Tasteless by India Lee Page B

“Please.”
    “Whatever,” Gavin shrugged.  “Better that you don’t steal the spotlight from my wedding day anyway.”
    As Gavin and Damian helped take over the grill, Sam went out back to the kitchen patio where he had left a rolled up picnic blanket.  He had bought it from Donald McDougal’s wife, a quilter who was known for her custom work around town.  Sam had asked for something oversized but simple – large enough to seat four to six people around food that could serve eight to ten.  Mrs. McDougal had come up with a perfect design for him, a classic patchwork piece that stretched ten feet by ten feet with a large white circle trimmed with little blue rectangles that resembled a table and placemats.  He dragged the heavy roll out into the patch of grass between the kitchen patio and the abandoned field, rolling it out before leaning forward to smooth it out.
    “Look who we found!” he heard Zoe yell from across the field.  Sam stood up, shielding his eyes from the sun so he could see where they were.  Zoe and Gemma had indeed managed to find Rye and apparently dragged her out of the house before she could get dressed.  Instead of her usual t-shirt and jeans, she was wearing an oversized grey sweater cardigan that reached mid-thigh and what looked like pink, polka-dot pajama romper on the inside.  Sam laughed, realizing the girls probably thought Rye was making a fashion choice in her outfit, rather than being forcibly removed from her home while she still wore what she slept in.  But he knew better.
    As with any of Sam’s events, there was more food than necessary but he had added an extra two servings to account for Gavin’s monstrous appetite.  Even then, just about everything he cooked was consumed by sundown and Gavin was already looking for the dessert, which Damian had wisely hidden so that he couldn’t get to it before everyone else was ready.
    Gemma, Zoe, and Rye stayed reclining on the blanket as Sam and Damian cleared the plates around them.  They laid with their heads together in a triangle as they looked skyward with Zoe marveling at the stars she could already see when it wasn’t even completely dark.  Sam watched as Damian snuck a quick kiss from Gemma as he bent down to grab an empty wine glass, stealthy enough so that the other two girls didn’t notice – or didn’t care.  Sam could see how much Gemma and Zoe had taken to Rye, and how happily Rye returned those feelings.  Their hair blended into a colorful pile above their heads and for a second, he considered making some quip about the dangers of letting themselves get tangled with Rye’s knotty hair.  But he refrained, not wanting to ruin their fun.
    Now that Sam was a few beers into the night, he began to consider Gavin’s assessment of Rye’s attractiveness.  He wasn’t yet sure if he saw the same potential that Gavin did, but he had gotten distracted twice now by Rye’s bare legs as they stretched out from her silly pajama rompers.  They were surprisingly shapely, something he had never noticed under her boxy boy jeans.  And despite not being very tan, they managed just the slightest tint of gold, much like her hair and eyes.  As he cleaned, Sam found himself wondering how she had gotten the tan at all when she wore those long, baggy pants all the time.  He imagined her weekends spent alone on the property, walking barefoot outside in that stupid short romper as the sun caught the golden waves of her hair.
    Sam suddenly stopped, turning abruptly from the girls as he squelched that image from forming anymore.  He gathered the dirty plates and cutlery as he walked them back to the kitchen, making sure not to look behind him as he did so.  It was unusual that such an innocent image could cause him to blush.  He had probably gone just a little too long without getting laid.  Sam could feel a slight heat in his cheeks and he felt weirdly ashamed and embarrassed for the thoughts his mind had forced upon