5. Reece
9 WEEKS TILL THE END OF SUMMER
5
“What’s next on the list?” Vienna asks as we walk down the sidewalk, my mood instantly brighter with her here. She’d been the first friend I made in North Carolina after I’d broken up with Isaac and momentarily destroyed my relationship with my brother.
She’d been there for me during the worst time of my life, and she’d never left my side.
“Can I just say how happy I am that you’re finally in Love Beach?”
She chuckles and bumps her shoulder into mine. “I mean, you’ve told me twice today already, but by all means I’m listening.”
Laughing, I let myself relax and enjoy the hot South Carolina weather and the humidity that won’t quit. My soul is more relaxed this close to the ocean, even if my family is determined to give me an eye twitch to balance it out.
“You’re amazing and I missed you.”
“You are.” She blows me an air kiss. “And…” she prompts, forcing me to roll my eyes.
“And…we’ve finalized the cake, DJ, venue…flowers maybe? I need to get the invitations sent out this weekend.”
“Aren’t you working a double both days?” she asks, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head.
“Yeah, but it should be fine,” I say, waving off her concern as I type out a text to my brother.
REECE: Let’s grab dinner and talk about Mom and Dad’s anniversary party
MADDOX: I’m working the next three days
REECE: Okay…well maybe you can call me when you have some down time
MADDOX: I’ll text you
REECE: I’ve barely seen you and while I’m happy to do most of the party planning I still need help
MADDOX: I said I’ll text you when I can—we just got a call I need to go
REECE: Be safe I love you
I wait for a second and then growl when there’s no return message before pocketing my phone.
“Brother?”
“Yes,” I sigh.
“Tell him to stop being a dick. Or get Marigold on his case.”
I snort. “Those two better make up their minds before they kill each other.”
“I can’t wait.” Vienna laughs. “Honestly, it will be nice to see him put in his place.”
“Shouldn’t stop him from helping with the party though.”
“Didn’t he book the venue?”
“He did, but the parents of one of the guys he works with owns it, so it’s not like he really slaved over finding something.”
“True,” she agrees emphatically, both because Mads needs to step up and as my best friend, she’ll always side with me. “He should definitely help. And you know I will.” Waggling her eyebrows, she adds, “I bet your boss would give you some time off if…” She pushes her tongue against her cheek, and I laugh and elbow her, causing her to stumble a little.
I can feel my face heat because I’ve had more than one fantasy about taking Isaac’s cock to the back of my throat to see if I could still make him lose control. He’d been the first guy I’d ever been with, and I’d learned how to pleasure him—learning exactly what he liked and pushing the limits—exploring his body until he was sated and totally spent.
“Knock it off.”
“What?” She feigns innocence. “I’m just saying you’d have to be blind not to see the sparks flying whenever y’all are within a hundred yards of each other.”
I snort. “A hundred yards?”
“You’re right. Two hundred. But seriously, why aren’t you guys ripping each other’s clothes off already?”
“You know why.”
“Yeah, but it sounds like a stupid reason to me. You guys were young when you made that promise. You’re adults and you shouldn’t let your brother dictate your life. Isn’t that why you moved away?”
I sigh because she’s not wrong—not entirely at least. I’d never told Maddox the real reason I was leaving. He would have been crushed, and while I was upset with him, I still didn’t want to hurt him.
Isaac had understood. The man was too damn nice. I’d broken us, but he’d taken the blame.
“But we’re leaving at the end of the summer. Is it really fair to just hook up with him knowing it can never just be hooking up? Isaac and I have too much history for it to be a meaningless fling.”
“Ahh.” She hums knowingly. “So you have been thinking about it?”
“Of course I’ve been thinking about it,” I hiss. “He knew every inch of my body back then, and he’s still the most satisfying sexual experience of my life.”
“Still? As in no one else has topped your high school boyfriend?”
“Nope.” I pop the p for emphasis. “Not even close.”
“Wow,” she says with a low whistle, and I nod solemnly.
What good would it do to sleep with Isaac, have repeated, mind-blowing sex, and then leave knowing it would never be like that again?
“We leave in a matter of weeks, Vee. Do you really think it would be worth it?”
“Yes,” she says without hesitation, something flickering in her gaze for only a second before it’s gone. I don’t mention it as we make our way to my car, nostalgia hitting me harder than I expected as I take in my hometown.
Love Beach looks different than I remember and yet exactly the same. I’d loved and hated being in a beach town growing up. The constant ebb and flow of tourists had been exciting, but I’d yearned for the quiet nights spent curled up with Isaac on the beach next to a bonfire.
“So, florist?” Vienna asks when we’re tucking inside my car with the AC blasting, her question pulling me from my runaway thoughts.
“Yeah, but we’ll have to go to the next town over. We still don’t have one here.”
Her eyes light up and she nods, forcing me to stare at her for a beat longer before shaking my head and putting the car in drive. I want to push her, but now’s not the time. I just hope she knows I’m here when she’s ready.
Turning up the music, I nod and sing along to the Descending North song blasting through the speakers and find Vienna doing the same.
No sense in worrying about it now. We’ll have the rest of the summer to make the hard choices. I just hope they don’t leave me heartbroken.