Page 23 of Playing to Win
“Well, she was actually raised in the foster care system. Her parents died in a car accident when she was twelve—”
“Damn. Your family has suffered some loss.”
“Yeah, I know. Just a family filled with tragedy, the Thompson clan. Anyway, she lived in a variety of foster homes growing up. She was placed in one at Velma when she was thirteen, met my dad, nana and pop, and they became her family.”
“So your family is from Velma originally?”
“Yep. Pop owned a small farm outside of town. Nana was the one who actually figured out Mom could sing and started taking her to all the competitions. My parents got married right out of high school. Had me their senior year of college. Came back home to teach. She taught for two years and then, well, you know the rest. She died and our family of five became a family of four.”
Callie sat back in the seat and closed her eyes, willing the tears that were so close to falling back down. She didn’t want Kyle to see her cry. She had already told him way more than she had ever told anyone else. Not even Cassie and Aria. They knew it was just her and her dad and that her mom had died when she was little, but they didn’t know all the details. Details she just spilled out to Kyle like telling him things was second nature. She didn’t know what was going on, but this was getting dangerously close to waters she did not want to tread.
“Oh, look, we’re here,” Callie said, relieved to see her apartment come into view.
“That we are,” Kyle said, coming around the front of his car and opening up the passenger door for her.
“Really? Is that necessary?” she asked him, giving him a pointed look. “My arms aren’t broken.”
“Curly, if my momma saw me just letting you out at your complex without opening your car door and walking you to your apartment, she’d tan my hide. I don’t care that I’m twenty-six years old. I’m still scared of my momma.”
“It’s really not necessary.”
“Well, I say it is. And the longer you argue, the colder you’ll get,” Kyle told her, noticing her shivering.
“Fine,” Callie said with a sigh. Kyle put his hand on his hip and motioned for Callie to lock her arm in his. “What? Are we going to skip to my door, too?”
“And sing Follow the Yellow Brick Road. I’ll even let you be Dorothy as long as I get to be the Lion.”
“Why the lion?”
“Easy. I have a brain. A big, intelligent one, I might add,” he said, giving her a wink.
“That’s what she said,” Callie said with a smirk.
“Would you like to know?” Kyle fired right back with a wink. “Too bad you insisted you don’t date athletes.”
Callie willed her cheeks not to turn red at his words. Damn her mouth for firing off a comment laden with sexual innuendo.
As if sensing her embarrassment, Kyle didn’t push the issue. Instead, he continued with his Lion conversation.
“I have a huge heart, especially for people I care about. I just need the courage to get out of my comfort zone and take drastic measures to make some people believe it.”
“Hmmmm. Good answer. I’ll tell Anderson if he gets any love letters from you it’s just because you have a big heart and were finding the courage to tell him how much you care.”
Kyle rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed. “Curly, I’m going to get under your skin eventually. You’ll see. I’m nothing if not tenacious,” he said, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger.
Callie couldn’t help but smile. Even if she was determined to keep her and Kyle’s relationship strictly platonic friends, she had to admit he was a lot of fun to be around. And not too bad to look at, either. And if she were being really honest with herself, she wouldn’t mind a peek at that big, intelligent brain he boasted about as well.
