*
“Want a beer?” Asher asks.
Brandon’s face lights up and his hand goes forward to take the beer when Nico snatches the beer from Asher and opens it.
“Sorry, kid. You need to get some hair on your chest. Then you can have a beer,” Trevor says, handing Brandon a soda, smirking.
“Whatever,” Brandon grumbles, sitting back in his chair and taking a drink of his soda before looking around the campsite.
It’s been over a month since I picked up Brandon from the station. He has made a lot of changes since then. He is home more often than not or he is hanging out with me, Joe, or one of the Maysons. His grades have improved, and his and Kat’s relationship has done a complete one-eighty. Not only has he been helping November, but he has also shown a great interest in the club and improving it. I know nothing about social media, but the kid is a damn wiz and he has helped build clientele online with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Joe is completely impressed with the damn kid, and I have to say I’m proud as hell of him.
“So, who is the girl you were hanging around the other day?” Nico asks.
I look at Brandon and then Nico and raise an eyebrow.
“No one,” Brandon mumbles, glaring at Nico.
“Didn’t look like no one to me, kid. You were making goo-goo eyes at her.”
Brandon glares harder. “I wasn’t.”
“Shut up, Nico,” Cash says and smiles at Brandon. “That’s his study partner, right?” Cash asks, looking at Brandon.
Brandon’s eyes narrow even further. “She’s a friend,” he grits out.
‘Who’s this?” I ask.
“She’s no one. Just a friend from school,” Brandon says.
“Friend… Hmmm,” Trevor says.
Brandon glares at him. “She is a friend,” he says.
Trevor gets a strange smile on his face. “Liz is my best friend,” he says, which makes me chuckle.
“You’re an idiot,” Brandon says, laughing, and the rest of the guys laugh too.
“So, are we going to go fishing or sit around all day gossiping?” James asks, walking up to the group with his fishing pole.
“Come with me for a second, bud,” I tell Brandon.
He follows me to the back of Asher’s Jeep, where we have all our stuff stowed. When I open the hatch, I pull out the gift I got for him and hand it to him. His eyes go from me to the box then back again.
“What is it?” he asks.
“Open it,” I tell him.
He pulls off the paper his mom insisted I wrap it in last night and his eyes go from his new pole to me.
“It’s a good one,”
He swallows hard and nods.
“Your mom insisted on wrapping it even though I told her not to,” I tell him.
His lips twitch and he looks at me again. “Thanks,” he says.
I nod, patting him on the back. I fell in love with Kat a long time ago, but I have slowly fallen in love with her son over the last month.
“You want me to help you set it up?” I ask him.
He nods again, pulling it completely from the box. We spend the next ten minutes getting his new trigger pole ready to use. Once it’s completely set up, I grab my pole and the tackle box I brought and head out to the boat we launched into the water when we arrived at the lake.
Once we all get in the boat, we head out into the middle of the lake, where the water is deeper and the fish radar is showing a school of fish below. We all cast off into the water and settle in for the day.
My dad used to bring my brother and me to this same lake when I was growing up. Most of our summers were spent out on the water. I have a lot of good memories here, and it feels good to share this place with Brandon. It makes me feel closer to him.
“I think you got something, bud,” I tell Brandon as I watch the end of his pole bend slightly.
“How do you know?” he asks, looking from the pole to me.
“Watch the point of your pole,” I tell him, and his eyes move to the pole. The end moves again.
“What do I do?” he asks quietly.
I look around the boat and see that everyone is focused on Brandon and me. “You’re gonna give your pole a tug. If something is on there, you want to make sure that it’s hooked good and tight. Then you’re gonna start reeling it in,” I tell him.
He nods then does as I said, giving the pole a firm tug before reeling in the line.
“It’s heavy,” he says, his body and arms flexing as he fights against the fish that is determined to get away.
“You can do it,” I tell him, standing at his side, coaching him the whole time—letting him know when to release some and when to bring the line in.
It takes a good half hour to get the fish to the top, and I’m surprised to see a giant bass break the surface of the water.
“Holy shit,” Asher says, leaning over the side of the boat.
“That’s one big fish!” Nico laughs and Brandon smiles looking over at me.
“Get the net,” Cash tells Trevor.
“You did good, Kid,” Trevor tells Brandon, leaning into the water to help Asher scoop out the fish.
“Well, you caught dinner,” James says.
The smile that was on Brandon’s face disappears in an instant. “You mean we’re going to eat it?”
“Hell yes, we’re going to eat it!” Asher smiles bringing the fish onto the boat.
“I never agreed to eating fish. Didn’t we bring hot dogs or something?” Brandon asks, making me laugh.