My eyes shift to the sand pile, and I sigh.
Shit. That’s going to be a pain in the ass to move.
Liam and Oliverboth have blank faces as I just finished explaining the last 24 hours. We’re sitting outside on Oliver’s deck, and he pauses as he cuts into a steak.
“You two are a little strange, not going to lie. The hot-and-cold thing is kind of exhausting even to watch,” he mentions then takes the plunge into dishing up some salad.
“Very true. I thought we were going in the right direction,then this morning she returned to being Godzilla. I kind of thought our new unidentified state would mean we could talk in a civil way, but apparently not. The saving grace is that she desperately wanted to smile.”
Liam chuckles as he flips off the cap of another beer. “You two love the back-and-forth.”
“Could be a problem then, because mellow us might not be compatible.”
“Or you could be even better. You might end up with a ring on your finger, too,” he replies.
Oliver offers me the salad bowl. “Liam might be biased since he is in a cloud of pre-wedding adventures that his fiancée drags him through. He doesn’t know how to answer,” he jokes.
“Oh yeah? Then what do you think?” I face Oliver.
A smirk draws on Oliver’s mouth. “That you’ve been pining for Esme for months. And for a man who is glued to his job, thenboom, now you are finding that maybe you can balance it all. Heaven forbid you have a woman who waits for you and can send you in surprise directions. Keeps you on your toes, just like a deadline.”
“Seriously, get a girlfriend, and then I won’t have to hear your philosophy. I hear Liam has a sister.” I give Oliver a fake smile because I know that bugs him.
“Nuh-uh. My sister is off-limits,” Liam reminds us both.
Oliver clears his throat. “Of course, I’m just waiting for a crazy neighbor. I knew I should have brought the house up the street. I could be closer to daily entertainment.”
Tossing the salad in the serving bowl, I highlight the obvious. “Look, I will let this all play out. It’s new, and it’s been a while since I’ve been off the market. My sister is insistent that a wife and kid are on my horizon, and she prefers if it’s sooner than later.”
“You have sourdough starter in a jar in your kitchen. Trust me, you’re on your road to marriage,” Oliver comments.
That causes me to laugh. “Anyhow, I should have this weekend off since we pulled a late one last night. I shall test the waters again with Esme. I’m fairly confident that she really was just pissed off about the sand, which is fair enough.”
“Well, I would be also. Sandbags are hell to carry.” Liam takes a drink from his beer.
“I know. It replaced my run, and I’m positive my arms will hurt tomorrow.”
We all get comfortable at the table. It’s great that Oliver lives so close. It makes meetups easy.
“Admittedly, I do have difficulty seeing you domesticated, but Esme isn’t your typical woman, and besides, I need her in your life so I can get another pie.”
My eyes whip to Oliver. “You got a pie, too?”
He shrugs as though I’m crazy. “Of course. She makes one for everyone on the street when they move in or have a special life event. Not my fault you got on her shit list. You bad boy you.” Now he’s just provoking me.
Liam laughs at our friend’s humor.
“Can we please switch topics? For example, who will host the Fourth of July BBQ?” It’s an insanely busy time for me, with free agency having started on July first and players needing to be locked down before next season. In work terms, it isn’t a great time for hosting duties, but I guess I’ll be able to breathe for a hot second.
“Not me,” Liam is quick to answer.
Oliver doesn’t answer, instead giving me the look that it will be me, and I sigh. “Fine. I’ll do it. But one of you has to bring the beer.”
“Deal. We’ll just have to keep our phones on standby.”Oliver nods. “Alright, boys, eat up as we have the finals highlights to watch. No more mention of those who shall not be named.”
Finally.
We didn’t makeit a long night. In fact, it’s only nine, but whoa, it’s been a long day, and I’m exhausted. A good night of sleep is in order. Shutting my laptop down, I just leave it on the coffee table since tomorrow morning I’ll probably need to reply to a work email. My bad.
