Thanksgiving Day

COLIN

“THE GAME IS ABOUT TO START!” Sydney yells from my family room.

I ignore her for the moment, taking a breath in the kitchen. I haven’t had a minute alone with Brooke since she, Syd, and Luna got here. Brooke’s been hesitant around me since my last therapy session, before Luna got lost.

Actually, who am I kidding? She’s been hesitant around me since the moment she kissed me on her front porch and then immediately slammed the door in my face.

That kiss though, that kiss blew my mind, and has left me floating ever since. But for Brooke, it seems to have sent her into some kind of guilt spiral.

At the office on Monday I got a chance to kiss her back, proving my point that she does feel something for me. But still, where does that leave us?

She still thinks I’m with Natali, so I’m sure she’s back to thinking I’m another asshole football player trying to get into her pants while I’m still dating someone else.

“COME ON! COME ON!” I peer through the doorway to see Syd dragging Brooke into the family room with her.

“MOM!” she says. “We have to do our dance!”

Oh, this I have to see. I trot into the family room and perch on the couch expectantly.

“No, not here, Syd.” Brooke tries to shush her, and Syd pouts.

“But we always do it before the game!”

“What dance?” I chime in, very intrigued.

“Nothing!” Brooke denies, but I know Sydney will tell me.

“Syd…?” I say, and she smiles at her mom, eager to spill the beans.

“It’s something we do before every game! Mom was a cheerleader in high school, so she created a cheer dance that she does while I sing Carrie Underwood’s ‘Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,’ except we change the lyrics a little.”

“Well, that is definitely something I want to see!” I say, smiling ear to ear at Brooke. She looks completely embarrassed.

“Yeah! Come on, Mom!” Sydney tries to convince her again.

“Why don’t you do it without me this time?” Brooke suggests, blushing.

“Nope! It’s all or nothing,” I say, then look down at Sydney. “What can we do to get her to do it?” I whisper.

“She’s ticklish! Let’s tickle her!” Syd says with a devilish smile.

“SYDNEY!” Brooke says with wide eyes.

“Let’s get her!” I say, charging at her. Syd goes one way around the couch and I run the other way so there’s nowhere for Brooke to go.

“You guys! This isn’t fair,” she says as she runs past Sydney, but I keep after her. “Don’t run,” Brooke warns, pointing at my foot. “You’re going to hurt yourself!” she yells, even as she tries to run away.

“You better come here, then!” I say, trying to grab her. Luna gets in the way, jumping around Brooke’s legs, buying me time to grab her waist from behind and pull her close. I bury my face in her neck.

God, she smells amazing, but I have business to attend to. “Come here, Syd!” I yell. Syd jumps forward, and we both tickle Brooke while I hold her in place.

“NO!” Brooke shrieks. “Okay! Okay! STOP! I’LL DO IT!”

Part of me doesn’t want to let go of her being so close to me, but I’m also very excited to see Brooke’s tight little body shake and move like a cheerleader.

I sit back on the couch, and Luna jumps up next to me. The girls stand in front of the fireplace with the TV above them muted.

Brooke gets into a familiar cheerleader’s stance with arms straight down by her hips and head pointed toward the floor. Sydney stands next to her, holding the TV remote like a microphone.

“Five, six, seven, eight,” Brooke calls out as she puts one hand on her hip. Her right hand cups her ear as Sydney starts to sing.

Syd juts out her hips like the pop singers do. “Waiting all day for the Thanksgiving game!” she sings into the remote in melody. Brooke claps her hands at her chest while Syd keeps singing.

“The stars have arrived, time to get up and cheer!” Brooke tucks her elbows to her ribcage and steps forward, alternating kicking out one knee and then the other.

“The NFL’s best have come to play! The Panthers and the Bucs are ready to go!” Brooke changes her stance, lifts her arms straight up like a touchdown signal, and kicks her left foot high in the air almost touching her head.

Sydney gives an extra vocal flourish to her final lyrics: “The stadium’s rockin’! Time to kick up the sound! I’ve been waiting all day for the Thanksgiving game!”

My jaw drops when Brooke ends their performance by stepping one leg in front of her and one behind, sliding effortlessly down into a full split. One hand is posed on her hip, the other high in the air.

“WOW!” I clap my hands, and Luna barks with her approval. “That was amazing!”

“Can we order pizza now?” Syd says, jumping onto the couch with Luna and making herself comfortable.

“Sure! What kind do you want?”

“Hawaiian!” she answers with a huge smile, but Brooke is quick to chime in.

“No, cheese is fine. Not everyone likes Hawaiian, honey.”

“Hawaiian it is!” I say, happy enough to satisfy Syd’s request. I’ve never been picky when it comes to pizza.

I walk into the kitchen, grab my phone and dial my local pizza place. “Yes, hi. Can I place an order for delivery, please?”

I turn and see Brooke come into the kitchen trying to get my attention, but the guy on the phone is waiting for my answer so I hold my finger up to say give me a second.

“Yes, one extra-large Hawaiian, please. And we have a child here with a severe peanut allergy, so I need to be sure there’s no risk of cross contamination.”

I hold my hand over the phone and look back up at Brooke, who is standing there staring at me like she’s mesmerized by something. “Did you change your mind about the pizza? Do you want me to get cheese too?”

“N-no, that’s fine, I just…never mind,” she says, still in a daze.

I bring my attention back to the man taking my order over the phone. “No, that’s it. Great, thank you. Happy Thanksgiving.”

I hang up the phone and look at Brooke again. She has the most beautiful smile on her face. “What?” I ask, but she just shakes her head, smiling.

It reminds me how badly I need to talk to her about everything. She has to know how I feel about her, I can’t wait any longer.

I move closer to her, wanting to take her hands in mine. “I need to talk to you. I’ve been meaning to but there just hasn’t been a m—”

“GUYS! YOU’RE MISSING THE GAME!” Sydney shouts from the other room.

“We’re coming!” Brooke shouts back, and looks at me. “We should go watch the game,” she says, and hurries away without waiting for an answer.

I know she’s avoiding talking to me about everything. I know she’s scared, and I can understand where she’s coming from.

I join them both on the couch in the family room, where Sydney is updating her mom on the plays she missed. “Are you rooting for the Buccaneers to win?” I ask, confused.

I assumed we were all rooting for the Panthers, since they’re our home team and they’re still signing my paychecks. But Syd’s praising every yard the Bucs have gained and lamenting every block from the Panthers.

“The Bucs are the only team she likes more than the Panthers,” Brooke answers for her.

“Bradshaw and Jacobs are my FAVORITE players!” Syd says, super excited, but then she seems to realize who she’s admitting that to. “Umm, a-and you too…” Her face says it all, and I can’t help but laugh and fluff her hair teasingly.

“I’m not offended, kiddo. Bradshaw and Jacobs are legends! On and off the field.” Syd’s eyes go wide as she seems to process what I just said.

“You—you know them! Like, it’s not just that you played against them?”

“Of course. They are good friends of mine,” I say. “Ashton Wilks too.” I look up at Brooke on that one. She blushes, and I laugh.

“WOW! That’s SO COOL!” Syd says with bug eyes. Then she turns toward Brooke again. “Mom, Dad said he’s going to take me to the game when they play each other again!”

I see Brooke’s smile fade into a fake one as she tries to sound excited for Sydney. I know stress is flooding her veins right now.

I know John probably won’t come through for Sydney, yet again. And I know Brooke will be the one stuck comforting a heartbroken kid, yet again.

The pizza arrives at the end of the first quarter, and we all munch away casually on the couch as we watch the game.

“Can Luna have a piece?” I ask Brooke. It’s been twenty minutes of watching sad puppy dog eyes stare up at my plate, and I’m finally ready to cave.

“Sure,” she says. Before she even fully gets the word out I’m handing a whole slice to Luna. She eats it in three bites.

“What—? You gave her an entire slice!”

I shrug. “She looked hungry.”

“No wonder she listens to you!” Brooke says with a sour face. I just return a Cheshire cat, not-sorry smile.

“Speaking of, I should teach you both some commands and training techniques.”

Brooke points her finger at me, countering. “Not before I catch you up on some exercises and stretching!”

“It’s halftime! Can Luna and I go play on the beach? Pleeeease?” Syd begs. Both Brooke and I seem to be experts at caving to this kid’s demands.

“Sure, just keep her on a leash, and stay where I can see you from the backyard.” Brooke helps Syd put on Luna’s leash and I wait for them both, holding the door to the backyard open.

This is actually perfect. Finally I’ll get some time alone with Brooke to say what I’ve been wanting to say.

“This house is gorgeous by the way,” Brooke says, stepping out of the house and looking around at the large backyard with the pool. She squints down to the beach path, watching Sydney running around with Luna.

“You could do some exercises in the pool too,” Brooke suggests, always thinking of others as usual.

I smile at her. “Come sit down for a sec.” I point to the lounge chairs, and we both take a seat.

I try to meet Brooke’s eyes, but she looks away, trying to hide her face behind her hair blowing in the wind. I push a strand behind her ear and bring my face closer to hers, but she just turns her head farther away.

“Colin,” she says, but I have to interrupt.

“Brooke, I’m not like John. I’m not here to hurt you. Just let me prove to you I’m not like him, please,” I beg. “I broke things off w—”

“Wait.” Brooke looks distracted and turns her head back toward the front of the house. “Someone’s here,” she says.