Chapter Nine
Trent
I was quiet for most of the drive to the stadium. Lindsay chatted away in the back seat, with Kade and Dec answering her now and then. But I couldn’t help but think over my conversation with Declan. I couldn’t believe I told him about my parents and growing up in foster care. It wasn’t as if I hid it, but it also wasn’t something I ever talked about. I also couldn’t believe I asked Dec to come over for dinner with Evan. He must think I’m a clingy, friendless weirdo now.
When Dec parked in a garage, he grinned at me and asked, “You ready?”
“Yep,” I said, smiling back. Despite what I’d told him and the weird dinner invitation, he still seemed happy, so I’d take it. Maybe he was already accustomed to my brand of extra special weirdo.
We hopped out and Kade and Lindsay led the way, holding hands in front of us. Dec walked beside me and shoulder-bumped me. “Keep an eye out for something weird and gross to buy.”
I laughed despite myself and something inside of me settled. I needed to forget everything and just focus on having fun today. I could worry about Evan and that dinner later. For now, I needed to enjoy myself. I was hanging out with a fun guy that I really liked. As a friend, obviously. People check out their hot friends all the time, right? ‘Cause Dec looks hot in his ass-hugging jeans. Ugh, I really needed to stop it. So what if he was hot? Get over it. Unfortunately, the fact that he was such a good guy was only making me want to check him out more. I’m hopeless. I ignored my inner crazy person and checked out all the vendors outside the stadium.
By the time we entered the stadium, I had four hotdogs, a bag of peanuts, fried pickles, a cheeseburger, fries, and a strange-looking sausage thing. Declan thought I was crazy, but he didn’t realize I was making him share with me. Luckily, Lindsay had brought a small bag and filled it with water bottles. But Dec and I carried all my food in, and fortunately, it was all wrapped up in aluminum foil or paper bags, so it was easy to carry. I was surprised that we were even allowed to bring in outside food and drinks, but apparently, we were. Dec told me that we wouldn’t have been allowed to if we were going to a football game instead of baseball. I told him it was a good thing he brought me to a baseball game and not a football game, then.
Once we sat in our seats, Kade leaned past his girlfriend and said, “Damn, Dec, these are nice seats.”
Dec just shrugged his shoulders.
“Thanks for bringing us with you.” Kade held his fist out, so Dec bumped it before Kade said something to Lindsay that I couldn’t hear.
I leaned toward Dec and asked, “What’s so good about them? Because they’re close?” We were pretty close to the ground and not way up in the upper parts of the stadium. We were also near home plate, or like, right behind it, so maybe that was why.
Dec smirked at me, but all he said was, “You seriously haven’t been to a game here?”
I shook my head.
“You going to be able to follow along with the game?”
I pushed his shoulder. “Shut up, jerk. I’m not a moron. See if I share my food with you now.”
“Oh wow, you were going to share? You really do like me.”
I snorted and pushed his shoulder again, then grabbed one of the hotdogs and passed it to him. “Here, don’t say I never gave you anything.”
He smiled, took the hotdog, then unwrapped it. He looked at me with raised eyebrows. “You remembered what I like on my hotdog?”
“Dude, it’s literally just ketchup. It’s like the easiest thing to remember.” I waved him off and unwrapped my hotdog.
After I took a bite, Dec asked, “Ew, did you put mayo on yours too?”
I nodded and swallowed my bite. “And ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, and that weird sauce they had that no one could tell me what it was.”
“You are so gross.”
I shrugged. “It’s good.” I took another bite.
***
“Oh my god, you have to try one of these,” I said as I threw my fifth jalapeno popper—I’d bought some on our way back from my last bathroom break—into my mouth. “They’re so damn good. Here, try one.” I chewed my own as I lifted one to Dec’s mouth, but he pressed his lips together and pushed my hand away. I swallowed my bite. “Aww, come on. Just try it.” I tried to force the jalapeno popper into his mouth, rubbing it against his lips as he fought a smile.
He pushed my arm and laughed. “Would you stop? I don’t want one.”
“But they’re sooooooo good. Cooooome oonnnn. Just try it!”
“Oh my god, Trent. Stop.” He tried to sound demanding, but he ended up laughing.
I stuck out my bottom lip. “Please. Try it for me?” I threw it in my mouth, then grabbed another to hold out to him. Damn, these are hot.
“I don’t want one.” He shook his head and tried—but failed—to hide his smile.
“Please?” I started bouncing in my seat as the spicy flavor made my tongue feel like it was on fire. But they were so tasty, I threw another one in my mouth. I grabbed yet another and tried to force it past Declan’s lips because he started laughing again, but he held my arm out of the way.
“Stop, or I’m not letting you eat anything else for the rest of the game,” Dec said as I bounced even faster in my seat. Dec furrowed his brow. “Dude, are you crying? I was kidding. I’m not crazy enough to withhold food from you.”
My mouth felt like I’d eaten lava, and the lava somehow exploded into something even hotter, all over my tongue, burning every freaking millimeter. But I didn’t want Declan to know, so I didn’t say anything. Like a dumbass, I just let him believe I was crying over food, rather than over my burning mouth. Pretty soon smoke would be coming out my ears and nose. Holy fuck.
“Seriously, Trent, I was just joking.” Declan was staring at me with concern, so I tried to wave him off without giving anything away. All that did was make him frown. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head and started bouncing my knee really fast.
“Trent, are you okay? You’re sweating.”
Fuck.
“Trent?”
Oh, fuck it. I let out a huge gasp and reached across Declan’s lap to grab his water bottle out of his cupholder, then chugged half of it down. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, panting like a dog, because it didn’t seem like the water had helped my tongue any. At. All. I wiped my eyes with a napkin, then took another sip of water before I realized Declan was cracking up laughing at me.
I pushed his shoulder and spoke with my tongue still out. “Ath-ho.”
“What was that? I couldn’t understand you with your tongue like that,” the smug asshole said.
“Thut upa.” I pushed him again.
He laughed harder, so hard that tears started running down his cheeks. I glared at him, then took another sip of his water and attempted to put my tongue back in my mouth.
“Having some trouble, there, Little Jalapeno?”
I looked sharply at him. “What did you just call me?”
He shot me a huge smile. “As your best friend, I get to pick a nickname. Pretty sure you just earned yours, Little Jalapeno.”
I glared. “I’m not ‘Little’ anything, asshat.”
“You’re smaller than me, and younger, for that matter, so yeah, you are little.” He reached out and poked my cheek.
I smacked his hand away. “That’s a horrible nickname. Change it. Take it back. Pick something else.”
“Sorry, no can do. Once a nickname has been given, there’s no takebacks.” He shrugged and in mock-seriousness said, “It’s in the Best Friends Handbook. I don’t make these rules.”
I snorted at that. “Yes, you do.” I stuck my tongue out at him, then all the people around us stood up and started cheering. I looked at Dec. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, I was talking to you.”
I sighed dramatically, then said over the crowd, “You’re absolutely no help, Cupcake.” I smirked at his horrified facial expression. I knew thinking of the most ridiculous, cutesy nickname would get him. “Hey, it’s in the Best Friends Handbook. You are now, and forevermore, known as Cupcake.”
He glared.
I smiled sweetly at him. “You are so regretting your rule right now.”
He tried to glare further, but he ended up chuckling. “Whatever.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “I win.”
“Didn’t know it was a competition.”
“Doesn’t matter, I still win, Cupcake.”
“Whatever, Little Jalapeno.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Jerk. He probably deserved a few points… he had made me laugh. A lot. Ugh. Jerkface.
I eyed him and his handsome, drop-dead gorgeous face. And his sexy body. He smiled at me, looking completely at ease and unlike the normal stoic jerkface Declan that I’d always seen before I’d gotten to know him. He’d always seemed so distant and unapproachable. But seeing him now, carefree and having fun, joking around and being ridiculous with me was like seeing a completely different person. I’d misjudged him so badly. I’d let everyone else’s judgements and assumptions cloud my own. I’d thought he was such a jerk.
And I’d never been so happy to be wrong in my life.
This person I was with right now was sweet, kind, caring, generous, reliable, and funny. If I hadn’t gotten over myself, I may never have known him.
And maybe we’d been joking around, saying we were best friends, but he was truly becoming one of the best friends I’d ever had. We hadn’t really been friends for long and he was already closer to me than anyone else. He seemed to get me in a way that no one else did. That probably made me a little pathetic, but I didn’t care about that. I only cared that Declan was a good guy, a good friend. And I planned on keeping him. I hadn’t had this much fun with someone else in years. Not even with any of the guys I’d dated in the past couple years.
“You alright, Jalapeno?” Declan nudged my shoulder with his, snapping me out of my reverie.
I shot him a smile. “I’m really good.” I looked out at the baseball game, though I hadn’t paid much attention for the past half hour, then I looked back at Dec. “Thanks for bringing me with you, Cupcake. This is really fun.”
He chuckled and shook his head at the nickname. “No problem.” He shoulder-bumped me. “I’m expecting you to pay me back, though.” I could tell he didn’t mean pay him back for the tickets or anything.
“Oh yeah? With what?”
“Figure out something for us to do next Saturday, if you’re off again.”
“Oh, I can do that.”
He eyed me for a moment. “You’re gonna think of something weird and gross to do, aren’t you?”
“I can’t share my secrets with you.” I said, looking forward, but unable to hide my grin. “But yeah, probably.”
“Lovely.”
I laughed at that.