9. MJ
MJ
M ac is here, at the creek, in the creek, with me. Holy shit !
It’s been a little awkward. I think we’re both nervous, but we haven’t really hung out like this. Not with other friends, and not just the two of us, like old times. So yeah, I think it’s fair for things to be a little awkward.
I fully expected him to show up, hang with the twins, and maybe say hi to me.
I was not expecting him to get me alone nor for my heart to beat so wildly.
Besides saying hi, I think he’s said five words to me, but I’m not doing any better.
Pretty sure I’m ignoring him unintentionally.
I just can’t get my brain or mouth to work properly.
I feign a lack of interest and float in the creek, but my eyes betray me. As much as I don’t want to look at him, I can’t help it. Stealing glances his way, I am hyperaware of his presence and where he is in the water.
Slowly moving my arms and legs through the water, I kick out a little further than necessary and hear an “oof.” Trying to hide my smile, I sit up and look at Mac, who’s rubbing his chest.
“Sorry,” I finally break my silence. “Forgot you were in here with me.” Lie.
“All good.” He shrugs and then turns away from me. Okay then, I guess we won’t be talking much. Something flashes across his face, but I can’t place it. Leaning back into a float again, I can feel his eyes on me, but if he won’t talk, I won’t either.
A few minutes pass by and I lose track of him.
He’s still nearby, I think. Straining my ears, I can hear Blake’s baritone voice up the hill.
And there’s Austin’s laugh. Where the fuck did Mac go?
I sit up to look around, more curious than before, and then I feel it.
The water moves around me and then a torrent of bubbles hits my back.
I can’t contain the little squeal that escapes my lips and then the giggles, too.
Mac pops his head up out of the water next to me with a huge grin on his face.
“You asshole!” I say halfheartedly. His eyes twinkle with mischief as he clutches his chest like I’ve wounded him, and it softens me up immediately. It’s the kind of thing we used to do when we were younger; always sneaking up and trying to startle each other.
Mac chuckles and I splash water at him as he wades out of the creek.
My shoulders drop and I let out a breath.
Guess he’s done hanging out with me now.
I glance up slowly, trying not to seem obvious, but don’t see him heading up to the picnic area as I expected.
Instead, he’s walking toward the rope swing.
“Heads up!” he yells as he runs toward the swing.
He hops on, swings back and forth a few times, and then flies off, landing right in the water below.
Popping his head up, he swims toward me, much closer than he’s been so far.
Our legs bump into each other under water and he moves his arms to steady himself.
Both arms are caging me in even though he’s not touching me, and I resist the urge to lean into him.
I bite my lip and look up at him through my eyelashes.
Seeing him up close like this has my brain misfiring.
His arms are muscular, not huge like Blake’s, but toned and strong.
His chest has a smattering of hair that I want to run my fingers through and follow the trail to where it disappears beneath his swim trunks.
Six years and I’m still attracted to him.
But we’re not even talking to each other right now, so it kind of seems pointless to be drooling over him.
Mac says my name, and it pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?” I ask, trying to pretend I hadn’t heard him.
“I asked if you’ve jumped off the swing yet?
” he asks, shaking his hair out and wiping the water off his face.
I shake my head quickly and try to avoid the little movie that plays in my head at the mention of it.
Brad getting caught up on the swing when we were younger.
My ten-year-old body trying to heave my brother’s teenage bulk out of the water.
It was such a close call, but we got him unstuck and he didn’t drown.
But ever since then, I’ve been even more apprehensive about jumping off the old swing.
I shake off the memory and look back at Mac.
He must see the fear written all over my face because he doesn’t push or ask any more about the swing.
His blue-green eyes pierce mine and we hover there, locked into one another for what feels like an eternity.
His calloused hand brushes my waist and my feet tangle with his underwater.
Little goosebumps break out on my skin and the butterflies in my stomach are flying at full force.
“MJ, I . . .” his voice cracks. We twist our heads at the sound of footsteps and see Austin heading down.
“Food’s about ready if you guys want to come up.”
Mac clears his throat, the spell broken.
“Thanks, man. We’ll be up in just a few,” he replies for both of us.
He looks back at me and gives me a tightlipped smile, nodding his head.
I take the cue, heading out of the creek and up the hill in front of him.
I add a little sway to my hips. My back heats from his stare, and I swear I hear him curse under his breath. Damn Austin and his timing!
I dry off and wrap the towel around my waist, leaving my upper body out.
I felt Mac’s eyes on my chest when we were in the water, so why not continue giving him an eyeful?
Smiling to myself, I help Blake bring everything over from the grill to the table.
Mac heads over to the cooler with Austin where they talk in hushed tones.
I grab a plate and start putting it together with the delicious food Blake made, murmuring a thank you to him.
Austin and Mac come back and Austin hands me water.
I set it down next to my full plate and then root around in my tote bag for my phone.
Finding it, I begin my usual ritual of taking photos of my food.
Austin and Blake both shake their heads with faint smiles, already seeing me do this last weekend.
I can feel Mac’s eyes on me, though, and it’s obvious he’s curious .
“It’s not rocket science. I’m just arranging the food in a way that makes it more appetizing and then snapping a few photos.” He leans in to look over my shoulder, and I try not to shiver as his breath hits the back of my neck.
“Huh.” He climbs into the seat next to me, his leg bumping into mine. My stomach does a flip, but I try to stifle the excitement. Austin and Blake already sat down on the other side of the table. Logically, this was the only seat left. Take a breath .
I finish taking my photos and then tilt my phone toward Mac so he can see the photos. “See?”
“Oh, I see. But I guarantee I couldn’t take a photo of the same damn plate and make it look that good.” He smirks and his eyes flick up and down my body quickly. Was that . . . Did he just check me out?
“Honestly, I couldn’t either, and I cooked the food,” Blake chimes in.
I scroll through the options and favorite the best photo for an Instagram post later when Mac leans into me again, his arm against mine. “Do you make content other than photos?” He asks. My eyebrows raise and I look at him with a shrug.
“I guess, yeah. Here,” I pull out my phone and show him some of my Instagram posts that are more digital content rather than real-life photos. I show him the “about me” post and a few I made about the books I read.
“Those are really cool,” Mac praises and I beam at him.
“You know, I could use some advertisements and flyers for the auto shop if you’re interested in helping me out.
I usually just use the good-old Paint app on my computer and they look fine.
” Mac looks at me with sincerity, and I hear Austin laughing from across the table, muttering something about Mac being full of shit.
“Let me guess, you use Comic Sans too?” I jibe him a bit, and Blake cracks up.
“Comic-what-now?” Mac asks, and I burst out laughing too.
“Never mind. Yes, I can probably make a few flyers for you. Just text me the details you’d want.” My hair falls over my shoulder as I lean my head to the side to look at Mac, who’s looking away from me.
There’s a scuffle of feet underneath the table and Mac shoots daggers at Austin but then turns his body toward mine and whispers, “Thank you.” I nod and then turn back to my plate of food, digging in with the guys.
We eat in mostly silence, everyone enjoying the food Blake prepared. Mac’s leg is up against mine and I’m trying not to move too much and lose the contact. Mac is chugging his water when Blake breaks the silence. “So, I hear you’re helping with Mac’s case now, MJ?”
Mac sputters and his body tenses next to mine. I look over at him, but he’s looking directly at Blake, having some silent conversation with him. “Uh, yeah. I’ve sat in on a few meetings now.”
“Nice, nice. Any thoughts on the case so far?” he asks, and Mac whips his head to face me .
“Um, I mean. I guess I’m not officially your lawyer, Mac, but if you don’t want me to share, I don’t have to.” I look at him and he shrugs.
“Nope, go ahead. The guys know everything already.”
“That we do,” Blake comments.
“I guess I’m still having a hard time believing Mac actually did this.” I stare at Mac as I talk, and his eyebrows rise. It seems he’s surprised to hear me say this even though I literally said it in the last meeting.
“I think we all have a hard time believing it, to be honest.” Blake says and Mac gives him a look I can’t read.
“Right? It seems a little out of character. But . . .” I debate if I should say this next part.
I don’t want to hurt Mac, but I also think he deserves to know how I’ve felt these last few years.
Because if I’m being honest, he was right.
How am I to know what kind of character he is now?
All eyes are on me as I bite my lip in contemplation.
“But what?” Mac urges. For a moment, he looks younger. He looks like the Mac I fell in love with, the one who shared my love of reading and was always by my side, no matter what. The air becomes heavy, and it feels like Blake and Austin have both leaned in, hanging on my every word.
Deciding I don’t want to hurt Mac and call out the fact that I don’t actually know him that well anymore, I change course. “But if the evidence is there, all we can do is work toward a better sentence. Right?”
Mac’s face falls. “Yeah, right.”
A few hours later, my cheeks aching from laughter and my heart full from time with the guys, Mac is leaning against his car waving to the twins and I walk over to him to say goodbye.
The butterflies in my stomach take flight as I realize this is the first time we’ve been alone together.
We were alone in the water, but Blake and Austin were just a few steps away.
Now, unless my parents are up, there’s no chance of us getting interrupted.
I take my bag from him. “Thank you for—”
“MJ, I—” We talk at the same time. “You go first,” Mac insists.
“I just wanted to thank you for actually coming tonight. It meant a lot to me.”
He smiles and nods. “No problem.” Mac slides his backpack off his shoulder and unzips it.
“I actually have something for you.” He reaches in to pull out a book.
It looks worn, the spine cracked, and the pages bent a bit.
“I’m still reading the one you gave me yesterday, but I read this one a while back and jotted down my thoughts. Have you read it?” he asks.
I look at the cover and smile softly. “Yeah, I have. It’s one of my favorites, actually.
” He smiles and hands it to me. I take it greedily, eager to see what he thought of it.
“Thank you.” I bounce on the balls of my feet with excitement and lose my balance, falling into him.
I hear his bag hit the ground, sending dust up into the air and then feel his arms around me, catching me.
“Whoa, you okay?” He rights me with his hands on my waist, his fingers gripping my T-shirt. I nod, leaning into him more and inhale his scent clinging to his shirt. Feeling a little awkward, but not wanting to let go, I wrap my arm around his waist and hug him.
“I’m good. Thank you for the book.” I lean away and smile up at him.
His eyes twinkle under the moonlight when he smiles back at me. “Thanks for the invite, MJ.”
He releases my shirt, and I take a step back from him, letting him pick up his bag and get into his car.
“Drive safe!” I call over the rumble of his engine.
I want to ask him to text me when he gets home, but I feel like that might be too much, too soon.
As if on cue, my phone pings. I know it’s likely Blake or Austin letting me know they made it home. They know by now I expect it.
Slowly backing toward my parents’ house, I watch Mac head down the street toward his house. My head is full of all kinds of thoughts replaying with him in the creek, the conversation at dinner, and then the hug at his car. I’m likely going to have a tough time sleeping tonight.
Once I’m clean and settled in bed, I pull out the new book and my phone to find I have a new text.
MAC: Made it home
My heart pounds in my chest, and the butterflies are beating against my rib cage.
Thoughts swirl through my head, replaying moments from when we were younger to now.
All the stolen glances, the lingering touches, the playfulness .
. . tonight felt like I was teleported back in time to before I lost my best friend.
Sighing, I tap out a reply and then place my phone on the charger.
Pulling the book close to my chest I close my eyes and try to think back on that summer when everything changed.