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“But there’s always so much to the plot and character development; the sex is just a bonus,” Quinn responds. Her brown hair hangs loosely around her shoulders tonight. We’re all in comfy clothes since we decided a movie marathon was in order, even if we’re here for book club. Quinn also has these blue eyes that hold so much compassion in them; you feel like the only person in the world when she gives you her whole attention. It’s one of the reasons she joined our group so seamlessly.
“I agree with you, Quinn; the plot takes the cake over the sex scenes. However, I would enjoy the books less without them,” I say, adding my two cents. We started a book club to give us another reason to hang out with each other more often.
As everyone has started pairing off, we’ve gotten so busy that it’s hard to have time to hang out with each other as often as we used to. I’m the last single person in our group. Even Levi, Cooper’s brother, has started dating Hope, which came as a huge surprise to us all. He used to be the stereotypical bachelor, always hanging out with different women. We never expected him to settle down with anyone, let alone the sweetest woman ever.
I don’t mind being the last single one of the group. None of my friends have ever made me feel left out, and I really do enjoy being alone. I’ve honestly never given much thought to who I’ll end up with. I figure, one day, he’ll come into my life when he’s supposed to, and until then, I’ll just date when I feel like it. I’d rather wait for the right man to come along than settle for just anyone.
“How’s Dr. Charles doing, Sara?” Quinn asks.
“He just told us he’s retiring.”
Surprise shows on all the girls’ faces at my words.
“Is he okay? What does that mean for you?” Lucy asks. Sitting next to Megan, the two of them look like sisters with their sleek blonde hair. Their only difference is Lucy has brown eyes while Megan has blue. We tease Lucy and Megan that their husbands, Max and Todd, are the only ones who can tell them apart.
“He’s okay. Apparently, the stress of running the clinic was becoming too much for him to handle, so he’s retiring. I guess his son is going to be taking over for a while. None of us have met him, though, so I have no idea what that will be like.”
“At least the clinic isn’t closing down,” Megan says.
“Wait, is his son Benjamin Crawford?” Natalie asks, an odd look on her face.
“Yeah, he was a few years older than us. I don’t remember him from school, even though he was a senior when we were freshmen,” I respond. How Nat can remember some dude who was only around for a year, I’ll never understand.
“You don’t remember the hot blond that used to hang out with Adam and Matthew?” she asks, referencing the eldest two of my four brothers. “He always had this broody, dark cloud parked on his forehead.”
Adam and Matthew—and even Carter and Nolan, to a lesser extent—were part of the popular crowd growing up. They were athletic, intelligent, and, unfortunately for me, attractive. They’re still this way today, only they’re more selective about who they’re friends with.
“Holy shit.” An image of an angry Ben suddenly pops into my head. I had the biggest crush on him back then. I can’t believe I didn’t remember that. I’m pretty sure I even attempted to flirt with him. And he looked at me like I was an alien. I must’ve blocked out that particularly embarrassing time in my life.
God, my little fourteen-year-old heart was shattered when he didn’t give me the time of day.
“I completely forgot he used to hang out with Adam and Matthew. They had so many friends growing up it was hard to keep track sometimes,” I say, trying to cover my reaction. I’d rather not share my humiliation at trying to flirt with the hot guy who was so far out of my league that it wasn’t even funny.
If Ben is as resistant to running the clinic as I think he’ll be, I can almost guarantee he’ll be just as broody as he was at eighteen. I wonder what his scowl looks like now that he’s all grown up. It’s probably bad form to be picturing how hot your new boss will be when he starts tomorrow.
“That’s totally accurate. Your brothers were super popular in high school,” Nat responds.
The conversation turns to our reminiscence of high school, telling Quinn about all the shit we used to do. Even though it feels like she’s been a part of our friend group from the beginning, Quinn only moved to Sonoma a year ago. The rest of us have been friends since we were in kindergarten.
As the evening winds down, I decide to head home before it gets too late. I’m missing my little zoo, which means they’re probably missing me just as much.
My drive home is quick, a perk of living in a small town, and I walk up the steps to my tiny cottage. There’s not much to it, with only two bedrooms and one bathroom. One side of the house has the living room that’s open to the kitchen; the other side has the bedrooms with the bathroom in the middle. It’s perfectly cozy for me and my animals. I have the second room set up as a gym. All the people in my life live in town or close to it, so there wasn’t any need for an extra bed.
When I go to unlock my front door, I notice a flower on my doormat. I bend to pick it up, confusion running through me. It’s a single red rose. No note, no indication of who could’ve left it. It’s a little odd, but maybe it was left here by mistake. Someone could’ve had the wrong address, leaving it for the wrong person.
I unlock the door, taking the rose with me. No reason to waste a perfectly beautiful flower. As I step into my house, Koda and Luna jump up from their dog beds and race toward me. Koda sticks close to Luna’s side, making sure she doesn’t run off course. Luna is blind, and the minute I brought her home, Koda took her under his wing, making sure she could find her way around the house.
All my animals have little quirks to them, which is why I took them in. Koda, my black lab, is missing most of an ear. Luna, my little white husky mix, is blind. Minnie, my black-and-white cat, is missing a leg. Lizzo, my lizard, is missing her tail, and Bruno, my hamster, has a large patch of skin on his head that never grows fur. If I’m honest, he looks a little like the stereotypical monk you’d find in a movie.
Each one was dropped off at the shelter because of their quirks, which is exactly why I brought them home. I wanted them to know they deserved love, no matter what they looked like.
They’re my babies.“Yes, you are. You’re my little squishes.” I smoosh Koda’s cheeks, scratching his head as his tail swishes back and forth.
I greet all my animals equally, then let the dogs out in the backyard to do their business. Once everyone has been loved on, we settle into the living room to watch TV until I’m ready for bed. Tomorrow is going to be interesting with Benjamin starting at the clinic.
His broodiness will be easy to ignore. I just hope he’s not an asshole about it.
4
