Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 90410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“You’re being too hard on yourself. You were a kid.” Tracy took a bite of her corn chip and spoke with her mouth full, “You said you’re not selling the house, right?”
“No. We agreed to keep it. That’s what Nana would want.”
“Then whether he stays with Jade or not, this house is going to bind the two of you forever. Do you really want to spend every summer for the rest of your life watching the man you love moving on with other women?”
My heart felt like it was breaking in two. Flashes of many summers turning into winters ran through my mind on fast forward. The idea of that sounded daunting. Year after year of unrequited love for someone I couldn’t have was not something I wanted to endure.
“You’re not helping my dilemma. I was hoping you’d talk some sense into me, help me realize that I need to accept things the way they are and move on.”
“But that’s not really what you want, is it?”
No. No, it isn’t.
***
Tonight was my night off. I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that I’d be missing Justin play. We’d kept our distance since the all-nighter. It was for the best, since things were teetering on inappropriate that night—at least in my head they were.
Tracy decided to stick around and spend the night at the beach house. With Justin out of the house, she had the bright idea that we should buy some liquor and have a girls’ night in.
We arrived at the house with a paper bag full of tequila, limes and coarse salt. My stomach dropped when I spotted Justin’s car in the driveway.
He was supposed to be working. What was he doing home?
“Shit. Justin’s home.”
“I thought he was working,” she said.
“Me, too.”
Justin was nowhere to be found when we walked in the door. I dropped the bag on the kitchen counter and went to show Tracy the upper deck. That’s where we found Justin sitting, smoking a cigar with his legs up on the balcony as he looked out toward the water. His hair was wet, like he’d just taken a dip in the ocean. He was shirtless. The top of his boxer briefs was sticking out of his jeans. He looked like a freaking Calvin Klein ad. Tracy’s mouth practically hit the floor when she got a look at him.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were playing at the restaurant.”
Smoke billowed out of his mouth. “I was supposed to be. But the place almost burned down.”
“What?”
“There was a kitchen fire this afternoon. When I showed up, they told me they had to close to air out the entire restaurant. They won’t be reopening for another week at least. It doesn’t look like I’ll get to play there again before I leave.”
“Holy shit. Did anyone get hurt?”
“No, but Salvatore was a fucking wreck.” He glanced over at Tracy. “Who’s this?”
“This is Tracy, a good friend from Providence and a teacher at my school. She came down to spend the day with me. She’s gonna sleep over tonight.”
Justin placed his baseball cap over his head backwards and stood up. “Nice to meet you,” he said, offering her his hand.
“Likewise,” she said, taking it.
I shook my head in disbelief, not only about the blaze but the fact that Justin was probably leaving with Jade sooner than I thought. “Wow. I can’t believe that about the fire.”
“I wasn’t really in the mood to perform tonight, but I would have never wished that shit on Sal.”
“Gosh. I wonder if I’ll even be working there myself again before the end of summer.”
He took another puff of the cigar and flicked the ashes. There was something so sexy about that.
“What are you ladies up to tonight?”
“We were gonna have some drinks and have a girls night in.”
“That sounds like a hot mess.”
Tracy laughed. “It’s not every night that I get away from my kids. So, a girls’ night in is about as wild as it gets for me.”
Justin winked. “Well, I’ll stay out of your way then.”
“You don’t have to,” Tracy said. “You should join us for a drink.”
“That’s alright. I’ll pass.”
When we returned downstairs, Tracy went to use the bathroom. I was cutting up limes when Justin came down and spotted the gigantic bottle of tequila on the counter.
“Jesus Christ. Enough tequila?”
“It was her idea. I’ve never done tequila shots before.”
He squinted his eyes. “You’ve never done a tequila shot?”
“Nope.”
“Damn, Patch. What did they not know how to live it up in New Hampshire?”
“I never really drank at all until about a year ago. Actually, I’ve never drank more than I have this summer.”
He flashed an impish grin. “Can I take responsibility for that?”
“Maybe.” I laughed.
Our attention turned to Tracy as she came back down the stairs.
“I’m so sorry, Amelia, but Todd just called and said that Ava is sick and throwing up. He really needs me to head back home to Warwick.”
“Are you serious? I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“I guess you two will just have to enjoy the tequila without me. I’m just glad Todd called before I started drinking and couldn’t drive myself home.”
“Do you need anything for the road?” I asked. “A bottle of water or something?”
“No. I’m good.” Tracy pulled me into a hug and said, “I’ll see you back at school in a few weeks anyway.”
“Thanks for coming down, Trace. I had a great time.”
“It was nice meeting you, Justin.”
Justin offered a silent wave before I walked her to the door.
With Tracy gone, the mood shifted from light to extremely tense. When I turned around, Justin was leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed.
This was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. Part of why I’d encouraged Tracy to spend the night was to avoid being alone with him. Tonight was likely the very last time we would be alone before he returned to New York.
I slowly walked toward where he was standing.
Justin smirked. “What are we gonna do with all this tequila?”