~Sean POV~
Chris, Grey, Anthony, and I made our way to the locker room attached to the private tennis courts. I had reserved the court yesterday for today, one reason was to give Erin a chance to play against them a little, but also to show off a bit. After all, I wanted to demonstrate just how awesome his dad could be.
As we were getting dressed Chris looked at me hesitantly for a while before asking "Erin is he re-"
"He's adopted," I said before he could finish asking the questions.
Both Anthony and Grey looked up simultaneously. "Really?" They asked somewhat surprised.
Chris relaxed a little after hearing that, then turned towards his tennis bag with a shake of his head. "What do you two mean really? The kid looks at least seven, and you two think that Sean, the laziest and most irresponsible person we know, actually had a kid this whole time and we're just now learning about it?" He looked up as Anthony and Grey realized the absurdity of their initial assumption.
Both Anthony and Grey nodded in agreement as I turned toward Chris. "Chris, come on, you know I'm not that irresponsible, right?" I asked, glancing at Anthony and Grey for backup.
They looked at each other then shrugged and continued to pack up their things as I stood there helplessly.
'Ah I miss Erin already, even when I tease him he can't do anything but blush since he doesn't know how to deal with his emotions yet' I reminisced about how Erin was struggling to put on a seat belt earlier. 'I'll make sure to show him just how good I was before I retired.' With a newfound determination, I put on my shoes, no longer feeling helpless.
During this Chris added something else. "He should also be the kid Sean found."
Anthony and Grey looked over at him slightly confused as I looked at Chris slightly surprised.
"You remember that?" I asked slightly confused.
"What do you mean by that" Anthony asked looking between me and Chris.
Chris looked up at Grey and Anthony confused. " Remember when Sean told us about that trip a few months back? He mentioned finding a talented kid at the tennis match he attended." Chris glanced between Grey and Anthony. "He was so impressed, he even talked about coaching him."
"That does ring a bell," Anthony muttered, nodding in recollection. "Honestly I thought that was just another excuse he came up with just so he didn't have to deal with parents trying to get him to teach their kids tennis." He added with a shrug.
"Well that was the reason I left in the first place, do you know how much work it takes to deal with those types of parents who think their kid is a prodigy" I replied to which Anthony just chuckled.
Grey's confusion lifted as he connected the dots. "So Erin is the kid you met," he said, turning to Sean for clarification. "But why adopt him if you were only planning to coach him?"
My expression grew somber as I explained. "I did intend to only coach him, but the next day after meeting him I had planned to introduce myself to his parents but I found out that he had been living alone since he was five.
What's even worse is that his mother disliked him for being albino and because he has heterochromatic eyes. I didn't want him to live like that so I adopted him." Sean replied as the three guys looked somewhat shocked at the information.
After a few minutes of silence, Grey chuckled, breaking the silence in the room. "Well, it seems like our Sean is growing up now," he remarked, rising from his seat and stretching. He made his way towards the door, motioning for Anthony and Chris to follow. "We should head out soon. Erin might be getting a little lonely now that we've been here for a while," he added with a grin.
*****
After we got dressed we walked out of the locker room I saw Erin sitting on the bench near the sidelines of the court with a tennis ball in his hand. With a smile on my face, I walked over to him.
"Erin did you miss me" I said as I walked over to him. He lifted his head a little and I could see his neutral face turn into one of annoyance.
Before I could even question or tease him about it Chris walked right past me and sat next to him.
"Sean your match with Grey is first so shouldn't you be on the court" He said with a mischievous smile on his face while pointing at the court.
'This motherfu-'
*****
"Ha, I was looking forward to teasing him for a while," I muttered under my breathe, observing Chris and Erin's interaction.
'Well, It seems it was a good idea to bring him here.'I thought while looking at Erin who was talking to Chris. Little by little he was starting to make eye contact as he got more and more comfortable.
As I continued to watch, my attention shifted to the other side of the court. Grey was getting ready to serve soon. 'Let's see how much you've improved grey.' I thought while watching him wind up his serve.
After winding up, he sent a power serve to my right. Shifting my feet a little, I adjusted my stance and lifted my racket, watching the ball fall a little. With a swift motion, I made contact and sent the ball rocketing back toward his side with a speed he couldn't react to.
We both watched as the ball soared past him, hitting the service line before continuing its trajectory all the way to the wall with a resounding bang. The power behind my return shot left Grey momentarily stunned, his expression a mixture of surprise and awe.
"15- LOVE" I yelled out with a huge grin plastered on my face.