Page 99 of Saints & Sailors

I started to walk off, but I stopped short to flash Dreux a grin. “Hey, don’t worry, you can be my best friend now that I’m here.”

Dreux shook his head, doing a long and thorough sweep of me. “Not what I’m after.”

My mouth snapped shut and I felt giddy. He didn’t want to be friends.

Quickly I whirled around, hurrying back to the boys.

“Everything good?” Danny wanted to know as he watched Dreux take off.

Dreux was more than a friend. Or, at least, he wanted to be.

Who was I kidding? I didn’t want to be friends either. Not with the way my heart raced every time Dreux was near me. Not when I loved the way he kissed me. Not when I wanted more. Crossing the line could be disastrous, but I’d always been reckless.

“Saylor?” Danny touched my arm to get my attention, his gaze shifting toward Dreux’s descending form. “You good?”

Figuring out things with Dreux could wait. Right now, I had to explain to Scott about the guys and their impromptu visit.

Danny drove me home and I had him, Ian, and Jack wait out on the front porch while I slipped inside to talk to Scott. These days, we had a good understanding. Still, I was nervous. As far as he knew, these guys were the reason I’d gone down a bad path.

“That you, Saylor?” Scott’s voice came from the kitchen. In another moment he was poking his head out down the hall to look. He grinned once he saw me, a warm crinkle in his brown eyes.

“Hey.” Slowly, I inched closer.

“Thought you had to work today.” Scott was back in the kitchen, pitching his voice to be heard.

In the room, the smell of raw meat and seasoning greeted me, as well as the sight of Scott preparing hamburgers with gloved-hands. There was a pack of hot dogs on the counter as well. On the island were packs of buns, bags of potato chips, and cases of soda and water.

Scott ducked his head, going bashful on me. “It’s a nice day out. Figured I’d grill. I got you some spinach and feta salmon burgers to try in case you weren’t feeling the beef.”

Considerate. From the day I’d arrived, he’d been nothing but considerate of my wants and needs. I wasn’t fond of our school lunch, so he went out of his way to pack me salads or homemade sandwiches. I opted for fish over meat some nights, so he got salmon burgers.

I looked on at Scott, feeling appreciative and fuzzy inside.

“Thank you, Scott,” I responded. “It means a lot. I’ll try a regular burger, too.”

“There’s plenty. Dreux out there? There were some good sales, so I grabbed a bunch of stuff,” Scott said.

“He’s, uh, at the barbershop,” I said. “I was supposed to work today, but something came up.”

Scott stopped what he was doing, looking back at me. A curious brow was raised as I had his full attention. “Oh, yeah? What’s up?”

I took a deep breath and just came out with it. “My mom was nice enough to let my friends know where I was, and they actually drove all the way here to see me.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets, rocking on the heels of my sneakers. “They’re outside on the porch.”

Scott blinked. More, he removed his gloves and went over to the sink to wash his hands. “Is that so?”

“I’m grateful for the friendships I’ve formed with Cameron and Vanity, but these guys are like my brothers. They’re the only people, outside of Mom, who’ve ever accepted me.”

Scott went and grabbed a paper towel, focusing as he dried his hands. “They know you’re doing good now?”

“I’ve been sober for weeks, Scott. Nothing’s going to change that. Besides, Danny swore the accident made them all wake up,” I insisted. “They’re not here to start any trouble. They just wanted to see me. They missed me.”

Scott stood studying me silently. “Okay.” He looked around us before coming back to me. “Think they can eat?”

It was a start.

Scott followed me out to the porch where the boys were waiting nervously. Danny stood the most erect and serious—or as serious as he could be.

“Scott, this is Danny, Ian, and Jack. My friends,” I said as I gestured to the guys. “Guys, this is my father, Scott.”