“That was an impressive move earlier to keep them from fighting,” he opens the door for us to go out. The door clicks shut behind us. “I need to use those tactics to keep the band in line.”
“You pick up a thing or two when you’re an older sibling. I try to be nicer, but they were going to ruin thevibe so I had to be a little more authoritative. They don’t like when I put on the mean big sister hat.”
“Sometimes you have to do things people don’t like.”
We move toward the beach and turn left. It’s opposite from the direction I took the other day. I know his words are meant to remind me I need to tell my family I don’t want to take part in the business, but I don’t want to get into that right now.
We walk in silence for a bit. There are more people on the beach today. Nobody is in the water, of course, but couples walk hand in hand and kids are building sand castles, doing their best not to get wet. It feels like the area is coming to life after the cold snap the past few days.
Tristan breaks the silence. “I know you don’t like talking about the future, but when we get back to Asheville, we’re still going to be a couple, right?”
The doubt in his voice hits me in the heart. “Yes. I told you, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. We can see how we are together without my family surrounding us. I want to know how we can be when it’s just us.”
He lets out a breath. “Good. We’ll have to figure out how things will work when Crooked Halo goes on tour again, but that’s not for a long time. They are happy to take time off from touring, and hanging out in the new house they bought.”
“Are you going to live with them?” It’ll be hard to have alone time in a house full of people.
“I may have to for a little bit, but I’m hoping that’s not the case. I love those guys, but I can’t live with themlong term after seeing them on the road day in and day out.”
“Do you know what kind of place you’re looking for? I can help you look.” If anything, I’m sure my friends and coworkers know of some places. They are more connected to what’s going on in town than I am.
“Probably an apartment for now.” He runs a hand through is hair. “I would look for a house, but I don’t want to rush into that. It’s a big investment, and I want to make sure it’s something I’ll love.”
“Makes sense.” I nod in agreement. “The complex Angie lived in is nice.”
“Cool. I’ll get the information from her.”
That seems to conclude our talk of the future for now. It’s not something we need to worry about. We said we were going to take things one day at a time. Looking too far forward is terrifying. As much as I want to think this could be the real thing and last forever. I still have to protect my heart…even though it’s losing the battle and falling for him each passing moment.
He takes his jacket off and lays it on the ground before taking a seat. He pulls me down in front of him and cradles my body with his. The sound of the waves rolling over each other, and families playing is just what I need to calm any doubts and fears I have it. It’s uncanny how well he reads me, and know what I need before I do.
“There you are.” Mom’s voice pulls me out of the moment. I’m not sure how long we’ve been out here. I didn’t think to grab my phone. I didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone, but it seems they sought us out anyway.
Shielding my eyes from the sun, I glance up. It’s not only my mom, but the entire freaking family.
“What did you do? Form a search party?”
“Sort of?” Piper shrugs her shoulders. “You didn’t answer your phone, and figured out here was the best bet of finding you. Plus, I knew y’all were going to be out here somewhere. It was a matter of picking a direction.”
My sister knows me too well. “Well, you found us. What’s up?”
This time Peter comes to the front with a football in his hand. He tosses it up and catches it. “How about a friendly game of football?”
“You brought a football with you?” It shouldn’t be shocking. Outside of working, the only thing he loves more is sports.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I bought it when we were out earlier.”
“You realize none of us are as young as we used to be, right? We can’t be tackling each other to the ground. We might break something.”
He extends his hand to help me up. “You’re only as old as you feel. But we’ll keep it flag so we don’t accidentally take each other out.”
I let him pull me up, and I can feel Tristan stand behind me. “We don’t have any?—”
He cuts me off, letting go of my hand, he pulls something out of his pocket. They are thin strips of fabric with velcro on the ends. “You were saying?”
“Smart ass,” I mumble. All it does is make him laugh. He knows I hate when he’s thought of everything. Apparently, all my siblings know me better than I thought they did, even the ones I’m not as close to. “How are we going to divide up in teams?”
Growing up when we did things like this, we always had the same dynamic. Me, Piper and Parker against Pierce, Peter and Phillip. It used to irritate Phillip when he’d be stuck on Pierce’s team.
