2. Oliver
CHAPTER TWO
Oliver
If there’s one thing I love about Alliance, it’s the water. Problems don’t matter when you are wading through Lake Michigan. Whether on a board or enveloped in the water, the world I know on the surface fades away. Everything seems calmer and slower underwater.
Humans need to figure out how to breathe down here.
They say over seventy percent of the earth’s oceans are unexplored.
Why are we spending so much money to learn about space when there is an unknown world below?
Looking out over the vast blue void makes you forget the waves above that crash into everything.
Sadly, the air in my lungs starts to thin, so it’s time to head back to the surface. I really wish we could breathe underwater.
Conquer the ocean.
A childish request, but it’s one I will hold dear always. Even if I’ll never see it come true.
My body resurfaces seconds later, and like instinct, I’m already swimming to shore. The waves weren’t big enough to surf today, so a little dive was the best thing I could do. Best way to wake up if you ask me, but now it’s time for another day of scraping by.
I reach the shore, grab my towel and throw it over my shoulder. The summer sun will dry off most of the water dripping from my body. My hair might still be damp before my shift at the Water's Edge, a local bar and grill here in Alliance.
It only takes a minute for me to reach my house.
It’s still weird thinking I’m in charge of this shack.
Technically, it’s still in my old man’s name, but since he decided I was old enough to live alone, he fucked off to some boat job.
So, I’m a homeowner, I guess. It would be sadder if I hadn’t been expecting it since before I turned eighteen, and his legal responsibility for me ended.
Alliance is a small town—if over seven thousand people is still considered small.
The town rests between two different parts of Lake Michigan.
You have Alliance Bay, where all the tourist beaches, lake houses, and shops are located.
Then you have the Creek, a river that funnels through Alliance on the way to Charlevoix.
That’s where I, and most of the riverfront residents, live.
Doesn’t mean we don’t mess things up for the lakefront anytime we can.
“Dude, hurry the fuck up!” I hear the familiar voice of my best friend, Jaxon.
Jaxon Jennings is the definition of rough around the edges.
If I’m the surfer bro, then he’s the grease punk.
Safe to say, we both drive the ladies wild.
They love my chill nature and the fact that I can teach them how to surf, but with him, it’s the thrill that their dads will hate his guts.
We met my freshman year of high school and have been inseparable since.
We’ve been through a lot together, especially after my childhood best friend was taken from me.
“Bro, why the fuck are you scowling like that?” His voice snaps me out of my train of thought.
Quickly, I shake the frown from my head and pull my uniform over my body.
Water's Edge’s uniform is just a maroon shirt with the logo on the back.
Water’s is written out to look like ocean waves, and then next to Edge, there is a cooler and surfboard.
Piper, the daughter of the owners, designed them, saying it helped bring the crew together.
She even made sure to put it on different styles of shirts to fit the crew and their outfit choices.
Piper has been talking about putting the design on different shirt colors too.
“You actually showing up for a shift?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“What do you think?” Jaxon points at his cutoff version of the same shirt I have on. “Tonight is Dollar Marg night, so tips are going to be rolling in.”
I let out a laugh, walking past him. He wraps an arm around my shoulders as we make our way to his truck. Jaxon and I have a deal: he can stay over at my place as much as he wants as long as I can use his truck when he’s not using it.
I have a car but driving when it’s just two people doesn’t really make sense.
I climb into the truck as Jaxon gets into the driver’s seat and peels out before I can even put my seatbelt on.
I shake my head, strapping myself to the seat.
Jaxon has always lived his life in the fast lane.
He doesn’t have a care in the world and knows the world doesn’t care about him.
So, he lives by his rules and doesn’t let fear hold him down.
I wish I could live like that, but some fears still seep through the cracks of my walls. Is this my life? Two jobs just to put food on the table and keep my lights on. The sad part is that Alliance is all I know. This town is in my blood.
Water's Edge has several nights a week that bring in both tourists and townies. Today is Friday, so the place is about to be packed with both.
I won’t complain, though, because that means new faces tonight, and most of the girls are still in their swimsuits, ready to get wasted on cheaply made margaritas.
During the week, I wait tables, but on the weekends, I help the bar by running drinks, restocking the liquor, and cleaning up any messes that will get worse throughout the night.
The tips, however, sweeten the deal enough that I’ll even pull a smile out of my ass for everyone that nearly spills their drink on me.
“Hey, stranger.” A pretty blonde walks up to the bar as I’m wiping it down. I look up and immediately recognize her.
Jade Walden is a hot, privileged lakefront girl who comes here every summer.
It just so happens that, every summer, she decides to slum it with us.
Every once in a while, she spends some time in my humble abode.
Her dad is one of the numerous people who bought real estate right on the water here in Alliance.
“Can I get a Truly?”
“What flavor?” I don’t miss the fact that she leans over the bar top, giving me a perfect view of her chest barely being held in her white bikini top.
She thinks for a few seconds. “Black cherry.”
I quickly retrieve an ice-cold one from the chest cooler right below the bar top. She starts to mess with her purse before I reach out my hand, placing it on top of hers. “On the house.”
She licks her lips and then makes direct eye contact, batting her eyelashes at me. She takes the can from me, opens it, and takes a quick sip. “You wouldn’t happen to know any beach parties happening tonight?”
“There’s one happening in, like, two hours just down by Rixon Shore.” I smile at her.
“Will you be there?”
“You know it, sweetheart.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the drink,” she muses before turning around, giving me another perfect view of her body as she skips over to her friends. As if on cue, they all look over at me and start to giggle before walking out onto the back deck of the dive.
I hear a chuckle from down the bar. My eyes meet Karena’s, the main bartender tonight—at least she’s the one that everyone knows. On weekdays, she’s the only bartender, so townies love her, but with weekends being busier, we have at least two people manning the front.
Karena is the definition of a badass woman.
Two sleeves of tattoos cover her arms, and she has her dark-brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail.
Tonight, she’s sporting a tank top with a deep V-neck and push-up bra that makes her cleavage stand out and loosens every single wallet.
Little do they know, her wife is just down the bar, right in front of Jaxon, smirking at all the tips her partner is raking in.
Most of the townies know, but that doesn’t stop the newbies from lusting over her.
“You know that drink is coming out of your tips, right?” she says, going back to pulling together three more margaritas.
I snicker. “Come on, Karena. You can’t blame me for flirting with cute girls.” I send a wink her way, which she returns with an eye roll.
“Rena, refill, please.” Karena’s wife, Daisy, calls over, lifting an empty wine glass. She’s the only one in the whole bar with wine, but she also knows her wife will drop every order she’s working on to get her girl another glass of Riesling.
Just like that, Karena throws her wife a smirk before pulling out an unopened bottle of white wine and walking over, popping it open with ease.
“Maybe I’ll just pay for the bottle so I don’t have to bother you the rest of the night.” Daisy throws her own knowing smirk because she knows the answer already. They joke about it every night.
Karena leans down so she’s at eye level with her wife. “I like serving you.”
There goes a ping in my chest as I watch them flirt with each other. The drunk guys in this bar can’t see it, but they are in love, and part of me wishes I had something like that.
Daisy looks past Karena and at me. “Thanks again, Ollie, for building that shelf. You saw the money on the counter, right?”
“You gave me way too much, like usual.” I pop two more bottles open and hand them to drunk customers.
Along with working here, I also work around town as a handyman of sorts. Really, I’m just a guy with tools left over from his deadbeat dad and just the right kind of muscles for heavy lifting.
The night continues like that for another two hours. My shift is almost over. Jade came back up to the bar a few more times, but Karena made sure I put the drinks on Jade’s tab this time, which I wasn’t going to complain about since I like being tipped.
“Dude, tonight rocked!” Jaxon comes into the back room with a shit-eating grin. He holds up a wad of cash as he starts to count out over a hundred dollars. “The ladies love me.”
“Maybe if you worked here more often, this could be normal.” I pull off my work uniform and pull a worn graphic tee over my body.
“You know the Garage busts my balls enough as is. I just started full-time, so I can only come over when I get a day off.” He grabs his keys and wallet from the lockers kept in the back room. “You ready to hit the cove and drink?”
I just nod my head as we say our goodbyes to the people left at the bar. Karena and Daisy wave us off before turning back to flirt some more.
“We’re picking up Casey on the way,” Jaxon says as he starts the truck up.
“Are we visiting that situation again?” I narrow my eyes on him.
“Not really.”
“Not really?” I mock. “I’m not going to stop you, Jax, but I’d rather y’all not mess up the friend group for a casual fling.”
He bites out a laugh. “I’d think you were jealous since you keep riding my dick about this. We’ve only hooked up, like, three times, okay?”
I’m not worried about Jaxon. I know he views it as purely casual—which is fine.
I’m not going to get mad at anyone for their sex life—but when it comes to the group, I tend to be protective.
Casey Gutierrez is the most recent addition to the group, and her family is the new owner of the country club in town.
The whole town, including her parents, is always confused about why she loves to slum it up with either of us.
Casey is a bombshell, so of course, Jaxon started flirting with her the minute we all smoked together for the first time.
Even if she insists that she also views it as nothing more than a friends-with-benefits situation, I see the way her eyes linger on him.
A few minutes later, Casey climbs into the middle of the pickup.
There isn’t a backseat, but Jaxon always puts the ladies in the middle, especially if he wants to keep his hands on them.
Though, I notice that his hand is nowhere near Casey’s thigh, even with the shorts she’s wearing exposing most of what she’s working with.
She’s wearing, a yellow crop top and cut-off dark-wash denim shorts.
“What’s the flavor for tonight?”
“I brought the good stuff.” Casey opens her backpack, revealing an unopened bottle of rum. I’ll never say no to Casey spoiling us with top-shelf liquor.
The cove fire usually has kegs, but if you want something harder, you bring it yourself. Casey has access to the country club’s bar, so she usually supplies the liquor. Let's just say we’ve had plenty of nights messing around after hours.
It doesn’t escape me that Casey is leaning closer to Jaxon—not that I’m gonna complain, more space for me.
The cove fire is a tradition here in Alliance.
During the summer, you’ll find all kinds of people here.
You have the locals that want to party like there’s no tomorrow.
Then you have the trust-fund tourist, here for a weekend in their beach house or maybe even long term because they are going to college near here. Today is no different.
When we get there, the party is already underway.
The bonfire is already started in the middle, and a few smaller ones made by separate groups are littered around the area.
The kegs are set up, and couples are pairing off.
It’s almost a rite of passage to have sex at the cove.
I’ve done it with three different tourists.
“Took you guys long enough!” Piper calls over from the keg as her boyfriend, Tyler Hartley, pours us drinks.
Piper Ralston is wearing an outfit similar to Casey’s but with a button-up pink crop and light-wash denim shorts. The light from the fire makes it look like she’s glowing.
She practically runs up to us, her braids bouncing with each step in the sand.
Tyler greets Jaxon and me with two solo cups of cheap beer. He’s a pretty quiet dude, but he's come out of his shell ever since he bagged a baddie like Piper. We also took him under our wing in handling social interactions.
This is the group. They’ve helped me a lot, but some part of it has always felt like something is missing. I know exactly what’s missing, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel fully okay unless he’s back in my life.
I miss him.