I bobbed my head in a slow nod.
“Always. If I didn’t think they’d drive me crazy all the time, I’d almost consider it.”
“Seriously? I would think you’d be bored at a job like that, whether you worked with your parents or not. You love your job.”
“Loved. Even before I was asked to leave, that was getting further and further in the past tense.”
For the last couple of months, the stress at work had been choking me. I’d thought it was because of the asshole new management, but maybe not. I’d had nothing but time to think since I’d arrived, I couldn’t muster up any motivation to go back to what I’d been doing, whether it was for my old job or another company.
I’d enjoyed the challenge and sense of accomplishment, but after months of feeling as if I had to fight for a position I’d more than earned, and then was let go anyway, the thought of doing it again somewhere else exhausted me.
Hiding out at my best friend’s house for an indeterminate amount of time wasn’t a solution either, but I couldn’t make myself get back in my car and go home.
I was stuck—in place and in my head.
“Hey, Peyton. Aaron and I are going to the lake.”
I swiveled my head to Peyton’s stepson’s voice. Mike headed up to Peyton, hands stuffed into his sweatshorts as he came closer to the table. He really was all his father, tall and lean with the same chiseled jaw and blue eyes. If he did have a girlfriend, she was one lucky lady. Mike was well on his way to being a stunner.
“Good. I’m glad to see you out on a sunny day instead of on the headset.”
“That’s my fault, Mike. I’m sorry I took away your gaming space.”
Mike turned around and quickly averted his gaze from mine, darting his eyes all around the yard except where I was sitting in the pool.
“It’s fine. I just moved the stuff to my room,” he mumbled, clearing his throat with his chin to his chest. The blush bleeding into his cheeks was adorable, although I wasn’t sure if embarrassment or heat were the cause. Mike had always been a sweet and quiet kid, more into gaming with his friends than girls yet, Peyton had said, even though he was heading to college in the fall. But I couldn’t help feeling awful for being the possible reason why he seemed to be itching to escape his own backyard.
“I’m very glad you’re getting the most out of summer,” Peyton said, reaching over to tap his arm.
Mike still wouldn’t drag his gaze from the ground as he nodded.
“Go have a good time.”
“I won’t be back late,” he said, clearing his throat. “Aaron is driving.”
“Text us if you need a ride back.”
“I will. Bye, Claudia,” he said, still not looking in my direction.
“Have a great time, handsome. Ah, to be young again.”
He turned his head to me for a split second, a tiny but tense smile pulling at his lips, before heading back into the house.
“My poor stepson,” Peyton said with an exaggerated sigh as she grabbed another wine cooler and ambled to the pool.
I glanced down at my bathing suit. It was a two-piece showing my stomach, but not a string bikini. I had decent-sized hips and boobs, so I never went too skimpy in the summers other than on a trip to Bermuda when Peyton and I were in college. Now, I was overly conscious of anything riding up or slipping out when choosing a swimsuit.
“I just had a flashback of my summer in Kelly Lakes as a teenager and trying to escape Jake like that.”
I took the bottle from her hands.
“You saw Jake in a bathing suit?” I lifted a brow as I took a sip.
“Oh God, no.” Her face twisted in a cringe when she sat back down. “I mean, I was fifteen at the time, younger than Mike. But I was old enough to notice Jake’s broad chest and watch his biceps flex when he was fixing something for my uncle in his yard. Seeing him shirtless back then—” she took in a long breath and let it out with a deep sigh “—would have most likely made my brain short-circuit.”
I laughed and draped my arm back along the soft wall of the pool.
“I never thought it would be possible to feel flattered and ashamed at the same time. Another reason why I should leave. I don’t want to make Mike uncomfortable in his own house.”
