Page 30 of Final Goodbye
I was finished setting the table when Myles walked around the corner. Grabbing a beer out of the fridge, he gave me a nod. “Want one?”
“Would love one,” I replied.
Waiting for dinner to be ready, Myles and I headed out back to get some fresh air.
“So, how’s it going? Haven’t seen much of you outside of work lately. And even then, you seem to rush off the second you clock out. Have anything to do with a certain brunette?” Wiggling his eyebrows, he indicated that he was on to me.
I shook my head and took a swig of my beer. “Fuck, dude, she’s getting under my skin. Is it that obvious?”
He let out a burst of laughter.
“It’s written all over your face. I told you the other day atPeakswhen we ran into her that you were fucked.” He wore a smug grin, basking in the fact that he was right.
“Yeah, well, it’s gotten more complicated. Somehow, we struck up a deal to pretend to date and then there were those dirty text messages yesterday and—” He held up his hand to interrupt me and cut me off before I could finish.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Why the fuck are you pretending to date? What does that even mean?”
I had a feeling this was going to sound ridiculous saying it out loud, but I’d try to explain myself the best that I could.
“Well, you know that guy Logan Brooks?” I asked him.
“Uh, yeah, I think so. Is he the guy in town who’s always drunk?” he answered, looking slightly confused.
“Yeah. Well, that's Paige's ex.” He lifted one eyebrow, still looking confused. Then I added, “He’s a wild card. He’s been lurking around since she's been back and there is a lot of crazy history there I won’t get into. But she sort of asked me for my help, just when he happens to be around. She asked me to act like we are together.” Myles began having a coughing fit like he swallowed his beer the wrong way. “You okay, man?” I asked while giving him a couple hard pats on the back.
“All good. Beer just went down wrong. And uh, that’s crazy she would ever date someone like him. Looks like she’s made an upgrade though by grabbing your attention, huh?” he said with a smug grin. “But let me guess… Since you can’t ever seem to say no to anyone, you said yes. And now you’re spending more time with her and you’re falling for her. Sound about right?” Fuck, he was good.
“Nailed it,” I kept my response short while I finished off my first beer of the evening.
“So, tell me about these dirty texts she was sending you.” Before I could tell him to shut the fuck up, I heard my mom calling from inside that dinner was ready. So before heading in, I gave Myles a jab to the arm and rolled my eyes.
Dinner was served and I couldn’t wait to dig in when Mom wasted no time diving into what was going on in my life. “How is everything going, sweetie? I haven’t seen you around much.” Jesus, between my brother and my mom, I felt like everyone was trying to pry information out of me I didn’t even have the answers to right now. The second I'm not at everyone’s beck and call I'm suddenly“not around much anymore”.
“Just working a lot and getting stuff done around the house.” I tried to keep it short but Myles let out a laugh and mumbled something I couldn’t quite understand. I’m not sure why he suddenly wanted to act like a little dick after I told him everything that was going on outside in confidence.
Maybe because he was my younger brother and this kind of behavior was typical for him, or maybe because he seemed to be way past his second beer for the evening.?When Myles had too much to drink, his moods were all over the place. One minute, he was a happy drunk, and the next minute, he was pissed off at the world.
My dad cleared his throat and took this moment to chime in.
“You seem distracted, Son. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just…” I couldn’t get the words out.
“He’s got a thing for that Wilson chick,” Myles blurted out.
“Her name is Paige, you asshole,” I spit out as I threw my crumbled-up napkin in his direction. Fuck, first it was Logan on my last nerve, and now Myles?
“Boys, language. Settle down. We are just trying to have a nice dinner, and this is not the time to have one of your bickering matches.” Mom was just trying to keep the peace, but inside, I was irritated and felt the urge to suddenly shut down. She took a sip of her wine before she spoke again.
“So, sweetie, you and Paige, is that right? I’m not sure if you remember, but she used to babysit you boys when you were younger.”
“Yeah, Mom, I remember,” I clipped my response, clearly annoyed. Of course I remembered. She was the hot, older girl that I used to crush on like the immature little thirteen-year-old boy I was.?
“She’s grown up to be quite a stunner, don’t you think? Did she move back or is she just visiting?” This was not how I thought the night was going to go. I just wanted a home-cookedmeal and some good conversation. Instead, the dinnertime conversation was focused on my love life while Myles sat around shooting drinks back to get drunk.
Moving my vegetables around on my plate, suddenly not hungry anymore, I responded to my mom, trying to veer this chat in a different direction.
“No one saysstunneranymore, Mom. And I don’t know if she’s here for good. Right now it’s just temporary while she figures out what to do next.” I didn’t like being asked questions I didn’t know the answer to. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” I wiped my face, placed my fresh napkin from my lap beside my plate and walked toward the bathroom. It was easier to remove myself from the situation for a few moments rather than change the subject.
