"Hey, is there anything I can help with?" His voice broke me out of my trance.

"Um, yeah, could you just grab put those on the island?" I indicate to the bowls of veg and potatoes beside me. "We'll have to eat in here, mom has taken over the dining room with her newest project."

He comes over to pick them up as I carry on serving the chicken onto five plates, he bends so his mouth is by my ear, making me freeze. "Next time take a picture, it lasts longer," he whispers, before straightening and walking away. My cheeks burn with the realization that I was caught staring.

My brothers come bouncing into the room, freshly showered, and changed. "Hey, can someone teach me how to talk to Jenny?" Charlie is about as subtle as a bulldozer, always has been, always will be.

"She can lip read, just make sure you're looking at her and talking slow enough," Nate tells him, taking two of the plates off of the counter over to the table, while I got the remaining three and Luke grabbed the cutlery for us. "Can she have a knife?" Luke hesitates before giving Jenny a sharp object.

"She's more likely to stab you with a fork," I roll my eyes as he quickly picks up the fork he had given her. "She's five Luke, she can have cutlery." He looks at me skeptically but still places a knife and fork down in front of Jenny.

"How are you guys liking Georgia?" Nate asks as we all sit down, him and I either side of Jenny so we can help her with her food if she needs it.

"It's good, it's definitely quieter here than it is at college, and I don't think I'll ever get used to the accents."

"You do," Charlie and I tell Luke as we all start eating.

"I don't, do I?" Luke looks to Nate for conformation.

"It's not a full-on Georgia accent but it's different to Avery's, Charlie's the same," Nate tells him.

"Charlie what?" Charlie asks, turning away from talking to Jenny.

"You've picked up a Georgia accent," I tell him.

"Ugh, tell me about it! I stopped phoning the guys from back home cause all they did was make fun of it!" He groans, making us laugh.

"How's Coach? Still as big on conditioning?" I forget that Charlie will have Nate's old football coach.

"God, I thought he was going to kill me today! I don't want to know how many times we ran suicides!" He may complain but he loves it, if Charlie didn't play football he would be on the track team. "He's coming for dinner tomorrow, you're welcome to come? He talks about you all the time and Avery's cooking again."

"Excuse me?" I reply, "A little more notice next time please, it's not even my night to cook!" I tell him, looking at him like he's possibly lost his mind.

"Please, Aves?" He's giving me the puppy dog eyes, "You're the best cook out of all of us, and impressing him with food might make me help captain.."

"Fine, but you owe me," I point my fork in his direction.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you!" He exclaims, pulling me into a hug, before turning to Nate, "So are you coming?"

"Sure, I can't pass up an opportunity of Avery's cooking," he sends me a sly wink.

"What do you want me to cook?" I ask my younger brother.

"You're best to go with something like Lasagne with vegetables on the side, and not just because it's my favorite." Nate interrupts before Charlie can answer, "Make him think you eat healthy all the time, that you take it all seriously."

The rest of the dinner is spent talking about football, not that I minded.

"We better get home. it's nearly Jen's bedtime." He picks his sleepy sister up in a piggyback. "Thanks for cooking Avery, it was really good."

"No problem, I'll walk home with you guys," I tell him, following them to the door, opening and shutting it as Nate has his hands full.

"Coach likes Charlie, he respects him," Nate tells me as we walk towards his. "Dinner with Coach is a big thing, reserved for his best players."

"Don't tell Charlie that, or he'll just be a ball of nerves." I laugh. "It terrifies me," I admit.

"What?"

"That he'll get hurt."

"There's a risk, there's always a risk. There's a risk every time you get on or go near a horse, every time you get in a car or walk along the street. You just need to recognize those risks and do what you can to stay as safe as possible. You can't let the 'what ifs' control your life."

"I'm just a worrier, god knows what I'll be like if he makes it to the NFL," I roll my eyes.

"That's his aim? What college does he want to go to?"

"Clemson, Alabama or Georgia, I just think he likes Georgia as it's close, he'll have Luke for another year, but I think he needs to go further, learn to live without Luke and I looking over his shoulder."

"Yeah, I looked at Clemson but SCAD was a better fit. Come in for a sec," He opens his door, gesturing for me to follow.

"Hey you two, hi Avery," Fred greets us as we walk into the kitchen.

"Hey, can you take Jen? I'm just gonna walk Avery home," He tells his dad as Fred stands up. He's certifiably crazy.

"I can walk myself home, it's like two minutes," I reassure him.

"Nonsense, let him walk you home," Fred says as he disappears with Jenny who is now asleep.

"C'mon," Nate nudges my shoulder to get me moving.

"You don't have to you know? I am perfectly capable of walking myself home."

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady walk home alone at night?" He gives me one of his cheeky smiles.

"It's barely 8 pm, and what was the point of me walking you home if you were just gonna walk back with me again?" I point out, rolling my eyes but internally trying not to melt at how adorable the smile made him look.

"Maybe I just wanted an excuse to spend time alone with you."