Page 8 of Finding Romance
“Yeah, goodnight, Mommy,” Kasen mimics.
We all burst into laughter. “Goodnight, everyone else,” Ava yells again.
“Make good choices,” Kasen adds.
Shaking her head, Carly closes the window. She turns to us and Roxy says, “I think we need to find that man a girlfriend.”
“Agree,” everyone else says in unison before Margie brings up a book she wants to read and Roxy and Jocelyn start talking about the author. I sit back and listen, wishing I had friends like this who would find me a boyfriend. I guess I’ll just add it to the list of things I need to find that include a place of my own to live and a job. Those two seem way more likely than the boyfriend thing.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kasen
“So, you home for a while?” Hutch asks as he spots me. Hutch and I have a routine when I’m home. Three times a week, we get up at zero dark thirty and walk the two blocks to the local gym. Sometimes Bray, Drew, or Gray joins us, but more often than not, it’s just us.
I put the bar back in its holder and look up at my friend. Hutch is a good man. While most see him as silly and kind, I know the serious side of him, the part of him he doesn’t often share with others.
“For now,” I reply as I get up and switch places with him.
“Good. It’s not the same around here without you,” he huffs as he grabs the bar and begins his set.
I glare at him, and he grins up at me. I can understand how he’s a magnet with the women. But it’s strange he’s not had a single serious relationship since living here.
I know he’s had a tough time since the accident. And I’m sure he’d be a good person to confide in, but I’m not sure I’m ready to air all my dirty laundry, not even to a man I consider to be one of my closest friends. Sometimes, I feel like a stranger in my own life. But part of me likes that. I’m like a ghost that can move in and out of situations without being noticed and some part of me finds that cathartic. Plus, my friends don’t need to know every little thing about me. And honestly, they seem fine with the little I’ve shared.
“So, meet any women lately?” Hutch grunts as he sets the bar down.
“No,” I reply because it’s the truth.
When I’m home in Scotland, my accent comes out a bit. The one I got after spending half my childhood with my grandparents in a small town on an equally small island off the western coast. I had plenty of women visiting the island recently that eyed me up and I could have slept with at least three tourists, but I just wasn’t in the right head space.
“Dude!” Hutch says as I miss spotting him and quickly grab the bar. He sits up and shakes his head. “Seriously, are you alright?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just lost in my thoughts,” I admit in a moment of weakness.
“About a certain young woman who is living across the hall from you?” Hutch asks, waggling his eyebrows.
My glare returns and he laughs.
“No,” I lie. I have been thinking about her. I can’t put my finger on it, but she makes me feel…at ease, which is unusual for me. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it.
“Right. Anyhow, I?—”
“Well, looks like the gang is back together,” Bray says as he and Gray walk into the room.
We do that weird bro-hug thing that I’ve never really understood but just accepted as a strange social norm.
“You guys almost done?” Gray asks.
“Yeah. I’m going to do my cooldown,” I say, hooking my thumb toward the treadmills.
“Great. I’m going to do my run,” he replies as we walk over and get on our respective treadmills. We always seem to use the same two. Bray hops on the one beside me and Hutch joins us on my other side. We all run at slightly different paces. Bray is the only true runner of us. He’s done a few half-marathons. Gray runs but only a few miles. Hutch does interval training, and I just run at a steady pace for thirty minutes and then walk for another five. I glance over at Hutch. He always pushes himself even when I can tell it hurts. All three of us have to yell at him on occasion but he just keeps at it. I admire that about him.
“So, you really don’t find her attractive?” Hutch asks.
“Who?” I question as I increase my cadence. Yeah, I know who, but I’ll play dumb.
“Piper,” he grunts as he tries to keep up with my pace.
