Falling for You

My dad would kill him. He’s told me for as long as I can remember that I can’t get married until I’m thirty. I can only imagine how he’d react if I brought an older, tattooed man home.

“Sam and my brother, Bret, played on the same t-ball team, which is how I got to know him. My uncle used to be a volunteer coach. He knew Sam’s home life was rough. I can’t begin to tell you how many times he forced Sam to come to dinner and stay over. We eventually became friends simply because he was around so much. Now, he’s family.”

“I have a brother too.” As soon as the words leave my mouth I feel lame. I’ve never been good at talking to guys, especially if they are hot, which is why ninety percent of the time I avoid it at all costs.

Hell, the only reason I’m dating Ashley is because our getting together was practically arranged at birth. Even so, it doesn’t make things any less awkward between us.

“My brother, Bret, is two years older than me and in Gainesville, studying to be a doctor. He claims he wants to help people and whatnot, but I know the truth.” Josh pauses, baiting me into a question.

“And what’s that?”

“He wants to flash his doctor status to score that nurse-pussy.”

“Oh!” My cheeks heat. Thankfully they’re too burnt for Josh to see how red he’s made me. I’m sure Colson and his friends talk like this, just never around me. As for my friends, they’re a bunch of earth-loving, debate winning nerds. Pretty sure they’d self-combust if they replaced the human anatomy with slang words.

Josh grows silent for a few minutes, which is fine by me because he makes me nervous in ways I didn’t realize were possible. I’ve felt the twisting of my stomach when it comes to public speaking, and had bile climb my throat before a test, but this is different. The knots in my stomach don’t twist, they flutter, and I can’t decide if I want Josh to go into the water with his friends or stay with me.

“You don’t seem to be having too much fun.”

I shake my head. “No, the beach isn’t really my thing. I have to be doing something or my mind wanders. Sitting still for hours like this is killing me.”

Josh nods in understanding, while taking time to choose his words. “I work outside in the heat. It used to be just a few hours here and there, but since I graduated I have to be there six days a week at the crack of dawn until dusk. Weekends are a bit more flexible, but not by much. So, sitting in the sun is not exactly what I call fun either.”

I wrack my brain, trying to think of a job that would require a maybe-twenty-year-old to work such crazy hours.

I’ve got nothing.

After a long stretch of silence, Josh asks, “Do you wanna get out of here?

“Won’t your friends be mad?”

He shakes his head and smirks. “If they need to leave, which I doubt, those guys can spend hours here and not bat an eye, everyone can fit in Kelly’s car. Besides, they’re used to me coming and going randomly. They know my hours are whacked and don’t think twice when I disappear.”

I sit and think about Josh's words for a minute. Leaving Kelly might mean I won’t get asked to work with my aunt again this summer, but Kelly is at the beach with her friends. Friends that seem nice. How much trouble can she get into in a group in broad daylight?

I nod, which earns me another gorgeous smile from Josh. He stands and points behind me. “I know a sandwich shop just about a block from here. We can walk there if you’re hungry.”

“I’m not, but I don’t mind going if you are.”

The Red Onion is a beach staple around here. Sure there are other sandwich shops on the strip across the street, but not one of them can make a lobster roll like Cooper Harris. That man knows his sandwiches, and burgers, and basically everything food related.

The overhead bell chimes as I open the door. I hold it, letting Layla pass through then follow behind. I know she said she wasn’t hungry, but I’m hoping I can get her to at least try something.

I made a horrible first impression last night. Even though I knew I’d eventually get a second chance because we live in a small town, I didn’t expect it to be so soon, with my last blunder so fresh.

“Joshua Thomas.” Cooper extends his hand for our usual fist-bump. Before graduation, I was coming here at least once a week to grab a bite to eat and chill. Since taking over most of the responsibilities at my paw’s ranch, this is my first time making it out this way in weeks. “Long time, man. Where’ve you been hiding out?”

“With Bret at Gainesville University this past year, and Paw’s radiation therapy, I had to pick up the slack on the ranch.”

Paw has about eighty acres out in West Fellsmere. We used to have more land, but back when he was a boy his parents had to sell some of it.

I’m glad.

Eighty acres is too much for just Paw and me to handle and he refused to hire a day worker when Bret went off to school. That put me between a rock and a hard place, having to decide between my family and college after graduation. There was no choice, not really.

Family comes first.

Always.