The Sweetest Game (The Perfect Game 3)

“Daddy, I’m ready!” Chance shouted from the top of the stairs.

“Be right up. Give me two seconds,” I shouted back and watched as he kicked at the railing. “Don’t kick the railing please, buddy. ” He stopped and dropped to his butt, his legs folded Indian-style as he waited for me.

“You should probably tell Dean in person,” Cassie suggested. “Want me to invite them over for dinner? Coby loves swimming in the pool. ”

“Actually, that sounds great. Can we invite Gran and Gramps too?”

“Of course. I’ll call everyone. You go swim with your boy. ”

Giving her a quick kiss, I bolted upstairs to change.

Cassie handled everything while I swam in our saltwater pool with Chance. He splashed and kicked, but mostly he wanted me to throw him around. Playing in the pool with this kid was almost a better workout than the gym. My shoulders ached by the time Dean and Melissa arrived and my little nephew jumped in the water, begging for me to throw him too.

“Frow me, Unckie Jack. Frow me!” Coby screamed out in excitement, his cheeks turning bright red.

I grabbed him and tossed him into the air as he squealed. His little face popped right back out of the water as soon as he entered it. “That vest thing you’re wearing is pretty cool,” I said to Coby, impressed with the floatation devices kids these days had to wear.

“That’s for little kids. I’m wearing big kid floats,” Chance informed me as he touched one of the inflatable bands he wore around his arms.

My brother, Dean, appeared out of nowhere and dove straight in, splashing everyone in the pool. He swam over to where the three of us were and gave me a nod.

“Are kids always this competitive?” I asked him after I tossed our kids into the water again.

“I don’t know about all kids, but ours sure are. ”

“We weren’t like that,” I insisted as I tried to remember being that way with Dean growing up.

He laughed. “No, what you mean to say is I wasn’t like that. You were definitely like that. ”

“Was not. ”

“Was too. ”

“We’ll ask Gran then. ”

“Ask me what?” Gran’s voice caught our attention and I hopped out of the pool before drenching her in a wet hug. “Jack! Stop it. ”

“Gran’s all wet!” Chance shouted. “Daddy, you got Gran all wet. I wanna get Gran all wet. ” He clambered out of the pool and ran into Gran’s legs, soaking her pants.

“Chance, no running!” Cassie called out from the open window.

“Sorry, Mommy!” Chance yelled as he ran/walked back to the pool and jumped in.

Gran eyed me like she was going to kill me and I played innocent. “I can’t help it that all the boys love you. You should really blame yourself. ”

“Nice try. ” She waved a finger at me. “Now, what were you boys talking about?”

“Gran, Jack seems to think that we weren’t competitive growing up,” Dean said in a mockingly shocked tone as Gran giggled.

“Obviously Jack has a selective memory. Honey, you were extremely competitive with Dean. But he wasn’t competitive back. He just wanted to be like you. ”

“Told you. ” Dean splashed me before diving under the water.

“Uncle Dean, throw me!”

“Frow me too, Daddy!”

“Me first, Uncle Dean!”