Page 19 of The Way We Collide

Then they saw each other again at Dylan’s wedding, and it was on like Donkey Kong.

It sounds romantic.

It’s not.

Neverhave unprotected sex, kids.

I park my rented Rover at our family house and walk down the pea-gravel path leading to the long, tin-roofed restaurant. It’s a gorgeous place in classic, Creole style. It has cedar plank siding painted white with the oversized French doors and windows.

The hurricane shutters are open wide to allow the bay breeze to stream through the space, assisted by massive ceiling fans down the center of the room. On this steamy August morning, like every other August morning in the south, the breeze makes it tolerable.

Briny sea air touches my tongue, and I do love it here.

One day I’ll come back here and retire. I’ll be an old,oldman at that point, and I’ll sit around and fish and talk shit with the other old-timers.

I’ll be too old to play football, but I’ll have a legendary career to look back on with pride. I’ll have carried on Dad’s legacy like he always dreamed his sons would.

“Hey, bro!” Garrett meets me at the door, pulling me in for a hug. “Good to see you.”

He almost seems smug about me being here, which puts me on guard. “Good to see you, too.”

Garrett towers over everybody, and today he’s in his Deputy Sheriff’s uniform. It’s made of thick khaki, and at his height and build, with the heavy, black leather gun belt on his waist and all the stripes and badges on his chest, he looks pretty badass.

“Busted any criminals lately?” I tease.

“Just the usual—kids acting up, tourists getting drunk, folks driving too fast.” His brow arches. “We’ve had some excitement, but nothing illegal.”

“Oh yeah?” I’m intrigued, but Jack catches me by the arm.

“How was your flight?”

“I slept most of it.”

“Come with me to the kitchen.”

I’m a little confused as he guides me in the opposite direction of our family and friends, but okay. I go with him.

Zane and his fiancée Rachel sit at a booth watching us. Liv is with them, holding her and Garrett’s new baby on her shoulder, patting her back. If it weren’t for my brother hustling me to the kitchen, I’d go over and meet my new niece. I can see she has Liv’s strawberry blonde hair, and she’s a chunky little baby.

Instead, I give them a wave, continuing after Jack.

Dylan is in the kitchen, I assume, and Logan’s probably with her—if he’s not at that radio station he bought and has been busting his ass to get off the ground.

He wants to make it the premier sports destination on his dad’s communications network, and once a month, I drop infor a broadcast Zoom chat to break down the week’s games and talk about what’s coming. It’s pretty cool.

“What’s going on?” We’re just approaching the kitchen when the doors open on their own, and I stop in my tracks.

My chest tightens, and I’m face to face with a girl I haven’t seen since my sister’s wedding. I’ve thought about her… more than once. She’s petite and pretty with brown hair and golden highlights around her face.

She has a great smile with a big dimple in her left cheek, and her body is banging. She’s soft and curvy, and fuck me, her boobs look even bigger than the last time I saw her.

Heat surges below my belt, and my mind jumps back to the night we shared after Dylan’s wedding. We had a lot of fun anda lotof sex.

It left an impression.

And I’ve got to stop thinking about it before I pop an inappropriate boner right here in front of my whole family. Glancing around, they’re still watching us, and it’s a nice bucket of cold water on that train of thought.

“Raven, hey….” Clearing my throat, I extend a hand. “It’s been a minute, but wow. You look great.”

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