Page 53 of Shameless
While waitingfor my flight to leave, I called my brother. I wanted to get the ball rolling on the Las Vegas location as soon as possible so I could be with Sarah. It was crazy how my world had turned around in such a short amount of time, but I truly felt as though she was where I needed to be. It all made sense the more I thought about it. I’d heard people say things like, “When you know, you know,” and I finally understood what they meant.
“Hey,” Brandon answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”
“Waiting for my flight to head back to Houston,” I replied as I looked out the floor-to-ceiling window and watched an airplane ascend into the sky. “Did you look over my email?”
“I did.”
“And?” I prompted. I’d sent him an email that listed, which locations I thought would be the best for the new location.
“Jason and I were just discussing it, actually.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“We’re going to put in an offer on your top pick and work our way down if needed. We’re happy with what you found.”
“Good.” I smiled, and a sense of pride washed over me. It always felt good when my brother trusted my input. I’d looked up to him for so long that it was nice he finally saw me as someone other than a fuck up.
“I was hoping you’d let me oversee Vegas like I did with Houston,” I stated.
Brandon paused for a moment. “You want to travel back and forth?”
“Yeah, but maybe I’d live in Vegas.”
“Do you think that’s smart?” He didn’t need to elaborate; I knew he was thinking about who I used to be. The one who partied, got DUIs, and just wanted to have a good time.
“I’ll be on my best behavior, Dad,” I said cheekily. “No partying and no fucking around.”
“Is this because of a woman?”
“Isn’t it always?” I deadpanned.
“You want to move to Las Vegas for some chick you just met?”
It was fair for Brandon to assume I’d just met Sarah while in Vegas scouting locations. I hadn’t told him or anyone else about running into her in Cabo, or that we had spent that entire week together. Hadn’t bothered to tell him she lived in Vegas, or that she was the reason I had worked extra hard to find the next home for Club 24 in Sin City.
“I met her when I was eighteen,” I replied, matter-of-factly.
“Who?”
“Sarah Watson,” I answered, using her maiden name and not her married one, even though she still went by Turner.
“Sarah Watson?” Brandon questioned. “You mean Deb’s niece?”
“Yep.”
“You’re fucking Mom’s best friend’s niece?”
“Bro, I’m better than that. We’re actually dating,” I advised.
“Since when?”
“Well, if you must know. We crossed paths in Cabo when I was there on what should have been my honeymoon and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”
He laughed. “Only you. Blake. Fuck, only you.”
“What does that mean?”
“No one else would start a relationship hours after being dumped at the altar.”
