Page 94 of A Moment for Us
Oliver nods. “He has a point there.”
I flip them both off. “You’re reaching here. We’re doing just fine. Delia having babies or my hypothetical fuckup, which isn’t going to happen, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what you want.”
“I don’t even know if this is what I want.”
“That’s a lie.” Oliver smirks. “You know you want this or you wouldn’t have brought it up. Dude, just take the job. If it sucks, you own a resort that yourmuchsmarter and better-looking siblings will have started. And if it’s Stella you’re afraid of, I’ll handle her.”
Alex laughs. “She’s terrifying.”
“She is, but she’s manageable. Plus, we have Jack now.”
I raise a brow. “How does that give us an edge?”
“He has to listen to it, not us. He married her, and now . . . he should have to suffer the consequences.”
Alex and I chuckle. “I won’t tell you what to do,” I say. “But life is short, and we don’t get many chances to do something we want.”
He looks to Oliver and points at me with his thumb. “Do you hear this shit? The guy who has had one of the best women I’ve ever met be in love with him for over a decade and has passed every chance with her is now telling me I shouldn’t let this go.”
Oliver nods slowly. “The man has a point, Josh. You’re not exactly following your own advice.”
“Delia and I are together now.”
Oliver laughs. “When did this happen?”
“A few days ago.”
“Took you long enough.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a pain in the ass?” I ask Oliver.
“Daily.”
“We should say it more then,” I mutter under my breath and turn to Alex. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you and following your dreams. Delia and I are doing good, Oliver is an idiot, Stella is happy, Gray just had the baby, and Amelia will love you on video chat—just like she did when we were all living around the country.”
I can see the indecision building in him. He shifts his weight and then grips the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”
“What’s holding you back?”
Oliver steps forward with his mischievous grin. “Is it a woman?”
“Iswhata woman?”
“Your mentor.”
Alex shoves him. “Shut up.”
“It is! I knew it. That’s why you don’t want to go. You’re hard up for her, and she knows you’re a total loser who lives in an RV and is now broke.”
Alex rolls his eyes. “He’s a forty-year-old dude who was a few years ahead of me in school. There’s no woman.”
Oliver nods. “I see, you still have no game.”
I laugh.
“Fuck off,” Alex says to both of us.
“Think about it, Alex,” I say seriously. “We’ve all given up our dreams, if this isn’t yours, then don’t waste time living it. This was meant for us to get out from under Dad’s thumb. It wasn’t meant to put us under another.”
