Faithful (Wanted 3)

“It’s getting close to that time. Did you want to walk down to the beach and check everything out?” Gunner asked.

“No. ”

Jeff started laughing. “Why the hell not?”

“I want to be surprised!” I said.

The three of them just stared at me.

“Pussy,” Brad said.

“Shut the hell up, you bastard!”

Gunner winked as he said, “You know when I said I was going to push you in the water? Dude, I was onl

y kidding. ”

I smiled as I sat down. “I really do want to be surprised. I think Heather does, too. She told Jenny she wanted it simple with only a white arch sitting on the beach. I trust Jenny. I’ve seen her plan three kick-ass weddings so far, so I’m pretty sure she’s got this. ”

“Okay. How about a beer from the bar then?” Jeff asked.

“Fuck yes!” I jumped up.

Just then, Matt came running in with his dad, Mark, right behind him.

“Josh!” Matt yelled.

I bent down and held out my arms for him.

Like always, he stopped, just short of me. “I’m going to hug you, Josh,” he said.

“Go for it, buddy!”

He slammed into me, and I hugged him back.

He pulled away and smiled. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Jeff and Ari found a place that has horses! They are going to take me for a ride on the beach!” He started to jump up and down, and he looked at Jeff, who was smiling at him.

“Oh yeah?” I said.

He turned back to me. “Yeah, and guess what else?”

“I give up!”

“Josh…you assmole…you didn’t even try to guess. ”

I smiled, glancing up at Mark. Sue and Mark had pretty much given up on trying to stop Matt from saying assmole.

“Um…your mommy and daddy are going with you?”

“Nope! Better! Luke is going with us. ”

“That’s pretty cool, buddy. How lucky are you that you get to be with him on his first ride on the beach?”

“I know!”