Page 15 of You'll Never Know I'm Here

“Are you still close with your family?” Paulette asks.

“Eh, sort of. I mean, we don’t agree on much anymore, but they’re family, so what are you going to do?” He shrugs. “Anyway, I was a military brat, and we were always traveling, so I didn’t have time to make many friends. They were all I had.”

“No siblings?” I ask.

“Nope, just me.” He gives a sad grin. “Lucky me.”

“Military,” Paulette muses. “That explains how neat you are. Did I see you lint rolling your shirt earlier?” She points her spoon at him, slinging a drop of tomato juice across the table.

He looks away. “Force of habit.”

“Hey, no judgment,” she says, hands up. “You could teach me a thing or two. I grew up in a house with four older brothers and a younger sister. It was a zoo. Still is, most days.”

“Wow, six kids.” Mara’s eyes widen. “It’s just me and my sister, and I think most days my parents were lucky to make it through the day. I can’t imagine.”

“It was fun, though. I loved my childhood.” Paulette drains the last of her chili from her bowl, diving in for seconds. “And, you know, as far as my parents, I’m sure pot helpeda lot.” Everyone laughs as she refills her bowl, then sits back down in her chair. “Anyway, that game sounds like fun, Austin. Count me in.”

“Me, too,” I agree.

“Me three,” says Logan.

When the meal is done, Mara and Logan get a break and head for their rooms while Austin and I clean up and put away the food, and Paulette does the dishes. Memphis also disappears, though I’m not sure where he went.

“So, Lena Beena, what do you think of the place? First impressions?” Austin asks, giving me a strange nickname as he peers at me and leans against the refrigerator door.

“It’s nice.” I fold up the bag of oyster crackers, searching in the drawers for a clip or clothespin to seal them up. “I mean, the town is a little too tiny for me. Next time, we definitely need to try visiting a city. I could use a night out downtown.”

“Yes, girl!” Paulette cries, rocking her hips back and forth as if dancing to music no one else can hear. “I wanna go to a club!”

I chuckle.

“Noted. Well,next time, maybe we can plan it together.” He shuffles closer to me—so close I catch the musky scent of his sweat. Austin is cute in the California-surfer sort of way. His curly, brown hair hangs down over his ears, and of the men here, he’s the one I’m closest to. He reaches forward and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear, running his teeth over his bottom lip.

Dating him, or even just sleeping with him, would be easy. But…I’ve done easy. My ex was easy. Being with him was so simple it madenotbeing with him seem ridiculous. He was charming and handsome and friendly. Everyone who knew him loved him.

But eventually, the charm wore off, and I saw through it.

And, by that point, it was too late. If nothing else came from the divorce, I’ve learned from my past mistakes, and I will never allow myself to repeat them.

Besides, Mara is obviously interested in him, and I would never do that to her.

I take a small step back. “Yeah. Maybe.”

His face falls, the smile disappearing, but he recovers quickly. “Alright, awesome. Cool.” His head bobs up and down as I grab a plastic clip from the drawer and close the crackers before shoving them into a mostly empty cabinet.

I grab an open bag of Starbursts and pull out a handful, unwrapping a yellow candy first. Force of habit. I always work my way from my least favorite food or flavor to my favorite when I’m eating anything, so the red candy in my hand will be the last one I eat.

“Do you guys want another drink?” Austin asks. “I was thinking of staying up for a while. I think everyone else might be down for the night.”

“I’m always okay with a drink,” Paulette says, shutting off the water and grabbing a towel to dry her hands. “What about you, Lena? You in?”

I wave a hand at them with a yawn, only then realizing just how tired I am. “Nah. I think I’m going to go to bed. The flight took it out of me. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“You sure?” she asks.

“Mm-hmm. Positive. Sorry, I’m boring.” I draw in one side of my mouth.

“Hey, that’s okay,” Austin says genuinely. “It doesn’t make you boring. I’m tired, too. I just have this condition where I’m chronically incapable of making wise choices.”

---