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“Man, where’s the love? You give me zero credit. Who knows? Maybe she could be the one,” Tuck says.
I nearly choke on my beer. “I don’t remember the last time you’ve been on a second date, yet you’re sitting here trying to convince us that you’re ready to lock it down with Jake’s sister?” I raise my brows at him. “You haven’t even met her yet. Who’s to say you’ll even like her?”
“Oh, I’ll like her, trust me. There isn’t anything not to like.” He wiggles his brows.
I chuckle. “Well, I hope you can learn to like living without your balls, because you’re absolutely going to lose them if Jake hears you talking about his sister like that.”
I settle back in my chair and stare out towards the cove across the street. Tucker, Holden, Jake, and I have spent countless hours here, shooting the shit and staring out at this view. Tucker and Holden were already living next door when I moved in, and they introduced me to Jake, who they met through Miss Millie. We’ve been like family ever since.
“So, what’s going on today? Where’s Jake at?” I ask.
“Not a clue,” Tucker mutters. “But I’m betting he’s with that girl he met at the beach. What the hell is her name again? Emily? No… Elsie?”
“He seems like he’s really into her,” I say. Jake keeps his business to himself, so the guys and I have had to piece together what he’s been up to over the past few weeks.
“I don’t know… he sounds stressed every time I talk to him. I think the mystery girl is playing hard to get and it’s fucking with him. He’s not used to working for it,” Tucker points out.
Andthatis why a relationship is not for me. Jake is losing his shit over a girl he’s only known for a few weeks. Sounds fucking terrible. I’ll keep on doing what I do best and that’s hookups with no strings attached. It’s easy, it’s fun and they’re gone the next morning. You never have to go through the stress of figuring out how to make a relationship work. You never have to introduce them to your family or get into all of the complicated details of your life, past and present.
I wasn’t always this way. I did have a girlfriend for over a year, but I learned the hard way that relationships have a shelf life. Sooner or later, the girl will get bored, see something shiny and leave you in her dust. Unfortunately, I know this all too well.
I met Layla shortly after I started college. We instantly hit it off. She was my type—blonde, beautiful smile, a ballet dancer. Oh, and she had a dancer’s body that I worshipped every chance I got.
She swept me off my feet. We spent practically every waking minute together. If I wasn’t studying or helping my dad at his garage, I was with Layla.
But after a year of dating, I walked in on her with another guy. And if that wasn’t enough, the other guy was my best friend from high school. I was heartbroken. I also felt like a tool for not seeing what kind of person she was sooner. I mean, I’m a smart guy—I have a master’s in business. That didn’t stop me from falling for a girl with no moral compass.
As soon as I caught them in bed together, I dumped her. I later learned that wasn’t the first time they’d slept together, it had been going on for a while and I had no clue. Even though several years have passed since then, that ugly feeling of betrayal has stuck with me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forget being fucked over by my girlfriend and my best friend.
I decided right then and there that I would never put myself in a position where I could be let down by another woman. I would never again let my heart be broken.
And I haven’t.
“Hey, why are you still here?” Holden suddenly asks Tuck. “Don’t you have to be at your sister’s house? Isn’t it her birthday lunch today?”
Tucker winks. “I’m waiting to introduce myself to Millie’s granddaughter.”
I laugh. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
TWO
MACRAMÉ AND OWLS.
Sierra
“You sure you’re going to be okay out here? It’s kinda far from town.”
“I’ll be fine,” I holler from the kitchen, opening the refrigerator door.
Grabbing two Diet Cokes, I return to the living room where my brother Jake is sitting on the couch. He’s looking at something on his phone, his expression serious. He’s been a little quiet all day. I’m not sure if it’s because we moved Gran out of her house today and it’s weighing on him, or if it’s the prospect of me being back in town for the foreseeable future. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. He’s always been a hard one to read.
I hand him one of the cans. “Thanks, Si,” he says, then turns his attention back to his phone. I cock my head at him. I haven’t lived in the same city as my brother in four years, and in a way, I feel like I need to get to know him all over again.
“You good, Jake?” I ask. It’s not unusual for Jake to be wound tight. He’s the definition of Type A. He likes things organized and in their place, and agonizes until everything is perfect. He’s also extremely overprotective of me. He always has been, but when our parents died, it got worse. He stepped up as a father figure even though he was only 12 and I was 10 when it happened. He quickly became my fiercest protector, making it known all through high school that if a guy even so much as looked at me he would kick his ass. He told me he didn’t trust hormonal teenage boys. Turns out he didn’t trust hormonal college guys either.
“You seem like you have something on your mind.”
“Nah, I’m good,” he says, sliding his phone into his front pocket. “I’m happy to have you back home. I’m just sorry it took Gran falling down the stairs and some other crazy shit to make you come back. I know you were happy in Virginia Beach.”
