“Ready for summer vacation?”
At that, her smile was genuine. “Definitely. Of course, two weeks into it I’ll already miss the kids,” she admitted. “But I need the break. All teachers do. And the kids do, too, of course.”
“Won’t you join us?” my dad asked.
“Oh, ah…” she looked behind her again, and that’s when I saw him walking up. A tall, handsome guy in a button-down and tie.
“Hey,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek.
My God. I saw red. I wanted to punch him in the face, throw him to the ground, and beat the absolute crap out of him.
“Harrison,” my dad said in a warning tone.
It was then I realized I’d stood up, fists clenched, and taken a step towards her date. Sadie’s eyes were wide and her date had a confused look on his face.
I instantly relaxed my pose and reached out a hand to shake his. “Harrison Turner,” I said, trying to cover up my Neanderthal behavior.
“Oh, like Turner Luxury Motors?”
I nodded, surprised.
“I’m Thorn. I’m an attorney in Halliwell.”
Thorn? What the fuck? Did his parents name him that on purpose? “Ah.” I’d lived thirty minutes away in Halliwell for several years now. I’d made a life for myself there. I mainly worked, hung out with a few friends, and worked out. I’d tried dating some, but just found my heart wasn’t in it. No one evercompared to Sadie. Until someone did, I didn’t think there was a point.
We all stood there awkwardly for a moment.
“Well, it was nice to meet you,” my mom said with a nice smile, saving the situation.
“You as well,” Thorn said. He put his hand on the small of Sadie’s back and directed her towards the table the waitress had readied for them.
Sadie glanced over her shoulder once, but it was more to wave to my parents than me. Right before she turned around, though, her eyes met mine. It was like an electric current ran between us, and I saw her stumble slightly. Thorn steadied her, turning to see what she was looking at. When he saw me, his eyes narrowed.
They were just close enough that I could hear him ask, “How do you know that guy?”
“Oh, um, he’s just someone I went to school with a long time ago.”
I looked down at my plate, my appetite gone.
The next time the waitress passed, my dad asked for the check.
I looked up to see my parents watching me, compassion written all over their faces.
They both started to say something, but I held up my hand. “It’s fine. Really. I knew she had to be taken. Besides her looks, she’s sweet, funny, smart, kind—the whole package. The men around here would be idiots not to date her.”
As we walked out of the restaurant, my dad said, “I’m not sure a guy named ‘Thorn’ deserves her.”
I let out a genuine bark of laughter. “That, you’re right about.”
***
The next party was a couple of months later and might as well have been designed to torture me. It was a couple’s shower with a laidback vibe at Drake’s house. He had a nice craftsman’s bungalow style house in a new neighborhood just outside Indigo Falls. He also had an awesome back deck, patio, and pool area with an outdoor kitchen. Melinda had helped him pick it out and would be living there after the wedding. Of course, I happened to know that she was already living there and only kept a small apartment in town to make her parents happy.
The party plan was for everyone to swim and hang out by the pool all afternoon. Then we’d don coverups or shorts and a T-shirt, drink, eat steaks Drake’s dad grilled, and then they’d open presents.
So, I had to see Sadie in a bikini and try not to stare at her. It was impossible. She’d always had the perfect body in my mind. She was nice and toned, but she had a full ass, wide hips, tiny waist, and large, perfect breasts. I stared at her, remembering how she’d looked under me. Or riding me. Or on her knees in front of me.
Fuck.
