Until Then (Cape Harbor 2)

Graham opened his email and took in her words. Since the invention of email and online chatting, this was how they communicated if they were home and both at the computer. As of late, they weren’t as close as they once were, mostly due to Graham’s girlfriend giving him an ultimatum: her or Rennie. Graham met Monica Watson during his senior year of college at a frat party. They hit it off and started dating. One year turned into two, and two became three. She was in love and ready to get married. Graham was neither. He wanted to wait until they were thirty, settled, and homeowners. He wanted to be free of debt and financially able to support his spouse so that when they had children, she could stay home if she wanted. His mother had when he and his twin brother, Grady, had been born. Monica saw things differently, which Graham respected, but he still wasn’t willing to budge on his own life plan.

Monica also hated Rennie, which made life difficult for Graham, and he resorted to communicating with his friend via email or at night when Monica wasn’t with him. To complicate matters, Rennie was busy, whereas Graham was a nine-to-fiver and home by six every night, making communication between them hit or miss.

The first email on his screen came from Rennie with a subject line of “Tonight.” Graham’s heart sank. She was supposed to come over for the backyard party he and his roommates were hosting. He had invited her since Monica was out of town visiting her parents in San Diego, and he missed Rennie. As he sat in his chair, he swiveled slightly back and forth and stared at the screen. He had a sinking suspicion she had to cancel. Still, he opened his email.

From: Rennie Ren

To: Graham Cracker

Subject: Tonight.

Graham Cracker,

I need a raincheck. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love, Ren

Graham read over the words a few times before he hit reply. He typed out “No problem” and quickly sent the message. She wouldn’t call, and he was okay with that. Truth be told, he was playing with fire by inviting her over. He contemplated answering the chat messages waiting for him but ultimately decided to log off. He hated how much of an effect Rennie had on him and had tried to break the hold many times over the years. Yet, all it took was for her to walk into the room, and his attention would be focused on her—something Monica was very keen to notice.

He went out into the living room of his shared house. Two of his roommates were watching C-SPAN for the up-to-the-minute market updates and taking notes. They had their own fake stock market setup in the house and often tried to entice Graham into investing, even though everyone knew there would never be a payout. He put his money into tech, often jumping on start-ups in the hope that one or two would pay off for him in the future. He would love to be retired by forty and living on a yacht somewhere in the middle of the Pacific.

The house the five of them lived in was a modest Tudor-style home. They each had their own bedroom, with one living in the basement; shared two bathrooms; and split the expenses evenly, with one of them collecting money from the others to pay the bills. Each week, two or three of them would be tasked with grocery shopping. Everyone picked up after themselves. And no one threw a party unless everyone agreed. For the most part, living there was easy.

Graham walked into the kitchen and saw a note taped to the phone. It was his turn to order pizza. His roommates were gracious enough to list what they wanted and how many he should order. He dialed the memorized number, told the girl with the cheerful voice on the other end what he needed, and said he would pay by card. After he hung up, he went to the refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and went outside, where another roommate sat by their firepit.

“Where’s Monica?”

“With her parents for the weekend,” Graham answered.

“Oh yeah? Is your hottie coming over?” His roommates often teased him for being attracted to Rennie even though he had a girlfriend. Most of them suspected Graham cheated on Monica when she went out of town, but he hadn’t. He wouldn’t. He respected her even though his attraction to Rennie was undeniable.

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. He worked hard to hide his disappointment, but deep down he knew it was for the best. If Rennie were there, life would be more complicated than it already was.

One by one, people started to arrive at the house. They brought coolers filled with beer and Jell-O shots. Their guy friends brought their current girlfriends, who wasted no time jumping in the pool. That feature alone was why everyone hung out at Graham’s—the pool. It was hot in Cali, and while they had the ocean, having a pool was second best.