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I face away, strolling through the variety of tables, and he walks with me. “I wouldn’t have minded. I know you’re not your brother. Plus, I’ve known you since you were a lanky and awkward fourteen-year-old boy.”
A laugh booms out, and Oliver pushes at my shoulder. “That was one summer, and I grew up pretty fast.”
“Yeah, you did. And the girls were flocking to you. How’s Brittany?” I ask, smiling.
His face drops, and he looks away. “Fine.”
“Just fine?”
Oliver shakes his head. “Girls weren’t flocking to me in high school.”
The abrupt subject change back gives me pause, but it’s not my place to pry.
I roll my eyes. “Please. You and your brother had nearly every girl at our school desperate for your attention. I couldn’t believe he had chosen me.”
He stops walking, glancing at me in disbelief. “Jen, you were the prom queen. Believe me, Jared was lucky that you chose him. Because there were plenty of other guys vying for a chance with you.”
My cheeks flush and I scrunch my nose, walking ahead of him to focus back on the fair. I don’t want to continue down what could have been a decade ago.
It is hard to refrain from buying an item from every table on principle, but I thought about the boxes already thrown about in my trunk that I still needed to sort through. Oliver kept me company, telling me about each of the boys we passed and how he thought this year they had a good chance of going to championships. It was the longest conversation I had with Jared’s little brother in years. Usually, he and his wife kept to one corner while Jared and I were in the other.
I never realized how differently Oliver lives in comparison to his brother. Jared wanted to have a life of comfort and luxury, even if at times I felt uncomfortable spending that kind of money. My parents are well off, but always expressed that it is their money, not family money. That I have to earn my way in life, but my father will help provide whatever I need to succeed.
“Do your parents not come to your games or anything?” I ask, interrupting his tale about some grass issue on the field.
Oliver’s face tightens. “Not really. You know how they are, how Jared is. When I injured my shoulder my senior year, I think they expected me to go to college and get a degree to help with my father’s business. But my old coach offered me an assistant position and in my heart, I knew this is what I wanted to do.” He lets out a laugh, lacking amusement. “It’s beneath them, you know? Being a high school coach, but I love it. I love teaching them and shaping them for their future.”
My nose wrinkles and something in my chest twists, almost a stab of jealousy. There’s a part of me that wishes I had told my mother to fuck off when I was in college. I love my job, but it’s mostly the people I work with rather than the job itself. My job put us in an excellent networking position for Jared to profit from the events he attended with me.
“Would you care if I attended a game?” I ask, looking up at him. “I kind of separated myself from that circle, and it’s been a little disheartening to realize I never really fit in.”
Oliver grins. “Of course not. Anyone is welcome,” he says, then a flush creeps up his neck. “But I do have a favor to ask.”
I tighten my lips, nerves pulling from the inside. “Okay.”
He glances back at the tables we passed and then at me. “Your company has some of the biggest athletes at the moment. Any way you can get them to sign some rookie cards we can auction off?”
Blinking at the relief that courses through me, I clutch the bags of goodies closer to my chest and nod. “That’s easy. I’ll text you when I get them, okay?”
I don’t know why I had expected him to say something else, something related to his brother. I’m glad it wasn’t because I’ve known Oliver as long as I’ve known Jared. We all grew apart after high school, but it’s still a long time to know someone.
“Thanks, Jen. I really appreciate it. I hope to see you around more often,” he says, leaning over and hugging me before he jogs back to the tables.
My mood feels lighter, and I decide to skip the grocery store for another day, no longer running from the place I want to call home.
Two for One
The bar brings an unexpected nostalgia. A reminder of the summers we snuck in and grabbed alcohol from the back. I’m sure Shane’s father knew what we had done, but he never mentioned it. I’m tempted to see if our photos are still stapled on the wall across the dart board and between the neon signs.
I swallow the rest of my whiskey, letting the burn slide down my throat and dissolve the building ache.
In the twenty minutes I’ve been sitting on this stool, I had expected to see Shane. From my stalking online and the tagged photos, he seems to be here almost nightly. I know when his father fell ill, he took over the bar completely.
When Keegan didn’t reply to my text, I didn’t think twice about it and came anyway. The two of them were closer than they were to Jared. The more I observed everyone’s relationships pertaining to my ex, the more I realized he talked about people as if they were the bestest of buds. While I had plenty of acquaintances, I really only considered a couple my true friends.
“Jenica,” the deep voice wakes me from my thoughts and I turn to face Shane.
The viking of a man has always reminded me of a teddy bear. He’s so large, but there’s something cuddly about him. His auburn hair is buzzed on the sides, but the top is long enough to twist into a small bun at the back of his head. The gray t-shirt is snug around his thick biceps and dark jeans hugging all the right places. I have always wondered what it would be like to be fucked by a massive man like him.
