Page 5 of The Stargazers of Copper County
Last summer, Bennett had moved here permanently to take over parenting duties for his sister, but for once,I’dbeen gone because Con and Micah had surprised me with admission into a summer illustration program down in Georgia at Savannah College of Art and Design.
My summer at SCAD had been a dream come true for someone who’d only ever doodled. It had given me the confidence to envision a future beyond just fantasizing about beautiful older men and planning to one day take over my mom’s plant supply business.
But while I loved illustration, doodling jobs were thin on the ground around here, and I had no desire to move. My family was here, and they needed me. My friends were here, too. I loved every inch of O’Leary and Copper County with all my heart.
So I hadn’t taken advantage of the SCAD programs to continue my art education or seek an internship. I’d come back home and made the best of things, building a social media following for my art while landscaping and working shifts at thehardware store to pay my bills, and trying to decide what the future should look like.
On the plus side, coming back to New York meant I was back in the same environs as Bennett Graham, and since he was no longer a Copperplate, we could potentially have something more than just temporary and physical—I mean, not that Iwantedthat, just that the possibility existed.
On the negative side, though, the man was even more oblivious to my existence than before.
But my time trolling bars while low-key hoping to see Bennett’s eyes looking back at me did pay off in one small way. I overheard a conversation that got me thinking differently.
And by differently, I meantexhibitionistically.
I’d been sitting at the bar at the O’Leary Bar and Grill back in April, stuffing my face at the Wing Off—because even five or six years after opening the place, the owners were stillextremelycompetitive about their respective wing recipes, which resulted in them conducting bi-annual competitions, to the delight of every wing-loving human in the area—when I’d noticed Parker packing up a giant to-go container of wings.
Jamie, Parker’s childhood crush-turned-mortal-enemy-turned-business-partner-and-boyfriend, had leaned back against the counter at Parker’s side and watched him for a moment. “Tsk. Poor Parks. Finally packing up your wings and forfeiting the competition? Took you a few years to understand who’s the real champion around here, but don’t worry, baby. I won’t gloat.” He slung a bar towel over his shoulder and shot Parker a grin. “Much.”
“Theo?” Parker had wrinkled his nose and glanced around, perplexed. “Do you… hear something? It’s the strangest, most annoying sound. Like the honking of a clown car combined with the buzzing of a fly. I do believe it’s the mating call of the Sore Loser.”
Since I had my mouth full of wings, all I could manage was a snicker.
Jamie, though, had wrapped one big hand around Parker’s front and laughed so hard his face went red behind his freckles—nearly the same shade of red as his hair. And Parker, because he was over the moon in love with Jamie, no matter how much they teased each other—or heck, maybebecausethey teased each other and liked it —took one look at Jamie’s joyful face and started laughing, too.
“No,Jameson, I’m packing up an order for Bennett Graham. He couldn’t make it in for wings since it’s a school night,” Parker had informed Jamie. “Poor guy.”
My ears had perked right up at the mention of Bennett’s name, and I’d started really paying attention—I mean, not enough to stop eating, obviously, because…wings… but enough to slow down a little.
Jamie’s eyebrows had flown up in surprise, but I’d noticed he hadn’t let go of Parker… which wasn’t unusual since the two were always touching each other. “Bennett Graham from out in Copper County? He cares about school nights?”
“Since becoming his niece’s guardian, he does. We were running next to each other at the gym the other day, and he gave me the rundown. He gets up at 5:00 a.m., packs her lunch, makes her a wholesome breakfast, drives her to school,thengoes home and runs his big Manhattan architecture firm from out on the shores of Copper Lake. In the afternoon, he heads back to the school to pick her up, or see her sporting events, or go to her plays…” He’d shaken his head. “Bennett actually asked me if there was more he should be doing to help her acclimate to life here, if you can believe it.”
“Whoa.” Jamie had looked about as impressed as I’d felt. “Wish I’d had a parent like that.”
“I know, baby.” Parker had rubbed Jamie’s arm. “I mean, I thought it was pretty awesome when Bennett moved here so Vega could make friends and experience small-town life, but he’s going the extra mile.” He’d gotten out a big paper bag and placed the takeout container inside. “So I thought… why should Vega be the only one getting the small-town experience? I think Bennett needs to see some O’Leary/Copper County support in action. Maybe he needs a friend, too, you know?” He’d hefted the bag. “So I’m making a wing delivery before we head home.”
Jamie had frowned ferociously at the bag, then at Parker. Then he’d cupped Parker’s face in both hands and kissed him thoroughly. “I think you’re fucking amazing, Parker Hoffstraeder,” he’d declared. Then he’d stepped back and grabbed a new takeout container. “But if you wanna be his friend, Parks, for fuck’s sake, give him thegoodwings. Namely,mine.”
I’d thought about that conversation for a long time afterward.
When I’d sat down at the bar, my obsession with Bennett Graham had already been stratospherically high, simply because he was exceptionally hot and seemed really nice. Because I wanted him, and I hadn’t found a way to havehim.
But after that night, my obsession becamecosmicallyhigh—as in, high enough to hang out in the constellations outside our solar system. Because Bennett was a genuinely thoughtful, selfless person. Because, like him, I knew what it was like to prioritize other people’s needs—especially my family’s—over my own. Because Bennett deserved good things to happen to him, and I thought… well, I thought he and I together could be areallygood thing.
You know, just as soon as he noticed me and saw that I was interested.
And since nothing else had worked in the past, I’d turned to hose-and-pool shenanigans.
But clearly, thosestillhadn’t worked since he’d jerked himself off straight back to New York.
“Motherfucker,” I snapped at the stupid note before beginning to crumple it up. Before I could shove it in my pocket, I noticed something printed on the back of the paper.
I smoothed it back open and studied it.
… forever speaks truth with the persistent exceptions of Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, whereas her King is known for being honest unless it happens to be Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, in which case he insists on prevaricating.
“Yesterday I told you an untruth,” the King proclaimed.
