Page 4 of Play For Keeps

A moment later, Tucker drops his paddleboard and flops down onto the sand beside us. I toss him a beer, which he immediately opens and knocks back.

"That is exactly what I needed,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and settling back on his elbows.

Grayson, Tucker and I, along with our other buddy Holden, have been best friends for years. It feels more like we’re brothers at this point. The three of them live on Haven Harbor, next door to the little home my Gran has lived in since I was a kid. Gran happens to be a card shark, so she invited the guys to play poker with us one evening. It turned into a regular game, and the four of us have been close ever since. When I say my grandmother is a card shark, I’m not kidding—she creams our asses every single time.

But things will soon be changing on the secluded coastal street. Gran will be moving out of her home on Haven Harbor and into a nearby assisted living facility. My sister Sierra and I hated having to persuade her to leave the home she’s lived in for decades, but she lives alone and after a string of accidents and close calls and the onset of dementia, it felt like the only option. The only good news in all of this is that Sierra is moving back to Reed Point from Virginia Beach, where she’s been for the last four years.

I’m fucking happy she’s coming back home. We’re close, always have been. I get why Sierra left Reed Point, but I didn’t like her living 500 miles away. I know some people think I’m a ridiculously overprotective older brother, but when you survive a devastating loss like we did as kids, you can’t help it. Sierra and Gran are the only family I have left.

“How’s Gran? Is she still giving you shit about the move?” Grayson asks as he slips his shades on and tips his face to the sun.

“She’s pissed.” There is no point in sugar-coating it. “She isn’t making it easy on us.”

The movers are coming in two weeks. And after we move Gran out, Sierra is moving into her small house. It only made sense since she needed to find a place to stay, and Gran didn’t want to sell.

“It sucks, but you made the right decision, Jake. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Grayson says, toeing sand in my direction.

I nod, then take a long swig from my beer. I know it’s what’s best for her, but it still isn’t easy. Sierra and I owe Gran everything. I was only 12 years old when we went to live with her after that horrible night, and Sierra was 10. Gran raised us both, and I know I didn’t make it easy on her. I was angry at the world for taking our parents from us. I was also shouldering a lot of guilt—to be honest, I still am. On the night of the fire, I had snuck out of the house. If I’d been in my bed, where I should have been, my parents wouldn’t have been searching for me through the smoke and flames. They probably would have made it out in time. They would still be alive today. All these years later, it still haunts me.

“Gray is right,” Tuck says. “It’s for the best. Besides, Gran is a social butterfly. She’ll be a big deal around there in no time.”

“She’s bringing her poker table with her, right?” Grayson asks. He’s lying in the sand with a forearm held over his eyes to block the glare of the sun.

“I think so.” I shrug. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“Well, she should. She could make a killing. Take those seniors for every penny they have left,” Tucker jokes.

“Better than having to play cards with you fuckers,” I tell them. “She could have played blindfolded and still beat you pussy players.”

“What would you know about pussy, Matthews?” Tucker says, calling me by my last name. “You haven’t gotten your dick wet in a year.”

Grayson laughs beside me, and I glare in his direction. The truth is, Tucker isn’t too far off the mark. Unlike these guys, I’ve never been into meaningless hookups. They’re all right if the sex is good, but then it’s awkward as fuck afterwards; I end up feeling like a dick when I don’t really want the girl to stick around. I wouldn’t be against dating someone seriously, I just haven’t had any luck finding the one. One of the downfalls of living in a small town—the dating pool is painfully limited.

“You okay today, Jakey?” Grayson asks as he sits up and brushes the sand from his skin. “You’re even moodier than usual.”

I must look as tired as I feel. I’ve been short-staffed all week at the contracting company I own, which means I’ve been onsite early every day at one of the houses we’re remodelling. It’s tough, physical work and my body is definitely feeling it.

“I’m fine. Just tired of putting up with you two dummies.”

“Hey, maybe if you got your dick sucked, you’d be less grumpy,” Tucker says with a grin.

"At least my dick is intact,” I respond. “Yours is probably in the process of falling off thanks to an STD.”

Tucker flips me off.

Having had his fill of bullshitting for the moment, Tuck changes topics and asks where we want to meet for our weekly downhill bike ride tomorrow morning. I let the two of them argue about which trail we should ride, stretching out and looking down the sandy beach. It’s not too busy today. Unlike the bigger beaches in Reed Point that are always packed on sunny days, this smaller cove a little further up the coast tends to be pretty quiet.

My gaze lands on a girl who is sitting by herself on a beach blanket not too far from us. Her feet are buried in the sand, her long, brown hair falling down her back. I squint, trying to confirm it is who I think it is. My pulse picks up just a bit. It’s her. The waitress from Catch 21. She’s just as stunning as she was the night I ran into her at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago.

Her face is tilted toward the turquoise sky, and I take the opportunity to stare. She’s wearing a tiny pair of denim shorts and a thin tank top, her golden, smooth skin on display.

Breathtaking.

I snap back to reality when a boy comes running down the beach toward her, chasing a soccer ball. She puts a hand to her eyes as her gaze follows the ball to where it lands not far from me.

She looks up, and her wide eyes meet mine.

I instantly feel goosebumps race down my spine at the memory of running into her at Catch 21. It was nothing, just a moment. I’ve been around plenty of pretty girls, but there was something about her that lit a spark in me. Something that made me want to push her up against the wall and kiss her. She’s popped into my mind many times since then, and it’s always the memory of those hazel eyes locked on mine. Just like they are right now.

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