2. Summer #2
He blows out a breath as if the thought of being stuck with me for that long is the most frustrating thing in the world. “Us too.”
“How convenient.” I glance at the bed, all my earlier thoughts of rolling around in it fly out the window. I grab my beach bag and stuff some towels in it. Right now, I just need to not be so close to this man.
“Headed to the beach?”
“What gave it away?” My brows pinch at the amount of sarcasm creeping into my tone. “Sorry. I’m just frustrated with the situation. I didn’t know I was going to have houseguests for this whole trip.”
“I get you’re mad about the mix up and the bed situation?—”
“Don’t forget about the free peep show. I’m mad about that too.” I point an accusatory finger at him.
“Right. And I’m really sorry about that. But I promise I didn’t plan this, and I’ll stay out of your way. You won’t even know I’m here.”
I shoot him a dubious look. If I know anything, it’s that I could never pretend I’m not aware of this man whenever he’s around.
He’s impossible not to stare at, fixate on his perfect dimple, get lost in his blue eyes.
I need to get out of here, away from him and his crisp, citrusy scent.
I head for the door, but RJ’s voice stops me.
“Are you going to put on sunscreen?”
If I let this man touch me again, I won’t survive the next seven days. Not that he’s offering, anyway. “I’ll be fine.”
I storm out of the room, gather up the kids, and head down to the beach.
Once we get the blanket set up, I open social media and pull up my group chat with the girls.
These women are my support system. While some of us grew up together, we got close once we all became moms. Bella and Lucy have had their own share of awkward encounters with firefighters, so I know they’ll understand my dilemma.
Me : The firefighter saw my boobs!
Bella : Not you too! One or both?
Lucy : That’s your question?
Bella : It’s a valid question.
Me : BOTH. He saw both.
Lucy : I need more info than that.
Me : I was fighting with my bathing suit top, and he walked in while I was untangling it.
Lucy : Are you okay? Wait, why would a firefighter walk in on you when you’re getting changed?
Bella : Did the twins set the house on fire? Is someone hurt? Did you call 911? Is everything okay? I have so many questions.
Me : Those are great questions. Why is there a firefighter on my vacay, RAVEN?
Bella : Oh, shit. Hardy just told me RJ is off for the next week.
Lucy : Is RJ the firefighter that saw your boobs?
Me : RAVEN I KNOW YOU CAN SEE THIS
Lucy : We can see your little picture underneath each thread.
Raven : I thought I turned off read receipts.
Me : Why is your brother here?
Raven : I may have forgotten that I agreed to let him stay at the beach house for the week.
Me : How could you forget that?!?
Lucy : It doesn’t seem logical for you to forget something like that.
Raven : I’m sorry. I’m on a deadline at work, and things have been piling up.
Lucy : Maybe you could make the best of it?
Raven : You’ll be fine. The house has plenty of space.
Me : He brought his daughter and she wants her own bedroom. And all my kids already claimed theirs.
Bella : Are you saying what I think you’re saying?
Lucy : What are you talking about?
Me : Why are there no couches in this place? There are chairs and a few love seats, but no freaking couches.
Lucy : WAIT!
Raven : What are you two yapping about?
Bella : So there’s only one bed, huh?
Lucy : Please tell me he has a bad back and has to sleep in a bed with you.
Bella : Are you sharing the one bed with the hot firefighter?
Lucy : I love where there’s only one bed!
Raven : ???
Bella : It’s a trope in romance. The two main characters are forced to share a bed. And they say they’ll be adults about it, but they always end up fucking.
Raven : Gross. Do not fuck my idiot brother.
Bella : But it would be so romantic. They were each other’s first kiss.
Me : How many times do I have to tell you; this is real life. This isn’t a romance.
I’m the dreamer of our group. The romantic. The one that loves love and cheers everyone on. The eternal optimist. But lately, it feels like a lie. I fell in love with RJ Roth in grade school, and no one has lived up to him since.
My friends don’t know how deep my feelings for him run.
And only Raven knows how close we used to be.
The three of us were inseparable back in the day.
He’s how I met Raven. RJ and I were in the same class since there’s just the one school in Chestnut Mountain, and we hit it off.
When he introduced me to his sister, I knew we’d be friends for life.
She was calm and cool, while I was a free-spirited mess of emotions.
Our dynamic shouldn’t have worked, but it did.
And RJ would often be the middle ground, balancing both of us out.
We hung out all the time. We had inside jokes.
We had sleepovers. Well, Raven and I did, and RJ would tag along until it was time for us to go to bed.
And then puberty hit, and RJ started looking more like a man and less like a squeaky little kid.
He ran track and slimmed down, growing into his lanky body.
Suddenly this kid who’d been my best friend since grade school was consuming my thoughts.
I must’ve talked about him constantly, and I could tell Raven was getting annoyed with me.
So when we went to a party, she dared us to kiss.
Raven later said she was hoping it would help me get over my crush, but it had the opposite effect, despite the fact that our braces caused us to get stuck together during that disastrous first kiss.
A couple weeks after the party, RJ started hanging out with Jessica, and the two of them became inseparable.
He stopped hanging out with us, and our trio turned into a dynamic duo.
RJ and Jessica dated the rest of high school and eventually moved away, got married, and had a kid.
And I moved on. I met Todd, and we got married.
We struggled to start a family and decided to adopt, only conceiving our miracle baby Lucas after adopting the twins.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. When things were bad in my life, my mind would wander, filled with thoughts of RJ and the could-have-beens. I don’t think I ever truly got over RJ.
I love my kids, and I love my life. But I never stopped picturing RJ being a part of it.
It was hard not bringing him up around Raven.
When I found out that he’d moved back to Chestnut Mountain a year ago and that he was single, I couldn’t stop pestering Raven with questions.
And I know it bothered her. But I never could work up the courage to actually talk to him.
However, this isn’t how I pictured our reunion. And I’m not sure why he’s so annoyed. But I do know I cannot be his friend. Not when it’s been so long, and not when all I want to do is kiss his stupidly handsome face.