chapter thirteen
him
"Do you even possess the ability to be happy for me?" My sister questioned. Her posture positive, new. Her hair, her clothes, her eyes all done and different. She balanced on the overstuffed arm of an overpriced chair. "He's incredibly well read, doesn't use social media…" I folded and tucked my shades into my shirt collar, scoffing for added annoyance. "And we're going to Greece together this summer."
"Nice," Chase piped in, checking himself in an oversized, overpriced mirror above the chair.
"Have you been?" Kat wondered with an encouraged smile. Chase shook and shrugged. Engaging him was forever a slippery slope, but they were occupied. Kat having a regular back and forth on a random day was everything.
"No, but it sounds hot. Like chicks kickin' it in a two piece 24-7. I could dig it." He fell obnoxiously into that same chair, closing his eyes. "How much longer is this going to take, Edward?"
"Seriously." Kat added, checking her cell. Suddenly, I was their pain in the ass.
"And I like feta cheese… So yeah…"
How I ended up being trailed by this motley crew to a furniture store in South Beach was beyond me. Kat was hurdling towards a finish line of some personality metamorphosis that Bella assured me only an intense college romance would spawn. And Chase… Chase appeared in my office an hour prior with a Victoria's Secret bag full of sweat soaked football t-shirts that apparently his ex girlfriend returned at school in front of the entire team. Long story.
"I think I'm going with the round, black walnut one," I announced to distracted ears. "Sixty-four inches might be a bit big for now…" I closed the catalog and found my wallet.
"Doesn't Bella have a table already?" Kat asked, yawning.
"It's a piece of shit though. It's from my dad's old campus office. Smells like bourbon, jock strap and locker room," Chase shouted for the state of Florida to hear.
"So this is a gift?" Kat nudged, I grinned. "You're turning into Dad." Gone was the fragile mention. She meant it. And I hoped so.
"Wouldn't a ring be cheaper?" Chase was sizing up the saleswoman ten years too old for him.
"Not sure she wants a ring… But everyone needs a good, solid table to let life happen around. Right?"
"What is this? Some bullshit family Christmas movie? Jesus."
"Chase, I think you actually need Jesus."
"Life can fucking happen for less than…" He looked over my shoulder, practically knocking me off the stool. "$3,740. Dude... if we weren't talking about my sister I'd say you're so…"
"Okay. Get out of my space so I can wrap this up. Go across to Pete's and get us a booth in the back."
"Fucking finally. We can eat and discuss my fucking broken ass heart."
"And Greece! We can talk about Greece." Kat teased. She teased. Made a joke. My sister, making jokes. That was worth a trip around the fucking world. She led, trailing a cool or die teenager through the door.
Pete's was packed. Their happy hour began notoriously early on Fridays. Chase begged me for a sneaky beer while Kat pushed her salad around the plate.
"So Greece?" I started, she lit.
"It's good, yes? I'll forward the entire itinerary. We can get it all booked while I'm here."
"Do I get to meet this guy?"
"You did meet this guy."
"Right. Right…" I rolled my sleeves. Dive joints in Miami often ignored the punishing heat even in May. "How about he comes down here first, like before you travel internationally together? I'll cover it."
"Not sure there's time for an in person interrogation. We're looking at late July." Her phone remained her focus, inspiring secret joke smiles.
"At least you're both currently getting laid." Chase interrupted, plowing through potato skins and a Dr. Pepper. "I treated her like a fucking princess." Prom night, virginity loss, a bonfire, the police, by the time we covered the ugly break up at the Jiffy Mart on Tenth Avenue South, we'd barreled through the archive of hard ass teenage angst.
"It obviously wasn't meant to be, my man." I tried, thoughts trailing through Kat's possible travel budget.
"That's it?" Chase shoved his plate. "It sucks, pal. You'll get over it? Edward. You don't fucking get it. She. Was. The. One." I gestured for another or six.
Kat shared photos of an apartment she was eyeing for the fall, presumably with said grad student. She reached, scrolling while I drank. Still desperately curious how I came to sit in the dichotomy of sibling high low fuckery, my own phone vibrated. Thank fuck, Bella. "Hey, there."
"Hey. Wait. Can you hear me?" I could, barely. A crowd, whistling, cheering drowned her out. "Sorry, I'm still here at the swim meet."
"How's it going? How'd the dedication thing go?"
"Good. It was good. I'm a little embarrassed. "
"Nah. Enjoy it."
"Oh okay, so one of my former coaches is here. Actually several, and…"
"And what?"
"Nothing. Just…Anyway… How was your day? Where are you? Still at the office? Mom and Dad are finally Disney bound with Toby. I'm childless and it's Friday, bitches! And yes, I'm apparently an adolescent. Whatever."
"I'm sitting here in Pete's with a couple of those, actually."
"Do I even want to know?"
"Kat's going to Greece with some guy she's known for a hot minute and Chase showed up at The Cove looking for you but found me. He doesn't know what to do with himself. The girl is gone."
"Oh shit. Poor baby. I think she was the one."
"Yeah. No… You silly Swans and your unrealistic romantic ideals." I settled back against a sticky uncomfortable vinyl booth, missing her.
"I need you."
"Good. Come have a drink."
"I…" She faded, hesitant. "I think I'm going to grab one with a few people here. Just some benefactors and alumni and… cue the mojitos! I might drop some hints about Brendan's gym project since their wallets are packed tight."
"Okay… that's good, yeah you should. Especially after they bestowed such an honor on you."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"No. No. Not at all. Maybe..."
"Brat. God I miss your stupid face. Meet us."
"I can do that. Gimme forty five."
She was animated per usual. I wasn't sure what I walked up on but the corner table on the Tex-Mex patio was full plus at least two, old and young, male and female, straws in drinks and laughter loud. We managed through obligatory greetings, she ended up on my lap and I surmised the upper level money and influence had headed home. "Thank you for coming." Her words warm and private.
"You smell good." I trailed, tickling down the back of her neck, she grinned wicked.
"Humidity and chlorine. My signature scent." She winked, my dick jumped. For the most part no one paid mind to our horny party of two. Despite Kat in town, we'd looked forward to a quiet weekend while Toby was away.
"Bella, you think Nick is serious?" Someone whose name escaped me leaned across the table popping a chip and guac. Bella twisted against me to face them, yet I was rock hard and ready to bolt.
"I do." She casually twisted her hair into a mass of damp curls. I thumbed down her back, secretly beneath her top, she shivered, never flinching. Fuck, I was ready to bend her over with that view. "I think it's real. And I think it could be huge." I've got your huge.
"Me too. Cole Christensen is just hot enough, weird enough and wild enough to make it actually interesting." Another nameless fit and excitable young woman chimed in.
"He is a serious business head case. A mere interview would probably be a mindfuck." Bella rambled, talking shop with her people.
"Just the Olympic Trials alone will be dripping with gossip headlines." The entire set was a bit younger than me, obviously connected by the sport, a clique Bella really hadn't offered me membership to.
"Will your editor let you cover it wide in The Cove? Maybe you can manage both…"
"Oh. I don't know." She laughed, turning wide eyed back towards me. "Will you?" Her lips were a tease, I barely focused on what the hell they were saying. I was lost in what that mouth would be doing in about an hour. The week stretched too long. We'd pulled in too many directions, covering too much real life shit. We needed to decompress and reconnect.
"Will I what?" I dusted the curve of her ass. "You can write anything you want." She kissed my forehead, standing.
"Let's go home." She tugged, I wrapped around her as we said our good byes.
"Bella, if it goes forward, you should do it. You'd nail it…" Someone yelled after us as we pushed through the crowd.
"Do what? What would you nail?" I wondered, tightening my grip. She trapped me against my SUV. Her nipples were hard through the navy silk tank, eyes drowsy from drinks and the time.
"Kiss me."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Now who's a brat?"
"Let's go get naked."
"That would be highly unusual behavior for us."
"Love me."
"I do."
a/n.
No apology is adequate. first for taking a thousand days to make words. second for writing the words 'jock strap' in a love fic.
i'm so, so grateful for the sweet friends left standing. it won't happen again. i promise.
they're figuring it out. a month and a kiss at a time.
for tara. patience of a best friend and saint. xo