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I suppress the sigh that wants to release. “Yeah.”
“Great.” He nods, approvingly.
“Mom at a showing?”
“Open house. It’s supposed to end at six.”
“I’ll be gone. It’s Matt’s birthday tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll set this—” He taps his pen on the binder. “In your room. Some new plays Coach Nelson called me up to discuss running. Wilson will get them at the start of preseason. If you’ve already got the routes memorized, it will look good, Liam. Really good.”
I nod. “I’ll look at them tomorrow.”
My dad smiles. “Attaboy.”
I head upstairs to unpack my duffel and shower. Matt’s birthday is starting at the lake. Then we’ll likely end up at Brooke’s after dark. Her parents are notoriously lax when it comes to hosting parties.
Twenty minutes later, I’m cruising down Glenmont’s short downtown section and past Glenmont High on my way to the lake.
Sam and Hudson are easy to spot. Standing and spiking a volleyball back and forth over a line in the sand. They pause the game as soon as they see me.
“Stevens!” Sam punches my shoulder. “How was Maine?”
“I was in Cape Cod, asshole.”
He grins. “Same beach.”
Hudson’s greeting is more hesitant. Things have been slightly awkward between us since the day at the beach with Maeve and Weston when he suggested ways to split them up.
“Hey, man,” I say, giving him a relaxed grin I hope conveys all is forgiven.
I get exactly where he’s coming from. If it was Sam’s sister or Matt’s sister who fell for an Alleghany guy, I’d be on board with supporting a break-up. But it wasn’t. It was my sister. And as much as it kills me that she’s happy with Cole, she is. The grudge against him is getting harder to maintain.
Plus, there’s a voice in the back of my head now whisperinghypocrite.
I get it now, in a way I never did before. How easy it can be to overlook a barrier—if it’s standing in the way of something you really want.
Hudson’s expression conveys relief as he returns my smile. “Hey.”
“How soon is Matt showing up?”
“Twenty-ish minutes. Maggie told him her car wouldn’t start. Here’s hoping he doesn’t pull out any mechanic bullshit, trying to impress her.”
“Nah, he won’t do that,” Hudson replies.
“He has a savior complex. He just doesn’t show it to girls not named Maeve Stevens.” Sam glances at me. “She’s still in Florida with Cole, right?”
“Right,” I confirm.
“He came up to me on Thursday. In the parking lot ofMo’s. Guess he was dropping Maeve off?”
I shrug, but he’s probably right. I had to work, so she wouldn’t have had a car. It should piss me off, Weston approaching one of my friends. But I’m as indifferent as I sound when I ask, “What did he say?”
“Nothing much. Just being friendly…I guess.”
“Huh.”
Matt shows up about ten minutes later. We relax on the shore. Play spikeball. Swim.
