18. Jack
EIGHTEEN
Jack
Fireside Bar was hopping for a Thursday night. The first of our group walked in, and I questioned if we should find somewhere else, but it was tradition to celebrate big events here.
Lola pushed past me and headed to the bar, jumping in to sling drinks with her daughter, Maya, who ran the place during the summer.
I couldn’t get my conversation with Leo out of my head. He may have been annoyed with me over my newfound feelings about love, but he was a relentless romantic. He just didn’t get it.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy for my friends. I wanted to believe things would work out, but I also knew that love didn’t last. I just hoped they’d be the exception to the rule.
I’d watched countless relationships, including all of mine, end with disastrous results. It didn’t inspire confidence. And after my most recent relationship blowup, I wasn’t willing to try it again. I was fine with living a peaceful, busy life in the mountains, surrounded by my found family.
Autumn and Jamie were the last to walk in, and the bar erupted in cheers. It was no surprise that their engagement had already spread through town. You couldn’t tie your shoelaces without someone talking about big news.
I walked to the bar, which was full of patrons eagerly awaiting drinks, and found my spot in line.
“Looking hot tonight, nature girl.” Maya held a shaker in one hand as she spoke to Nat, who wore a summer dress with a heart-shaped neckline. I’d definitely noticed.
“Not as hot as you shaking that thing.” Nat’s smile lit up the room, and I found myself getting a little jealous, which was stupid. Maya was completely straight. And I wasn’t into Nat. I repeated that in my head like a mantra.
“No way, twice in one week?” Kai sidled up to her. “How are those nails holding up?”
Nat extended her hand and chuckled. “We got our nails done at Wild Beauty the other day,” she explained to Maya. “And they made it two days. I know better than to get pretty when I’m down and dirty all the time, but I can’t help myself.”
That phrasing had me thinking of her down and dirty in another way, and I mentally slapped myself.
He laughed. “But they’re still glittery at least.”
She took her hand back and looked. “The benefits of working with crafts.”
Kai nodded. “Don’t I know it. Speaking of which, your restock order came in today. Want me to drop it off?”
Nat’s partially polished hand went to her chest. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I love stopping by Camp Starlight. Simon was just telling me about…”
I zoned out of the conversation and focused on ordering my beer from Lola.
She poured a pint, and I took a long swig.
Nat really was getting along in Wildwood.
It was nice to see our town accept the new counselors each summer.
Welcoming Nat had been no different. Except that they didn’t just welcome her, everyone loved her, and when she wasn’t driving me up the wall, I could almost see why.
A voice behind me got my attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Hazel Matthews and Leo Lovejoy.”
We all whooped and clapped as Maya introduced them on the tiny stage in the back of the bar. Someone handed Leo a guitar.
This was a special treat for the people of Wildwood. It wasn’t often that we got a moment like this outside of the campfire. People loved our camp mom and dad and put pressure on them to perform, but that rarely worked.
“This one goes out to Autumn and Jamie, our favorite lovebirds,” Hazel said as she stood at the mic. Someone lowered the lighting as Leo strummed the first chords of Maren Morris and Hozier’s “The Bones.”
I’d seen it dozens of times around the campfire, but it never failed to take my breath away.
The two of them were like magic, their sounds melding together perfectly.
Hazel wasn’t a big fan of attention, so this was Leo bringing her out of her shell, just like he’d done when they’d performed for their first camp talent show together as kids. Or so I’d been told.
Autumn and Jamie came out to the center of the dance floor and looked at each other with heart eyes, and several others followed suit. It was hard not to feel the romance in the air, no matter how much I wanted to avoid it.
I glanced at Nat, who had her arms wrapped around herself as she swayed to our friends’ song. She had a look about her, a wistfulness that said I want to be them.
Or maybe I was drawing conclusions I didn’t know anything about.
Hazel smiled at Leo, who looked at his fingers for a moment before meeting her gaze.
I’d seen them deny it out of their teeth, and I’d known not to say anything, but it did look like there was something there. I carefully reminded myself that they were just friends. Best friends. And that didn’t have to mean a romantic relationship. Not everything ended that way.
The bar erupted into cheers and applause as they finished their song. I noticed Nat looking at her drink, as if she were searching for her answer at the bottom of her glass. She threw it back and finished it, right as Lola came back with a tray of cocktails.
“Hey, there,” a sweet voice said behind me.
I turned to find a pretty redhead with her hand in a little wave, standing beside a blonde with wavy hair.
I wasn’t in the mood for this kind of interaction, but I was polite, nonetheless. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. I’m Stephanie. And this is Lily.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jack. Are y’all from around here?”
Stephanie pushed her hair behind one ear and shook her head. “We’re visiting from Arizona.”
“And what brought you to our small town?” I took a gulp of my beer and found the bottom of my glass. I wondered how soon I could extricate myself from this situation and get another.
Lily jumped in. “Just trying to find ourselves some mountain men. You sure fit that bill.” She was clearly tipsy. And loud.
I chuckled as Stephanie turned three shades of pink. She was pretty, with beachy waves and an embarrassed smile. She laughed it off and elbowed her friend, which would normally have done it for me, but for some reason, I wasn’t one bit interested.
“If Jack’s a mountain man, does that make me one, too?” Leo came up beside us and winked at me.
He seemed to be trying to be funny, because he considered himself a nerd, which didn’t typically go hand in hand with a tough, ax-swinging man of the wilderness.
“That depends,” I mock-pondered. “Do you live on a mountain?”
Leo’s smile was pure sunshine. “I do.”
“And do you do mountain man things? Ruggedly cutting wood? Throwing tree trunks? Looking into sunsets as you traverse rocky outcroppings?” I asked, watching the girls next to us as they waited for Leo’s response.
He shrugged. “I’m really good with a GPS.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “Might not count, buddy.”
“Damn.” Leo grinned before he took a drink of his beer. But the women I’d been talking to looked at him with stars in their eyes. That guitar playing had an undeniable effect on people. So did his voice.
“Artists are hot, too,” Stephanie soothed, moving on from flirting with me. Her friend also angled her body toward him.
Leo had a certain kind of appeal that drew women to him. He was a much better catch than the guy who didn’t want a relationship. At least he believed in that sort of thing.
Leo’s eyes widened. “Oh, well, I mean. I’m not going to argue with that.”
Hazel snorted beside him, joining the group and gathering herself as everyone stared at her. “Leo’s great at a lot of things.”
“He’s great at board games.” Autumn sidled up beside her as Jamie hugged her from behind. “Ooh, and he’s in a one-man band.” Was she trying to kill his game?
Lily had a puzzled expression. “A one-man…”
“He’s got a full set of instruments he plays all at once. Like Bert. From Mary Poppins.” Autumn lifted her beer in cheers.
Hazel burst into giggles.
Leo looked proud. “Don’t even lie, Ms. Matthews. We all know you had a thing for Bert.”
“I would never lie about that.” She and Autumn started giggling again.
It was then that I went around the room to count how many of us were sloshed.
I was feeling tipsy after our dinner celebration.
Then there was Chase and Jamie, who were listening to Lamar tell a story; he waved his arms wildly and nearly knocked Luis over as he carried a tray of drinks.
No one would ever accuse Starlighters of not knowing how to have a good time.
I tried to find Sawyer, Emerson, and Felicia to make sure they were doing all right, when my eyeline landed on Nat, whose cheeks were flushed as she spoke to a guy in a band tee and cargo shorts.
Her eyes darted across the room as if she were looking for someone to step in before she caught my gaze.
Without telling my feet to move, I found myself in her vicinity.
The man leaned in to talk to her over the din of chatter. “I just love your account. I’ve been following for years. Are you here to do more footage? Do you need a guide?”
Nat smiled politely. “Oh, I’m actually—”
“Taking a break from working.” I popped in. “She’s on a vacation.”
Nat gave me a look but nodded. “That’s right.”
“A vacation from your vacations?” He chuckled. “What’s that like?”
A flash of annoyance passed over her features, probably because he made it sound like she didn’t have a job. “I keep it low key. I mostly spend time with friends and my boyfriend.”
Ah, so she wanted to get rid of him. I put my arm around her shoulder, and she tilted her head against my chest. I hated how much I liked that, but I could probably thank the booze.
“Are you visiting too?” I asked him.
“Yeah, just for the week. My friends and I are hiking the crest tomorrow.”
I petted Nat’s hair. “Very cool. Well, baby, I think we should say goodbye to our friends and head back to my place.” Hey, it was true. “What do you think?”
“That sounds amazing. It was so nice to meet you, Todd.”
The guy smiled, and it still came off a little too flirty for my taste, but I was in the fake boyfriend mindset. That explained it.