XXX CHAPTER 18 XXX

Emmett couldn't stop smiling.

He smiled all the way down the elevator, recalling the earlier ride jammed into the corner with Edward and the way the hairs on their arms had scarcely touched but still sent shockwaves through his body. Emmett hummed all the way to his car and continued grinning as he retracted the roof. There were precious few nights in June to enjoy his convertible, but apparently the universe Edward believed would make things right had decided to start tonight with the gift of a perfect summer evening.

Oakleys in place, he pulled out into the rush hour flurry with the top down and the music up—but not obnoxiously so. The front office did not appreciate their players jaunting around town acting like a bunch of entitled assholes, and Emmett took that responsibility seriously.

His heart was full and free as he drove to his sister's. If he were going anywhere else, he'd probably need to tamp down all the glee, but not with Alice and Jasper, and certainly not with Sawyer. Emmett looked forward to the chance to be himself almost as much as he looked forward to Alice's cooking. He managed okay in the kitchen, but he certainly wouldn't classify it as cooking.

Ah, I wonder if Edward likes to cook.

Emmett was in too good of a mood to berate himself for the brief naked-but-for-the-apron fantasy, chuckling it off with a shake of his wind-ruffled head.

As city roads turned to tree-lined streets, he could feel the pressure inside his body decompressing. The Whitlocks' home was a special kind of sanctuary for Emmett, a no-fan zone where he could be a brother and an uncle and a friend. Named Madrona for the native tree peppering the hills, the neighborhood was a haven for urban power couples with young children, perfect for his sister's little family.

The Spyder purred to a stop in Alice's driveway. Before grabbing the bag of treats he'd brought his nephew, Emmett put up the roof. One doesn't tempt fate even on a gorgeous summer night in Seattle.

Sawyer answered the bell, squeezing the stuffing out of Emmett when he picked the kid up to give him a hug. "Ahhh, I thought I told you to stop growing! What have they been feeding you, magic beans?"

"No, Uncle Em!" Sawyer answered in a torrent of giggles. "Chicken fingers and broccoli with cheese!"

"That'll do it! Have you been practicing your batting like I showed you?"

"Yes! I hit three balls into the bucket yesterday!"

"No kidding! Three? Wow! Might have to send Coach out here next week to take a look!"

Sawyer's expression turned serious. "I can't, Uncle Em. Mom says I have to go to school just like you did."

"Aww." Emmett slid Sawyer onto his feet, crouching down to meet his nephew at eye level. "Your mom's pretty smart, Soy. Baseball's a thinking man's game; school's important. Besides, your new school sounds pretty awesome, dude. I hear they have a baseball diamond."

"Yep. I'm gonna play t-ball!"

"Mind if I come watch?"

"That'd be cool!"

Emmett riffled the boy's sandy blond hair, a gift from Jasper's side of the family. "Cool. Hey, here's something for later—after you eat your veggies and before you brush your teeth." With a wink, he handed Sawyer the brown bag filled with his favorite candies from the arcade at the beach.

"Thank you!"

"Welcome."

"Can we play catch while dinner gets ready?"

"You bet, champ. What are we having tonight?"

"I'm not sure. Dad's grilling something out back."

"No wonder I can't smell anything! I thought my sniffer was broken." Emmett gave his nose a comical scrub—anything to make Sawyer smile. "Why don't you run and get our mitts while I say hello to your mom?"

Sawyer scampered away, leaving Emmett to wander into the kitchen, where Alice was busy chopping up veggies for the salad. "Hey, sis. Need a hand?"

She stopped dicing the red pepper long enough to look up and roll her eyes at her little brother. "You know you're not allowed near the knives. Pour yourself a glass of wine and come keep me company."

Emmett chuckled and refilled Alice's glass before pouring one for himself. "You know, I have my own knives at home. I even use them occasionally."

"I don't want to know. Anyway, you're not gonna cut yourself in my kitchen—even if the Mariners have your hands insured."

He held up his insured hands in surrender. "Fine, is there anything else I can do? Maybe put out some doilies or something?"

"Nope. Tell me some exciting 'baseball insider' stuff. Was there really a fight in the locker room after that game against Detroit?"

"What? No! Jesus, I can't believe you'd give the gossipmongers a second thought."

Alice shrugged, slid the peppers into the salad bowl, and slapped a cucumber onto the cutting board. "How's your shoulder feeling?"

"Fine."

The knife blade paused long enough for Alice to regard Emmett with one of her don't-bullshit-me glares. Emmett rotated his shoulder a few times until she seemed satisfied.

"Jas said you invited him to lunch the other day," she said evenly, giving away nothing.

"Yep." Jasper's love for his wife was epic, but Emmett knew he would never divulge something revealed in confidence—with or without the hourly fee. "I missed him."

Alice set the knife down on the cutting board and wiped her hands on the dishtowel. "Dammit, Emmett, should I be worried about you?"

Emmett spun his wine glass in slow circles. "No, Alice. I promise I'm fine."

"Well, you know I'm here when you're ready to share."

"When I have something to share, you will be . . . somewhere on my list."

Alice folded her arms tight against her chest. "Gee, thanks."

Sawyer bolted into the kitchen, laden with equipment. "I'm ready, Uncle Em!"

"Let's do it, bud."

"If you're going out, take Jas a glass of wine?"

"All righty . . ." Emmett poured a third glass and made a theatrical display of carrying it outside to his brother-in-law. "Your chalice, Milord. Dang, those steaks smell good."

"Be ready in about five minutes."

"C'mon, Soy, we don't have much time!" Emmett jogged away from Sawyer and tossed him the ball. "Good catch, buddy! Pop it back to me," he said, smacking his fist into the center of his glove before opening it toward Sawyer.

The ball was a wild toss out to Emmett's side, and he dove to make the catch with a loud "Oof!"

After making a big show of brushing himself off, Emmett took a major league windup and pitched the slowest ball he could possibly get to Sawyer's glove. "Great catch! Now, hit me right here on the buttons. That's it! You're getting better every week!"

"Wait till you see me bat!"

Jasper turned to watch them for a bit, sipping at his wine and smiling at the scene in his yard. "I really hate to break this up, boys, but the steaks are done. Dinner time!"

"Aww, Dad!"

Emmett laughed, scooping up Sawyer in his arms as he charged toward the door. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's go wash up. That was some great catching. I'm super impressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Practice makes perfect." Emmett stood behind Sawyer at the sink, soaping up both pairs of hands inside one big sudsy cloud. They goofed around under the faucet until they were thoroughly splashed, throwing the towel back and forth and giggling until Alice called her "two children" to the table.

"This all looks delicious! Fresh corn on the cob? You guys are the best."

"So, Emmett, how've you been?" Jasper asked.

"I'm good."

After a lingering gaze, Jasper sliced off a chunk of his Porterhouse. "You guys have a long stretch without a break now. Almost two weeks, right?"

"Right. At least we're home for the first week." Emmett buttered a slice of bread and rubbed it along the corn cob, twirling it while Sawyer watched, fascinated. "What? Didn't your mother teach you how to butter your corn?"

Alice laughed. "I haven't done that since we were kids. I don't use butter anymore. I guess I forgot."

Jasper shrugged. "Don't look at me; I've never seen anyone do that before."

"How could you deprive my nephew of one of the world's greatest food hacks? Lookit, Soy, no hunks of butter sliding onto the plate, every kernel glistening with greasy perfection. Makes so much sense, right?"

"Sure. Can I try?"

"Knock yourself out. Here, want my bread?" Emmett pretended he was about to heave the buttered bread across the table.

Alice gasped. "Emmett! Don't you dare!"

"Seriously, sis? What am I, an animal?" Emmett gave Sawyer an exaggerated wink as he slid his bread plate across the table. "I sure hope you don't treat your grooms this way, Alice."

"Just the ones with no manners." Alice huffed, but the telltale curl of her lips gave her away.

"So, how are things in Weddingville?"

Alice poked at her salad. "Ah, the usual. Really ramping up now that June's here. I don't know why brides think it's a good idea to plan an outdoor wedding in Seattle. And speaking of grooms, I have a gay couple on Sunday. They're adorable."

"Is that right?"

"Yes, they're getting married at the Canal. It's going to be lovely."

Sawyer set down his corn. "What's 'a gay couple,' Mom?"

"Oh, that's when a man loves another man or a woman loves another woman."

He gave her answer some thought, answered, "Oh," and picked up his corn again.

The adults exchanged secret smiles all around the table while Sawyer gnawed away on the buttery cob, and the gentle glow of his nephew's easy acceptance continued to warm Emmett on through dessert. The strawberry shortcake wasn't heavy, but when it met Emmett's already full belly, about all he had the energy to do afterward was go sit his ass down on the couch. Luckily, that fit in perfectly with his plans.

"Wanna watch the game with us, Tiger?" he asked Sawyer.

"Sure. Who's playing?"

Jasper answered as he plopped down into his recliner and kicked back. "Yankees versus Red Sox. One of the most vicious rivalries in the league."

Sitting as close to Emmett as possible without actually sitting in his lap, Sawyer asked a million questions and soaked in his famous uncle's pearls of wisdom like a thirsty sponge. At nine on the dot, Alice came in from her office to cart Sawyer off. The boy gave Emmett another tight hug before saying good night.

"He is one hell of a fine kid, Jas."

"I would have to agree with you there." Eyes fixed on the TV, Jasper opened the conversation. "So, how was your meet-and-greet with your fan? Did he enjoy his VIP tour of the locker room?"

"I'd say so." The pictures of the two of them scrolled through Emmett's mind, drawing a smile he chose not to contain.

Jasper nodded, a similar grin stretching across his face. "I see."

"Oh! Did you see that gorgeous pitch? Lester nailed it!"

"Mmhmm."

Emmett let out a long sigh; it was hard work holding everything inside. "I like him, Jas—a lot."

Giving up the pretense of watching the game, Jasper met Emmett head-on. "Is that a good thing?"

"I think so." Emmett shifted too, ready to have this conversation. Jasper was more than his brother-in-law; he'd become Emmett's most trusted confidant. "We've been hanging out together a bit."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He's a long distance runner; he's attempting to teach me how to pace myself."

Jasper snorted. "Wow! Brave man—or epically stupid."

"He's anything but stupid. Did I mention his PhD in Mathematical Reasoning? From Stanford?"

"Nice."

"But he's not superior or anything. He's normal . . . sweet."

Nodding, Jas asked, "So you've been running together?"

"Yeah, started on Sunday. In fact, we ran this morning . . . and went out to lunch afterwards. He kind of owed me after I bought him breakfast last week."

Jasper's eyebrows shot up. "You two have been hanging out a bit."

"As friends." Emmett squirmed on the couch, realizing even as he uttered the words how untrue they were, certain that Jas knew it too.

"That can be a very good place to start."

"It might also be a very good place to end."

Jasper stayed quiet, searching Emmett's face for answers he wouldn't find. "If that's what you want . . ."

"It's not."

There went Jas again, drawing out into the light what Emmett had pushed into a dark corner.

"And what does Edward want?"

"I'm not really sure, but today at lunch, he volunteered the little tidbit that he's gay."

"Huh."

Emmett smiled at his friend. "Shut up."

"Okay," Jasper said, smiling right back. "How can I help?"

"Here's the thing . . ."—Emmett blew out a deep breath and clenched his fists—"I can deal with the butterflies when I'm with him and all the fallout of a crush or whatever, but I'm starting to think he's affecting my game."

"How so?"

"Well, partially in a good way. I mean, the running advice has carried over to my pitching. My coaches and trainer have noticed I'm more patient."

"Okay, that's good."

"Yes, but . . . there's this other part of me, especially when we're playing at home, and I know he's sitting right up there . . ."—Emmett's gaze wandered up over his left shoulder—"and I guess I'm trying to show off or some damn thing. Idiotic, right? It's not exactly as if he's the only one watching me, but it sure as hell feels like it!"

Jasper's lips twitched, but he quickly tamed his smile. "I'm gonna go way out on a limb here, but I'd say he's impressed."

"And I'd really fucking like to keep it that way!"

"Hence the overzealous pitching?"

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his shoulder, "and the pain."

"Shit."

"I know. What the hell am I gonna do, Jas?"

Jasper folded his hands behind his head, crossed his legs at the ankles, and took his sweet time answering. "Seems to me you have the same choice as before, only now you have a bit more data. He's not Quasimodo, and you know he's gay—a little detail he wanted you to know, by the way."

"Doesn't mean he wants me that way."

"Do I need to dignify that with a response?"

Emmett shook his head. "Not really. He also made it clear he wasn't romantically attached to anyone right now."

"Yeah, just like you're not."

"Ugh!" Emmett dropped his face into his hands and scrubbed in frustration. "I really, really like this guy—even with his claustrophobia and fear of heights."

Jas waved away Emmett's concerns. "We can handle those minor details. The real question is, what's in your heart?"

"I feel like if I don't give this a try, I'll go nuts."

Unfolding his arms and spreading them wide, Jasper smiled. "My work here is done."

Emmett grabbed a throw pillow and winged it at Jasper's face. "You're such an ass. And thanks for not telling Alice."

"It's not my story to tell . . . though I wouldn't mind if you let her in on this so I don't end up in the doghouse. She knows we've been talking. You know she's 100% supportive of you, whatever you decide."

"Yeah, okay. Soon."

Author's Note: A little glimpse of Uncle Em. Thank you all for your insightful reviews. In addition to making me smile, each one makes me see my characters from a different angle, and that's a gift only you readers can give. MWAH! :*
XOXO ~BOH