“But! I can’t… I just can’t go there.” I admitted weakly toward the end.
She tilted her head, features softening as she tugged at one of her dangling black skull earrings. It was a habit she had when she was thinking hard on something.
“I get that it’s scary.” She said after a moment. “Taking a chance on someone is hard. You never know how it’s going to turn out. But, I know what I saw today and it seems like you do, too.”
She looked at me firmly for a moment before her eyes softened.
“Just… Promise me, if an opportunity arises, don’t pass it up.” She held up her pinky to me.
I wanted to argue it’d be pointless, and it’d be a waste of a perfectly good pinky-promise. But at that moment, my pocket vibrated with an incoming text. I knew it was Derek without even needing to check and somehow, it felt like the universe was telling me it’d all be okay. That this was a promise I’d be able to keep.
Looping my pinky around hers, I cocked a half-smile at my best friend as we leaned in to kiss our own hands.
“Promise.” I whispered.
The Fourth of July was always a big celebration in the Shaffer home. Mom went all out every year, decorating the house from top-to-bottom in shades of red, white, and blue. Half of Westwend came by for the town-famous ‘Shaffer Fourth of July Barbecue’. My dad would get ridiculous amounts of meat that would either be smoked or grilled, my mother made nearly a gallon of potato salad, and the rest of the sides would be supplied by attendees. Sweet tea, beer, and sodas were the primary refreshments but every year we always ended up with some spiked punch concoction that would get more than a few guests tipsy. The town itself put on a fantastic fireworks show that could be seen from my parent’s front porch when it got dark.
I scanned the backyard, taking in all the festivities. People mingled about, chatting over the ambient country music playing. A small area of the backyard had been designated as the kid’s zone and was set up with a few kiddy pools, a little inflatable splash pad, and a sprinkler. The ruckus and laughter from the children added to the ambiance.
It was hard to believe it was already July. It felt like Derekhad just moved in a few days ago despite it actually being a month.
My gaze fell on the man in question, his round ass looking sinful in the tight white shorts he wore. Still made him look like he was off to some yacht club, though. His hair was slicked back with strands artfully falling over his forehead, and the light blue short-sleeve button-down he wore complimented his tanned skin well. Derek was nodding along as my father chatted happily to him while flipping burgers on the grill.
He was way too hot. Was I drooling? I think I was drooling.
Tilting up my solo cup, I greedily gulped at the sweet tea in hopes it would quench this damn thirsty attitude I had. I was down bad for this boy, but at least I could admit it.
Before I could get too lost in that line of thinking, monstrously strong arms that could only belong to one person wrapped around my waist from behind, lifting me off the ground momentarily as I was squeezed tightly. “Baby bro!” Bailey’s deep voice greeted me.
“Bails!” Once back on the ground, I quickly flipped around to slip into a proper, back slapping hug with my brother. “When did you get here?”
His trademark easy grin spread over his face as he pulled away. “Just now. I snuck in through the gate so it wouldn’t take me twelve years greeting every soul inside.”
I scanned my brother over, taking him in for what felt like the first time in a while. His dirty blond hair was cropped on the sides, but he’d styled the longer strands on top into a uniform swoop that accented his sharp jawline. Bailey’s features resembled our father the most in both facial structure and body. His wide frame and stocky build had made him an excellent football player in high school. You’d never guess he now sat behind a computer most days with the way his biceps tested the limits of his short-sleeved henley. The green eyes heshared with our father and I twinkled as he did his own visual check-in.
It was so good to see him; my chest filled with a lightness at being reunited again. While Bailey was the ‘calmer’ twin when we were growing up, that didn’t mean he didn’t get into all sorts of shit—because he definitely seemed to enjoy the chaos he and Brooks caused. But, there’d always been a stillness in him that our older brother never seemed to possess. If I ever needed someone to talk to, Bailey was always the one I’d turn to. He’d always be willing to hear me out or just let me vent, whether it was day or night.
Brooks… He had always reminded me of the energizer bunny—just going, going, gone. Unless it was something huge, it was hit-or-miss to tie him down for that sort of support. I knew everyone else in the family would agree that Brooks would be around for important things, but otherwise, it wasn’t uncommon to not hear from him for days on end. Phone calls and text messages were regularly left unanswered, even from our parents. They brushed it off as him being an adult with a busy life, but his absence was always palpable.
Especially on days like today.
I watched as Bailey’s eyes scanned over the crowd, clearly looking for our brother. My heart squeezed knowing he wouldn’t find him. When our eyes met again, I gave a subtle shake of my head, watching on helplessly as that bright light in them dimmed. The only thing fraternal about Brooks and Bailey were their looks. Growing up, they’d always acted more like identical twins.
That’s why when they’d both declared for different colleges, it had shocked not only the town, but our family as well. The twins swore nothing happened between them, but something had clearly shifted their dynamic dramatically. They went from completing each other’s sentences and practically being joined at the hip—so much so, Mom used to joke they were more like conjoined twins—to suddenly spendingall their time apart. Whatever it was still affected their relationship to this day and it was difficult to watch the strained way they interacted when they were in the room together. Growing up, I used to picture them owning homes right next door to each other, living their lives and building families side by side, right here in our hometown. Now, I was the only Shaffer boy to have come back after graduating and the twins seemed content with living separate lives.
“Did he give an excuse this time?” Bailey looked back over the crowd, probably actually taking in the attendees this time.
“He told Pop he had a shift today.” I said, running a hand through my hair and glancing back to where Derek and my father stood. They were still locked in conversation so our father hadn’t yet noticed the newest arrival.
Bailey grunted, letting out a slow sigh before he lifted his chin in that direction. “Speaking of our old man, who’s that with him? The intern for the summer?”
I huffed out a low laugh, turning my body to face them. “Believe it or not, that’s my roommate, Derek.” I cheekily took a sip of my drink as Bailey’s wide eyes shot toward me.
“Shit, if your business is doing that badly, you could have called me before letting some stranger live with you.”
My eyebrows pulled together as I sent my brother a glare. “The cafe is doing just fine, fuck you very much. The only reason he’s living with me is because of Pop.”
Bailey’s face scrunched in confusion. “The fuck? Who is this guy?”
