That’s nice and all, but it’s not for me. Not yet. I have enough time before I have to settle down. We’re still young. Like, extremely young. Why do I need to tie myself to only one woman? No one tempts me anyway.
Well.
One girl does tempt me, but not in the right way. More like I want to get Gracie out of my system once and for all. Fuck her once and be done with it. But now that I’m living with her, I can’t cross that line. Fucking your roommate when you’re not interested in her beyond a quick hookup would end up way too messy.
I need to ignore her. I need to remain quiet so she ignores me. We can make this living arrangement work.
I know we can.
Two
Gracie
“We’d love to hire you,” the owner of Mitchell’s Landing says right off the bat. Michelle is a pretty woman with bright blue eyes and a wide smile that she’s currently aiming at me. “But, unfortunately, we’re full at the fountain right now.”
My own smile falls. “Oh.”
This has been the story from every restaurant and resort I’ve hit up on the lake since I started earlier this morning. I walked into every establishment on the lakeshore, resume in hand, asking for an application. And every single one of them has told me they’ve hired their staff for the season, and I’m too late. Who knew early June was too late?
Not me.
“I do have one position that recently opened up, but it’s not easy. Not that it’s hard,” she’s quick to correct, probably thanks to my widening eyes. “But most of the young women I hire don’t want to deal with the guys.”
“What do you mean?” I ask carefully.
“We need someone to work the office on the dock. All boat rentals happen up at the store, but once we give them the paperwork, they need to meet with someone at the office on the dock. Then you’ll take care of them by showing them the boating instruction video and sizing everyone for life jackets, while one of the guys who works the dock brings their boat or jet ski around for them.”
I like how she says “you” when describing the position. As if I already have it. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Usually it’s not, but the boys at the dock can be… a lot,” she says, scrutinizing me carefully. More carefully than she was only a moment before. “Not that they do anything inappropriate, but they can be loud and obnoxious. As in, they’ll all show off for you and try to get your attention.”
“I can handle them,” I say firmly, knowing for a fact that Caleb is one of these guys she’s referring to.
And he’s going to kill me if I get this job. He’s been ignoring me for the last few days since I moved in with him and Eli, which is fine because I’ve been ignoring him too. Pretending he doesn’t exist is easier on my mental state, but considering I live with him, I still have to see him whether I want to or not.
Like when, just last night, I found him exiting the steaming hot bathroom with a towel around his waist and nothing else. Water droplets still clinging to his bare skin, rivulets trailing down the perfection that is his back.
Who knew a back could be so sexy? It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about before, but checking out his bare back as he dashed down the hall toward his bedroom, I was immediately thinking dirty, filthy thoughts.
I told myself to calm down. Big deal. So he just got out of the shower, so what? But all of my fantasies went into overdrive, visualizing a naked Caleb under a hot spray of water, soaping himself up. Me soaping him up.
Ugh. Yeah. Not good. He’s got an amazing body. Broad shoulders and chest, washboard stomach, thick thighs. Big ol’ dick.
Hmm. I don’t know if that last part is true, but come on. With the way he acts, and all the women he gets with, it has to be a decent size. At the very least, he knows what to do with it.
I need to stop thinking about Caleb’s dick. Seriously.
“They’ll be the ones who train you. Well, TJ will train you too. He’s the dock manager and he’s a good guy,” Michelle explains as she glances over my application yet again before returning her gaze to me. “If you’re interested, I would love to hire you. They get tips on the dock, but not as much as they do in the restaurant.” She hesitates only for a moment. “Are you sure you want the job?”
Does this mean she’s giving it to me? And why does she think I don’t want it. I totally do. “Yes,” I say firmly. “I definitely want the job.”
“Then it’s yours. If a fountain position opens up, I’ll keep you in mind for that as well. Maybe you could even pick up a shift once a week,” Michelle says.
“Wow, that’s it? I have the job?” Most places I’ve applied, I’ve had to go through a process. An interview. Sometimes a couple of rounds of them. Then it’s a lot of waiting around, hoping to get a call or an email. Sometimes I never hear back. Sometimes I do.
This was the easiest job I’ve ever gotten.
“You have the job,” she says with a smile. “Come on back. You can grab a couple of T-shirts and I’ll have you fill out all the forms.”
I follow her into the restaurant/store, noting all the girls working behind the counter. There are a lot of them and they all look busy. They also all look younger than me. I know most of them are high school students, or they just graduated.
I’m going to feel like an old lady around here. I already feel enough like one, hanging out with the group that I do. Hayden and I are older than all of them by two years, some of them three, like Ellie and Ava.
As we get older, I know it won’t matter, but right now, sometimes that still feels like a big difference. Especially since I’ve already graduated college and I’m about to embark on my student teaching placement. My life is going to be totally different in a few months.
Guess I may as well have fun at a resort while I can. A summer job on the lake before I start my first job in my chosen career.
Once the paperwork is out of the way, I pick two Mitchell’s T-shirts out of a box for me to wear as part of my uniform. I can sense all of the employees nearby watching Michelle and me with curiosity, wondering who the new girl is, I suppose. I smile at them and they smile back, a couple of them even say hi.
“Everyone’s friendly here,” Michelle says to me as she walks me out of the store. We stop on the front porch, both of us surveying the lake across the road. It’s a brilliant blue, dotted with boats and the occasional water skier zipping by. “The summer season is already in full swing, so get ready. You’re going to be thrown right into it on your first day.”
“I can handle it,” I tell her, sounding extra confident, when I really don’t know what I’m talking about. This might be kind of scary, but I’ve got this.
I have to.
I need the money.
“I found a job,” I announce to my best friend after the server leaves with our dinner orders. We met up at a restaurant not too far from campus, me calling her at the last minute to see if she had the time to get together, eager and excited to tell her about my afternoon.
Hayden breaks out into a giant smile. “That’s great news! Where at?”