Page 86 of Grace on the Rocks

I get that you can bang anyone and everyone.I’mlike, the complete opposite of that.

The pressure of her hand was still imprinted on his chest, cutting off his words.Pushinghim away.Stoppingthe retort that it had, in fact, been quite a long time since he’d banged anyone at all.

He took a deep slug ofRionnagachto burn her touch and her words away, but they were still there as sure as he still had skin.Maybeif he got to the bottom of the bottle, he would figure out why things kept going sideways just when they started to feel the most right.

His cousins liked to take the piss, but had he really given the impression he was some kind of skanky islandLothario?Onan endless loop, he replayed every interaction of the last two weeks.Hehad flirted a little.There’dbeen some innuendo.Inthe midst of flirting, he’d made a glib joke about being bisexual, as he often did, a gentle way of coming out early to avoid a future big serious conversation.

Was the flirting so wrong when she waltzed around his house wearing those librarian shirts?NaughtyLibrariansHaveNoShelfControl?Comeon.

And for the record, she hadn’t seemed to mind the flirting, so what just happened?

Sure, he was more of a serial dater than long-term relationship material, but he was hardly a player.Hejust called it early when it became clear things wouldn’t work.Whydrag out the inevitable?

After another long slow sip of whisky, he was willing to admit this might be one of those times.

And yet…

Like a moth to a flame, he was drawn to the fire inside her that would knock down whole walls and tell off whole com­munities for not giving him the credit she thought he deserved.

You don’t need me to speak for you or over you…

Tonight, it had seemed like it was them against the world.Shetruly had his back out there—until it was just the two of them.Thenshe jumped to conclusions and put words in his mouth like marbles.

The last little bits of his firewood hissed and went out, but he didn’t want to go inside, so he pulled up the football on his phone.TheWi-Fisignal was terrible this far from the house.LAwasn’t even playing, and thePortlandandSeattleplayers kept stopping and starting like a game of freeze tag, butBryancouldn’t bring himself to go inside.

“Mind ifIjoin you?”Wesleyasked, dropping onto the chair next to his. “Somethingsmells really good.”

The whisky made him slow to respond, but seeing as she hadn’t waited for an answer, he supposed it didn’t really matter.Hewaved one hand in magnanimous welcome and glanced sideways at her.Eitherit was his imagination or her lips were red and kiss-swollen.Aspredicted, she still wore his cousin’s plaid.

“I’ll bring down another chair whenGraygets back,” she said, so obviously fishing she almost looked embarrassed.

“She won’t be back.It’sall yours.”

Wes studied him for a second, andChristbut he didn’t want to talk about it.Notwith her.Withhis luck, she’d give him all the gory details of a hot and heavy night with his cousin.

“Are you watching…Americansoccer?” she finally asked, mercifully changing the subject.

“Aye,” he said, handing her the bottle ofRionnagach.

She lifted it in thanks and took a swig.

Once the burn subsided, she nodded to his phone and asked, “Don’tthey expatriate you for things like that?”

He exhaled a pretend laugh.

“Well, if they do run you out of here, you can always come toTennessee.Wecan’t get enough of whisky there.They’dbe all over you.”

He nodded once.Appealingas that offer sounded, he already knewGracewould be the only reason he’d ever go toTennessee.

“For what it’s worth,”Wesoffered, “Iadmire what you’re doing.”

She was sweet, butBryanscoffed.Whatwas there to admire?Pissingoff the entire island?Tearingdown a piece of history?

“No, really.It’slikeGraywith her writing orDiegowith soccer.Evenwhen you have the passion and the talent, it can still be scary as fuck to go for it, but you’re out here putting one foot in front of the other towards your goal.It’scommendable.Mostpeople can’t be bothered.”

“I take it you have a passion and talent for something other than…”Bryantrailed off, realizing he had no idea whatWesdid for a living.

“Oh,Iabsolutely have a talent for insurance billing.”

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