“Emma is an athlete, and she’s not MIA for half the day.”
“I don’t know. Brendan and I like to have a little fun sometimes too. He’s my best bud.”
“I can’t believe I still haven’t met Brendan,” I interject. “He’s like this enigma. I hear about him all the time, but I’ve never met him, even though he’s supposed to be your best friend.”
“I guess I could see if he wants to come hang out with us tonight,” Andrew offers.
His words make me feel like I’m floating. I’m suddenly desperate to meet this guy who is such a big part of Andrew’s life outside of our summers at the lake.
Rebecca straightens up a little, and a light begins to shine in her eyes. She has an idea. Our eyes meet, and she gives me a little smirk. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I tilt my head ever so slightly toward her as if to saylead the way.
“That’d be so fun! We can go night swimming and check out hisah-mazingabs and maybe make some s’mores or something.” She gives me a quick wink.
I blush, rapidly looking between the twins.
Unamused, Andrew flicks his phone out of his back pocket. “I’ll text him. Em, he makes the best burgers ever. You’ve got to try them! It’ll ruin all other burgers for you, but it’s worth it.”
“Excellent! It’s settled then. You two can cook burgers for us, and then we can swim later!” Rebecca chimes.
I give Rebecca a curious look.
Andrew rinses the shaker out in the sink and then turns to us. “I’ll have him come over a little before five.”
As soon as he’s left the room, Rebecca turns to me, wiggling her brows. “This bodes well for you.”
I’m not sure what I expected from Brendan, but I’ve found myself a bit surprised. Not in a bad way. He’s kind and charismatic. He’s a bit more outgoing than Andrew, and I’d be a fool not to notice how attractive he is. Even though he’s just wearing a t-shirt and shorts, I can tell he’s got a muscular build like Andrew, and there’s something about his messy blonde waves that’s both endearing and, dare I say, sexy?
I like him a lot. He’s not Andrew, but I’m happy to see this person Andrew spends so much time with is a likable, respectable guy. It only makes me adore Andrew even more to see he picked such a good friend.
We’re all sitting on the back patio, post-burgers, chatting. It’s nice. I’m starting to wonder why we haven’t done this before. Having an even number is a game changer and adding Brendan into the group has felt very natural. Granted, he has known Rebecca and Andrew since long before I came along. Leaning back in my chair, I place my palms on my full belly. “Andrew was right, I’ll never be able to eat another burger again without thinking of this one. You’ve ruined all other burgers for me, Brendan!”
Before Brendan has a chance to humblyrespond, Rebecca interjects. “That’s not the only thing he’s good at. He’s a runner like you too. Brendan, did you know Emma runs track and cross country? She’s going to compete D1 this year, and she’s going to be a superstar!”
“No kidding?” Brendan lights up. “I ran the mile a bit in high school but only for training purposes. I’m no long-distance runner. That’s impressive!”
“What’s your main event?” I ask, thoroughly interested.
“I’m going to college because of my 800-meter time. I dabble a little in jumping too, but not like Andrew.” He slaps his buddy on the back.
“How did I not know you ran the 800?” I ask in shock, looking toward Andrew for an answer. “I’ve been running everything from the 400-meter to the 3200-meter. I think I’ll end up running the 5k next year, though. My coach was already trying to talk me into it on my recruiting visit.”
“The 5k? That’s brutal! Isn’t that twelve laps around a track?” I nod in reply. “Good for you! I’m the opposite.” He chuckles. “My coach is trying to convert me to a 400-meter runner.”
“You two need to stop throwing out random numbers,” Rebecca interrupts.
“One lap around a track is 400 meters. Four laps convert to about a mile, and the 5k is 3.1 miles. Did I miss anything, Emma?”
“I think that about sums it up!”
“You guys have so much in common. Andrew, why have you been hiding Brendan from her?” Rebecca says, turning to Andrew with a pointed look.
“Youhadto have known we’d hit it off! Not too many other people know the world of distance running. He’s a rare gem,” I add.
Andrew scowls. I swear I can see steam coming out of his ears as his face grows redder by the moment. Why does he seemmad? Two of his good friends are getting along really well. That should be the dream!
I brush it off, looking to Rebecca for guidance. “Are we going swimming tonight?”
“Hell yeah, we are! Let’s clean up the dishes and get to it.” She abruptly pushes from the table, grabbing dishes with one hand and me with the other. She sweeps me into the kitchen with her as the boys slowly move toward the grill, scrubbing it down and collecting the rest of the dishes.
