About an hour into my café rumination, my phone chimed.
Jace: You okay?
My heartbeat accelerated as I typed.
Farrah: Yup.
The dots danced as he responded.
Jace: How are you getting home?
Kellianne had texted me a few minutes before Jace did. So I did have a ride. I told the truth.
Farrah: Kellianne is picking me up here. We’re going to dinner and then to The Iguana later for Pour Your Heart Out.
Jace: What happened with the guy you met?
Ugh. I hated lying.
Farrah: A dud.
After about a minute, he responded.
Jace: Stay safe tonight.
Farrah: You too.
My head spun. I needed to get a life, needed to move past these feelings for a man who couldn’t return them. Feeling a bit out of control, I knew I needed to do something tonight to expend all of this energy—and fast. I needed a distraction.
Chapter 6
* * *
Jace
Nathan walked in early that evening and seemed surprised to see I had a guest.
“Oh, hey. I wasn’t sure if you’d be home,” he said.
“Yeah. We were just hanging out.”
Nathan coming home and catching me with Alyssa was exactly what I’d aimed for—and the only reason I’d brought her back here this afternoon. After the other day when he’d accosted me about my time in the pool with Farrah, I needed to distract him. I’d wanted both Nathan and Farrah to see me with her. I knew Nathan had gotten a one-day gig helping a friend paint a rental property, so I’d made sure Alyssa and I would still be at the house when he returned.
The mood with Alyssa was definitely ruined after I’d left to take Farrah to the coffee shop. She gave me an attitude after I returned. Apparently, she’d looked out the window of my bedroom and gotten a glimpse of Farrah. She’d grilled me about whether there was something going on with my “roommate.” I did my best to explain that Farrah was like a sister to me, but apparently I was no better at convincing Alyssa of that than I was at convincing myself.
I hadn’t been able to get Farrah off my mind all afternoon. My response to her meeting some dude was a bit of an overreaction. But I refused to let myself analyze why I’d blown it way out of proportion. Whatever strange feelings I’d been experiencing toward her lately needed to go. I mean, what the fuck? Why was I suddenly thinking about Nathan’s little sister all the time? It made no sense. And it needed to stop.
After I introduced Nathan to Alyssa, the three of us sat outside by the pool and popped open a few beers. I lit up a stogie for the first time in ages and tried to relax. I probably needed something a fuck of a lot stronger than a cigar.
“Where’s Farrah?” Nathan asked.
Alyssa gave me side eye as I answered.
“She apparently had a date. Her car shit the bed again, so I gave her a ride to the café over by the shopping plaza.” I puffed and blew out some smoke.
His eyes narrowed. “A date with who?”
“Some guy. Name’s Sheridan. She said she met him online. I texted her after to make sure she was okay, and she said he was a dud.”
“How’s she getting home?”
“Kellianne was picking her up. I told her not to get into that guy’s car. Hopefully she’s telling the truth.”
Nathan stared out at the pool. “She’d better be.”
“I think she’s smart enough not to do anything dumb.” I blew out more smoke, feeling relieved that Nathan seemed concerned about this other guy.
Alyssa suddenly hopped out of her chair. “Mind if I go for a swim?”
“Do you have a bathing suit?” I asked.
“No. But I can just go in my bra and underwear, if you don’t mind.”
Blowing smoke rings, I said, “Whatever floats your boat.”
Alyssa pulled her dress over her head, and her tits bounced in her bra. Nathan’s eyes practically bugged out of their sockets as he gawked at her. Before he could stare too long, she dove into the pool and began to swim laps. We watched her until Nathan interrupted the silence.
“So, I didn’t want to ask you in front of Alyssa, but how did it go at the bank?”
One thing I’d managed to do today was take my mind off the problems at work. “Looks promising that we’re gonna get approved for a loan. They just had to run some reports and look a little closer at our numbers. The guy I spoke to said I should know something within a week.”
“Good. I’ll be crossing my fingers for you.”
“Thanks.”
He looked over again at Alyssa, who was still swimming from one end of the pool to the other.
“What’s the deal with this hot blonde? She’s smokin’.”
I shrugged. “Swiped right. It’s new. Too early to tell.”
He chuckled. “Linnea’s totally out of the picture?”
“Yeah. It didn’t work out.”
“Why not?”
“She…wanted more than I could give her right now.”
“Well, feel free to pass them my way when you’re done, especially this one.” He smiled from behind his beer bottle. “Just kidding. I know our rule still stands.”
He was referring to our agreement never to touch each other’s “leftovers.” Only once had Nathan and I truly gotten into it over a girl, and that was Kaylee Little in middle school. We nearly lost our friendship over that one. I guess the hormones at that age made things crazier than they should have been.
Nathan definitely didn’t have the luck I did in the female department. He would always comment on how I could get any woman I wanted. I suppose he had a point, but honestly, sometimes I enjoyed more of a chase. There was something arousing about wanting someone you couldn’t have.
And now I’m thinking about Farrah again. I shook my head. Forcing myself to think of something else, I remembered something I needed to tell Nathan.
“Oh, I meant to let you know, my mother might have gotten you a job lead. She spoke to this woman at her church. Her husband owns the dealership on Route One.”
“Really?”
“The Ford one.”
“Yeah. Billings Ford. That’s one of the bigger ones.” His expression brightened. “Man, that would be awesome.”
“She’s getting me the details. I’ll pass them along as soon as I have them.”
“Wow. Thanks. For that and…for everything.”
Guilt set in again. “You don’t have to thank me again for staying here. It’s benefitting me just as much as it’s benefitting you because I’m not ready to buy anything. Besides, I sure as hell don’t want to be living with my parents.”
“Do you think you’re staying in Palm Creek? I mean, if Phil gets better and doesn’t need you anymore, you’ll go back to North Carolina, right?”
I took another drag of my cigar and slowly exhaled. “I don’t know. There are definitely things I missed about Florida. I’m just trying to be happy day to day, trying not to worry too much about the future.”