Page 36 of Loving Violet
“Sure,” I say, smiling at Austin’s willingness to help.
“Okay. Let’s see what you know, bruh,” Adrian says eagerly.
“Adrian…” I say, glaring at him because he knows I despise when he calls adults “bruh”. Adrian just smiles back as he goes with Austin.
As Austin and Adrian head toward the water, Noah and the other guy come over. Noah is wearing black swim trunks with a black long sleeve shirt, while the guy next to him is wearing pink swim trunks and no shirt. Both of them look very handsome. I have seen the other guy at the coffee shop, but I don’t know him.
“Hi, Violet. It's nice to see you again. How are you?” Noah says to me.
“Hi. I’m doing great. Having a nice Sunday at the river for the first time.”
“I assume that your little boy is the one learning how to fish with Austin?” Noah asks, nodding in the direction where Adrian and Austin are.
“Yes. That’s my son.”
“Dude, don’t you have manners?” the man next to him says.
“My bad. This is my friend, Esteban. Esteban, this is the client I told you about, Violet.”
“Nice to meet you, Violet. I've heard a lot about you from Austin and Noah. I’ve also seen you at the coffee shop.”
“Yes. I work with my best friend, Josy.”
“We know. Where is she, by the way?” Noah asks, looking around for Josy.
“She left her bag in her car. She should be here any minute. Have you guys known Josy long?” I ask them.
“Yes,” they both answer at the same time.
“We went to school together. She was three grades our junior, but we hung out,” Esteban says.
“Oh, that’s cool.” At that exact moment, Josy comes over with her bag in hand.
“What’s up, Esteban? Hi, Noah,” Josy says. While she is smiles toward Esteban, her demeanor changes when she looks at Noah. Instead of the big smile she just gave Esteban, she looks at Noah with a serious expression. She acknowledges him but is clearly not thrilled. I wonder why Josy doesn’t like Noah anymore, but I decide not to bring it up. But that still makes me want to ask what the heck is happening right now.
“How are you, my beautiful Josy?” Esteban asks.
"I'm good, Esteban. Enjoying the day,” Josy replies, giving him a warm smile. Then she turns to Noah with a more reserved expression.
“Hey, Josy,” Noah replies, his tone friendly but cautious.
We chat for a while, but it’s clear Josy is more comfortable talking to Esteban. After a while, Esteban and Noah join Austin and Adrian, and Josy and I just watch them from our seats.
Austin patiently teaches Adrian how to fish, showing him how to cast the line and reel it back in. Watching from a distance, a surge of gratitude washes over me. It’s something his own father never did, and seeing Austin take the time means the world to me.
At one point, Austin takes off his shirt, revealing a toned body and impressive abs. I try not to stare, but it’s hard not to be impressed. Josy nudges me with a knowing grin, and I roll my eyes at her.
“You’ve got good taste,” she whispers, making me blush.
“Yeah, I think I do. What do you think about Noah and Esteban?” I ask Josy as we watch the guys talk to each other.
“They're okay, I guess. I’ve known them my whole life.”
“I know. But why haven’t you said anything before? You stopped talking about Noah all of a sudden a long time ago, and I don’t know why,” I ask her. It’s so weird that I’ve been in this town for over a month, and she hasn’t mentioned him once.
I know Noah used to be her best friend back when we were in college. I also know she had a massive crush on him. But one day, she just stopped talking about him, and at the time, I was too busy being a mom and a wife to ask her about it.
“Because we’re not that close anymore, so I don’t talk about them.”
