Lana and Patrick wander into the house. After all, it’s like their second home. I give one last glance outside the door before shutting it. The urge to lock the bolt to keep Tanner out comes to mind, but I refrain.
Retreating to the kitchen, I find Lana sitting on a stool with her phone out. Her fingers vigorously move across the screen, and I desperately want to ask, beg her to tell me if it’s him and when he’ll be here. But as usual, when it comes to Tanner, I clam up. I act casual as though just the sound of his name doesn’t make me yearn for him.
How on earth am I going to get through this?
When she notices that I’m walking in, she places her phone down and swivels toward me. “So, Piper, tell me, what’s new?”
Her face lights up, and a knot forms in my throat for the lies I’m about to toss out.
“Not much. Just working.” I shrug, walking farther into the kitchen. I lean over the counter on the other side.
“Oh, yeah? Your mom told me, you got a new job at the community college.” She knots her fingers together on the counter.
She’s smiling, but I know what she really thinks. Mrs. McCain isn’t one to hide her thoughts.
“Even if I think you should have gone out to Colorado with Tanner.”
She raises both her perfectly shaped eyebrows, and I stand up straighter. It’s nice that she believes in my capability as much as her son did.
“You have to be invited, and I wasn’t invited.”
My swimming dreams ended after college, which wasn’t exactly horrible in my point of view. After what happened with Tanner, it just wasn’t the same when my body dipped into the water. Especially right after, I could barely concentrate on my form, constantly thinking about what we’d done and the games we’d played in that pool. Then, I would think about what he’d done, and I’d be surprised that I could keep the tears inside until I was in the shower. I’d barely gotten through many practices, only to let my shattered tears out in the shower right after. My teammates didn’t ask, but I knew a few of them suspected what had happened—except they assumed the wrong reason for what exactly broke us up.
Opening the freezer, I grab a bottle of vodka. I worry we’ve deceived the family. No one really knows what happened our senior year. We were able to keep it quiet. Coach was able to pull strings, so it never got out.
“Just think, you both could be on your way to the Olympics, just like Tanner,” she continues.
I want to blurt out the truth. What an ass her son was for the things he’s done. Part of me chastises Brad for remaining friends with him. I mean, I understand friendship, but there’s a limit.
“I can’t speak for Brad, but I wasn’t good enough. In the end, it would have been finished before it ever started for me. I needed to get my master’s and find another path in life.” I pull a glass down for myself and then silently offer Lana one, who nods.
While I pour the vodka, I hope the distraction of alcohol ends the discussion of my choices in life.
“What about me?” My mom walks in.
With the bottle tipped in one hand, I reach for another glass with my other.
“Thanks, Piper.” She kisses me on the cheek, and her usual flowery perfume wafts under my nostrils. Opening the fridge, she continues talking, “What did I miss?”
Retreating with two trays of food, she bumps the fridge door with her hip and walks over to us.
“Just talking about Piper’s new job,” Lana answers.
My mom’s head twists toward me, smiling. “It’s a great thing, right, honey?” My mom seems to be questioning me because she senses too much. She always has.
I’m fairly certain that she has some sort of an idea that something happened with Tanner, even though I never opened my mouth. Mother’s intuition, I suppose.
I nod as the liquid burns my throat—and hopefully my heart. I’ll need it numb in order to survive, when he walks through the door.
Just then, Lana’s phone buzzes, and I see a flash of a text on the screen. Her face immediately lights up before she picks up the phone. She reads the message and then sends one back. She places the phone back on the counter, and I seem to wait for her to say something while my mom busies herself with the deli tray.
“Tanner just landed. He should be here in about forty-five minutes,” she announces.
I’m barely able to handle the information I’ve been craving for. Grabbing the glass of vodka in front of me, I down it in one gulp.
My mom wearily looks at me from the corner of her eyes. “Oh, great. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.” The tone of my mom’s voice doesn’t match her words, confirming she suspects something off in what she thinks about Tanner and me.
“He’s been really busy and unable to make it back. I said that you and Chris should have gone to Colorado with us last winter. We had a lot of fun. Tanner rented a lodge, and we skied most of the days and sat by the fire at night. It was so much fun,” Lana rambles.
My mom peers over to me from the corner of her eye. “Maybe next year,” she mumbles.
I’m sure Lana can figure out my mom’s never-going-to-happen attitude because she lets the topic go.
“I’m going to go outside.” I walk by them, grabbing a tray from my mom on my way out.
Lana places her hand on my wrist, stopping me from my escape. “Piper, I heard about your new guy, too. I’ll be out soon to meet him. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be next in line.”
She winks, and I figure out the winking is a family thing I’ve never noticed before. Unfortunately, Lana’s doesn’t bring the same reaction to me as her son’s.
“Curtis is so great, Lana. You’ll love him,” my mom gushes.
I wish I possessed half the excitement she does about him. Let’s think about this. He’s outside, and I’ve been obsessing about another guy for the past half an hour.
Walking out to the patio, I find Bea and Curtis sitting down with my dad and Tanner’s dad, Patrick. The other table is full of my brother’s imbecile friends with a cluster of glass bottles in the middle of the table. Then, around the benches are his annoying fiancée and her bridesmaids. As I decide on my position, Curtis smiles over to me and pulls out a chair for me. Positioning the tray on the table, I take the seat Curtis offered and display my fakest smile.
He looks good today. His khaki shorts and clingy V-neck T-shirt display his muscular build. What he’s hiding underneath is just for me and no one else. He leans in, and all I smell is his heavy musky cologne. Almost nauseous, I open a bottle of water on the table that Curtis most likely left for me.
I’m a bitch for unfairly judging Curtis because he was a great guy until I heard Tanner was coming to town. I’ve been dating him for two months now, and he’s done nothing wrong. He’s always treating me well, taking me on elaborate dates to fancy restaurants and Tony award-winning theater shows. But when he grabs my hand, there’s no uncontrolled adrenaline rush. When he kisses me, I don’t lose myself in the warmth of his embrace.
The problem is, I don’t trust my heart anymore. I refuse to allow it to have a voice in my head. If I’m going to make the decision to be with someone, it will be with my brain. My heart can no longer be involved. According to my brain, Curtis is the perfect mate for me. On paper, he’s practical. He’s a law student, and he’s on the verge of graduating next year and working at his dad’s prestigious law firm in the city. He can supply me with the safety and security of a future without the risk of my heart.
As I sit here, contemplating and drumming my fingers against the wooden table, I impatiently wait for Tanner to arrive. My back straightens when Curtis startles me by placing his hand on my shoulder.
“Is something the matter?” he whispers, leaning in.
How do I respond to his question? Why, yes, my ex-boyfriend, whom you only heard is my brother’s best friend, will be walking through that door at any minute, and I’m not quite sure how I’ll react when it happens. Not really something your current boyfriend wants to hear, now, is it?