Page 27 of Fish Out of Water

“No, I meant you.”

“Huh?”

They got into the car, and Robbie let out the sigh he’d been holding in. “You didn’t have to tear into them like that. It was a simple accident, that’s all.”

“She could’ve been more grateful. I mean, we literally saved her son’s dog. Shewould’vebeen more grateful if it’d been anyone else. Right?”

Robbie didn’t respond.

“Right, Robbie?”

Finally, Robbie spoke, and it was in a hushed, defeated tone, the likes of which Jake had never heard from him before. “Right.”

He was silent until they got back to Isabel’s house, where Jake pulled into the driveway. “You coming in?” he asked. “My aunt will kill me if I don’t ask.”

Robbie shook his head. “I really should get home. It’s been a long day.”

Jake thought back to when Robbie had told him he hadn’t eaten yet. A few hours later, and that was still true. “Aunt Isabel will have plenty of dinner left over.”

“No,” Robbie said, his tone a little firmer this time. “I need to get back to my place. Thanks for helping with the dog.”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Jake cleared his throat. “If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have shut up about the incident for months, and I already hate talking to you when you’re in a goodmood.”

“Don’t ruin this moment with your pettiness.”

“But I—” Jake stopped himself from saying more. “All right,” he said quietly, “but you owe me.”

Robbie glanced sideways at him. “Owe youwhat, exactly?”

“I don’t know. A favor. I’ll think of something eventually.”

“If you think you can hold something as open-ended as that over me, you don’t know me at all. Goodnight, Jake. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Jake watched Robbie step out of the car and slowly head down the street, each step giving away just how tired he was. If Jake were a kinder person, he would have offered to drive Robbie home. But he wasn’t nearly kind enough for that, and he knew Robbie’s answer anyway: no. Jake had to be kept at arm’s length no matter what, even on a night like tonight.

7

A LINE IN THE SAND

Jake had trouble letting go of what had happened with Cooper and the Jacobys. They should have been more grateful. Even Robbie agreed, even if he refused to admit it out loud.

But something else about that night kept nagging at him, too: Robbie had been nicer to him than usual. It might have been because he needed help, but he’d been less snarky after that, too. And Jake didn’t feel like poking fun at him as much now, easy as it would be. It was almost too easy, like stealing candy from a baby.

That was it. It was more satisfying when Robbie had the attitude to fight back. The sooner they could return to that dynamic, the simpler everything would be.

The beach was closed over the weekend because of the predicted rainstorm, which also kept Jake inside with Isabel. That was no trouble for her, as she had plenty of projects that needed doing inside, but Jake was pretty sure that if the storm lasted for one more day, he would go stir crazy.

He didn’t want to return to the beach, exactly, just to be anywhere that wasn’t the overly quiet, idyllic little neighborhoodwhere his aunt lived. The beach, Robbie-heavy as it was, provided him with that escape right now.

Jake had never considered himself the outdoorsy type in any sense of the word—unless outdoor sex counted. He’d done that a time or two and enjoyed it, but not enough to make it a habit. Nothing beat the privacy and comfort of his own home, something he still didn’t have for God—not Mier—knew how long.

When Monday dawned sunny and dry, Jake breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled the curtains open, letting light stream into his room. Soon enough he would be back at the beach picking up trash—the only place he even somewhat belonged in this snooze of a town.

Robbie was, of course, already there when Jake arrived. He’d tried getting there before Robbie once during that first week, but there were always too many stragglers from beachy afternoons for him to get any work done without being asked stupid questions by rogue kids or stoned teens. Robbie had found the ideal pockets of time, and all Jake could do was follow in his footsteps.

“Hey,” Robbie said, waving as Jake approached. “It’s good to be back, huh?”