Page 40 of Home Town Advantage (Fourth Quarter Fever #1)

They prepared a beautiful meal, but I needed to add a little touch of my own. Vance immediately notices and looks at me from across the table. “Did you give them your mother’s corn casserole recipe?”

I gasp in mock shock. “My mother would disown me if I gave away a well-guarded O’Shea family secret. I made it.”

He immediately reaches for the bowl. “Yum.” He looks around as he scoops multiple spoonfuls onto his plate. “There’s nothing better in the world than the O’Shea family corn casserole.”

Without realizing our full history, Alyssa innocently asks, “Were you two tight growing up? Did you date?”

Not wanting anything heavy to mar this evening, I answer, “Vile Vance is eight years older than me. No dating. He was friends with my brother.” I stick my tongue out at him. “And he would never leave our house. He was like a leech.”

“Did you have a crush on him?” she asks.

The corners of Vance’s mouth raise in amusement, but I simply make a look of disgust. “Yuck. Nope. There’s a reason his nickname is Vile Vance. He was nothing but a smelly teenage boy.”

Not even a little true. I love his smell. I always have. I’d lather myself in it if I could.

Vance chuckles. “Hmm. I seem to remember you tagging along all the time. Always wanting to be with us. I couldn’t have been that smelly, Gully Sulley.”

Beau asks, “What’s with her nickname? I get yours, I share a locker room with you, but why Gully Sulley?”

Vance gives an amused Beau the finger before answering, “She believed anything and everything we told her. One time, we told her that lightning came from a huge camera flash in the sky, and you had to stop and smile toward the sky every time there was lightning. For, like, two years, she would smile at the sky anytime lightning struck.” He chuckles.

“She looked like an idiot. People thought something was wrong with her.”

I scrunch my nose. “I still sort of do that. Habit.” Everyone laughs. “One summer, I foolishly cut my own hair. It was terrible, and I was hysterical over it. Vance and Finn told me if I taped watermelon seeds to my forehead all summer, it would grow back faster. And I did it. Every damn day.”

Vance lets out a loud laugh. “Oh my god, I forgot about that. She thought the more seeds she taped to her head, the faster her hair would grow. All freakin’ summer, she had those seeds on her head. All over her head.”

I can’t help but grin at the memory. It feels nice to think about the good times. The past six years have been marred by the bad, but there really were so many good times with Vance throughout my life.

I add, “There was another summer when I was obsessed with the movie Teen Wolf . Finn and Vance had me convinced they were really werewolves, and I shouldn’t do anything to piss them off.”

Vance bites back his smile. “Right. You loved that movie, though not nearly as much as,” at the same time, we both shout, “ Sixteen Candles,” and then both break into a fit of laughter.

We’re in our own world for a few seconds until I realize that everyone is staring at us open-mouthed. We are really fucking bad at this top-secret relationship thing.

I straighten up and look at Palmer. “Come on, every girl loves Sixteen Candles . It’s an unwritten law.”

I think she catches on to my deflection and nods in agreement. “Totally. I loved that movie, though I used to watch Varsity Blues over and over with my friends.”

We then get into a whole discussion of football movies, with the guys all loving the movie Friday Night Lights , while all the girls unanimously prefer the Friday Night Lights television show to the movie as it was more about the love stories than the movie was.

After dessert, we move to sit in my living room while the caterer cleans the dining room. Daylen is showing everyone the new headshots he had taken. Kennedy and I share a bemused look, and Daylen notices. “You guys don’t like my photos?”

Kennedy sighs. “It’s one of my red flags.”

“What is?” he asks.

“Men who have headshots taken without the need to do so.”

He purses his lips. “I need them.”

She raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

“My website.”

“Why do you have a website? You’re such a tool. I bet you drive a Subaru too.”

He scowls at her. “What do you have against Subarus?”

Shay interrupts, “It’s a lesbian car. No man should drive one.”

Kennedy nods her head in agreement.

He twists his lips as he admits, “I had a Subaru in high school.”

Everyone breaks out into hysterical laughter while Daylen starts fiddling with his phone. After a minute or two, he breathes, “Holy shit, it is known as a lesbian car.”

The laughter only gets louder.

Palmer looks at me. “Do you mind if I take a few leftovers? Just a container or two?”

I nod my head. “Please do. There’s enough food for at least a week.”

She nervously tucks her hair behind her ear. “It’s not for me. There’s a homeless guy who lives on the sidewalk in front of my building. I feel bad for him. I was going to give it to him.”

I smile. She’s so sweet. “Of course. Take it all and give it to him.”

Beau turns to Palmer. “Are you sure it’s safe? ”

She nods. “I was a little scared at first, but he’s a nice guy. Despite his circumstances, he always looks happy and has something nice to say.”

Beau doesn’t look pleased. “Perhaps I should teach you ladies a little self-defense, just in case it’s ever needed.”

Kennedy lifts an eyebrow. “I’m known for being the biggest bruiser in my league. I’m not worried about the scrappy men of Philadelphia.”

Daylen stands and walks over to her, wrapping his tree trunk arms around her. She scrambles. “Don’t touch me, freak.”

“Try to get away, Ms. Bruiser. Don’t let little old scrappy me get in your way.”

She thrashes and kicks her heart out, but his hold never breaks. She sighs. “Ugh, fine, but few men are fucking Godzilla like you. Now get off me. You smell like bologna.”

He releases her and lifts his shirt to smell it. “I do not,” he insecurely pouts.

Beau stands to his full, gigantic height. “Can I teach you ladies a few easy moves? You never know when they might come in handy.”

I shrug. “Why not? Aren’t we supposed to just kick you in the balls?”

He shakes his head. “Most men anticipate that.” He points to the spot on his neck just under his ear.

“This right here? It’s an unknown weak spot.

It’s more unexpected if you strike this nerve.

It’s a pressure point, and it immediately immobilizes the nervous system.

You can put a man my size to the ground in seconds. It doesn’t take much force either.”

Daylen shakes his head. “No way.”

Beau crooks his finger. “Come here.”

Daylen stands and walks to him. “Don’t hurt me, big guy.”

Beau rolls his eyes. “Not me. Kennedy. Come here and stand in front of Daylen.”

Kennedy’s face lights up. “Punching Daylen in the throat. No problem. ”

Beau shakes his head. “Not punching. Make a fist with your thumb on the outside, spread across your fingers.” She does.

“You’re not going to punch with your knuckles.

That takes a windup that an attacker might see coming.

” He points to the area where her index finger and thumb form a circle.

“You’re going to simply hammer chop him right on the nerve.

It doesn’t take that much force, but it’s effective enough for you to get away. ”

We all sit there and practice the would-be chop on our own palms.

Daylen chuckles. “There’s no way Kennedy can take me down with that.”

Beau places his hand on Daylen’s shoulder. “It’s science. You’ll go down like a bag of bricks.”

“No fucking way that broom-riding, entitled princess can take me down.”

Kennedy crosses her arms. “How about we make a little wager?”

He wiggles his eyebrows. “I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”

“If I win, I get to pick your opening day gameday stadium arrival outfit. If you win, you can pick mine.”

He nods and answers without hesitation. “Deal.”

Beau points to the spot on Daylen that Kennedy needs to hit. He also clears an area in my living room so nothing breaks if the giant goes down. I have to admit, it seems unlikely that she can take a man of Daylen’s size down with a chop-punch like that, but we’ll see.

Daylen covers his dick with his hands and mumbles, “Just in case.”

Kennedy makes the fist as Beau instructed. She narrows her eyes at Daylen. “I’m going to enjoy every minute of this. I might orgasm if you pass out.”

She then gives Daylen a hard, quick chop to the side of his neck. He goes down so damn hard I’m afraid there will be a dent in my floor. He’s not completely out cold, but it’s like he was tasered and doesn’t have full body function for at least thirty seconds.

Kennedy jumps up and down in glee at winning the bet. Beau smiles in satisfaction. I don’t think I’ll ever doubt the man again.

As a successful evening draws to a close, Kennedy pulls me aside. “What’s going on with you and Vance?”

I act shocked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re suddenly very chummy.”

I shrug. “We saw each other when we were home. We see each other here. Our friends are all friends. We don’t want to be the cause of drama. It’s easier for everyone if we focus on the positive and not dwell on our baggage. We’ve called a truce.”

She eyes me skeptically. I have no idea whether she believes me or not.