There’s a vase filled with wild daisies by my bed when I wake up. I’ve always loved daisies. While my friends would want to pull the petals off while they recited, He loves me, he loves me not, I never could do that. They were too pretty with their little white petals and sunny yellow centers. They remind me of summer as a kid. Of course, that might be because Chase and I would pick them and give them to each other, treating them like they were gold.
I decide to French braid my hair but discover that isn’t easy with a still-sore wrist, so I end up twisting a few pieces back instead and tucking a couple flowers into my hair.
Today is another full day of family togetherness, and I’m just hoping it means we’ll all actually be together. The activity board mentioned another surprise and that we are supposed to wear a swimsuit, bring a set of dry clothes, and be ready to leave by nine thirty.
Meaning, I have an hour. I go downstairs and find the kitchen bustling with activity. Food is being eaten, jokes are being told, and there’s excitement in the air.
And it’s catching.
As much as I would like to fill the day with nothing but kisses from Chase, I am having a lot of fun with our families.
Haley hands me a plate. “I’m manning the waffle machine this morning. We have plain, strawberry, and chocolate chip as well as a more savory version with sausage and cheese mixed into the batter.”
“Oh, um—”
“Hard decision, right?” she says. “I might admit to having had a square of each.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll start with the savory and then finish with a chocolate chip.”
“Good choice,” Damon says, coming up behind me with Chase. “Although, Hay Girl, load me up. I deserve it. Broke my personal best at bench pressing today. And I know, Dad,” he says, holding his hand up to my dad, who did look like he was going to say something. “It’s about increasing my strength and stability, getting stronger and faster. It’s not ego lifting, but it still felt damn good. I’ve been working toward this goal all summer.”
“Congrats, Damon,” Phillip says as my dad nods his head in agreement.
“Chase set a new record, too,” Damon continues, looking at me with a smirk.
Phillip says to Chase, “How much did you lift?”
“Oh, no,” Damon says. “He set a new gym groupie record. Word must have spread somehow. Today, he had a crowd of eight, who just happened to show up at his usual time.”
Chase rolls his eyes and holds a plate out to his sister. “They were all there for you, bro.”
“No,” Damon insists, grinning at me, the little shit.
Is he trying to piss me off? Make me jealous? Because both are working.
“I usually work out later. Had I known there was this much action in the morning, I’d have gotten my ass up earlier.” He holds up three pieces of paper. “Digits. Not that they will do me much good since I don’t have a phone, but whatever. What’s on tap for today? What’s the big surprise?”
“You’ll find out pretty soon,” Dad says, chuckling at my brother.
I know he secretly loves that Damon is a chip off the old block when it comes to girls.
“You’d better not have any pieces of paper like that,” I whisper to Chase.
He doesn’t reply—just loads up his waffles with butter, syrup, and a bunch of bacon—and then goes to sit down. Of course, I pick my plate up off the counter and follow him.
“You didn’t tell me you have been putting on a show every morning at the gym. I would have gotten up early, too. At least to help with crowd control,” I say, trying to sound more lighthearted than I feel.
He looks around, and then he slides his hand under the table and places it on my knee. “Did you wake up to a surprise?”
I can’t help but smile. “I might have.”
“And did it make you happy?”
“Of course.”
“I didn’t pick flowers for anyone else. That ought to tell you something. That, and the fact that your brother totally exaggerates.”
“No, he doesn’t. Not really.”
“Fine. There were people in the gym.”
“Female people,” I say.
“Yes. And why do you think your brother set a new personal best today?”
“Because he was showing off?”
“Yeah, it totally was ego lifting.”
“But you didn’t do that? Is that what you’re saying?”
He leans closer to me. “You’re the only one I want to impress.”
I eat breakfast with a smile plastered all over my face.
“Holy shit!” Damon says. “This is going to be dope!”
He’s right, I think, when we see the boat that is parked out back.
“Tripp’s newest toy,” Chase’s mom says. “It was supposed to be done for their family reunion but didn’t quite make it. We’re the first to use it.”
“What is it exactly?” Haley asks.
“A party boat, basically,” Jennifer says. She’s holding Weston on her hip, but Weston holds her hands out toward me, so she hands me the baby.
“Half-yacht, half-houseboat,” my dad says.
“And the interior floor plan was designed by Jadyn,” Phillip says, giving his wife a proud squeeze.
“Good for you,” Grandpa Mac says. “Can’t wait to see it.”
We are ferried out to the boat via wave runners. Which isn’t as fun as it should be because Weston hates having her life jacket put on, but it’s not like we’re going to let her anywhere near the water without one. She’s screaming bloody murder, and her eyes are filled with angry tears.
“Sorry,” Jennifer says, handing her to me.
I smoosh her between my front and Damon’s back. But when he takes off, the crying stops.
“Did she fall off?” Damon shouts back to me.
“No! I think she likes it!”
“Sweet!” he says.
Our dad is one of the first to the boat, and he and the crew are helping everyone on.
Once we’ve all arrived, even the dogs, who also loved being on the wave runners, Phillip says, “This boat is, in one word …” He points to Madden, who says, “The bomb!”
“That it is. It’s a floating playhouse. The luxury of a yacht, combined with the functionality of a houseboat without wasting space on bedrooms. It was built for exactly what we have planned today. Enjoying family, food, and fun. The top level is fully shaded, and the railings are solid, making it almost like a playpen for the pups and the little ones with lots of space for us to eat and drink. From that level, you have the best views and can also access the stairs to the slides. The second level has the sun deck, which extends out, along with a large plunge pool for when you get hot and a hot tub if you get chilly. Inside is an arcade and games, a bit like the boathouse but with even more to choose from. There are televisions, bathrooms, and a bar. Food and snacks will be spread out buffet-style by the bar, and you can eat whatever and whenever you want.”
“As much as we want?” Madden asks. “And whatever we want? Even if it’s just chips?”
“Yep, Crusher,” his dad replies. “Go for it. Today is all about fun. Feel free to explore, but remember, it’s not ours, so treat it with respect.”
Damon grabs Chase’s arm and says, “Let’s go get the lay of the land.”
“I’m coming, too,” Ryder says, causing Madden, who never wants to miss the action, to take off running behind them.
I take Weston up to the second floor. It is beautiful. The hull of the boat is a dark gray that’s almost but not quite black, and the seating wrapped around this space is a gorgeous, rich cognac leather, which reminds me of a fine Italian handbag. The brass details shimmer in the sun. It’s luxurious to the max, but it’s also cozy. The canopy on the top looks like you can take it down if you want full sun or maybe even to watch the stars at night. I give Weston to my dad, who, thanks to an extremely attentive staff, already has a glass of Guinness in front of him.
“Not going to check out the boat?” he asks me.
“Nah. I’ll let the boys do that. Damon always likes to be in the know about everything.”
My dad laughs and takes a sip of his beer. “Devaney,” he says, his voice turning serious.
“Yeah?”
“That day at the lazy river, when Damon suggested I send you home, were you miserable here, with the family?”
Oh boy. “Um, it’s not that, Dad. It was just all so sudden, you know? The way you surprised us.”
“Which was supposed to be the fun part.”
“Yeah, but you know how I am. I’m not a big fan of surprises. Never have been.”
“Other than gifts.” He smiles.
“Other than that. I’m not good when my plans get messed up. And it takes me a little while to adjust.”
“You’ve always been that way. Your brother goes with the flow.”
“And I go with the flow when it’s traveling in the direction I want it to go in.”
“Did I ruin your summer?” he asks.
And I can tell this has been bothering him.
“In the beginning, I thought you did. I had been seeing Hunter and was pumped about it, and then all of a sudden, it was, You’re leaving for three weeks, and you can’t talk to any of your friends.”
He takes another sip of his beer and then pushes it in front of me, so Weston doesn’t tip it over. “You can have a drink if you want to try it. Have you ever had dark beer?”
I shake my head and then take a drink. “That’s … different than I was expecting. But good. More like coffee almost than beer.”
“I actually prefer it,” my dad says. “So, back to my original question.”
“No, you didn’t ruin my summer, Dad. In fact, it’s been the best summer of my life.”
“Because of Chase?” he says, causing my eyes to go wide.
Is that why he’s questioning me? Does he know?
“It seems like you’re back to being best friends. When you were dating Matt, you grew apart.”
“Yeah, we did. And, yes, we are closer. I feel closer to Damon and Haley, too.”
“Haley’s really grown up. It was always you three, but she’s part of the gang now, isn’t she?”
“Definitely.”
“Jadyn told me that you have been asking her a lot of questions about my, her, and Phillip’s relationships, growing up. She seems to think you and Chase might … date eventually. And I just want you to know that if you do, I’d like to ask you a favor.”
“Okay,” I say tentatively, wondering what he wants.
“Be careful.”
“Like, use protection? Dad, we’ve already talked about—”
My dad’s eyes get huge, and he takes a big gulp of his beer. “Yeah, no. I’m not talking about sex. No. Not at all. Because if we were, I’d have to kill him. And I like him. So, that would suck.”
“What are we talking about then?”
“Love.”
“And I should be careful in love?”
“I’m sorry my marriage to your mother didn’t work out. I hope and pray that us divorcing doesn’t affect you as far as relationships go. I want you to love with your whole heart. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. And it killed me to see you with Matt.”
“Why?”
“Because he didn’t respect you. He didn’t love you the way you deserve to be loved. And I don’t care if you end up with your best friend or someone out there who you will meet. What I care about is that he treats you like the princess that you are.”
“Auntie Jay told me she was afraid to date Uncle Phillip because she always felt like a mess. That she figured she would screw it all up and lose her best friend. I get that. And I’ll be honest, Dad. Sometimes, I feel like I’m a mess, too.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and hugs me. “We all feel that way. I know friends are important in your life when you’re your age. Well, at any age. Just don’t forget that, no matter what, your daddy is always here for you.”
I lean into his chest as tears fill my eyes. “Thank you.”
“And I promise, if you and Chase ever date, I won’t freak out.”
Which makes me laugh through my tears.
When I look up, I see Jadyn and Jennifer standing in front of us.
“That goes for both of us, too,” Jennifer says, sliding next to me and giving me a big hug.
We’ve gone down the slide a million times, jumped on the water trampoline, and snacked all day. We have dinner on the boat and end up staying out on it until well after midnight.
The parents and grandparents are down in the main salon, drinking and playing cards. Ryder and Madden played so hard today that Madden fell asleep at the dinner table. And the babies are tucked into their portable cribs.
The canopy on the top is removed with a flip of a switch. Damon, Chase, Haley, and I are sprawled out, chatting about life and looking at the millions of stars.
“Because I know you were all wondering,” Damon says, “I managed to get the hot babysitter’s number.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yep. I told her that when I get drafted to the NFL, I’ll need her to decorate my house. That she needs to study hard in college. And I told her she couldn’t change her number until then.”
“And she agreed?” Haley asks.
“Yep. She’s into me, but I’m just going to keep it friendly for now.”
“You keep it friendly with everyone.” Haley laughs.
“Speaking of college,” Damon says, “where are we all going?”
“Are we all going to college together?” Haley asks.
“I hope so,” Damon replies. “It’s going to suck if Chase and I don’t get to play college ball together.”
“Mom wants me to go to college on one of the coasts,” I say. “Has she said anything about that to you?”
“No. She knows better than to try and manipulate me like that,” he says.
“What do you mean?”
“You know Mom,” he says with a sigh. “I love her and all, but she has different life priorities. She wants you to go to a school on the coast so that you won’t end up stuck, living next door to your best friends. So that you will expand your world.” He says the last three words in a voice that sounds freakishly like Mom’s.
“And you don’t think expanding our worlds is a good thing?”
“Sure it is, but we can travel and meet people lots of different ways. Chase and I met a ton of cool guys playing seven-on-seven ball this summer. We traveled to four states to play and saw the sights. We go to California often. We’ve made friends there. We have a private jet basically at our disposal, for goodness’ sake. But then, I don’t have to land a man in college.”
“Damon,” Haley chastises, “neither do we. We’ll be there to get an education, so we can get good jobs so that we don’t need a man. Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t want one. It just means we’ll be able to support ourselves financially either way.”
I raise the dark beer sitting in front of me in the air. “Hear, hear.”
I notice that Chase has been pretty quiet during this conversation so far. He opens his mouth to speak but then picks up his still-full beer.
He sets it back down without taking a drink and says to me, “The question wasn’t where your mom wants you to go to college, Dani. It’s, where do you want to go? You’ll be the first of us.”
“As a kid, I always imagined myself going to Nebraska.”
“Me, too,” Haley says.
“Me three,” Damon adds.
“And where do you think you’ll commit?” I ask Chase since he doesn’t say, Me four.
“A lot of schools have been watching both of us since we were in middle school,” Damon says in response. “Nebraska is just one of them. And even though it’s where we want to go, we have to think of what’s going to be best for us. Where do we have the best chance of playing, of starting, of winning, of getting drafted?”
“You have one more year before the schools can officially recruit you, right?” Haley asks.
“Yeah, start of our junior year. How did you know that?” Damon asks her.
“They were talking about it on my elite volleyball team,” she replies. “A lot of the girls I play with are older. And the camps they go to are sponsored by colleges as a way to recruit before they can actually be recruited. I’ve never told anyone this, but I think I might like to do that. Play college volleyball.”
“You have a killer serve. That’s for sure,” Damon says. “Oh shit. Actually, you could be part of my and Chase’s brand.”
“Your brand?” both Haley and I ask.
“Yeah, I know you both think we sit around, playing video games all the time, but we are actually making plans for our future. Take our brand, for instance. Chase is going to major in business and eventually get his law degree.”
“So you can be your own agent?” I ask him. Why do I not know this?
“It will be nice to understand the legal side of that, of course, but we’ll need it for our business. We’ll be doing contracts with other athletes,” Chase explains.
“And I’m going to major in marketing and sports management, so I’ll understand the other side of it.”
“What is your brand going to do?” I ask.
“Oh, it will be an athletic line. Sportswear. Football first, every other sport to follow,” Damon says.
“Should we tell them the name of it?” Chase asks Damon.
Damon fist-bumps him and says to Haley and me, “Only if you promise not to tell anyone. We don’t want someone to steal it before we get the chance.”
“We promise,” Haley and I say.
“It’s called Hierarchy. Our logo is going to have a crown on the bottom and our name on the top. And, of course, in the crown, there will be diamonds.”
“Run faster. Jump higher. Ball harder,” Chase says. “That’s our slogan. Or sales pitch thingy.”
“I love it!” Haley says. “And I want in. I’m going to major in design. I’m just not sure if I’ll go architectural or interior, like my mom, or into clothing and fashion.”
“Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Damon says. “We could all work together.”
“What about you?” Haley asks me.
“I’m going to be a sportscaster,” I say out loud. It’s the first time I’ve told this to anyone other than Chase. But it feels right.
“Which would be sweet,” my brother says. “You could get us even more contacts and could wear our stuff on TV. Just so we all agree, we’d love to go to the same college together, but if it doesn’t work out to be what’s best for us, we’ll still end up working together.” He starts to pick up his glass, like he’s going to toast to it, but seems to think better of it and holds out his pinkie instead. “Pinkie swear.”
“Pinkie swear,” we all say, hooking our fingers together.
“As long as I’m top dog in the hierarchy,” I say with a laugh. “I am the oldest.”
My brother tilts his head, and for once in his life, he doesn’t have a comeback for me. “Deal,” he says.
We load off the boat, onto the wave runners, and shuttle back to the beach in front of the house. It’s really late, and we’re all tired. Chase walks me to my room, and even though I know he can’t stay—too many people are still up—I pull him into my room and give him a good-night kiss.
He touches his lips and smiles happily. “I still can’t believe I’m kissing you. And we’re together.”
“I can’t either. Question,” I say.
“Shoot.”
“I’ll be going to college before you. And I’m just wondering if it’s even a possibility for you to go where I end up.”
“If we’re together, Devaney, our possibilities are endless. I’ll know where I’m being recruited during football my junior year. That will be your senior year, so we’d be able to figure it out. Do you have your heart set on somewhere else? That you didn’t mention tonight?”
“I have my heart set on you, Chase.”
“Then, that’s all that matters,” he says, giving me a long good-night kiss.
