AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Life can change so fucking quickly. It wasn't all that long ago Dad was running the businesses and I was just a college kid, partying whenever the hell I wanted, only working when he needed me, and friends were readily available with just a phone call or text. Girls didn't exist as a moment of peace and normalcy that I had to shove out the door as soon as I was done nutting. I may not have been one to get serious and relationships never were my thing, but I had the freedom to do whatever the fuck I wanted to do with them. That was a bad year. First Karleigh, then Rebecca, and now I'm trapped in the aftermath with no way to dig myself out. It feels like I'm sinking deeper.
"I know," I say, not having the right words as usual. But after all this time I don't think he's looking for any magical words; just someone to grip his hair and hold his head out of the water to keep him from drowning.
He sniffs a few times, and most definitely not from a cry. The smoke continues to billow in the air between the two of us; the deep inhales and slow exhales creating the only sound aside from the music. "I was going to propose you know."
"No, you never told me that." I take another drag off my cigarette, enjoying the few moments the real Joel is back; only this one is masked in torment, but still, it's the real him, and not the version that lives and breathes for a party, consumed in a world of drugs, alcohol, and pussy. This is more like old times. It's always been the two of us growing up. Both being the only kid and first cousins through our dads it came easy, especially since we're so close in age. He's been my partner in crime since I can remember. We were Jedis, getting into shit and having a good time. But there was never a dull moment.
As kids we were a little on the nerdy side: skinny as fuck, pale, oversized teeth and advanced in our classes. I had freckles that ran under my eyes and across my nose, and Joel had braces from a fucking overbite caused from years as a small kid sucking his thumb. We were destined for disaster and headed for jobs behind desks with fitted slacks, a damn bowtie, and glasses. But, a thing called puberty came along and saved us. We filled out, our voices deepened, and suddenly we were the two bearded bastards filling the pussy of every hot girl we could shove our dicks into. When you're young hair growth and a little bit of muscle goes a long way. We had fun and didn't give a shit about anything. People noticed, especially girls, and we never went without. And why? Because we didn't try.
We even made this ridiculous pact once that we wouldn't get married till we were at least thirty. Bachelors till we got too old for the young girls to want us was the plan. It was dumb as hell, but two kids that cared nothing about girls, for the most part, tend to make idiotic promises that likely won't be kept, but so far neither have broken it. I never even thought one of us came close before today.
"Well, I was. The day I walked across that stage at graduation for my bachelor degree I knew I wasn't going to find any better than her. I was born with brains and no drive for anything but a good time. It's a miracle I was a college graduate. She didn't care though. Regardless of what crazy shit I cooked up in my head she was always game. I was just waiting on the ring to come in and I was going to do it—plan it out and drop to one knee—even after everything Saxton went through with Salem. She kept her legs closed and that was good enough for me. We spent the entire summer together without me doing it, waiting for the right moment. Football season seemed like the best time, since it was our favorite thing together. Tailgating with all our closest friends already there just seemed like the perfect moment. But here we sit, two years to the day from when I watched them lower her into the ground. I had to slide that ring on a lifeless finger after everyone left. It was hers. She deserved to take it with her."
"He's in town, you know." The words slipped before I even filtered what was in thought.
"What?"
I put my cigarette out on the glass top table that's used for anything but a coffee table. I blow out the final smoke held within my lungs. "That girl I took home was his sister."
He turns toward me. "What the fuck you saying, Cuz? What sister?"
"My thoughts exactly."
The change in his tone signals his high is peaking. The depressed shit will end and the happy Joel will come to life. It's fucking amazing this is the guy that scored so high on his college entry exam he was given a full ride to college, especially when he got high as fuck the night before, but that was Joel. Like he said, he was gifted with the brains but no regard for what he was given. He didn't give a shit about school, but he was a sponge when it came to the useless information they want you to know as if most of it will actually be used once you're out. He could sit through class and ace every test he had, never cracking a book. I'm pretty sure he only owned a handful the entire time he was in college. Who the hell else makes it through grad school fucked up all the time?
"Let me get this straight. You banged Saxton's sister? And now he's here with her? I'm supposed to just believe it's like a fucking family reunion all on the same week, thousands of miles away?"
"Fucking ironic, isn't it?"
He starts laughing uncontrollably, and it's hard to not find the humor in everything. "Did he roll over like a little bitch when he woke up to your pretty face or did he whoop that ass when he discovered that hot brunette with the fine ass you fucked was his sister?"
I turn toward him to give him a look at the tender, red circle from his hit still present under my eye. "Good. It's about fucking time he hit something other than a whore."
"And why I took it like a man."
"Well, how was it?"
I remember the shower this morning, a smile spreading. "Wet."
"Is that all I get?"
His face mirrors mine. "Yep."
"Fucker. Should have been me."
"And let you take a lick followed by some good pussy? Not a chance. Besides, that would mean you actually have to communicate with Saxton."
His smirk fades, the look of disgust already shading his features. "She's not the only one he left high and dry. She’s just the only one that deserved it. I answered him when he asked where that bitch lived. Fucking pussy. Can't stay away from her. Even all these years later."
"He's getting married, Joel."
"Are you fucking kidding? Did he not learn his lesson the first time he gave her a rock?"
"To someone else," I clarify. "I don't know why he'd want to know where Salem lives, but it's not for that reason. This one is different. He's different. Maybe you should let the past be the past and actually talk to him."
He remains silent, thinking and letting his cigarette burn down. "Nah. He didn't need friends then and I don't need them now."
I shake my head. "I seem to remember someone else running off to New York not all that long ago, leaving everything behind. We all run from something at some point."
