17. In the Family
IN THE FAMILY
Jake awoke to a stirring in the bed—not his stirring, but that of the man lying next to him. He blinked in the brightness of the room, the curtains wide open to the quiet backyard where a robin searched for worms.
“What time is it?” Robbie mumbled.
“Dunno. Morning.” Jake reached for his phone, wincing as he stretched his sore arm. Sleeping scrunched up in a bed not built for two people was even worse than he’d anticipated. “We really should’ve thought this through.”
“Yeah.” Robbie yawned and stretched. The blanket slipped down his chest, pooling in his lap.
Jake’s fingers met smooth, hard wood. He groped around for a few seconds longer, but there was nothing on the nightstand besides the lamp, a still-open bottle of lube, and a torn condom wrapper. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“I left my phone in the living room.”
“My clothes are in there too,” Robbie said. “At least my shirt is. Damn it.”
“I’ll get it,” Jake offered. “I’ll try to sneak through the hall. If we’re lucky, my aunt isn’t awake yet.”
Robbie groaned. “This is why you don’t have second nights with the same guy, isn’t it? Too messy.”
“That’s one of the reasons, yeah. We can’t make this a regular thing, Robbie. This was the exception to the rule, and now it’s done.”
“I know,” Robbie said.
He got out of bed, letting the sheets drop from him.
His body, even from behind, was perfect.
With the faintest of tan lines left over from the summer and a smattering of freckles on his back, Jake had to fight the very thought of seeing that body another morning.
Or many other mornings, again and again and again.
“I think you should get back on that dating app,” Robbie said as he pulled his pants on. “There are some hot guys around Grayland. You’ll find someone to take your mind off this little town.”
“You think it’s a good idea?” Jake asked.
Robbie hesitated a little too long before answering. “It’s a great idea. You’re not going to be here for that much longer anyway, so you might as well make the most of it while you still can.” He forced a harsh, unnatural laugh. “You don’t want to waste it on a rich bitch like me, right?”
Jake suddenly felt sick, which was odd because he hadn’t had a drop to drink last night, and he wasn’t even that tired. The hours of sleep he did manage to get cramped in bed were, for the first time in weeks, deep and restful.
“I’m gonna get our shit from the living room,” he said, sitting up carefully. He gripped the sheets tightly, keeping them above his waist as his eyes scanned the floor for his underwear and jeans.
“I’ll do it,” Robbie said. “If she is awake, your aunt will be less likely to confront me than you.”
“Thanks.” Jake cradled his head in his hands, deliberately not watching Robbie, still shirtless, walk to the door.
He left it ajar so Jake could hear his footsteps padding down the hall. The sound faded only to return only a minute later, which meant that he must have been successful.
Jake glanced toward the door, but instead of Robbie, a wad of fabric was pushed through the crack.
A phone slid beneath the door next, coming to a stop a few inches into the room.
It took Jake a moment longer to realize that Robbie wasn’t coming back in.
No kiss, no goodbye, nothing. Just a wrinkled shirt tossed through the door, landing unceremoniously on the floor.
Jake took his time getting dressed, using this moment to collect his thoughts and brace himself for the woman he was about to face.
How he would explain Robbie staying the night, he didn’t know.
He felt like he was back in college again, trying to bring guys home during summer break when his parents were out, only to have them return when Jake’s hookup was standing in the kitchen with nothing but underwear on and a glass of water in his hand.
But when he emerged from his room, trying much too hard to be casual as he sauntered into the kitchen, Isabel looked less than concerned.
“Good morning, Jake,” she said, scrubbing the dishes she’d left in the sink overnight. “Sleep well?”
Jake looked down at the floor, his confidence eroding. “Yeah.”
“Robbie could’ve stayed for breakfast, you know.”
“He needed to leave.”
“I understand. He probably has to be at the bookstore early in the morning.”
“Yeah, probably. I might—” Jake paused. “I might stop by there today if you don’t need me.”
“Oh, perfect, you can bring his dish with you.” Isabel smiled. “I’m surprised you haven’t been in there yet. It’s really a charming little place, even if certain people can’t see it.”
He cleared his throat. Isabel hadn’t known about his impromptu trip to the store earlier in the week. As far as she knew, this was the first time he and Robbie had even hooked up.
“Right,” he said. “Uh, about those people… don’t say anything to them about me and Robbie. He doesn’t want them to know.”
“I won’t,” Isabel said quickly. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to, Jake.”
“Please don’t. It’s not even—we’re not—I doubt it’ll ever happen again. We’re not dating or anything. It was just a one-time thing.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I just want you to be happy.” She turned off the sink and dried her hands on a dishtowel. “If Robbie makes you happy, then that’s good.”
“He doesn’t. I mean, he’s fine, I guess, but it’s nothing like that. Like I said, it’s not a real thing. It’s definitely not going to happen again. Anyway, I’m gonna head out soon. I need a walk or something.”
“To clear your head?” Isabel looked at him knowingly.
“You could say that.” Jake ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “It’s been a long couple of months, Aunt Isabel. I really didn’t think it could be this complicated living here.”
Isabel chuckled. “Welcome to Eventide, dear. It’s not what it seems from the outside.”
Jake smiled wryly. “No, it’s not.”
Jake’s walk led him directly to the bookstore, which had just opened minutes before.
He could see Robbie inside, standing behind the counter in the same clothes as yesterday.
He really had needed to duck out quickly if he wanted to get to work on time, but not taking even a few seconds longer to say goodbye still stung a little.
Jake opened the door, cringing as the bells jingled above him. Robbie glanced up, his initial smile fading when he saw who it was.
“Welcome to—oh.” He set the book he was reading down. “Lucky you, you’re the first customer of the day.”
“I’m not here to buy anything.”
“Then what?”
“Isabel wanted to return your baking dish.”
“You could’ve brought it with you to the beach tonight.” Robbie’s lip twitched. Jake couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or amused.
“And I came to see you.”
“That’s rich.”
“I mean it. Why didn’t you say goodbye this morning?”
“Ah, come on, Jake. We were going to see each other again at the beach this evening. It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”
Jake shrugged. “It just didn’t seem like you.”
“I’m taking a page out of your book.” Robbie moved from behind the counter to fiddle with some books that were out of order on a shelf. “Your methods have their benefits. I’m beginning to see why you do things that way.”
The door opened behind Jake, and he quickly walked over to a shelf, pretending to peruse while Robbie took care of the first real customer.
She spent some time looking at books before fielding suggestions from Robbie.
Jake was barely listening to the conversation until she moved to the counter to check out.
“You look so familiar,” the customer said.
Robbie smiled. “It’s a small town, so you start recognizing faces quickly.”
“Oh, I don’t live around here. I’m just visiting family. I only come by every few years. But I’m sure I’ve seen your face before, maybe in some news articles or something?”
Jake looked in Robbie’s direction. His expression was plagued by a certain uneasiness that, try as he might, he couldn’t mask. “Perhaps,” he said, hurrying to get the customer checked out. “Like I said, not many people live here. It’s easy to end up in one photo or another.”
“Do you have family in the area?” she pressed.
“I do.” Robbie gave a slight nod. “We, uh, we own this bookstore.”
A look of recognition dawned on the woman’s face. “Eaton,” she said. “Robert Eaton, right?”
Robbie’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Right. I’m Robert the 3rd.”
The woman nodded slowly. “I read something about you trying to take over the old event center in town to turn it into… a bar, was it?”
“A restaurant. And that was my father, Robert Jr., not me.”
“But it had a family photo that you were in.”
“I can’t control what photos the news uses.” Robbie kept his polite smile plastered on as he glanced back at Jake, who offered a sympathetic grimace in return.
“Well, I don’t think that place should be turned into a restaurant. Don’t the Eatons own enough in town already? It’s almost like you want a monopoly.” The customer laughed.
“Yes, well, that’s my parents, not me. I’m just trying to keep this little bookstore going. Do you want to purchase a canvas bag today for your books?”
“Does the profit go to the Eatons?”
“We own the store, so yes.”
The customer shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll just carry the books out.”
“We have paper bags too.”
“I’m good.”
Robbie sighed. “Take a canvas tote on me. We’ve got too many of them anyway.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s very nice. You sure you won’t get into trouble with your parents?”
“I’m sure. Have a nice stay in Eventide.”
As soon as the customer left, the bells on the door jingling merrily in her wake, Jake sidled back up to the counter. “That was rough,” he said, resting his elbows on the countertop.
“Story of my life. So, are you buying anything at all, or just loitering?”
“I wanted to talk, but…”
“There’s nothing more to say. I left because I was in a hurry, and I didn’t think you cared if I said goodbye. Do you care?”
“Fuck no.”
“Then that’s all there is to it, Jake.”
Jake straightened up. “I guess I’ll go before you kick me out.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Robbie took another canvas bag out. “Here, you take one too. I’m serious when I say that we have too many. Curiously enough, people don’t like carting around a bag with the name Eaton on it around here.”
“And you think I won’t mind?”
“You didn’t have any trouble getting cozy with the family name last night.”
“Shut up and give me the bag.” Jake snatched it from him, folding it up logo-side in. “I’ll use it to stuff my dirty laundry in when I need to carry it to the washer.”
“You do that. In fact, throw the bag in the wash, too. Maybe the name will come off and you won’t have to think about me every time you see it.”
“It’s too late for that.” Jake made his way to the door, stopping just before he pushed it open. “You still going to the beach this evening?”
“Of course. No repeat of last week, though.”
“Not even in your dreams.”
Another customer walked up to the door, and Jake hurried out of the way to let them in before he and Robbie could properly wrap up their conversation. He still had the beach, though, and for the first time since he began doing it, he was looking forward to working alongside Robbie.
As soon as Jake got home that evening, Isabel handed him her notepad with a message written neatly on it. “What is this?” he asked.
“The realtor called today. I told him to talk to you. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s what I’m here for.” Jake set the notepad back down and dropped onto the couch. “I hope it goes quickly once we list it. I wanna get out of here before winter.”
“Don’t get your hopes too high, dear.” Isabel joined him on the couch, setting two cups of tea down on the coffee table. “How did your volunteering go at the beach today?”
“Fine.”
“You are Robbie are doing all right?”
“We’re fine, Aunt Isabel. There’s nothing going on between us, I promise.
” He sat up straighter, taking a sip of the tea.
It was still too hot to drink, and it scalded his tongue and throat as it went down.
“We’re just friends.” His tongue was still numb from the fresh burn when he spoke, and the words came out funny.
“The sea was a little choppy today, though. It made it tough to work.”
“Really?” Isabel looked more concerned by this news than Jake had expected.
“Yeah, well, maybe there’s a storm in the forecast.”
“There shouldn’t be. It was all clear last week.”
“I doubt it’s anything to worry about.”
“You don’t know Mier like this town does.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Mier is just fine. It’s not like it’s a warning message, right?” He chuckled. “Right, Aunt Isabel?”
“Yes, I’m sure everything is fine, just as you say.
” Isabel smiled, picked up her teacup, and got up from the couch, leaving Jake alone to stew in his many, many thoughts.
If one thing had become excruciatingly clear to him over the passing hours, it was that he was not going to be able to break the rules and get away with it.