Free Blitz (Emerald City/Black Family Saga Book 1) by Felicia X. Scully

doughnuts and soda and a strong aversion to anything that involves strenuous activity probably aren’t doing me any favors. Then again, he’s a football player, isn’t he pretty much required to have a body like Thor?  
    Wait a minute. Jeans. He’s wearing jeans. Relief washes over me and I turn my attention back to Ray two seconds too late and smash right into his back.  
    “Shit.” It’s not like I’ve screamed it or anything but I’ve apparently said it loud enough to garner a tightened jaw from his aunt and a wide-eyed stare from a girl I’ve never seen before.  
    “Sorry about that,” Ray says, in a low voice. “Sydney’s here, everyone. Let’s eat.”
    “Thanks, Mrs. Baker, for having me over today. It’s very kind of you,” I paint on my brightest smile as I trail behind Ray up the steps to the massive cedar deck.  
    She smiles back, probably just as fake. “Actually it’s Carlson, sweetie.”
    “Pardon?”
    “I kept my last name.” Her gaze shifts to Ray.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I…didn’t realize.”
    “Well, we’re not exactly the kind of people who broadcast our lives. Of course a simple search would have revealed as much.” Mr. Baker clears his throat and she smiles a little wider. “But that’s okay. It’s an honest mistake.” She rests a tray of fancy looking cheese and weird looking crackers in the center of a large oak table and tucks a lock of shiny dark hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you sit here, beside Reverend Baker? Ray, I put you over there, beside Kristen.”
    I smile at the curly-haired blond in a yellow sundress. She’s either overdressed, or knows her place, because she’s almost a Sheila Carlson doppelganger. Same stiff smile, same manicured nails, uncomfortable looking shoes, Cover Girl makeup. I stick out my hand. “Hey, Kristen. I’m Sydney. Are you Ray’s sister?”
    “No she’s—”
    “His girlfriend,” Kristen cuts Ray off then taps her hand to her forehead. “Sorry, force of habit. Ex. Ex girlfriend.”
    “And friend of the family,” Ray adds. “Didn’t realize you’d be here today, Kris.”
    “You know how I love those blue cheese burgers of yours. Couldn’t resist the invite.”  
    Ray casts a look on his aunt. Then he pulls out a chair and smiles at me. “Have a seat.”  
    I comply and he sits down next to me.  
    “How are you, Sydney?” Reverend Baker asks, easing into the spot at the head of the table. The rest of them follow suit, settling down into their chairs. Kristen on the other side of me and Mrs. Carlson on the opposite end.
    “I’m good. Thank you. And, you know, thanks for inviting me. You have a lovely home.” I reach for my water, paying close attention to my coordination this time around.  
    “Honey, why don’t you say grace?” Sheila leans across the table and pats Ray on the arm.  
    “Uh, sure.” He clears his throat.
    Beside me Kristen clears her throat, but it sounds more like a snicker. I rest my glass down, wishing the stupid ground would open up. Right now.
    I barely register Ray's words and join quietly in the chorus of Amens, a few seconds too late. For the first ten minutes, dishes of corn on the cob, barbecued steak, ribs, chicken wings, burgers and grilled veggies are passed around the table. I don’t want to be rude, so I take a little bit of everything. But, by the end, my plate is filled so high I don’t know what to do with it. I’m the only one with that dilemma, it seems, because everyone else just digs right in.  
    Dainty little Kristen has twice the amount of food as me and inhales her chicken wings in five minutes flat without a single stray drop of sauce. Why I was brave enough to put those in my plate in the first place, I don’t know. I’m not even going to attempt it. I’ve made a fool of myself around these people enough in the first few encounters.  
    “How old are you, Sydney?” Ray’s aunt asks, as she leans over my shoulder and fills my glass with tea.
    “Uh,