18. Bridger
18
brIDGER
“ S o, are we just gonna pretend you didn’t fuck things up with my sister?” I ask evenly, making Corbin whirl around to face me.
“She said that?”
“Of course she didn’t say that—she didn’t say anything—but I’m not an idiot.”
I probably shouldn’t have opened this particular can of worms, but I need a distraction from the fact that I haven’t been able to grab five minutes with Saige in the last few days.
I’m anxious to see her.
And my best friend has the unfortunate luck of being the only one here. Lettie said she needed to grab a few things at the store, but that was hours ago.
He blows out a breath and drags his hands down his face. “She’s never going to forgive me.” His shoulders slump as he finally meets my gaze. “I don’t know what to do, man.”
Well, shit.
This is definitely more than I bargained for.
Taking a deep breath, I hold up my hands, palms facing out. “I don’t want details, and Lettie is obviously a big girl and can make her own choices, but please tell me it meant something and wasn’t just some off-the-cuff hookup.”
“Of course it meant something,” he barks, the words it meant everything lingering in the air unsaid. “She just blindsided me in the morning, and everything with the band, my mom’s new boyfriend, and then all the shit with Heather still feels fresh and I just…” He blows out a breath. “And at like five in the fucking morning she wanted to talk and I wasn’t thinking and it all happened so fast. I kept saying the wrong thing, and now she won’t let me say anything at all.”
My chest constricts with a potent mix of sympathy and rage because I get it. The thing with Heather had been over for a while, but she’d been a nasty kind of toxic that he hadn’t been able to escape, and while my sister is nothing like that, it’s a lot to process. Throw in things with his mom and us moving to Love Beach, and I’d be struggling too.
Hell, I am right now just waiting to see Saige again and confirm we’re really okay.
“Do you want me to talk to her? Trick her into coming over and then lock you two in a room until you hash it out?” I offer, because honestly, I’m at a loss.
“She’d kill me and then you as soon as she picked the lock and got out,” he says wryly and I snort.
“Well, she did learn that from you.” I laugh as he shakes his head.
“She kept forgetting her house key, and I didn’t want her to have to wait for someone to come let her in.”
His expression is wistful, staring out the window behind me like he’s lost in the memory.
“Why didn’t you just date her? I know you couldn’t before because of her age, but that stopped mattering the minute she turned eighteen. And really, three years is basically nothing anyway.”
“The timing just never worked and then it became this fun little game, us checking in and just flirting and being friends. But when she texted me in Charleston, all of that changed. I never had a plan for what would happen if we got here.”
“Never thought past hooking up? Thanks for that.”
“No,”—he shakes his head, his lips pressed into a hard line—“I panicked. And then it all spiraled. We had to wait so long and just… What if she doesn’t like me, you know? What if it’s just the idea of me she’s been holding on to?” My eyebrows are somewhere in my hairline as he talks, desperation laced into every word.
“Dude.”
“I know, okay?” He grips his hair, frustration pouring off him in waves. “I’m trying to apologize, but she won’t let me anywhere near her. Pretty sure she blocked my number, and she’s acting like she’s fine and I’m fucking bleeding out over here.”
“Do you really think she’s fine or maybe she’s trying to put on a happy face for everyone even though she’s hurting too?”
I know he wants to argue, but he just slumps down onto the barstool and holds his head in his hands.
“I didn’t want to put you in the middle.”
“Real noble man, but I’ve been in the middle since before you could ever admit you liked her.”
“I can’t begin to tell you how unhelpful that is.”
“It’s not my fault you had sex with my sister without a what comes next plan.” Pausing, I add, “On the plus side, she hasn’t been seeing anyone since she got here as far as I can tell.”
“Bridge, I love you, man, but shut the fuck up.”
Chuckling, I slap him on the back. “She can’t stay mad forever.”
“Pretty sure she’ll still be pissed in our next life.”
“Well, at least you have something to look forward to then.”
Shaking his head on a humorless laugh, he stands. “I’m outta here before you try to impose any other wisdom on me.”
“Hey, I give good advice!” I yell after him, and this time I get a real laugh.
“Dude, don’t quit your day job.”
Guess there’s always room for improvement.