Page 6 of When We Were Young

When I turn and walk back to the table, I don’t miss Heath staring at me.

“She could’ve gotten her own,” he says quietly enough that she won’t hear.

“Yeah,” I reply. “Or she could’ve been too upset and uncertain to get her own. Plus, it’s the nice thing to do.”

“Well, then I could’ve gotten it for her.” He frowns at me.

“But you didn’t, little bro. You need to read some of those romance books your best friend there reads, and you’ll know how girls want guys to act.” I wink at him, and he gives me his classic Heath eye roll and looks away.

Over the next few minutes, though, he frequently looks over at Georgie with a mixture of concern and adoration in his eyes. I wonder when he’ll recognize that maybe he feels more than friendship for her.

We spend the next hour and a half playing our Crazy Eights marathon, and the results are the usual: Harrison is the winner. Then he taunts Henry that it’s a skill-based game, and they go back and forth for a while.

While the rest of us sit at the table and talk for a while, Heath has gotten his head out of his ass and gone to sit by Georgie. He must cheer her up a little because she’s smiling.

“So, when I walked in, you guys were trying to convince our younger brother here to go to frat parties?” Henry asks.

“Yeah, over going to the library every night because he thinks he’s in love with the librarian,” Hayden chimes in.

“She’s not a librarian. She’s a student who works there. It would be creepy if I were in love with the librarian since she’s like seventy-five,” I respond.

Hayden chuckles and shakes his head.

“All right. Tell us about her,” Henry says.

I picture Lizette, and I feel a smile teasing at the corners of my mouth.

“Well, she’s super smart, even though I don’t think she realizes it. She’s responsible and funny. She’s quiet, but not in a shy way. More like she thinks before she speaks. When she does get talking, every word that comes out of her mouth is perfect.”

“Oh geez, Holden. That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about,” Harrison says. “That’s infatuation.”

“Whatever. You’re not there. Anyway, she’s really pretty. She has blonde hair and mesmerizing green eyes.”

Henry is studying me but says nothing. Harrison frowns, and I know that look—he’s concerned.

“I know you think I should be enjoying frat life, but I don’t want to go to frat parties. They’re not my thing. Everybody’s just drinking, spilling beer everywhere, and then hooking up. I didn’t really expect that. I thought…”

When I don’t finish, Henry prods, “Thought what?”

I shrug and look to the side. “I thought it would be more like hanging out with brothers.”

I see their faces fall, and I instantly regret saying anything. The last thing I want is for them to feel bad about my choices or my feelings.

I glance over at Harrison for his reaction, since he’s the one who helped me get everything together for college, and he’s watching me thoughtfully.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, he nods. “Let’s talk more later, and we can think about whether you want to try to get into an apartment for next year. Okay?”

I nod.

“All I ask otherwise is that you’re careful with this girl.”

“Yeah, back to the girl... we don’t need another Ruby situation,” Hayden adds. His face is dead serious now.

The Ruby situation. She was my first and only girlfriend. I like the idea of finding my person, and I’ve never been looking to rack up numbers of sexual conquests. For me, there's been Ruby and then one other girl—one time—since I’ve been at school. Ruby broke me for a while, but I like to think I’m smart enough to use better judgment next time around.

I’m not sure how to get out of the awkward situation as suddenly quiet falls over the room. I glance around, and even Heath and Georgie are paying attention to the conversation.

Jesus, my love life shouldn’t be so concerning to everyone else. I guess that’s the thing about our family: caring is part of it all. Still, it’s uncomfortable, and I’d like to change the subject.