Teddy

LAKE HOPE IS A VIBRANT MIX OF red, white and blue as the town celebrates Memorial Day. Everyone is gathered at the park by the lake, with rows of canopies that families set up the night before staking their claim on the prime spots.

Each canopy houses a table with food and drinks to share and games to play. Sloppy jos, kabobs, burgers, brats, hotdogs, pulled pork sandwiches. Cookies, brownies, pies, cupcakes, and so many other desserts dressed up to resemble an American flag with various fruit. Cornhole, golfing greens, horseshoes, badminton, lawn Jenga, water balloons and squirt guns.

Every family has their thing they're known for and continue to do year after year. The Andersons? They make up pounds and pounds of taco meat, buy dozens and dozens of single serve Doritos bags and all the fixings for walking tacos.

Eating a taco salad out of a mini Doritos bag is easily a highlight for many, including myself. Then there are those who ruin the experience and dump it all out onto a paper plate, like my very grumpy, fun-hating boyfriend, which is what he is currently doing, his big body sprawled out in a camping chair with the flimsy paper plate balanced on his lap.

"What?" he asks between bites.

I stir my plastic fork around my Doritos bag, mixing in the taco sauce, before digging out a big bite and shoving it into my mouth. "Why must you ruin the fun of a walking taco?" I ask with a full mouth.

"Not this again, Teddy. It's a fucking taco. Who cares how I eat it?"

"Everyone. Everyone cares." I point my fork at my friend who is lining up to make her own walking taco. "Ry? You care?"

"Pretty sure you can judge a person on the way they eat a walking taco. And Jensen would definitely qualify as psychopath. Sorry, dude, but it's facts." She crunches up the chips in her bag before adding a few scoops of taco meat.

"So you're an expert on psychopath qualifications, huh?" Finn asks as he scoots up next to Rylie in the walking taco line. "Or is it more like a 'takes one to know one' type deal?"

Rylie side-eyes him, a slow grin spreading across her face. "You tell me, Finny. Can you spot a psychopath from a mile away? You know, since it takes one to know one?"

He smirks at her like he's gearing up with a saucy comeback, but it's interrupted by a banging sound behind the table.

"Shit," Vivi curses, quickly bending to pick up the box of Doritos she knocked over. When she stands, there's a pink tint on her cheeks. She rubs the back of her wrist over her forehead, revealing a folded piece of paper in her hand. She fans it over her flushed face.

"What the hell, Viv?" Sutton rounds the table to her stepsister, placing a hand on Vivi's wrist to stop her movements. "What's this?" She points to the paper in Vivi's hand and then her eyes go wide. "Is this another one?"

Vivi stares at her, nodding slowly. When Sutton tries to tear the paper out of her hands, Vivi pulls away abruptly, taking a few steps back. She clutches the paper behind her back, shaking her head.

"Let's read it," Sutton says, inching her way closer to her sister with an outstretched hand, wiggling her fingers. "Come on."

Vivi shakes her head again. "No." The word is whispered.

"Fine, fine," Sutton sings. She makes like she's going to turn away, and right when it looks like Vivi is settling her tense body, Sutton lunges forward and steals the paper out of Vivi's hand. When Vivi tries to grab it back, Sutton dances around and hides behind Kelly, his tall and broad frame blocking her.

Unfolding the paper, Sutton reads aloud, "You're like a burst of sunshine on this fine day." A laugh bubbles out of her as she steps around Kelly. She points the paper at Vivi. "Oh, shit, Viv. These keep getting better and better."

Vivi snatches the note back angrily, stashing it in the back pocket of her jean shorts. The look she gives her sister promises brutal retaliation.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jensen demands. He stands from his chair and stomps over to the garbage to discard his empty plate.

When Vivi doesn't respond, Sutton pipes up, "Vivi is getting anonymous love notes again from her mysterious admirer."

Everyone's eyes go to Vivi, who is blushing. "Shut it, Sutton."

"Again? Were you before and then it stopped?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. "And now you're getting them again?"

Vivi sighs and then nods, giving into the questioning she knows won't stop. "They started back in high school. I haven't gotten one in years, though. Not until a few months ago. One just mysteriously appeared one day and now I randomly get them."

"And you don't know who they're from?" Rylie asks.

"Nope," Vivi says, popping the P. "No idea. I wish they'd stop, though."

"Why? I think it's fun," Sutton says with a wide smile. "Who wouldn't want a secret admirer?"

Kelly looks sideways at her. "You'd prefer a secret admirer versus one that is man enough to say that nice shit to your face?"

"What would you know about being romantic, Kelly?" Sutton scoffs, elbowing him in the gut. "You just referred to it as 'nice shit.' I think that tells us all we need to know about you and romance."

Kelly leans down close to Sutton's ear and whispers something only she can hear. Judging by the pink tinging her cheeks, we can assume he proved his knowledge of romance. She shoves him away and flips her middle finger at him, which causes him to chuckle in amusement.

"So," I say as I pull my hair off my neck, enjoying the breeze cooling off my skin. I wore my hair down since Jensen prefers it this way, knowing he'll just remove my braid anyway, but the thickness of my hair is like wearing a scarf on a warm day. Suffocating. "You don't have any guesses who your admirer could be? Like no hints over the years? No gut feelings?"

"Whoa, Teddy!" Finn exclaims from behind me, interrupting my line of questioning. "What's up with the bruises on your back?"

"Bruises?" I ask in confusion.

I flip my hair over my shoulder and try to look behind me at the exposed skin on my back. I'm wearing a tank top that hangs low in the back. And then it clicks. My wide eyes lock with Jensen on the other side of the tent. He shakes his head in warning when a smirk creeps across my face. "The big guy over there," I say, pointing at my boyfriend, "gets a bit excited and likes to push me up against walls. And dressers. And trees. And..."

"Teddy," Jensen warns.

"What? We might as well call up Marg and give her weekly updates for the paper at this point," I say, crossing my hands over my chest in defiance. "Or start a podcast. Or a vlog. We could set up a camera and record ourselves..."

Jensen crosses the tent and cuts me off with a hand over my mouth, and I laugh against my makeshift gag. He wraps his other arm around my waist, our bodies pressed close. "If we ever record ourselves, Teddy," he says in a low, deep voice, "we will never show a single fucking soul." He removes his hand off my mouth to circle it around my throat instead. He nips my lips. "No one gets to see you like that but me. You are mine. So be a good girl and stop fucking talking about it. Right the fuck now." He places a few gentle kisses on my mouth. "Please, baby."

Rylie whistles and fans herself. "I think I just got pregnant."

"So," Finn butts in, "what I'm hearing is you want to make some home movies?"

Jensen shoots his stepbrother a glare. "Fuck off, Finn. All of you fuck off. Can we just back the fuck off me and Teddy for like five fucking seconds?"

Finn starts counting. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi..."

"Sooooo...." I say, dragging out the word, a smirk on my lips, "anyone have a camera we can borrow?"

Jensen shoots me a look that's both horrified and intrigued.

"Just use your phone," Sutton pipes in. "Prop it up on something. You don't need anything fancy."

Kelly whirls around to glare at her. "What the fuck, baby girl? Tell me there's not sex tapes of you floating around."

Sutton shrugs. "Why? You want to get your hands on them?"

Jensen points at Kelly. "No." Then at Sutton. "No."

Kelly isn't amused though. He's still staring at Sutton like he's waiting for an answer. She rolls her eyes at him. "Relax, Daddy. I'm not stupid enough to let just any guy record me. Despite what you think, I am not a child."

Rylie cups a hand around her mouth and whisper-shouts, "Pretty sure he isn't thinking of you as a child right about now, Sutton."

Kelly ignores the comment and still stares down Sutton. When she doesn't back down, he storms off.

Rylie whistles. "Oh shit, looks like Daddy is pissed."

"Wylie Rylie, always the shit stirrer," Finn says with a laugh and Rylie hisses.

My wide eyes take in the scene under the Anderson canopy, and I stifle a laugh. Never a dull moment with this family. I grab Sutton and Rylie's hands, and nod at Vivi. "Come on, girls. We need something stronger than beer. I think Melly has her famous margaritas again."

We link arms and walk out into the warm sunshine, stopping at a few tents along the way to snag a dessert or converse with a friendly face. Finally, we stop outside a festive tent decked out with every sort of American flag decoration possible. Even the folding camping chairs have stars and stripes. We sigh. Melly is holding a pitcher up to us in invitation. Our vigorous nods make her laugh, and she sets to work filling red solo cups with ice and pouring margaritas into each one before passing them out.

"You're like the Memorial Day hero," Sutton says around the straw in her mouth, coming up for a breath from her deep chug of the drink.

Melly laughs again, shaking her head. "I'm here to please. Oh, Teddy, Rylie," she says right as we're about to walk away, pausing our movements mid-turn. She leans toward us and lowers her voice, "You ready for the big initiation?"

The Paperback Riders initiation looms over our heads, people coming out of the woodwork to tease us, but it's as hush-hush as the book club itself. Rylie and I look at each other with a mix of excitement and dread on our faces. Melly zips a finger across her lips and then spins away from us, going back to mixing up more margaritas for the next batch of people to come through.

"You guys need to get us in," Sutton whispers as we continue walking among the various canopies at the park. Vivi nods in agreement.

"We're barely in," I say. "We have zero pull right now."

"But hell yes, we will," Rylie adds. "I mean, once we figure out how that whole recruiting process works and all."

By now we've rounded our way back to the Anderson tent, a long line forming for walking tacos. We join our group off to the side who are huddled under the shade of the canopy sipping their drinks and laughing. Looks like Kelly has rejoined the group, and when he notices us approaching, he directs a pointed look in our direction, his eyes coasting briefly over Sutton before he returns his attention to Charlie, who is animatedly telling a story.

When I don't see Jensen among our family and friends, I search around the line of people at the walking taco station and then cast a wider net around the area. I see him a few canopies over talking to a girl I don't recognize. She's wearing a short teal sundress that barely conceals her boobs, and she keeps bobbing on her feet causing them to bounce right in my boyfriend's face.

"Who the hell is that with Jensen?" I ask the group, my eyes never straying from Jensen and the girl.

Jensen has his arms folded across his chest, his feet set wide apart. His stance says he's not interested, but his face wears a pleasant smile. She's now petting a hand along his arm, giggling at something he just said. I'm wondering if I should pull a Jensen and go claim him cavewoman style when someone's voice breaks into my thoughts.

"I wonder if her deadly stare is intended to murder him or her?"

"Both," I reply, not bothering to pretend I'm not upset.

I track their movements as the girl flips her hair over her shoulder and he takes a few steps back. He holds up a hand in a wave and turns to walk our way. I clock the moment he realizes I'm glaring at him—his steps falter just a teeny bit and he rolls his eyes up to the sky. Once he's standing in front of me, he reaches out to put his hands on my waist, but I shimmy away from his touch.

"Teddy," he groans. "Don't be like that."

I reply by giving him side-eye.

"I'm not sure I've ever seen Teddy pissed before," Finn says. "It's hot."

"Finn," Jensen warns, never taking his eyes off me. "Fuck off."

He grabs my wrist and drags me away from group. Once we're alone under the shade of a nearby tree, he turns me to face him, his hand still gripping my wrist. "Teddy, come on. Don't be mad at me."

I shake free of his hand and then cross my arms defensively across my chest. "You're a possessive caveman 99.9% of the time but I'm not allowed to be pissed when you flirt with some hot chick?"

"I was not flirting, baby."

"Well, you certainly weren't stopping her advances."

He scrubs a hand down his face, smothering the groan that slips out. "I'll let that go because you couldn't hear our conversation. But if you could, you would've heard me telling her that I have a girlfriend I'm crazy about."

"Was that before or after she fondled your arm for the 100th time?"

"Baby," he says, his voice laced with amusement. He ducks his head, trying to hide his smile. "That was Clarice's niece. Apparently, she was supposed to be set up with me a few months ago. I vaguely remember Clarice mentioning it a while ago. I was just letting her down politely. What was I supposed to do? Shove her away and yell get away from me before my girl gets pissed?" This makes him chuckle, which pisses me off more.

"Don't be a dick, Jensen," I grit out, shoving my hands into his chest. He barely moves, but it causes the smile on his face to grow wider. "You would have stormed over there and claimed me in a chauvinistic asshole fashion. Not sure how your reaction is any better than mine."

He steps into my space, placing his hands on my hips. When I don't push him away, he glides his hands around my waist and tugs me closer to him. "You're right, baby. I'm sorry. Can we please kiss and makeup now? I don't like it when you're pissed at me."

"I'll think about it. Maybe I want to sulk a bit longer." I don't return his touches, my arms hanging limply at my sides.

The crinkles at the corners of his eyes deepen as he chuckles, and he leans in to sloppily kiss my neck. "Forgive me, baby. Please," he begs, his hot breath tickling my skin. I giggle involuntarily and squirm against him.

"Next time, for the record, yes, I do want you to shove her away and yell, 'Property of Teddy!' Hmmm I'm seeing a t-shirt like that in your future." I pull my bottom lip into my mouth to suppress the grin. I want to stay mad at him longer.

"Then you have to wear one that says, 'Hands off, jackoff. Return to Jensen.'"

"You're ridiculous."

"You're cute when you're jealous."

"You're mean."

"You're beautiful."

"You're just being dumb now."

He tightens his grip around me and places a kiss on my forehead. "You're mine, Teddy. And I'm yours. We don't need shirts. You can always trust that I'm turning away other women. You're the only one I see. I'm obsessed with you, remember?"

Sighing, I relent, "Fine. I guess you're cute too."

"Just cute, huh? Not ridiculously hot?"

"Now you're back to being just plain old ridiculous."

He chuckles in that deep sexy way that I love before smashing his mouth against mine. "I'll take it."