Keeping Secrets

Uncomfortable Dessert

PEYTON

Amanda's mom gave me a big hug after she opened the door. "It's so good to see you, Peyton. How's school?"

"School's good. Busy, but good."

"Excellent. Come on in. Everyone is in the dining room. We just started on dessert."

"Ugh," I groaned. "I think I had too much of that already."

Amanda's mom, Vi - short for Vivian- laughed. "I'm sure you can fit some of my pumpkin pie."

That only made me groan harder.

I loved her pumpkin pie. She was an excellent baker, but I had already eaten way too much. It was kind of like I'd taken the thanksgiving break as an opportunity to pig out more than normal. Like I was stress eating.

It might've had something to do with what I'd discovered about my feelings for Beau, or maybe that my dad spent the entire Thanksgiving dinner going over Eli's stats in football, and beaming about the fact that he - as a high school sophomore - had made the starting lineup.

If I hadn't realized it earlier, I definitely had by now. There was an apparent difference in how my father both viewed and treated me and my brother. I wasn't much of an athlete, never had been, but I'd always been a good student.

My brother was the opposite, and as much as my dad harped on me to keep up with my studies, he was much more lenient with Eli. I wondered what would happen if Eli never got the football scholarship my dad was hoping for?

And then I felt guilty. It wasn't Eli's fault that our dad was all over him to do well in sports. He was probably under just as much pressure as I was, just not for the same thing. Maybe even more so, since he was still living at home.

It was just that, for once, I wanted to my dad to look at me with the same pride he looked at my brother.

I removed my shoes and put them next to the door. Amanda's mom waited for me with a smile on her face. She looked like an older version of Amanda.

"I'm not so sure..." I said. "Don't hold it against me, okay?"

"No worries. I already put some aside for you to take home."

"Aww, you're the best, Vi." I gave her a quick hug and headed for the dining room with her behind me.

"Hey P," Mandi shouted from the table when I walked into the room.

"Hey, Mandi. Hey everyone."

Her father and her aunt and uncle were all at the table. They all responded with "hello," and "how are you?" There were coffee cups, plates and several pies and cookies on the table, as well as an open laptop in front of Amanda's aunt Rita. I could hear Justin's voice coming from it. "Hey Peyton," he said.

"Oh, hey Justin. Are you doing virtual thanksgiving?" I asked and walked around so I was behind his parents within view of the screen. His laugh made me giggle.

It wasn't just him on the screen. Dane, Lucas and Beau were all there next to him, looking right at me. That caught me off guard and I'm pretty sure I blushed.

"Oh, hey," I stammered.

"Happy Turkey day," Lucas said and held up a sandwich. "It's not really the same here." He gestured to the table in front of him, which was full of food and beers, but not the traditional turkey dinner they were used to.

I laughed. "I believe it, and isn't it like two in the morning?"

"Yeah, but we are growing boys. We still have to eat," Beau added.