Page 54 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)
Shelby
I stare out the window as the scenery passes us by.
Sitting up front with Christian, I listen to the banter between him and his siblings.
When he asked me to join him for Thanksgiving, my heart was pounding at the chance to spend time with his family.
I can’t wait to get there, and get to know him better, but I’m so nervous about meeting his parents. What if they don’t like me?
As if sensing my anxiety, Christian reaches over and rubs my leg. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just a bit nervous about meeting your parents. I’ve also never celebrated Thanksgiving before, so I assume it’s just sitting around eating and watching football and the Thanksgiving Day Parade?”
“No pressure, Shelby. My parents have no Thanksgiving girlfriends to compare you to, and yes, a lot of food, football, and the parade on replay,” Tyler chimes in.
“You’ve never had a girlfriend home for Thanksgiving before?”
“Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day…nothing,” Tyler states from the back and I catch Christian glaring at him through the mirror.
“No, I’ve never had anyone over for Thanksgiving before,” he says, still death staring Tyler.
Nodding, I turn to look out the windshield, not knowing what to say in response to that. Dani has mentioned previous girlfriends, so I can’t believe he has never brought them home before. Wow, this might be bigger than I thought.
Pulling into the driveway a short time later, and I nervously slide my hands up and down my pants.
The house is cute and well maintained, like the rest of the houses that line the street.
It’s a quaint neighborhood to raise a family.
I could picture the three of them growing up here, riding their bikes in the street, and playing with neighborhood kids.
Grabbing my duffle bag from the car, I head up the front stairs and bring up the tail end, all while taking in some deep breaths where no one can see.
Tyler and Dani are arguing about something as they lead the way through the door, and I don’t know why, but it helps soothe me. Maybe if they draw attention to themselves, I can follow and stay hidden behind Christian.
The house is neat and tidy with pictures of the family scattered about.
On the wall to my left is a photo of the three siblings sitting on the couch, Christian is in the middle with his arms over the shoulders of his siblings.
His hair is a shade lighter and touches his shoulders as he rocks the whole surfer look.
You can see the love in the photo, and it makes my mind drift to my family and the photos that cover my mom and dad’s walls back home.
“Nice photo,” I say in an attempt to distract my mind from the growing ache in my chest. God, I miss my family .
“Ha, yeah that was the twin’s thirteenth birthday party.
We had all the family over for a barbecue.
It wasn’t long after that photo that Tyler swiped some beer from Dad’s fridge, drank too much, and spewed all over Mom’s roses.
Mom was panicking that Dad had undercooked the meat, and all our family and friends were going to get sick.
I still don’t think to this day Mom knows the truth; all I know is she was just relieved no one else got sick. ”
“Your brother sounds like a little hellraiser growing up.”
“He still is! He also had Mom fussing over him all that night thinking he was sick from Dad’s cooking, the little shit. I know Dani still has that banked in her memory to use when needed.”
“What is all the ruckus?” a woman says as she comes through a doorway and into the foyer, wiping her hand on a dishcloth.
They stop arguing and both go to hug their mom.
She is a pretty lady in her mid- to late-forties.
She has blonde shoulder-length hair, and I can see where all the kids get their gray eyes.
She’s the shortest out of all of them, but that doesn’t discourage her as she swats Tyler with the dishcloth.
“You two behave and take your things up to your rooms.” As the twins start up the stairs, she turns her attention to Christian.
“How’s my boy?” she says, pulling him in for a hug.
He towers over her as her head presses against his chest. “I’m good, Mom. ”
“Oh my, and you must be Shelby…aren’t you gorgeous!”
I go to hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Stone.”
Ignoring my hand, she takes me in for a gentle hug. “Oh, honey, I’m a hugger, always have been. It’s lovely to meet you, and please call me Mary. Come in. Christian can take your things upstairs, and you can come with me into the kitchen.”
“Thank you,” I say.
Christian gives me a wink and that grin that makes my knees buckle as he heads upstairs with our bags. I follow Mary to the kitchen, and the aromas make me instantly hungry. Since nothing was open today, all I had before Christian picked me up was a granola bar and a cup of coffee.
“This is John,” Mary says, walking into the kitchen and gesturing over to the man sitting on a stool at the island.
He stands. “This must be the girlfriend we have heard so much about,” he says, extending his hand.
I shake it gently and my stomach flips at his words. “He’s spoken about me?”
“Christian, yeah, a little, but that man’s a steel trap. No, I meant from Dani…that girl never shuts up. ”
I laugh. “That doesn’t surprise me. It’s really nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me over for Thanksgiving.”
“No worries at all, it’s lovely to have you.”
As I take him in, I can see where Christian and Tyler get their height, hair, and jaw line.
“Hey, Dad,” Christian says as he enters the kitchen and shakes his hand.
“Hey, son,” he replies, continuing to slice some carrots.
Christian walks around and gives me a kiss on the cheek and opens the oven to inspect the turkey.
“Don’t open the door.” Mary says, swatting him with the same dishcloth she’d got Tyler with earlier. “I just basted it. If you keep opening and letting the heat out, it will never cook,” she swats at him again, but he laughs and dodges the second attempt.
“Fine,” he says to his mom. Looking at me and gesturing in the direction of the hallway, he says. “Would you like the tour?”
“Sure.”
I follow Christian back to the foyer as he points out the first-floor bathroom and shows me through the living room that opens onto a back deck.
He takes me upstairs and points out the bathroom, and everyone’s bedrooms and lastly, he shows me into his room.
His full-size bed is neatly made, with a dresser, TV, stereo, and lots of football memorabilia.
I walk closer, examining his trophies and a few signed footballs that sit on a shelf.
I can feel him approaching behind me, his long arm reaching around as he picks up a football.
“This is a football Randy signed and gave me when we were teenagers. It’s his first-ever autographed football, he told me to keep it as he knows his signature would be worth money one day,” he laughs.
“He has a ball with my signature too. We always said that they would be worth money, but we wanted our first autographed footballs to go to each other.”
“That’s nice,” I say as I turn to face him. It’s then I notice how close he is. His cologne lingers in the air. Looking into his eyes, he runs his knuckles down my cheek and licks his bottom lip.
I watch as his throat bobs. “I’m really glad you came.”
“Me too,” I reply. Our bodies are only inches apart as we stare at each other for a few heartbeats.
Our lips fall so slowly toward each other, and I don’t even know who moved first. Both of his hands come up to my face as I brace mine against his chest and work their way up and around his neck.
His hands slide down to my neck while his thumbs remain on my chin, using them to position my head for his hungry kisses.
The kiss is hot and needy, the desire showing just how much we want each other.
Slowly pulling away, I make a small whimper as his eyes open.
“I can’t believe you have to bunk with Dani tonight.”
“So close but so far, it will be like camping all over again,” I say on a laugh.
“That’s right, how could I forget,” he mumbles back.
“I’m sure we will catch up on lots of girl talk.”
“Great, I can’t wait to hear what my sister tells you this time,” he says, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “Let’s head back down.”
Inspecting myself in the mirror, we head down to the kitchen where everyone is working away. “What can we do now that I’ve given her the grand tour?” Christian asks.
“Set the table, please,” Mary says.
Christian and I set the table, and before long there is so much food: roasted vegetables, beans, couscous salad, carrots, breads, and at the head of the table, John is carving the turkey.
I couldn’t ask for a better first Thanksgiving.
***
After lunch we all gather to watch the Bears versus Lions play football. At halftime, Mary calls us in for dessert and the annual Stone Thanksgiving pie-eating contest.
“So, you’re serious,” I say, looking at Christian as Mary places a small pie in front of me. “You’re not just telling me this and then don’t do it, are you?” I ask.
Christian laughs in the chair beside me. “No, I’m dead serious. This is a Stone family tradition. When the extended family join us for Thanksgiving, it’s even more competitive. Grip your hands behind you on the chair, trust me, it helps.”
I do as I’m told, gripping the back of the chair, and look around at the small orange pies in front of each of us. Dani sits in front of me with a smile and gives me a reassuring head nod.
“Yes, Shelby, our family does this ever year, Christian or Tyler pretty much win,” John says, “I used to be undefeated champ when the kids were little, but now I keep losing to these two grown men.”
“They are really good at eating pie,” Mary says.
“Oh my God, Mom!” Dani says, covering her face with her hand.
“Yes, I am, it’s what I excel at.” Tyler says with a wink. “Being away at college, I’ve gotten lots of practice.”
Christian and his dad laugh as one of my hands flies to my mouth to cover the snicker that escapes.
Poor Mary’s cheeks flush red. “Tyler!” she scolds him, then quickly straightens in her chair as if erasing that conversation from her memory.
“Okay, ready. Set. Go,” Mary yells.
I’m trying my best to eat it as quickly as I can, but I keep glancing around and can’t help but laugh.
Each member of the Stone family has their hands behind their backs and faces covered in the six-inch pumpkin pie.
I’ve never had pumpkin pie before; it’s different and I can’t figure out if I like it or not. Pumpkin as a cold dessert is…weird.
“Done,” a muffled sound comes from Tyler.
“Damn, man, I almost had you,” Christian says.
“Told you I had a lot of practice.” Tyler smiles, receiving a light smack to his shoulder from Dani.
The look Mary tries to give Tyler from across the table I’m sure is meant to scare him, but with the creamy orange mixture all over her face, I don’t think anyone can take anything serious right now.
“That’s a terrible effort,” Christian says, smiling at me.
His face is covered in pumpkin pie and whipped cream, there is even some up his nose, but he still looks incredibly gorgeous.
The brief thought of being able to lick that whipped cream off the side of those perfect lip’s pops into my head.
He winks, a smirk on his face like he can read my mind, and I drop my head and start cleaning my face with a napkin.
“I was too busy watching you guys and laughing,” I say.
“Next year,” John says to me.
Next year? Will I be here next year? The thought makes me smile. I would love to be here next year. I’ve never experienced Thanksgiving before, but I would love to experience it again just like this. Celebrating it with the man sitting next to me and his family.