Feel the Fire (Hotshots 3)

Heidi kept conversation moving, asking Luis about his job and deftly quashing more arguments between the boys. Initial nerves aside, Luis found himself enjoying the meal—Tucker hadn’t been lying about the food being proposal-worthy, and the chatty company was a major step up from Blaze’s disdain.

“Hey, Mom? Can you get off work early on Friday?” Wade did such good puppy-dog eyes that Luis had no trouble believing he was probably used to getting his way.

“Maybe. Why?” Heidi idly twirled her wineglass. Dinner was winding down, the boys having packed away an astonishing amount of food, and everyone else full on the generous portions.

“Intra-squad scrimmage at four thirty,” Wade explained, leaning forward. “First chance for the parents to see us in action for the year!”

Walker made a sour face. “Which you’d know if you’d made the booster meeting—”

“Walker.” Isaac’s quiet voice packed a fair punch and immediately had Walker sitting up straighter.

“Sorry, Mom.”

“If I go in early, I can be there, assuming there’s no callout for a fire,” Tucker quickly offered.

“And I’ll try too,” Heidi added.

“I’m gonna cheer!” Angelica narrowly avoided knocking over her milk.

“You can come with Dad.” Wade gestured at Luis, involving him when he’d been perfectly happy observing the family dynamics from afar.

“Oh, I don’t think—”

“That’s a fabulous idea,” Heidi enthused. “That way if I’m late, you still have an extra person to root for you.”

“Exactly. We need all the crowd we can get.” Wade’s eyes lit up, and Luis couldn’t tell whether he was playing matchmaker or trying to bug his brother, who looked decidedly chilly about the prospect of Luis coming.

Luis wasn’t sure about how he felt about either option. He didn’t want anyone getting invested in him and Tucker as anything other than a friendship. The fleeting fling part could and should stay private, and he wasn’t here to be used as a pawn in some sort of brotherly one-upmanship.

“We’ll see,” Tucker said firmly before Luis could concoct an excuse. “And how about not bugging our guest?”

“I’m not.” Wade was the picture of innocence. “In fact, we were in the middle of a video game earlier. Walker and I are going to stick around here after dinner, finish our level.”

“We are? Ouch.” Walker went from skeptical to pained as his brother did something to him under the table. “Yeah, I guess we are. Prepare to die, f—”

“Language,” all three parents chorused before he could finish.

Luis’s back tightened as his jaw flexed. He was both grateful to Wade for ensuring he might get some time alone with Tucker and irritated at his continued obvious matchmaking for the sake of making his brother squirm. If Luis were sticking around, which he wasn’t, he’d prefer to win over the more subdued Walker slowly and not with Wade forcing the issue. It was clear that both boys loved Tucker a lot, and the last thing Luis wanted to do, even temporarily, was come between them.

“I should be getting back to my hotel pretty soon,” he said, trying to beam I’m not horning in on your dad messages to Walker. Yeah, he wanted to make out with Tucker, the urge to be alone with him again only increasing since Sunday’s hasty but heated kisses, but he also didn’t want the kid pissed at them.

“It’s okay. You can talk to Dad. We’ll clear.” Walker sounded more resigned than enthusiastic, but Luis supposed it was something. “And if you come Friday, I’m number thirty-one and Wade’s thirteen. Make sure you yell the right name when I have the ball.”

“You? Have the ball?” Wade scoffed and then the boys were off bickering about sports again as they took away the dirty dishes and returned with the cookies Luis had brought.

“Way too full,” Tucker groaned.

“Me too.” Luis passed the box along.

“More for me.” Wade helped himself to three.

“Shall I walk you back to your car?” Tucker asked as Walker too took a handful of cookies and headed up the stairs.

“Sure.” He did what he thought was a good job of not sounding too eager as they made their way to the door amid a flurry of goodbyes.

“So...was it horrible?” Tucker asked once they were back out on the sidewalk. The day was finally starting to cool off a little, but still a dry heat lingered in the air. “Never to be repeated?”

“Nah. It was fine. Slightly weird, seeing you and Heidi as parents, but Isaac seems nice. If anything, you undersold his cooking. Those pork chops were more than worth sitting through the Walker and Wade show.”

“Wade...” Tucker shook his head. “He’s something. And not subtle either. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. He’s fun. But I don’t want Walker mad at you over anything relating to me, Wade’s antics included.”

“I’m going to try to talk to him again. I honestly don’t think it’s you, but something’s going on. He’s always been quieter than Wade, but not this sullen.”