Chapter One
Jones
I stared up at the stars in the dark sky, wondering what I was doing out here tonight. No, that wasn’t the truth. Mama had sprung this on me last minute. Told me that she had met someone, and that they were going to get married. I was happy for her. If anyone deserved a happily ever after, it was my mama, but I almost felt blindsided. I had never met the man, and now I was expected to what? Start calling him Dad? Yeah, no, that wasn’t going to happen.
Remington. His name was Remington Callahan, and he had asked Mama to marry him. Even his name sounded like it was made of money. I bet he smelled rich, too. Stinky cologne mixed with old newspapers. I wasn’t sure what rich people smelled like, but it had to be something like that.
Everything would change now. We were going to move out of the trailer park. Away from my friends, everything I had known, and in with Remington. I mean, Mama had said he had a pool and lived on the beach. That I could still ride my dirt bike. She also said that my two best friends, Ollie and Travis Haley, could still come over like they did now. I just didn’t want things to change. I liked it being just Mama and me. I didn’t mind the trailer park or our rowdy neighbors. It was just what I was used to. Oh, and the biggest surprise?
Remington Callahan was some sort of politician. He was running for governor of North Carolina.
I listened to the sound of the ocean as it rolled against the sand. Felt the way the water licked at my bare feet. I sat up to take a picture because I was a big photo guy. I wanted to capture everything. Just as I took the photo, I caught movement to my right. It looked like a man, setting up a fire, and when he saw me, he waved. I waved back before I went back to my phone.
I had texted Ollie and Travis the moment I left the trailer park. Told them about Mama getting married. They had so many questions. Would I be rich, too, or just my new step-daddy? What would the new house look like? When could they come to visit? They were on vacation, visiting their grandparents like they always did around this time of year. I was afraid that we’d be gone from the trailer park by the time they came home, and I wouldn’t see them again. I was a bit dramatic, but things were moving so fast. I didn’t like change.
I sent them pictures of the ocean and the beach. Told them I wished they were here. Everything I could think of. I added a few pics to my IG. Some to my Facebook. My friends were used to that. When my phone dinged, I smiled to see a response from my best friends.
Ollie:Are you on the beach right now? Watch out for sharks, Jones.
Travis:He’s not in the water, dummy.
Ollie:You’re not, are you, Jones?
Jones:No,silly, I’m not.
I missed my friends. We had known one another since we were practically babies. They were practically twins, and even though I lived in a trailer park, they didn’t care. They lived in a nice house with their parents, had two younger siblings, and never treated me differently, like some of the other kids we knew. Ollie and Travis also knew I was gay. They didn’t care about that either. They were the best, best friends I could ever ask for.
“Hi.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. “My gosh, you gave me a fright.”
I climbed to my feet only to find myself staring up at the man who had waved to me a few moments ago. He was taller than my five foot seven inches. In the light of the bright moon, I could see his hair was overdue for a cut, but it appeared to be brown, just like his eyes. The way he smiled at me with straight, white teeth made my stomach clench. He was possibly the most handsome man I had ever seen, with a perfect jawline and alluring plump lips. My eyes zeroed in on the mole on the left-hand side, and I wondered what it would be like to touch it. With my tongue.
“Sorry.” He chuckled softly. “I saw you sitting—well, lying—over here and thought maybe you’d want to join me.” He hooked a thumb over at the fire he had stared. “Have a beer?” His accent told me right away he wasn’t from around here.
I shook my head. “I’m not nearly old enough to drink.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t.” He flashed that smile at me again, and my penis jerked in my shorts. Oh, dear. Thatcouldn’t be good. “Or you don’t have to drink. I’m Charlie.” He stuck out his hand.
I stared at it like I had never seen one before. Like I didn’t know how to shake a man’s hand. Which I did because Mama taught me early how to be polite. How to say please and thank you. Ma’am and sir. All those things you were supposed to do.
I finally realized I was just staring at him. “Jones Matthews.”
I shook his hand harder than I probably should have, but Charlie just laughed. He had a nice laugh to go along with those nice teeth. I think I was obsessed with his teeth, but it didn’t take much since I hated mine. How crooked the front two were. Kids used to make fun of me when I was younger. But, you know, kids do that.
“Jones, that’s different,” he commented when I let go of his hand.
Trust me, I didn’t want to. His palm was warm against mine. Strong and firm.
I shrugged. “Mama named me.”
“You’re out here all by yourself?” Charlie asked as he motioned for me to follow him over to where he had set up his fire.
I trailed behind him like a puppy. Eager for companionship. Desperate for someone else to talk to. “Not much else to do around here.” There were a couple of chairs along with a cooler around the fire, and when he sat down, I joined him.
Charlie smiled at me, the firelight dancing in his eyes. Now that I could see them better, I noticed they were achestnut brown, framed with long lashes. Gosh, he was pretty. They didn’t have boys like him here in North Carolina, because if they did? I would have noticed. I wanted to run my fingers through his long dark tresses, kiss those plump lips and that mole.
“No girlfriend?”
