Date Me, Bryson Keller(59)

“Crystal, behave,” Hannah says. She cuts into her casserole and takes a bite.

“Yes, Crystal, behave,” Bryson echoes.

Bryson’s mother turns her attention to me. “What do your parents do, Kai?”

“Mom owns an accounting firm and Dad’s in IT.”

The conversation flows from there, and I find myself relaxing and opening up. We eat and we talk and I forget. And it feels nice….It feels normal.

“Dad called me this morning,” Crystal says, and everyone tenses.

“Crystal.”

“It’s okay, Mom. Kai knows.” Bryson smiles at me.

“It was ridiculous to me when he made someone who is two years older than me my stepmother. But now she’s pregnant. I’ll be twenty-four years older than the baby.” Crystal shakes her head. “Does this make sense?”

“Whether you agree to see him and spend time with him is a decision that I’ll leave up to you two,” Hannah says. “At the end of the day, he will always be your father, and he’s at least trying to make an effort now.”

    “I suppose it beats him trying to buy our love.”

“I had my eye on a Louis Vuitton bag,” Crystal says. “He’s free to buy my love, thank you very much.”

“Crystal, please.”

“I’m kidding, Mom,” Crystal says, but she shakes her head at me as she does so.

Hannah sighs, but there’s a smile dancing at her lips, too.

“Oh, did you let your professors know about your accident?” Hannah asks.

“Yes. I’m sure Professor Bartley was more than thrilled to hear I wouldn’t be there to ask him questions.”

“Crystal studies at UCLA,” Bryson whispers to me. “And Professor Bartley is her archnemesis.”

“It’s truly impossible for me to explain how much I loathe that man,” Crystal says. “Just thinking about him gives me a headache.”

“What are you studying?”

“Psychology.”

“For now,” Bryson says. He turns to me. “She’s changed her major more than a few times.”

Crystal looks at us, and her face is dead serious. “Bryson, I just met Kai. Don’t make him have a bad impression of me. These impressions matter. How will I face him at Thanksgiving or Christmas?”

I blush at her words.

“Oh. My. God,” Crystal says. “That is the cutest.”

Bryson smiles. “I know, right?”

“Kai, please forgive my children.”

    “We’re not that bad, Mom,” Bryson says.

“We’re practically angels,” Crystal adds.

“Whatever helps you two sleep at night.” Bryson’s mother puts her cutlery down.

At the end of the meal, Bryson says, “Since I cooked, Crystal has to do the dishes.” Bryson grins in that way of his that tells me he’s really enjoying this moment. “Fair is fair.”

“I literally have a cast on my arm. Do you want me to lick them clean?” Crystal asks her brother.

“I’ll do them,” I offer.

“Fine, I’ll help,” Crystal says. She stands and looks at her brother. “Prepare for your ears to itch because we’re so going to talk about you.” She looks at me then. “Let’s go, Kai.”

I stand and follow Crystal into the kitchen.





27


“So, how did you two meet?” Crystal awkwardly scrapes leftovers into the trash can. I offered to do it for her, but somehow she’s managing. “I mean, I know you go to the same school, but how did you two start going out?”

“I asked him out.” It feels so weird to be talking about this openly, especially with Bryson’s sister. It’s weird, but not at all uncomfortable because I can tell that she’s genuinely curious without any hidden motives, agendas, or judgments.

“And he said yes?”

“Well, it’s part of his dare.” I scrub a plate clean as we talk. “You know about the Bryson Keller dare, right?”

Crystal groans and rolls her eyes. “Dustin told me about it when it first happened. I’ve even clicked on that hashtag a few times.” She shakes her head. “It’s good to know Fairvale Academy doesn’t change. And it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Bryson is at the center of something so absurd.”

“I’m not complaining about the dare,” I admit. I would never. It’s how this all started with Bryson. I wouldn’t be here without it.

    Crystal shivers. “You just gave me goose bumps.” She studies me. “You’re so whipped.” Crystal hands me a plate and I wash it before placing it on the dish rack to drip-dry. “Do you kids even say whipped? Everything changes so quickly, it’s hard to keep up with what’s in these days.”

“You’re not that old. Why are you acting like you are?” Crystal and I turn to find Bryson standing at the kitchen doorway.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop,” Crystal says. “So, is the dare over?” She looks from Bryson to me. “Did he lose?”

“Yes,” we say at exactly the same time.

Crystal clutches at make-believe pearls. “Oh, the drama…the scandal…the romance.” She brings the back of her hand to her forehead and performs a fake swoon.