Free The Exception by Brittany Wynne Page B

was the second tennis tournament of the year. The tournament was at a local community college, which I loved because we got to miss an entire day of school; then we were already in town, so we could still go out that night.
    I met Jake’s mom in between my matches when I went to cheer for him and Ryan. It was a little awkward introducing myself to my new boyfriend’s mom without him there, but she was sweet and easy to talk to. She struck me as the type of person who had never met a stranger. She had big, shoulder-length hair that was the same blonde as his sister’s and the biggest freaking ring I have ever seen. Apparently this woman liked her bling because she wore stacked bracelets with different colored jewels and big chunky diamond studs, with enough personality to match all of it. She was just so quintessential Texas glam.
    On the other hand, it was extremely awkward to hear how he was conceived only ten minutes after meeting her. I had never met someone who was so bluntly honest and open about the little details of their life with someone who they had just met. By the end of our conversation, it felt like I had known her my whole life.
    I couldn’t keep from smiling thinking about what Jake would say when I told him that I heard he was a mountain baby and that apparently “all you need to stay warm is a handle of Southern Comfort and a big blanket by the fire.” Of course I would finish by adding a big, dramatic wink like she did. Yep, I definitely liked his mom.
    After my last match of the day, I found out Dylan had lost his match and that there was a problem. Apparently, he and the guy from the other team, whose name I learned was Talen, already had issues. When they found out they would be playing each other, the trash talk started. At one point during their match, the coaches had to intervene and tell them to play or get off the court. Gabe said it was bad and that once Dylan had lost, he picked a fight with the guy behind one of the courts. Luckily, some guys from our team, including Gabe, saw it happening and pulled them apart before any of the coaches saw. Gabe was usually pretty good at calming Dylan down when he got heated, but for some reason this guy really got to Dylan.
    Dylan had always been kind of a hothead but usually cooled down just as quickly as he got mad. Therefore, none of us gave it a second thought once they had been pulled apart. Plus, we were all busy finalizing plans for the night.
    Jake had invited me to go to a party one of his friends was throwing at a ranch right outside of town and said I could invite whoever I wanted. So before we left the courts, we all decided to meet there later tonight. I told Maya that Jake was picking me up so she could make plans to ride with one of the guys. Dylan, who still seemed a little rattled, spoke up quickly saying he would grab her on his way. Maya shot me a quick smile before playing it off like it was no big deal, and then we all left to go get ready.
     
    ***
     
    I was finishing my makeup when my mom walked in and asked if I would be eating with them before I went out. I let her know Jake and I were going to grab food before we met up with everyone else. Satisfied, she smiled and turned to walk out of my bathroom but stopped at the door. “Hey, honey, do you have any idea what has been wrong with Kenzie here lately? She’s been a little snippy, don’t ya think?”
    I set my makeup brush down and turned to face my mom. “Oh, she’s just in a bad mood because she has it bad for Ryan, and he made sure she knew he didn’t think of her that way.”
    “Kenzie always has had a thing for Ryan, hasn’t she. I wish she would just find a boy her own age to like. Oh well,” my mom said as she let out a breath. “But, honey, will you try to talk to her about it. I think she could use her big sister right now.”
    “Sure, mom. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” I picked up my mascara. My mom gave me a smile, then went downstairs to fix dinner for