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“I’ll take you to the hospital when you’re critical.”
“Wow. Thanks.” Luke headed for their towels and practically threw the board onto the sand.
Zac placed his board gently next to his brother’s and picked up a towel to dry his face. “What’s going on, Luke?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re in a crappy mood. How come?”
Luke imitated his stance, legs parted, hands on his hips, and met Zac’s challenging stare with one of his own. “What’s going on, Zac? You’re in a crappy mood, too. How come?”
Zac pressed his lips together. Did twenty-one-year-olds hold some contest every year to see who could have the pissiest attitude? It was on the tip of his tongue to say, I asked you first, but he was supposed to be the mature one.
“Because it’s really early in the morning on Valentine’s Day and I’m with you.”
Luke’s glare faltered. “I thought things were going really well with Chris. Didn’t you go out last night?”
“Yup.”
“So what happened, she dump you?”
“We weren’t really dating, just...” He stopped, out of years of habit of protecting his brother, before he reminded himself Luke was plenty old enough for the concept of casual sex.
“What?” Luke narrowed his eyes incredulously. “What are you talking about? You’re crazy about her. This wasn’t just hooking up.”
“For her it was.”
“No.” Luke shook his head emphatically. “It wasn’t. Summer told me she’s sure that—”
“Yeah, Jackie told me, too. But if it’s not Chris telling me, it doesn’t make any difference. And last night she told me it was over.”
Luke frowned, picked up the other towel and scrubbed it over his hair and face. “That makes no sense.”
“She has to move back to New York. Maybe she’s just protecting herself. And me. There’s nothing I can do.”
Luke threw his towel down. “Zac, man, listen to yourself. You’re doing it again. What can I do about it? Nothing. How much testosterone do I have left? None!’”
“What should I do, Luke? Tell her I’ve decided she can’t go back to New York? Tell her she has to stay in a relationship with me even though she doesn’t want one?” He stalked over to his board. “Come on, let’s go back to the car.”
“Dude, I’m sorry.” Luke went to get his board. “I know that really sucks.”
“I’ll be fine.” He wasn’t so sure. It felt as if a knife thrower was practicing with his heart as the target.
“Did you tell her how you felt?”
Zac glared at him. “Who made you my therapist?”
“Did you tell her you love her?”
“She doesn’t want to be with me, Luke. What good will that do? I might as well cut off my balls and have them gift wrapped.”
Luke cringed. “Oh, bad image, bro.”
“Give me a year off to save my ego and my dignity.”
“Okay, okay.” Luke held up his hands. “I hear you. I get it.”
They trudged up the steep hillside path toward Zac’s car. It was overcast and the air was cool but thick with humidity, which didn’t help Zac’s mood. But he might as well face it—nothing was going to help his mood. Including being a jerk to his brother.
“Sorry, Luke,” he mumbled.
“Whatever. Today sucks. End of story.”
“Yeah? What’s going on with you?”
“Summer.” He adjusted his hold on the board. “She’s not that into me, either.”
Zac laughed bitterly. “This was all so much easier in grade school, wasn’t it.”
“Yeah.” Luke snorted. “Remember that girl from boarding school who had the crush on you, Sylvia or something?”
“You remember that?” Zac turned in amazement. “You were barely in kindergarten.”
“Dad told me about her. He said she called you every day until he told her to get lost.”
“Uh-huh.” Zac smiled wryly, putting his board down next to the car. “He told her nice girls don’t chase after guys.”
