Page 33 of It Happened Back Then
“No, but I’m hoping a chat will clear some things up.”
“Uh oh, do you need me to take care of him?” I laugh and Lief looks at me with confusion until he realizes who I’m talking about.
“You’re talking about Drake, aren’t you?” he questions me.
“Yesss.” I draw the word out. “Drake,your sister’sfiancé, is going to be your new brother. And by the sound of it, it seems you need a bit of testosterone to even things out. But tell me what you're talking about.”
“Fuck”, he says under his breath before grabbing the shot and throwing it back. He makes a face as he swallows and slams the glass on the bar a bit too loud. Cole looks over and he signals for more. “So, I don't know how to bring this up.”
“Just talk, Lief.”
“Are you in love with my sister?” He lets out a long breath as Cole drops two more shots. I do both of mine in rapidsuccession because I think I’m going to need it to get through this conversation.
We sit for a moment in silence. “Lief, I'm going to be honest with you. I’ve loved your sister since we were kids. Really, I’ve loved your whole family. You always welcomed me in, and I said I wanted a family just like that as my own.”
“Have you told her that?”
I turn away from him. “She knows.”
“Does she? Because she seems very unsure lately.”
“Blind woman.” I grumble. “She pushed me away. She’s always known how I’ve felt.”
“Well, I think what she thought she knew in high school changed when you went to college.
“Which she pushed me to do,” I say angrily.
“I know she did,” he concedes.
“We were going to make the long-distance thing work. Then all of a sudden, she told me there was more out there and I needed to find it. Does that sound like someone who wants me?”
He leans back and crosses his arms. “I think she didn't want you to feel forced to stay in this small town.”
“Iwantedto be in this small town. Fuck, both her and my dad pushed me away. I don’t get it.”
He furrows his brows. “Your dad?”
“Yeah, he got weird around senior year.” I rub my hand over my face. “He really started pushing me to go away to college and once I got the acceptance letter from Gourmet Academy it was like the choice wasn’t mine anymore.” I fall silent thinking back to that time. Dad seemed to shut down any idea I had of staying in Bluemoon and always made a comment about me exploring the world on my own.
“Maybe he just wanted you to have a bigger opportunity than what was here at the time. Bluemoon has only just expanded in the last ten years.”
I nod, feeling bad I’m even bringing it up since Lief’s dad passed away before they could discuss college options.
Lief continues, “And to be fair, you started dating.”
“I did. And I hated it. Then I met Savannah, and well, she’s just different, Lief. I needed something,someone, separate from my life here, to keep my mind occupied. Blossom said she was happy for me. She was dating, too. I thought we could all be friends.”
“But that didn't work for you, did it?”
“No, the fuck it didn’t!” I erupt then clear my throat, working on getting control of myself. “She’d call me and talk to me about a date she’d went on as if I was one of her sisters. I hated hearing about it.”
“And I'm sure she hated seeing you with Savannah.”
With a sarcastic laugh, I think back to how she used to make fun of her. “No, she didn't like her much.”
“And why do you think that is Bennett? Come on, you're not a stupid guy.”
I take a breath. “Then why couldn’t she just say it?”
