Chapter Forty-Four

Bec

“ T his was a mistake,” I say with a sigh.

“You say that like I embarrass you or something,” my brother Ash says as he drapes his heavy arm around my shoulders. He radiates a carefree, spontaneous energy no matter where he is or what’s going on.

“You do embarrass me. Why are you wearing that?” I groan.

“Oh, you mean this ?” he says as he pulls the bottom edge of his shirt taut so the writing is unmistakable.

“Yes, she means that . God, even I’m embarrassed for her,” Toby says with a grimace.

“Thanks, Toby,” I say.

“Nah, I’m with Ash. That shirt is priceless. You should have told me. I would have ordered my own,” Danny says.

“Toby, you’re officially my favorite sibling. They’re not invited to any more games,” I say with a sneer directed at Danny and Ash, who are trying to humiliate me to death.

When Aiden offered tickets for my family to come to one of his games—in really fucking great seats that we would never splurge on ourselves—my first instinct was to say no. But after Ellie let that fun fact slip in front of Danny the other weekend at lunch, she wouldn’t stop blowing up our family group chat until I agreed to take Aiden up on his offer. Then my mom decided that we needed to go to an early afternoon game so that Aiden could join us for family dinner at their house afterward. Essentially, everyone not named Bec decided that it was time for Aiden to meet my family.

Aiden seemed all too willing to take my family up on the invite to dinner, so maybe this won’t be anything like when Josh met my family. Old Bec wouldn’t be so terrified of this step, but when my family met Josh and their negative assessment of our relationship was spot on, it’s hard to want to face their judgment again. They know me so well. If Aiden has any red flags that I’m missing, they’ll shine a light on them so brightly I’ll never be able to unsee them, and well…I don’t want to see any red flags with Aiden.

My feelings toward him are stronger than I thought possible. So, I reluctantly agreed to this meeting because if I really do like him, then this moment is inevitable anyway. I want Aiden to know the people who raised me, and I want him to love them like I do. While I know I don’t need my family’s approval, I still want it. I’ve always been close with my family. I want the person I spend my life with to love them too. So, yeah. No pressure.

Oh, and this is made infinitely worse because my smart-ass brother decided to special order and wear a shirt that reads Number 15’s Future Brother-in-law .

Kill me now.

“Rebecca, if you really like Aiden, he’ll have to get used to Ashton anyway. Might as well not sugarcoat anything here,” Mom says with a sigh.

“I don’t know whether to be appreciative or offended, dearest mother,” Ash says with a grin.

“Offended. The answer is offended,” Toby says as the batter strikes out, ending the fifth inning.

Aiden’s had a great game. According to Toby, he’s made diving stops, laid out for a ball that saved at least one run, and he has two “ribbies.” I really need to learn what the fuck this all means.

It still feels surreal to sit in the stands and watch Aiden play and to also know him as the humble, easy-going guy that he is off the field. The way he acts when it’s just us always has me forgetting what he does for work. That is until I’m sitting next to a fan who can rattle off his stats that make zero sense to me but are obviously meaningful enough for a stranger to memorize them.

It also helps that he looks really fucking hot excelling at the sport he obviously cares so much about.

“Your boyfriend’s got a great arm,” Toby comments seriously. “Quick too.” He hasn’t taken his eyes off the game, his love for the sport evident in his undivided attention. It’s no surprise he was the first to agree to come to the game. When I mentioned where we’d be seated, I even got a rare Tobias Miller smile.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say back.

“He’s meeting your family…he’s your something,” Danny mumbles in between bites of her hotdog.

“He’s my…I don’t know, just don’t mention titles tonight. We aren’t labeling anything, okay? Please don’t make it weird,” I plead.

“Was this his idea or yours, Becca boo? The no labels thing,” Dad asks, voice tinted with a hint of concern.

“Mine. I wanted to take things slow,” I say. Dad nods, seemingly happy with my answer.

“It’s unseasonably warm for April. We could probably have dinner outside on the patio tonight, don’t you think?” Mom asks with excitement in her eyes. The woman loves to host. She’s probably had the house staged for Aiden’s arrival for three days, not a dish out of place. She was a bit…excited to hear that Aiden and I were still seeing each other. I’m not saying she’s itching at the idea of one of her children being in a relationship in hopes that she finally gets to help plan a wedding, but I’m not not saying it.