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Chapter 1
Mia's POV
I was laying on my uncle's old couch reading a good book when my uncle decided to come out of his room. His hair was messed up and I could see a pink tint on his lips, must be from his latest 'achievement' tonight. I rolled my eyes at that thought. Every night I get glimpses of different girls in and out of his room. I'm even surprised that he invites them here when I will be staying here for the whole summer. Oh Joy! *sarcasm*
The girls don't bother asking about me or talk to me and that's okay with me as long as they keep their moans to a minimum. Being Marcus Higgins' niece has its perks, like he doesn't ask annoying questions about where I've been or who I was with. The downside of it all, I get to have advance knowledge on things kids shouldn't know about. Uh huh, yup. Don't bother asking.
"Hey, what happened? You look sad." I said.
"Coach is dead. His funeral is this Friday." He muttered.
"Oh my God..." I leaned back, letting the information sink in.
"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna go buy some breakfast, okay? I'll be right back." With that he got his keys and his jacket and was out of the room. It must be so hard on him to lose someone so special in his life.
Coach Buzzer was a good friend of our family. He taught me a lot about basketball when I was 10 years old. I haven't seen him since then. He was close to my mom, Rose, and my uncle. He used to give me a dollar every time I got the ball into the hoop. He was a great man even though I only knew him for a short amount of time...
My uncle's room door opened slightly and a girl, who I assume is the latest 'it' girl, tip toed across the room juggling her things in one hand and the other is trying to zip up her skirt.
"Hi there!" I exclaimed cheerfully, my voice startled her which made her drop her things.
"H-hi.. I was just-" She stuttered while she was trying to fix her blouse.
"Leaving already?" I interrupted her, I looked at her from head to toe, which she noticed. She squirmed a bit under my gaze.
"Uhm, yeah! I was.. Yeah. Uh, goodbye!" She hurriedly said while picking up her things and almost tripped on her way out.
"Bye." I said as the door closed. I may seem mean to them but I just don't get why they hook up with men twice their age.
Uncle Marcus came home a few minutes later looking normal again. We ate breakfast silently and after that he told me to pack my things for this weekend.
Days passed by and before I knew it, it was already Friday. Now, my family has a really long and weird history with funerals. My uncle likes to joke around and get weird during funerals so this day will be interesting.
For the last couple of days, Uncle Marcus filled me in about his friends, who are also going to the funeral. There is Lenny Feder, Kurt McKenzie, Eric Lamonsoff, Rob Hilliard and my uncle. They have been friends since they were kids. All of them have kids except, of course, my uncle. During those sessions he told me about all the kids and the wives. There are two kids that are the same age as me but both are boys. I didn't really listen much to what he said 'cause I always tune him out.
We arrived at the church and my uncle immediately started to sing some Beyonce. Don't ask why. I wore my simple black dress which I paired with my black converse and a black shoulder bag. My hair was clipped to the side by a blue pin, hoping to add a bit of color on this solemn day. As we were approaching the group of people, I could hear Lenny Feder telling his kid to turn off his phone.
"Yeah, but its my massage therapist." A boy with cute curly hair said. Kids our age doesn't have massage therapist! They must be rich for him to be so spoiled like that. On the plus size, he is kinda cute. With his curly brown hair and milk chocolate eyes. Ugh, snap out of it, Mia! He is SO way out of your league!
"What? No! No cellphones!" Mr. Feder scolded.
"Wait, no cellphones? Then I'm out of here!" My uncle joked beside me. I rolled my eyes at his joke.
"Higgy!" Mr. Feder exclaimed while my uncle laughed.
"Who's ready to get their funeral on?" Adding a dance to it. I giggled at him and rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry, death makes me weird."
"Dude, is this your daughter?" Mr. McKenzie asked. My uncle and I shared a look and erupted into a laughing fit. This happens all the time with my uncle's known history and present, it wasn't hard for people to believe that he knocked a girl up during his many one night stands. But alas, nobody has yet turned up to his doorstep so I guess that's a good thing.
Once our laughter calmed down and the rest of them were giving us odd looks.
"No, man! This is my niece, Mia Evans. Remember my sister? Rose? Well, she got married to Andy Evans." My uncle explained.
"Oh yeah! I remember her! Where is she now?" Mr. Feder asked, chuckling lightly.
"Well, she's with Andy on a cruise ship in Europe. They're letting their daughter hang out with me for the whole summer."
"Yikes. Good luck, kiddo!" Mr. McKenzie joked. I laughed at that 'cause I do need all the luck I can get.
Uncle Marcus and his friends started to greet each other with 'jokes', which is really just them bashing at each other in a joking manner. I noticed a girl close to my age so I approached her.
"Hi, I'm Mia Evans!" I smiled at her.
"I'm Charlotte McKenzie! I'm so glad I have someone here close to my age! I don't want to be stuck with my perverted brother the whole weekend with no one else to talk to!" She said all of that in one breath. Wow, this girl is quirky... I like her already!
"Yeah, me too! I thought I was going to be the only girl!" I said to her happily.
"Well, don't look now, but I see Mr. Hollywood gaping at you. Nice dress, by the way." She whispered at me with a wink. I looked in the corner of my eye and as Charlotte said, the boy with cute brown eyes was staring at me. I blushed and looked down.
"Oh my gosh! You're blushing! Someone already has a crush." Charlotte sang.
"Shut up. I do not!" I defended, but the pink tint on my cheeks said otherwise.
"Hey, now!" Some guy driving a Caddy said.
"Lamonsoff! Rolling up in a Caddy?" Mr. Feder said.
"That's how we do it!" Mr. Lamonsoff bragged while his family got our of the car.
"And you, you've grown up on me, man. Are you a B cup now?" Mr. Feder joked and Mr. Lamonsoff laughed at that.
"Hey, nice ears got the NFL package for those?" Mr. Lamonsoff joked back to Mr. Feder making the other guys laugh.
"Nice Caddy. You selling lawn furniture and crack?" Mr. McKenzie asked.
"C'mon, I'm the co-owner of Branchville Lawn Furniture, man. I'm the boss now, baby!" Mr. Lamonsoff bragged. By that time, I was already bored of the conversation so I made my way to the cute girl with full bangs that just got out of the car.
"Hi, I'm Mia Evans. Niece of Marcus Higgins." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, I'm Donna! It's so good to hear I won't have to talk to my own shadows this weekend." She said, relieved.
"Yeah, me too! But I bet this weekend will be interesting. Wait, Charlotte!" I called. She approached us almost immediately, I think trying to get away from her brother.
"Thank God you just called me! My brother was talking to Mr. Hollywood about a new game. Something about a cruise ship with maniacs or something and I really don't wanna know what that is about. Anyway, what's up?" Wow! This girl could talk!
"Oh, I want you to meet Donna Lamonsoff!"
"Hi! It is so nice to meet you-" Donna began to say but was interrupted by her mom.
"Honey, we need to go inside now." Mrs. Lamonsoff said.
"Well, that's my cue. See you guys later at the lake house?" Donna asked and we replied with a yes.
"I better head inside, too. I'll catch up with you later!" Charlotte waved me goodbye.
I saw Mr. Hollywood walked towards me and I blushed instantly.
"The name's Greg Feder. So, I saw you staring at me a while ago and I thought maybe I should say 'hi' to the girl drooling over me." He said cockily, like he was some kind of gift from God. Yeah, right! I cocked an eyebrow at him and rolled my eyes.
"Sorry, not interested!" I replied as I began to walk to the church. I heard a sigh and steps running after me. A hand shot out and grabbed my arm and suddenly my whole body is buzzing with electricity. He immediately dropped his hand. I don't know if he felt it or he just didn't want to touch my bare skin.
"Wait, look, I'm sorry! I'm not really great with girls. I tend to get all cocky and arrogant and that's totally not me. Can we start over?" He asked, shyly. I contemplated for a while and I saw it was making him nervous. It's just friends, right? What's the worst that could happen.
"Sure. I'd like that." I smiled and giggled at him.
"Cool. I'll see you inside." He smiled brightly and I swear thousands of butterflies erupted in my stomach.
The ceremony was very touching even with Mr. Feder's speech and Mr. Hilliard's hilarious song number. After that, there was a small reception where people close to the deceased can mingle and chat. I mostly stayed on the sidelines, giving my uncle his needed time with his friends.
I was at a table next to Charlotte who was devouring a big slice of cake when the chair next to me was suddenly occupied by Greg Feder. We smiled at each other and said our hellos.
Butterflies were fluttering all over my stomach and I can't help but blush. What is wrong with me? Gosh, why is he staring at me like that? His gaze is so hot and.. Grr! Snap out of it, Mia!
Awkward silence filled the table and Charlotte got up to get some drinks, but before she left, she winked at me first.
"So, Mia, right?" I nodded. "Let's play a game."
"What kind of game?" I asked.
"Let's play 20 questions but we both have to ask each other. Is that alright?" He grinned. His teeth was so white, like a commercial model for Colgate. His smile brightens up his whole face and it looks so good on him. What did I just say? Ugh, what am I saying?
"Yeah. That'll be cool." I answered shakily.
"Okay, I'll start. What's your favourite colour?"
"Brown. You?" I immediately responded. Well, my favourite colour is blue, but it changed when I saw his eyes...
"Blue. Why brown?" Yikes...
"Brown is warm." I lied. "Why blue?"
"It's the colour of your eyes." He blushed. I smiled at that and the butterflies in my stomach got worst.
And that was how we spent the entire reception. Asking each other about favourite bands, food, movies, artists, etc. I couldn't help but notice how his face lit up when he talked about his hobbies and passions. No one bothered us, but I did notice my uncle giving Greg the stink eye. We went back and forth with questions until we got to the sports we knew.
"So, you play basketball?" He asked, shocked that I knew how to play.
"Well, yeah! Coach Buzzer taught me a couple of tricks about it, but I'm not overly good at it. Why are you so surprised?" I laughed a bit.
"I know a lot of girls from my school who doesn't want to break a nail and mess up their hair with sports. Especially with basketball!" He said impressed at me.
"Well, I'm not like most girls." I smiled at him.
"No, you aren't.." He smiled at me affectionately. I brushed my hair behind my ear as I ducked my head, blushing a cherry red color. He placed his hand on my hand that was laying on the table and began playing with my fingers. A comfortable silence washed over us as we just stared at our hands. Moments later, he threaded his fingers with mine and I felt that buzz of electricity again. Our hands fit perfectly together, like it was meant to be together like that. Our eyes connected, blue against brown, and we started to lean towards each other.
"Ehem!" Someone coughed, breaking our gaze and ruining the moment. I looked at the person who I'm gonna have to strangle and saw it was my uncle Marcus. I narrowed my eyes at him and asked what he wanted.
He didn't look at me, he just glared at Greg who was looking at anywhere except my uncle.
"Gary-"
"It's Greg." I said, annoyed at his attitude towards Greg.
"Whatever. Your parents are looking for you. It's time to go to the lake house." Uncle Marcus said.
"Uhm, okay. See you later, Mia." He waved goodbye as he trudged up to his parents.
"Uncle Marcus!" I yelled, pissed at him for his treatment to Greg.
"What? Oh, c'mon, Mia! He's too old for you!" He said.
"Yeah, for like a couple of months! What is happening to you? You've never been like this before." It was true, half of my friends were boys and he has never been like that to them, ever!
"Mia, I'm just looking out for you, okay? He's a spoiled brat and I don't think he knows how to treat a girl right." He stuttered. My gaze softened at him as I understood why he was acting like this. He was like a father figure to me, too. He was always there for me when I wanted to talk about anything and everything.
"I get it. You don't want me to grow up so fast, but you can't really stop it from happening..." I hugged him and said to his shirt. "Don't worry. You'll always be one of the most special guys in my life. And, you're my most favorite uncle in the whole world!" I gazed up to him and grinned sweetly.
"I'm your only uncle in the whole world!" He rolled his eyes and we laughed. "I love you, kiddo. You know that, right?" I nodded into his striped shirt. Despite my uncle's reputation, he's a really caring guy.
"Okay, enough with this emotional bull- things! We need to go to the lake house really fast to get the best parking spot!" Another thing about my uncle, he's not really good at saying what he feels. He says it gets awkward really fast. But he knows how to show me his emotions.
With that, we walked towards the car with my uncle's arm on my shoulders.
A/N: So, how'd you like it? Was it good? Bad? You absolutely hate it?
This is my first story so take it easy, okay? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON WHAT I SHOULD IMPROVE MORE.
I'll try to update as fast as I can but it depends on your reviews! :)
xoxo,
Violet.
