My sister already actively, publicly hates men forever. Probably partially due to one of the same men who sent Sloane down that path as well.
I’m occasionally an exception.
Probably not today though.
For either of them.
Sloane wasn’t happy when she left last night.
Can’t blame her.
I was a dick.
Easier to be a dick than to let her get close. And my dick wanted her to be close.
Fucking basic body part.
“Did you really drive down from DC in the middle of the night to tell me you won’t help me?” I ask her.
“No, I drove down from DC in the middle of the night to find out what’s wrong with you before you get yourself in trouble. And it’s worse than I was afraid of. Go back to school, Davis. Get another degree. Philosophy will keep you busy for a while. Learn a new foreign language. Travel. When’s the last time you left the country? What’s Cash up to? Isn’t he touring with Aspen? Join them. See something new. Get away from here.”
Ten years ago, it would’ve beenwhat are Beck and Cash and Tripp and Levi up to? Go travel with one of them.
Now, all of my best buddies are married or on their way to marriage.
Hooked up.
None looking for a third wheel.
Only Cash is still traveling.
Levi’s home in Copper Valley all the time, raising his stepkids with his wife.
Beck’s home in Copper Valley or Shipwreck all the time, raising his kids with his wife, occasionally visiting his in-laws in LA.
Tripp’s home in Copper Valley all the time, raising his kids and running Copper Valley’s baseball team with his wife.
The Fireballs—Cooper Rock’s team—should’ve belonged to all of us in the band, but things didn’t end up happening that way, for reasons.
And that one still smarts.
The Fireballs should’ve been mywhat’s next.
I could ask Tripp for a job, but it’s not the same.
It’s not all five of us together again.
Like it used to be before we got famous.
“Cash and Aspen are in Copper Valley in two weeks. That’ll get me far.”
Vanessa sighs. “You know the CIA didn’t exist during the pirate age, right?”
“Like that would stop them from having information about historical events from before their time.”
“And also, there are these things calledsecurity clearances.”
“Yeah, a guy who got paid as a white hat hacker to look for vulnerabilities in nuclear power plant security systems definitely can’t be trusted.”
