Bender (30 page)

“Blue, you got the pies?” Camden called from upstairs. I was loading the desserts I’d made the night before into the car.

“Yeah, come on!” I shouted up to him. He was leaning over the railing and looking as delicious as ever. Who needed dessert when I had him?

Locking up he came downstairs and we all got in the car. Sarah stayed the night last night since we were leaving kind of early. Turns out she was right about my mom wanting to duck out of the holiday festivities. We got into a pretty monumental fight over her leaving my sister at home by herself. She started crying and telling me that I was accusing her of being a bad parent. Maybe I was. But I hadn’t had the first clue how I could make her wake up and see just how destructive she was being.

On the drive to his parents’ house, my nerves began to kick in. The only comfort I had going in to this was that Macie was going to be there too. Camden knew I was getting antsy because every few minutes he’d give my hand a squeeze. Looking over at him, he was ridiculously handsome. He was wearing dark jeans and a black thermal henley that molded to every curvature of his arms and chest. He styled his hair in a spiky mess, and he had on a cologne that was a deep woodsy scent. Between how he looked and smelled, he was a lethal combination. I wanted him. I felt like I wasn’t up to par with him, and I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. I had on a pair of white skinny jeans, tan flats, and a loose fitted peach chevron design top. I’d put something in my hair that helped make the waves stand out more than normal and it hung down my back. Camden’s face when he saw me this morning was all the approval that I needed. I just hoped I wasn’t underdressed for his family.

We’d been on the road for almost thirty minutes when we turned off into a nice subdivision on the other side of Athens. The homes weren’t necessarily brand new, but it was the type of neighborhood that had beautiful large trees, and well-manicured lawns. The further we drove, the bigger the houses got. My palms were sweating, but Camden never said anything about it. When he pulled into the driveway of a stately looking home, I looked up. It was a two-story colonial that could have been plucked right out of a
Southern Living
magazine. White columns adorned the front and the green shutters made the anterior of the home pop. Poppies, daffodils, lilies, and hedges were laid out around the front of the house and around a tree in the middle of the yard. This was certainly not what I imagined when I pictured Camden’s childhood home. Parking the car, he got out and came around to open my door. I saw Macie’s vehicle, along with a few others, and I felt a little relieved that she was already here.

Sarah had already jumped out, and she was racing up the path to the front door. “Don’t touch
anything
!” I shouted to her.

Camden put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. “It’s not a museum Keegan. My parents are cool, promise.”

Just as he spoke, someone opened the front door. I was looking at a younger version of Dodger; black hair and bright caramel colored eyes. He was tall but leaner than both Dodger and Camden. He came walking down the steps with a broad grin on his face. He approached Camden, and they clapped hands and pulled each other into an embracing hug.

“Hey little bro, good to see you.”

“You too.” They both stood back and beamed. When those eyes shifted to me, I got a quick once over. “Nice arm candy, dude. You going to introduce me?”

Camden rolled his eyes and shoved his shoulder. “She’s not arm candy asshole. Wrig, this is Keegan. Keegan, this is my youngest brother Wrigley.”

I held out my hand, which he took. “So nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is definitely all mine.” He smirked and wagged his eyebrows.

“Give it a rest little man. She ain’t interested.”

“Says who? Seems good looks run in your family. Where’s the oldest brother, I need to see my options,” I retorted.

Camden narrowed his eyes at me. “Keegan,” he said in warning.

“Well, I’m just saying… who says you’re the brother for me? Macie may have one of you but that leaves me with three—” I was cut off. Camden hoisted me over his shoulder and slapped my ass. I squealed, “Put me down! I can’t meet your mother like this.”

“Sure you can, she’ll love you.”

“But I’m upside-down. Come on Camden, my hair is going to be a mess.”

“You’re still beautiful.” He strode toward the door. I heard Wrigley chuckling behind us.

“Camden Mason Brooks, what are you doing to that poor girl?” a lovely sing-song voice chimed.

“Oh hey Mom. I’m just trying to teach a lesson.”

I was going to kill him. “Do you really have to be such a caveman? I swear you’re more like your father every day.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” He seemed pleased with himself. “Mom, I want you to meet my friend and roommate, Keegan.” He spun me around so when I pushed up with my hands against his back I could look up at her.

She nearly took my breath away. I was looking at a flawless porcelain doll. The boy’s mom was more petite that I would have imagined. Definitely shorter than my five-foot-three stature. She had long brown hair that she curled at the ends, deep brown eyes that matched Camden’s, and the softest features I think I’ve ever seen. Although it was kind of hard to tell from this angle. She gave me a welcoming smile that eased some of my discomfort.

Holding out her hand she said, “Hi, I’m Donna. So nice to finally meet you.”

At least she seemed amused at her son’s playfulness. I shook it and returned the greeting. It wasn’t lost on me that two things have been said that made me take pause. For starters Camden introduced me as his
friend
. I realized that we hadn’t put a label on whatever this was, but I assumed we’d surpassed the friend category. And second, what has he told her about me? Her use of the word ‘finally’ rang in my ears, so he must have told her something regarding me. None of this sounded promising.

“Cam put her down, and come give me a hug.” She patted his arm.

He set me down, and I tried to comb my hair back in place with my fingers.
Seriously? Great first impression, Keegan, just wonderful.
The hug that he gave his mother was reverent and loving. I could tell in the tenderness that he showed her that he loved his mom very much. I liked that. Boys who loved and respected their mothers always scored points in my book. When she let him go, she smiled back at me and gestured toward the house.

“Please, come in. Your friend Macie is in the game room with my husband Paul.”

“Oh God, is Dad showing her his dirt collection?”

I looked at him strangely. “Dirt collection?”

Donna took my arm and started leading me into the house. I glanced back at Camden who was now walking beside his brother, and he shrugged. “Cam has told you about all of my boys being named after baseball fields right?” I nodded. “Okay, well we are a baseball loving family, and we try to go to as many games as we possibly can all over the nation. My husband likes to be a rebel and climb down over the wall when a game is over, after most people have left, and collect dirt from the field.”

“Has he ever gotten in trouble for doing something like that?”

I heard snickering behind me. “Dad’s not as limber as he used to be,” Wrigley responded. “There was a game where the Cubs were playing the Cardinals, and he couldn’t get himself back over the wall. Mom was screaming at us to help him up before security caught him.”

I giggled. “Oh I could have killed him,” Donna said in an irritated voice.

Stepping inside the house was like walking inside a country chic store. Everywhere I looked were little touches of rustic wood, faded paint on furniture, and antiques. It certainly wasn’t like a museum at all. It smelled of cooking turkey, baked apple pie, and cinnamon. It was inviting, like a home should be. Camden stepped forward and placed his hand on my lower back to show me which way to go. Donna took the pies from him and went to the kitchen to keep cooking. I’d offered to help, but she shooed me away.

The living room was open with exposed beams that ran the length of the ceiling, and worn looking couches sat in the middle of the room. Dodger and Macie were standing in a corner looking at some sort of photo album and hadn’t seen us yet. An older gentleman was sitting down talking to someone who looked strikingly like Camden. I didn’t think it was possible for anybody to beat him in the size category, but this guy did. He was monstrous! When both men saw us coming in the room, they stood up. The older man held a look of pride in his eyes. His eyes resembled Dodger and the other man’s piercing blue ones. The boys all clearly got their build from their father. He was tall with broad shoulders and a wide stance. If I had to guess his age, I’d say he was in his mid-forties, and it was obvious that he took care of himself.

No words were exchanged between both men when they greeted each other, Camden and his dad hugged each other tightly. After a few claps on the back, his dad pulled back and held on to his son’s shoulders.

“You’re lookin’ good son. Real good.”

“Thanks Pop.” Just the look on Camden’s face told me how much his father’s words meant to him. “Oh, I have someone I want you to meet. Keegan, this is my dad, Paul.”

I was going to shake his hand but when he took a hold of it, he pulled me into a bear hug. “Sorry kiddo, I’m a hugger. And it’s very nice to meet you.”

A lump was forming in my throat. This was what a dad was supposed to be like; supportive, loving, caring. Not missing from your life for the past twenty years, never caring that you were alive. I hugged him back tightly, almost wishing that I could stay this way a little longer, regardless of just meeting him. I could feel the warmth radiating off of him.

“Nice to meet you too,” I said, stepping back into Camden and enjoying that he possessively put his hand on my hip.

“You going to introduce me, little man, or are you afraid I’ll steal this beautiful creature from you?” Camden’s almost identical twin said, approaching me.

“What is it with my brothers trying to take my girl?”

“Well if you were giving her what she needs, then it wouldn’t be an issue, now would it?” He looked at me. I was immediately drawn to his blue eyes. His compliment caught me off guard, and I blushed a deep shade of red. I didn’t know if this was normal banter between the two of them or not. Both of their faces were serious, but slowly a grin slipped onto Camden’s face.

“Asshole,” Camden growled. “Keegan, this is my older brother Turner. Turner, this is
mine
,” he stated possessively.

Their dad chuckled. “Nice to meet you Turner.” I tipped my head at him, thinking better of shaking his hand like I had with the rest of the family.

He noticed and smiled. I gulped loudly. The resemblance was uncanny minus their eye color.

I felt a presence sidle up to me on my other side, and I looked up to see Dodger. He flung his arm over my shoulder, and he tipped me over to kiss the top of my head. I loved that he felt so comfortable with me. “Lookin’ good beautiful. Where’s Sarah?”

Oh crap, in my moment of distraction, I’d forgotten where my sister was. “She’s in the kitchen with Mom. I think she’s having her help make sweet tea,” Camden answered for me. I let out a sigh of relief.

Macie had sat down on one of the couches and was thumbing through a magazine when she lifted her eyes and smirked at me. I bet she could sense how awkward I was feeling. I rolled my eyes at her and leaned my head onto Camden’s shoulder. If we weren’t in front of his family, I would kiss him so hard right now. I loved that Turner pushed him to stake his claim on me. And I love that he did it in front of the people that meant the most to him. Hello warm and fuzzies.

“Well.” Paul rubbed his hands together. “Hopefully your mom is almost done cooking ‘cause I’m starving! Cam, why don’t you take Keegan and show her around the house. We can catch up when we sit down to eat.”

“Wanna see the house?” he asked softly.

“Sure I’d love to.”

I gave a small wave to everyone in the room, because they were watching me intently. I briefly wondered if I was the first girl Camden had brought home before. They sure seemed to be intrigued by me. Camden had taken my hand and started leading me through the house. He showed me everything downstairs from the dining room that was set up for dinner, his parents’ master bedroom that made me drool with their beach theme and four-poster bed, to the laundry room that could make washing clothes seem like fun. When we started going up the stairs, Camden’s mom called him to come help her with something real quick. He left me standing there so I took advantage of the alone time to look at all the photographs hanging on the wall. There were family pictures from vacations they had taken, school pictures, and ones of the boys playing sports. They all looked so happy. I had a pang of jealousy run through me. I wished I could give Sarah something like this, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Pushing it aside, I continued up the steps one by one reveling in each smile and action shot. They seemed like the picture perfect family. Almost at the top of the steps, one photograph caught my eye. It was of Camden during his high school graduation. He was wearing his cap and gown, and the smile that was on his face took my breath away. But what had caught my attention the most was the girl he was standing next to. She had dark hair and sea-blue green eyes. Her tanned skin almost matched the color of Camden’s. She was strikingly beautiful. What threw me was the hold he had on her. She was looking at the camera, while he beamed down at her. It seemed so intimate. Who was she? He’s never told me about an old girlfriend, but we’ve also never discussed our pasts. Something about it wasn’t sitting right. I’d seen who he’d brought in and out of our apartment before; this girl was different, this one was special.