Page 16 of Always a Roommate
Johnny snickered. “You probably should have looked at the books before deciding to throw your money in a sinkhole.”
Tanner stole the plate of balsamic cheese chips from in front of Johnny. “At least I work. None of us know what you do.”
It was true. The running joke in the family was that Johnny was probably some kind of mob boss. He always had money yet never seemed to have set hours he had to work. Whenever any of us asked him about it, he gave us vague answers, almost like he was embarrassed. Mom stopped asking long ago, and I knew it was because she feared whatever he was doing was illegal.
The only person who seemed to know was Johnny’s friend, Aidan, but he was more loyal than a golden retriever.
Johnny shrugged off Tanner’s jibe and took the chips back, hovering over them protectively. “You wouldn’t understand.”
It was his stock answer to any questions about his life. He was our brother, but when he wasn’t with us, all we knew was that he shared an apartment with Aidan.
I studied my brother, wondering what it was he kept from us and why. We were a close family. Not one to share our deepest desires, but still close.
“You guys ordered the chips without me?” I hadn’t heard Finley approach.
“If we waited for you every time we wanted to eat, we’d go hungry.” Tanner gestured to the empty seat beside me. “Join us, oh wonderful sister.”
She sat with a scowl and pulled the plate toward her. “The rest of them are mine.”
Tanner and Finley continued bickering, but I tuned them out as I considered the giant leap I was going to take. My mortgage payment would be a lot less than the exorbitant rent in this town, but these days, any kind of commitment had me running in the other direction.
My phone vibrated with a text, and I pulled it out, sighing when I saw Mom flash across the screen with her text.
Mom: I heard about the house. I’m so proud of you, boy.
She meant well, she always did, but her pride made me feel like a child, and that was nothing new. By now, I should have already owned a house. I should be married and have started having kids.
Something I wanted so badly. Also something I hadn’t told my family.
“I need to go.” My siblings just looked at me.
“Where could you possibly have to go?” Tanner asked. He smiled like it was a joke, but I heard the underlying meaning. I was just their big brother, the man without anything in his life except his siblings.
“Finny, can you let me by?”
Thankfully, my sister was less of a jerk than either of my brothers. She gave me a sympathetic smile and scooted out of the booth. I edged by her, hearing her chastise Tanner as I left them behind.
It wasn’t until I left the diner that I realized Tanner was right. I had nowhere else to go. Not wanting to go home quite yet, I drove toward the beach, pulling into the almost-empty parking lot.
It was late and only a few people strolled along the shoreline.
I slipped off my sandals and walked across the sand until I reached the water. Silver moonlight reflected off the surface, cresting with the steady waves. When I was in high school, most of the kids around me couldn’t wait to get out of our town.
I did get out. For college, I went to Miami, but the city wasn’t for me, and I’d counted down the days until I could return here. We enjoyed a quiet in Gulf City that couldn’t be found many other places.
The name was sort of ironic since it was as far from a city as I could imagine.
Noise came from The Beach Club, where a handful of people enjoyed the evening on their private beach. It wasn’t far from here, giving us a good view of what the wealthy enjoyed.
I turned to watch the few people who stood, toes in the sand, talking. One of them gestured wildly while the two women he was with threw their heads back in laughter. All I could make out of their distant features in the dark was that one of them had red-tinged hair that shone in the evening light.
I’d recognize that hair anywhere.
Before I knew what I was doing, I walked the length of the beach to where an attendant normally patrolled the private area not allowing any non-members to use their amenities.
At this time of the evening, no one was there to tell me where I didn’t belong.
Rae saw me as I neared, and I waited for her to tell me to leave, to say her fighting words. Instead, she smiled. “Shane. Guys, this is my roommate.”
