Page 52 of Falling Back to You

Greyson snorted. “Shane would have flayed us alive and then tanned our hides.”

“No need for gruesomeness, my dude,” Cal complained, burying his face in my neck.

I laughed, and the guys joined in. Even Greyson cracked a smile. Cal had a notoriously weak stomach.

Today had been the last day of all four of us being together. Everything was changing so fast. We’d hit up our old haunts, grabbed dinner at Donovan’s Downto’n, and ended back at the Satterfield house around the empty fire ring, save the little propane stove Pops had offered us. Because, family or not, firefighter Shane would have been giddy to fine us for breaking a fire ban.

The little stove wouldn’t roast a marshmallow, but it was better than nothing.

I settled more firmly against Cal’s chest, his arms banding around my waist. “When do you leave again?” I asked Greyson.

“Monday,” he grunted, fists opening and closing. He looked like he needed an axe and a load of firewood. What was with him? He was usually grumpy, but he was downright bearish today. Maybe for all his bravado about hating mushiness he hated goodbyes as much as the rest of us.

“But you’ll be back for the wedding?” Cal asked, his fingers lazily fiddling with the ring on my left finger. He’d proposed six weeks ago, and we had plans for an August wedding.

Greyson nodded. “It falls during my ten-day leave after boot camp.”

“Our hero.” I grinned at him. “Just think of all that California sunshine.”

He huffed and leaned back to look up at the stars.

I rested my head on Cal’s shoulder, and his fingers instantly started playing with my curls. The familiar touch was soothing. We were all a few months away from nineteen, with big plans. But we were together for one last night, just like the old days when we were all neighbours, riding our bikes up the gravel road and conquering make-believe villains.

Now, everything was about to change.

Greyson was off to boot camp in San Diego with the Marines for thirteen weeks. Cal and Myles were waiting to hear if they were being drafted. And I was marrying my best friend.

The end of one era and the start of a new one.

When I shivered, Cal hugged me even closer. “What about a round of Mario Kart for old times’ sake?”

Myles’s eyes gleamed in the firelight. “You ready to lose, Cap?”

“Hardly. I’m on a winning streak.”

“In your dreams.”

After packing up the chairs and wrestling the stove back to the porch, we tramped into the Satterfield kitchen.

Soft piano music lilted in from the living room. Myles paused in the doorway, watching. I glanced between him and the sole inhabitant of the room—Juliet.

She was the only one who played the old piano, her light touch haunting. Yiruma’s “River Flows in You” always made my heart ache. From the expression on Myles’s face, he wasn’t far off.

Juliet startled when Cal closed the back door a little too hard. “Oh, I didn’t know you guys were back.”

“We’re going to play Mario Kart,” Cal offered, plopping down on the sofa arm.

“Want to join us?” I asked.

Juliet was three years our junior, but she tagged along with us sometimes. The two of us always got along, despite the age difference. She was equal parts sweet and stabby, and she was my game-watching buddy. Between the two of us, we never missed the guys’ home games.

She shook her head. “I need to finish practicing.” Her gaze wandered to Myles and her cheeks flushed pink.

Ah, young love. At least she had good taste in guys. As far as they went, Myles was solid.

He squeezed her shoulder. “You sound great, Peach.”

Her eyes shone at the compliment, and you’d think he handed her the moon.