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“So, Tor.” Tug disrupts my planning of his future. “What’s going on with you lates? Before you say ‘nothing,’ remember, I caught you in a fight with the coffee maker.”
I poke him in the ribs. He’s way too much like Liv. “It is ‘nothing,’ Mr. Nosy Pants.”
Tug starts sniffing the air in an exaggerated way. “Do you smell that?” He’s suddenly very serious.
I look at him, taken aback, because all I smell is salty air and pistachios. “Smell what?”
“Bullshit, Tor. I smell bullshit.”
If my eyes could speak, they’d be telling him to shut the hell up. I smack him in the arm, almost dropping my cone in the process. “You might be worse than Liv, you know that?”
He laughs, sitting with one knee up, his cone-hand elbow propped up on it. “Let’s try this. I tell you what I think is going on, and you tell me if I’m right.”
He cannot possibly know what’s got me so troubled, and I nod in agreement. This should be interesting.
“I think you have guy troubles.”
I nod, digging my toes in the sand.
“I think you might like two guys,” he continues.
I nod again.
“I think said two guys may not like the other very much.”
I don’t nod this time. Instead, I look over at him, wondering if he knows more than I think.
“Brady and Harrison are both dumb shits and you should kick ’em to the curb and go out with me.” He laughs.
I shake my head no, trying to come up with an “I’d rather” joke, but my mind is too jolted by his perceptiveness to think of one. “Tug, how do you know all this?”
He lets out a shallow laugh. “I’m not blind. It’s obvious they both like you and even clearer they don’t like each other.”
Since he seems to know everything, I ask, “Do you know why?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, I have no idea. They were always friendly, but the other day at the beach they almost threw down when they ran into each other. I stopped it.”
I shrug and lick my ice cream, swirling the bottom of the scoop with my tongue to catch the melting drops. Tug’s watching me with large eyes. When our eyes meet, he quickly looks away. Pervert – by the look on his face, he was having dirty thoughts. Even though it’s a perfect opportunity to make him squirm, I let it go. My thoughts are engrossed in his brother right now and I have more questions.
I remember what Harrison said, and ask, “Do you think your brother’s reckless?”
Tug cocks his head to the side, pondering. “Umm…like most guys in their twenties, Brady’s young, dumb, and full of come, but I’m not sure that makes him reckless.”
“Ugh – gross!” I cringe at his vulgar reply. Tug may have a filter in that brain, but he often forgets to use it.
“You know what I mean, Tori. He’s my brother. Hell, the two of us have gotten into our fair share of trouble together, but above anything, Brady always has my back. When it comes to those he cares about, he’s loyal to a fault. So, reckless? No, that doesn’t describe him.”
I want to ask if he knows what’s up with Brady and his parents. Since that would betray Brady’s trust, I avoid it. “Do you know what happened with Vanessa?” I ask instead.
“Vanessa,” he repeats, tapping his fingers on his top lip. Recognition falls over his expression. “Oh, the girlfriend…that was her name?” I nod. “That’s a touchy subject for Brady.”
“Yeah, no kidding…Do you know why?”
Tug shakes his head. “I’d guess it has something to do with the fact that she was his first real girlfriend. You know how that feels. It sucks.”
He’s referring to Jake, and I reply, “It sucks, all right.” Thinking of Jake makes me frown. “I don’t know why I’m trying to figure this out. Brady’s made it clear that he only wants to be friends.”
He slaps his hand against his forehead, and then he rubs the back of his neck. “And here I thought you were a smart girl.”
