Page 6 of Summer Nights

She turned away to back out of the driveway.

I wanted to see her again and not just for business. I’d promised her what she wanted to hear the first time, suspecting it would be hard to walk away from her. The next time we were alone, I wanted to taste her. To make her come with my mouth. Would she let me, or was that too intimate an act for her?

I wanted to break down every wall, every hang-up, and see the woman underneath. The one riddled with hidden insecurities she never let anyone see.

As much as I admired the woman she'd become, I wanted to get to know the one she hid from everyone.

I waited until her taillights disappeared before heading to the bar where I was supposed to meet Shep. I didn't enjoy the bar scene anymore, but it was a habit to keep Shep out of trouble.

It was a bad habit I couldn't shake.

I found Shep at the beachside bar, his stool swiveled so he could talk to a woman. They were never far when he was around. I'd long ago gotten over any jealousy surrounding his appeal.

As I'd grown and matured, I realized I didn't want the type of women Shep attracted. I wanted something deeper and more meaningful. I just hadn't found it yet.

I leaned on the bar, raising a finger to get the bartender's attention. I ordered a beer, and when he handed it to me, Shep asked, "Where've you been?"

"I had to do an inspection for Ivy." I hoped he didn't take this opportunity to mention that we'd been doing a lot of those lately. I didn't want him to put anything together.

The woman who'd been next to Shep disappeared. He might have been a lady's man, but we were close. Or at least I'd always thought we were. Lately, I'd been getting the itch to create some distance. To figure out what I would do with my life if I wasn't so wrapped up in his.

"You coming over this weekend to rip out the bathrooms?" Shep asked.

"I thought you were doing the kitchen first?"

"I got rid of some cabinets.”

"Shouldn't you finish renovating one room before you do any more demolition?" I asked him.

"I want to do the demo first."

"I can't believe you're finally getting around to making changes." Shep lived in our grandmother's house on Captiva. It was too big for him, but I'd made the decision early on not to live with him. Besides, Grandma left him the house.

Shep nodded. "It's time to make that place my own. I don't know anything about picking designs though."

I think it had something to do with the fact that he was color-blind. We'd discovered that interesting information when we were kids. I'd always covered for him. The only reason anyone suspected he had attention deficit disorder were the teachers. He'd always refused any sort of help and pushed away any plans they created for him. He wanted to be treated like everyone else.

Unfortunately, it made him look like he was disorganized and lazy. When in reality, he suffered from an executive functioning disorder and got easily overwhelmed with details. He reacted by shutting down.

"Have you thought about asking Luna for help?" Our sister had recently started her own interior design company.

Shep swiveled on the bar stool so that he could take in the crowd. "She's in Colorado working on a project. She doesn't have time for this."

"I think she'd enjoy working on our grandmother's house."

"I don't want her to feel bad that Grandma gave me the place and not anyone else."

I think it was because she'd had a soft spot for Shepard. She'd seen through the bullshit to the man underneath.

"You're going to need help with this project," I said, knowing that he had difficulty deciding what to do first and finishing a project before he moved onto something else. Without supervision, he'd have the house ripped apart and unlivable without a clear plan to fix it.

"I'll figure it out." Shep shrugged. "What about you? You haven't been out with us as much."

"Eh. The bar scene is getting old." I leaned a hip against the countertop. The thing that interested me more was fucking Ivy against the wall. I wanted to find a way to make it happen again. Would Ivy take me up on a no-strings-attached fling? Or would it be better to use action instead of talking?

"You seeing someone?" Shep asked.

For how oblivious he was at times, he had an uncanny ability to figure me out. "Why would you think that?"

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