Chapter 13
Brandon
Quiet Nostalgia was a pretty ironic name for the band currently playing on the gazebo stage at the center of the park. Ironic in the sense that the longer we wandered around the festival listening to their bluegrass music, the more I was falling into a weird funk that was killing the mood.
Coming over to this side of the lake wasn’t something I did very often nowadays, as most everything I needed was within the small radius of Edgewood.
Crossing the bridge to get to the ritzier side of our area felt both off and out of place now that I was no longer coming over here to hang out with my best friend on a regular basis.
And even then, I’d always felt othered.
Coming from a working class family and a single mom raising four kids all on her own, Ellington Heights had been less than kind to any of us.
We’d gotten more noses turned up at us and biting remarks thrown our way that bordered on harassment, simply by existing within the same stratosphere as the rich and privileged and daring to think we were just as good as them.
It was a sad reality to be thrust into at a young age, but had toughened us up for what the real world would eventually have in store for us.
Meeting Avery had been my saving grace.
At least until I screwed it up by falling in love with him like an idiot.
“Brandon? You okay?”
The second a hand brushed against my arm, it sent me jumping in the opposite direction.
“Shit, sorry.” Max held up his hands apologetically. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Slapping a hand to rest against my racing heart, I let out a slow breath. “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to space out like that.”
He shot me a sympathetic smile. “Not one for crowds?”
Well, that wasn’t exactly it.
It wasn’t like I was partial to anything.
The problem with being back in Ellington Heights after avoiding it like the plague since graduating high school, was that coming back here was slapping me in the face with the fact that this damn place held too many memories.
Having been friends with someone like Avery whose restless spirit kept us from staying stagnant for too long, we’d explored this place from top to bottom and then all over again.
There was no stone left unturned, no back alley left unchecked.
We’d woven ourselves into these streets and left pieces behind when we both eventually moved on and never looked back.
Being brought back here on a date was fucking me up in a way I hadn’t considered before agreeing to do this in the first place.
A complete oversight on my part.
Before this, I figured what was the harm in going to a local music festival that had a bunch of kids running around and stalls where you could get things like your face painted or henna.
Coming here was the perfect opportunity to get to know someone on a neutral playing field, and instead, I was too busy wasting my time reminiscing on days long since passed. To the complete detriment of getting to know someone outside of my small scope of regulars.
Was that at all fair to someone like Max who seemed like he was trying his damned best to keep up the conversation while I lagged behind pretending like I wasn’t being absolutely haunted by every step we took?
Fuck me, honestly.
“The crowds are fine. It’s been a while since I’ve been back here, is all,” I said, trying to force myself back into the present.
Bypassing a small stand with lemonade and freshly popped kettle corn that smelled divine, I wished I was actually in the mood to be walking around getting to know Max while we played the twenty questions game like he’d suggested when we first got here.
He wasn’t a bad looking guy and, so far, seemed to have a nice enough personality. If I wasn’t so hung up on the past, I could see myself exploring something with him. Instead, I felt like we were killing time until he eventually got sick of trying to engage with me.
“Oh, that’s right. Your sister mentioned to the matchmaker that you used to hang out with a friend over here.” Max smiled.
Of course she did.
“Yeah, it wasn’t as bad. The lifestyle over here isn’t much different from what I grew up in. People are just more fast-paced and eager to make a lot of money, whereas Edgewood values quality over quantity. At least, in my opinion.”
“True. Although, I’m native to East City.” He let out a laugh. “So I can’t exactly say I get the rivalry.”
Rivalry was an odd choice of words to use, though I don’t suppose he was exactly wrong in his observations. While I personally never saw it that way, I’d also been spoiled in terms of having someone from Ellington Heights as a close confidant for much of my pivotal years.
The same couldn’t be said for others, such as my brothers, who had stuck together for the most part. Being the youngest, I’d had the unique pleasure of fending for myself.
As we passed by a small gathering of kids dancing around in a circle, I turned to him. “Can I ask you something?”
He flashed me a warm, dimpled smile. “Anything.”
“Why a matchmaker? You seem like you wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone to date. You’re friendly and outgoing. So, I’m curious why you decided to go that route.”
To my surprise, Max suddenly turned bashful.
“It’s kind of hard with my job. I travel around the state a lot, so not much time to settle down and go out and meet people.
I figured that doing the legwork was the hard part and if I could hire someone to do that for me, nailing the rest wouldn’t be so bad.
Thank you, by the way, for the compliment. ”
“How often do you travel for work?”
“Out of the year? I’m gone a collective of about four months. That’s obviously not all in one go, but for a lot of people, the time away can be a lot.”
Hm. Not the best kind of environment to be raising kids in.
Unless, of course, I also began to travel with him.
Giving up my shop was a difficult thing to think about.
I hardly knew this man, but if I continued to date him and did eventually develop feelings for him, how would any of that work?
Him traveling so often wasn’t exactly the kind of untethered relationship I was looking for. But at the same time, was my refusal to see past my own shit forcing me to miss out on something that I may regret passing up in the future?
Something that could turn out to be a beautiful partnership if given the chance to explore?
I’d worked hard to get to where I was in life. Dreamed of teaching my kids the ins and outs of the car business while my spouse encouraged us along the way.
Yet, the way I was going about things, that dream of having a family was getting farther away from me the more years that went by. I figured by now, I’d at least be married, or at the very least, had someone in my life long term.
Neither of those were my reality at this point.
Was this a sign from the universe currently staring me right in the face and blatantly waving around a giant flag to get my attention and I was just too stupid to open my eyes and see it for what it was?
It was hard to tell from my limited perspective.
“Is that, uh... something that would be a turn off for you?” Max asked.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I gave him a small smile. “Not necessarily. You know I’ve got a business over in Edgewood, so I was just thinking about the logistics.”
“Right, of course.” He surprised me by grabbing my arm and ushering me to the side when a large group of teenagers barreled on by.
But instead of letting me go once they were gone, he kept his grip on me.
“Brandon, we don’t have to jump into this right away.
I don’t mind testing the waters with you until you feel more comfortable. ”
I felt the urge to blow out an exasperated breath.
Why did I get the distinct feeling that my sister had not so subtly mentioned to the matchmaker that I was some kind of flight risk, easily spooked by commitment?
It wasn’t true, obviously, as I’d wanted a marriage and kids since I could remember, but that wasn’t going to stop my family from thinking the complete opposite when I’d hardly had any dating history under my belt to prove to them otherwise.
“I appreciate that.”
Slowly, he let go of my arm. “My contract doesn’t start for another month and a half. So, I’ll be here until then.”
I nodded, picking up the subtlety of his hint: spend the next month and a half together and see how it goes.
Maybe long distance after that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Dipping my toes into the dating pool certainly made for a nerve-wracking experience and with him gone for a while after this month was up, it would give me time to reflect on if this was actually something that I truly wanted to give the old college try.
My sister’s wedding wasn’t for a while, anyway.
Pulling in a lungful of air, I nodded again. “Okay. That sounds good to me.”
His eyes widened slightly. “Yeah? Really?”
“Unless you’ve got someone else lined up on your roster.”
That drew a laugh out of him. “Not at all. Just you, I swear.”
“Lucky me.”
He brushed his fingers against my cheek, running up to where the shell of my ear was, and tucked some of the hair there behind it. I felt my face flush from the sudden intimate gesture and stayed still while his gaze traced my features.
I was no stranger to people finding me attractive, most of the time, though, it was a few beers deep and with some shitty old country song playing in the background of a crowded bar that always way overcharged on their drinks.
Being covered in grease and grime daily from work wasn’t exactly the best mating call I could be putting out there, so this kind of attention was a little on the foreign side.
Aside from Avery, apparently.
Fuck, why was I always looping everything back to that man?
I hated it.
If I could bleach my brain and scrub it clean from all of the infected areas he’d burrowed down into, then I would do so in a damn heartbeat. Instead, I was stuck constantly being reminded of what I couldn’t have, with no goddamn end in sight.
Max moved his fingers underneath my chin, curling them around to cup my jaw. “You want to get out of here?”
Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Sure, heading back to my place to get a little busy between the sheets was probably getting a little ahead of ourselves, but at the same time, if it meant being able to actually relieve the ache in my bones that had settled there after my morning with Avery, then I was all for it.
Right as I was nodding and opening my mouth to invite him back to my house, I heard someone from behind me say my name—the tone full of what I could only describe as disbelief and annoyance.
Pulling away from Max’s hold on my face, I spun around on my heel, spotting Avery standing ten feet from me with his brows knitted together and a deep frown settled on his face.