"So, here's everything you need to know," Everly said taking a deep breath in and letting it out, turning to face Keaton. "I'm the oldest of two. I have a younger brother that's a junior in high school. His name's Finley but we call him Finn for short."
"Finley? That's an unusual name," Keaton said, scrunching his eyebrows. "I've never heard that one before."
"He's named after the Finley Park baseball field my Dad grew up playing on."
"Your brother's named after a baseball field? So your Dad's REALLY into baseball then?" Keaton asked, raising his eyebrows and shifting in his seat.
She laughed. "Uh yeah. That's the understatement of a lifetime. My Grandpa, Dad and Finn are all obsessed. Finn played on the same team with Brad last year when they won the National Championship. He's hoping to get a full ride to college for it like he did, so he pretty much lives for baseball right now. I grew up going to all their games so I know more about baseball than any woman I know. That's why I got assigned the job covering the baseball team for my high school paper and now the paper at NYU."
Keaton nodded, thinking this over. "So if Brad's supposed to be the next Baby Ruth or whatever, your family must really love him."
"It's Babe Ruth," Everly laughed, giving him a smile and laying her hand on his, weaving their fingers together. "But yeah," she said with an exhale, looking down. "They love Brad. My Dad's actually the reason he started playing baseball in the first place."
When Everly raised her head and looked into his eyes, she could tell he seemed worried by this information.
"You remember how I told you Brad grew up right next door and was my best friend growing up? Well he was at our house pretty much all day every day. When my dad would go in the backyard and play catch or do batting practice with Finn, Brad would watch. Then one day Dad invited him to join in and he said he could tell right away that Brad was a natural."
"So your Dad's the one that taught him to play baseball?" Keaton asked and she could see him processing.
"Yeah, and to this day he watches every single game Brad plays in on the NYU livestream and sends him a message afterwards telling him he did a good job and giving him pointers on things he could work on. My Dad was Finn and Brad's baseball coach when they played peewee and he was the assistant coach for their high school team last year when they won Nationals. He's not coaching this year because he started selling model cars on ebay and it takes up too much time."
Keaton rubbed the back of her hand he was holding and she could tell he was in deep thought.
"What is it?" she asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"
He took a deep breath in and let it out, shaking his head. "Fuck. I was really nervous about meeting your family before, but now that I know how much they love Brad, I think I might just catch a flight right back to New York," he laughed.
She laughed and smacked his arm, shaking her head. Then her smile slowly faded and she looked down at their hands and let out an exhale. "Seriously, though. My family does love Brad, but after what he did with Amber I think they were just as heartbroken and disappointed in him as I was."
"That's understandable," Keaton nodded. "I can't say I blame them. If we have a daughter one day and her boyfriend does that to her, he better hope I don't find him."
The fact that Keaton was talking about their future children made her smile and she lifted the arm rest separating them, snuggling up against his side and laying her head against his shoulder.
"Don't be nervous about meeting my family," she told him softly with a sigh. "Just go in there and be yourself and I'm sure they'll love you as much as I do."
He leaned forward, kissing her forehead before whispering, "I hope you're right."
***** A couple hours later - Finn's Point of View *****
Knock, knock, knock.
"Mags! Can you get that?" Finn heard his Dad yell from his office where he was working on painting a model car to sell on Ebay.
"I can't Austin. I've got my hands full down here in the laundry room. Finn get the door!" his Mom shouted up from the basement.
"Alright!" Finn grumbled, reluctantly getting up with a groan. He had just gotten back from a baseball scrimmage and he was still wearing his dirty, grass-stained uniform because he was too exhausted and sore to change.
He walked over and opened the door to see his sister standing there clinging onto the arm of a tall guy he didn't recognize, who he assumed must be the infamous boyfriend his Mom was freaking out about coming home with her for Thanksgiving.
"Finn!" Everly shouted, walking forward and wrapping him up in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much!"
He hugged her back and said, "Believe it or not, I've actually missed you too. I didn't even know it was possible," he teased, getting a punch in the arm from his big sister, making him laugh.
"Ha ha. Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes and stepping back from the hug.
It had only been a few months but she looked different, more grown up and sophisticated somehow. She was wearing a skirt and heels instead of her usual jeans and tennis shoes. Maybe living in New York City had already changed her.
"Why'd you knock? This is still your house weirdo," he teased, ruffling up her hair and she shoved him over onto the couch face first. He sat back up laughing. Nope she was still the same old Everly, even if she looked different.
"Man I've missed harassing you," he smiled, shaking his head. "It's not the same harassing Mom. She just gets her feelings hurt and gets mad because she takes everything so serious," he laughed, getting back up to his feet and looking back and forth between Everly and this guy.
Everly noticed and said, "Keaton, this is my little brother Finn. Finn, this is my boyfriend Keaton."
It was so weird to hear her calling a guy that wasn't Brad her boyfriend. He looked the man up and down and everything about this guy screamed out, 'I'm a rich pretentious douche nozzle.' His dark jeans didn't have a single wrinkle or rip in them and he was wearing some kind of shiny black dress shoes instead of tennis shoes. Finn had never seen anyone in real life wear shoes like that before. He had a huge expensive looking watch on his wrist like what celebrities wear on TV and his hair looked freshly cut and there wasn't a hair out of place.
"Nice to meet you Finn," the guy said in a British accent with a smile, holding out his hand.
"Ummm. Nice to meet you too," Finn said hesitantly, stepping forward and shaking his hand. He had a firm, strong grip and made eye contact, showing that he wasn't intimidated. Finn stepped back and cleared his throat before saying, "Uh. Well, I'll go let Mom and Dad know you guys are here."
Finn walked to the backroom and slid his Dad's office door open, whispering, "Dad. Everly's home and she's got her new boyfriend with her."
Austin's eyes shot open. "What?! Are you serious? They're early!" He looked down at his old t-shirt with model car paint on it and tattered blue jeans. "Shoot! I've gotta shower and change real quick. Why don't you entertain them for a bit?"
"Entertain them with what? Baseball stories? That's about all I've got," he said, laughing.
His Dad looked around his office frantically, before grabbing a large photo album off of a shelf and shoving it into Finn's hands. "Here. Show him this to kill time," pushing him out of his office and closing the door behind him so he could get ready.
"Wait!" Austin whisper shouted as Finn started to walk away. He looked back and saw his Dad peeking through the door waving him back over. "What do you think about him?" he whispered.
Finn thought for a second and said quiet enough that no one else would hear. "He looks really rich and he's all hoity toity with his British accent and shiny shoes. He reminds me of a duke or a lord or something," he laughed. "Nothing like Brad. That's for sure."
"Really?" Austin asked, looking surprised. "That's weird. That doesn't sound like the type of guy Everly would go for."
"How would you know what kind of guys she would go for? She's only ever dated Brad," Finn laughed.
"Yeah," Austin said, letting out an exhale and shaking his head. "It's a shame what happened with those two. He screwed up big time but they're meant to be together. We all know it," his Dad whispered. "Maybe having her back at home this week we can help convince her that she's making a huge mistake with this guy and get her to give Brad a second chance.
"Yeah," Finn smiled, giving his Dad a fist bump. "Sounds like a plan."
***** Keaton's Point of View *****
Their house was nicer than Keaton had expected it to be since Everly had mentioned several times that they didn't have much money. It was a modest two-story and it wasn't large but it wasn't as small as he had expected it to be either. Even though there was a little clutter here and there, it was decorated well, and was clean and smelled like cookies baking and laundry detergent. Their house felt warm and inviting and a lot more comfortable than his Dad's stuffy mansion back in London that was more like a museum than a home.
Keaton sat down on the sofa next to Everly, taking a deep breath in and letting it out, rubbing his hands on his knees and feeling more nervous than he had ever felt in his life. He was about to meet the people that could be his future in-laws one day and if they didn't like him, it could ruin everything. He knew how close Everly was to her parents and how much their opinion mattered, so if they hated him he was afraid it could be the end of their relationship.
After hearing about how close they were to Brad and how obsessed her Dad and brother were with baseball, he was worried they wouldn't like him just because he wasn't Brad. Her brother Finn emerged out of the back room holding a really large binder in his hands.
"Dad needed a minute so he told me to entertain you guys with this stupid old photo album," he grumbled, rolling his eyes and plopping down on the couch in between them.
"Oh man?!" Everly said with her face lighting up. "I haven't seen this album in years!"
Finn opened it and started flipping through the pages of pictures, pointing at one and busting out laughing uncontrollably. It was of Everly when she was a small baby, wearing a short poofy dress and she had chubby arms and legs with fat rolls.
"That's cute," Keaton laughed.
"No! That's embarrassing!" Everly gasped, reaching over and turning the page quickly.
As Finn flipped through page after page, Keaton's eyes scanned over the pictures full of smiling, happy faces. There were family vacations, dance recitals, Everly's art showcases, Brad and Finn's little league games, holidays, birthdays, summer camp, horseback riding, graduation, prom, and the national baseball championships. Finn and Everly pointed at different ones, reminiscing about the stories behind where they were taken and what they were doing. He couldn't help but notice Brad was in a lot of the pictures. Maybe she hadn't been exaggerating when she said he was with her family all day every day growing up.
He could tell Everly had a really happy, care-free childhood and that made him think about his own. He had missed out on so much growing up because he never really got the chance to just enjoy being a kid. He had to grow up fast while taking care of his sick Mom from the ages of eight to ten, being responsible for keeping the household running and making sure the bills got paid because she was too sick to.
After she passed he was sent off to live with his Dad, but he was usually working so Keaton spent most of his time at boarding school. It would've been nice to have had a sibling or two to grow up with and a big, close family. Everly and Finn had no idea how lucky they were to have had the family and childhood they had.