Chapter 11
Rowan
Five Years Ago - Charleston
There’s nothing like coming home. Growing up on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina was nothing like the opulent lifestyle I experienced during my years at Stanford, and definitely nothing compared to Maggie’s upbringing and her family’s mansion in San Francisco.
I didn’t have the money or support at Stanford that she did, instead relying on my full scholarship and working odd part time jobs to have petty cash.
At least I was used to odd jobs. Growing up in the marsh, I was always working—whether that was out fishing, working at the local surf shop, or peeling shrimp in the kitchen of my friend’s family restaurant.
Since I graduated from Stanford, life’s been a little easier, financially speaking.
When Donovan, one of my good friends from the men’s tennis team, mentioned his family had connections at the Coastal Beach Country Club in Palm Beach, I jumped at the opportunity to take a part time job as a tennis instructor.
Crashing in Donovan’s guest house for the past year was just a bonus, allowing me to save every penny I made for championship entry fees.
The only downside of moving to Florida is being away from Maggie.
After graduation, she went back to San Francisco, training at the country club her father now owns.
While we see each other at some tennis events throughout the year, it’s not the same as spending essentially every day together like we used to in college.
I miss playing with her. I miss laughing with her. I miss her.
“Earth to Rowan,” Boone says, waving a hand in my face. Boone, Garrett, and I all grew up together. I grin at the memory of the three of us always surfing and causing upheaval for our parents. Well, mostly for my mom, since my dad left when I was twelve.
“Yes?” I ask, shaking myself out of my reverie. Nothing good comes from thinking about my dad, anyway.
“I said, when is this Maggie person supposed to get here?” Boone repeats himself and gives me a wide gap-toothed smile. I sigh, wiping the sweat off my forehead with my arm. The last thing I need is Boone running his mouth around Maggie once she gets here. Or worse, flirting with her.
“Look,” I say, taking on a more serious note. “I need you both on your best behavior when she arrives. Can you do that?”
Garrett laughs and slaps me on my naked back, wincing when he realizes how sweaty I am. “When have we ever been on our best behavior?” he asks, resuming cleaning up the yard.
When I impulsively invited Maggie to come stay with me at my mom’s for a week, I didn’t think about how messy the place was.
The house itself is in much better shape than it used to be, but with my mom working two jobs, she doesn’t always have the time or the money for the upkeep.
And after seeing Maggie’s mansion, well—I just want to make a good impression.
“I’m just saying, I really care about her and I don’t want you two messing this up,” I say, pointing at each one in turn.
Boone shakes his long blond hair out of his face and feigns hurt, bringing a hand to his heart. “I would never.”
I drop the branch I picked up off the ground and run up to him, playfully locking my arm around his head. “You, especially, are a little shit.” He laughs and lightly elbows me.
“Are you two still sleeping together?” Garrett asks and my heart drops. I knew I shouldn’t have broken the rule and told these two, but I needed to confide in someone before I lost my mind.
“Not recently,” I mumble, shaking my head. Since the branches are in the pit and ready for the fire, I focus on setting up a few hammocks and chairs next. “And you absolutely can’t bring that up. We had a rule to not tell anyone about the agreement.”
“Right, but how does this agreement work, exactly?” Garrett presses and I roll my eyes.
“Well you see, there’s this story about the birds and the bees—” Boone says and is abruptly caught off by Garrett chucking a pillow at his head. “Ow. It’s not my fault you’re not getting any,” Boone continues.
“Guys, can we stay on track?” I chide, picking up the pillow off the ground and adding it to the large wicker chair we dragged from the porch in front of the fire pit.
“And to answer your question—” I sigh, running a hand through my hair that’s getting longer and blonder now that we’re approaching the end of summer. “We had this list of rules that we followed to only hook up. We haven’t though, not since I moved to Florida and she moved back home.”
“And since then? Have you been seeing anyone else?” Garrett asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
I narrow my eyes back at him and say, “Not really, why?”
“Hm,” he says and before I can ask why he’s pushing the topic, my phone rings.
“Hello?”
“Hey Ro, I just landed,” Maggie says, a hint of a smile in her voice.
I grin, even though she can’t see me and say, “Do you want me to pick you up?”
“No, I got a rental car and I’ll be there soon. Just figured I’d give you a heads up.”
“I definitely needed it. I’m very sweaty, I should probably shower before you get here,” I say, making my way inside the house and leaving the guys behind to finish setting up.
“I’m missing out on sweaty Rowan? Damn.” She laughs.
“Oh I can think of a few ways to get sweaty again,” I tease, liking this flirty side of her. We’ve kept up in the last year, texting and calling and seeing each other at some tournaments, but we haven’t had the chance to be around one another like we used to.
“Rowan, you can’t say stuff like that when I’m in public.”
“Am I flustering you? Also, get your mind out of the gutter, I meant yard work,” I say, holding the phone up with my shoulder and peeling off the rest of my clothes in the bathroom.
“Sure you did,” Maggie chides and I can almost picture her shaking her head at me. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Can’t wait,” I say, smiling. I grin like a fool through my entire shower and feel a flutter in my stomach at the thought of seeing her again.
By the time Maggie arrives, I’m clean and dressed in my nicest green polo and khaki shorts. Garrett raises a dark brown eyebrow at my outfit choice but doesn’t say anything. Boone on the other hand, rips into me.
“Why are you dressed like a rich country club boy?”
“You look like you’re gonna passive-aggressively tell me what I should do with my finances.”
“Is your name Brayden or Hayden?”
And my personal favorite: “You look like your dad’s a lawyer.”
“Okay, that’s enough Boone,” Garrett says, shooting him a glare.
This has always been our dynamic. Boone jokes about anything and everything, not having a care in the world, while Garrett perpetually worries about what others think of him.
They’re both loyal friends and fiercely protective of each other, and me.
I laugh, unbothered, and pull them both in a quick group hug. “Go shower, both of you. Come back later for the fire.”
“You have thirty minutes alone with her, make it count,” Boone yells back and Garrett smacks the back of his head.
“Love you guys!” I yell back and head out to the front of the house, making myself comfortable on the front steps while I wait for Maggie.
She shows up ten minutes later in a Jeep, all the windows rolled down and a pop song blasting from the speakers. I stand and it takes all my willpower not to run to her. Hug her. Kiss her. Tell her how much I missed her. Would she even want that without our agreement in place?
I settle for slow steps instead, grinning when I get a glimpse of her singing along as she parks. Her long blonde hair is down for once, and falls in large waves down her shoulders and she’s wearing a pair of cat eye sunglasses. They’d look comical on anyone else, but on Maggie, they look perfect.
“Someone’s in vacation mode,” I say, leaning in as soon as I get to the window of her car.
Maggie gives me a gorgeous lopsided smile and pushes her glasses to the top of her head.
Her blue eyes sparkle with joy and my stomach gets a weird flutter.
Is that joy because of me? Could it be possible that she feels even a sliver of what I do for her?
“I’m so fucking ready for this week. I really needed this, Ro. Thanks for inviting me,” she says, grabbing her purse from the front passenger seat and reaching for the door handle. I take the lead and open her car door, presenting her a hand to help her down.
The smirk she gives me goes straight to my dick and I bite my lip hard.
When her hand touches mine, I get a little zap and even though I should let go, I don’t.
I hold her hand tighter and rub my thumb over her knuckles.
“It’s really good to see you, Mags,” I admit, taking a step closer until we’re chest to chest and eye to eye.
Her features soften and she gives me a shy smile, one that I don’t see often. One that I like to think is reserved just for me. “You too, Rowan,” she says, dropping her purse and bringing her now free hand to my face.
I can’t help but close my eyes at the touch and relax further, knowing she’s finally back in my orbit.
My hand finds her waist and I touch my forehead to hers.
We’ve never been this openly affectionate before and I don’t know what to do with this jackhammering, heart-pounding feeling I have in my chest.
Just as I gather my courage to ask, Maggie quickly drops her hand and steps back, her fingers slipping out from my hold. “What’s wrong?” I breathe out.
Maggie clears her throat and looks over my shoulder. “Looks like we have some company.”
I whip around and see Garrett and Boone walking down the road towards us and mentally curse myself for inviting them to the stupid bonfire. I should have just taken the time to spend alone with Maggie. “Sorry, my friends don’t have a concept of privacy most of the time.”
She laughs easily, opening the trunk of the car and pulling out her suitcase. I rush to take it from her but she glares at me. “I got it.”
I smile and plant a kiss on her cheek. “There’s the Maggie I know.” Reveling in the way her cheeks flush, I take a step back and wave at the guys, introducing them.
Dinner is lively. The guys ask Maggie all sorts of questions—about tennis, about Stanford, about our friendship.
Maggie takes it all in stride, laughing at Boone’s childhood stories of us getting in all kinds of trouble and nodding along with Garrett as he talks about his travel plans to Europe, chiming in with helpful tips for him.
We drink beer and seltzers around the fire and make plans to take Maggie out on the water, show her all the best parts of Charleston, and take her surfing.
I can’t help but feel proud of how easily she gets along with Boone and Garrett, especially knowing she has a hard time making friends.
I feel a prickle of unease imagining her all alone in California, with no one to rely on besides her sister. Without me.
At some point, the conversation dies down but the silence is not awkward. Boone dozes off in the large wicker chair and Garrett taps on his phone in one of the hammocks. I stand from my own chair and make my way to the large hammock that Maggie claimed for herself.
“Can I join you?” I ask, expecting her to say no since my friends are still here, but she surprises me by making room for me.
It’s a tight fit, so we sit side by side, our feet dangling over the edge of the hammock.
I bring my arm around her shoulder and realize she fits so effortlessly in my arms. The peaceful sounds of insects buzzing and birds chirping lulls me to a state of complete and utter relaxation.
When’s the last time I felt this happy? At peace?
My eyelids grow heavy and I barely realize that Boone and Garrett are waving at us, heading out.
“Nice meeting you, Maggie,” Boone says.
“You too.” She chuckles.
“See you tomorrow, guys.” I wave. As soon as they are out of view, my hold on Maggie tightens. I have so many things I want to say to her, so many things I want to do, but I’m terrified of losing her if it turns out that all she wants is the agreement between us.
I opt for a bit of honesty when I say, “I miss you all the time, Mags.”
Her head tilts to look at me, lips parted on a surprise exhale as she stares at me, unblinking. “I—” she says, but nothing else comes out.
Shit.
My shoulders drop and I face away from what feels like her rejection. “I get that our agreement was purely physical, but I’ve always cared about you. You’re one of my best friends. It would be nice to see you more than a few times a year, that’s all.”
She’s quiet for so long and I don’t know what to think. I can’t read her as well as I used to and even that small realization makes my heart constrict. Is she done with me? Ready to leave me behind and find someone better?
I swallow the lump in my throat and try to stand from the hammock but her hand curls around my bicep and stops me. I look down at her long fingers, fighting the urge to cover them with mine.
“Rowan, can you look at me?”
That’s all I do, sometimes.
I keep the words to myself and they wrap around me like a soft blanket. A warm feeling spreads through my body and my lips twitch in a smile. You’re falling in love with her. You probably have been since freshman year. When my gaze finally meets hers, my vision is a little blurry.
Maggie studies me for a moment, her hand moving from my bicep to cup the side of my face. I lean into it, starving for her touch, her attention, her everything. I don’t think I’ve wanted anyone more.
“I miss you too,” she admits, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “So much so that I was thinking about moving to Florida.”
My grin is wide and that warm feeling in my body returns, bringing a wave of full-fledged butterflies with it.