“Care if I use the shower?” I step inside, taking off my shoes.
“Go ahead.” His head is buried in whatever the paper in front of him says and doesn’t look up. I just nod and head to my room, grabbing a clean towel and sweats. I can’t wait to get this sweat and dirt scrubbed off my body.
I turn on the shower and let the steam fill up the bathroom as I take off my clothes, tossing them onto the floor and remembering I need to get a hamper.
Staying here in Ruby Lake, even if just for a few days now, has been so nice. The small town vibe and the community is clear as day. Just from breakfast at Ruby’s Diner, to the grocery store trip, to grabbing coffee at Lakeside Grounds, this feels like a place I could be happy in for the long term.
Thinking too far into the future, I can’t help but wonder what’s to come when I leave. Realization hits me that this could be my last summer before I'm forced to become a real adult, to find my place in this world. I hate to admit defeat and fear—typical man—but I’m scared that I’m not going to find anything I love and fail.
Miles makes it look so easy which is unfair to compare myself to him. He’s worked so hard to be where he’s at and I know I’ll get there one day.
My parents have always had my back. If I called tomorrow, they’d clear out the guest room without a second thought. But I’m twenty-four, and the idea of depending on them again makes me feel like I’m standing still.
The water starts to chill and that’s when I realize I’ve just been standing here alone with my thoughts under the shower head.
I quickly wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner, no five-in-one bottle around here.
Hopping out of the shower, I dry off my hair and body with the towel, wrapping it around my waist. Unfortunately turning off the water didn’t turn off the thoughts in my mind.
College was supposed to be the key to my future, that’s what everyone says growing up right?
Go to college if you want to make money.
Go to college if you want a future.
Go to college if you want to provide for your family.
Do I evenwanta family or do I just want someone to spend my time with?
What if I never find someone to live life with?
I have no problem with women or men but they always seem to think our friends with benefits arrangement will turn into more even though I make it clear it can’t. I never allow anyone to get closer than physical with me. It’s a contradicting thought ofwanting more but never allowing anything to go further—maybe I just haven’t found someone I want to know on a deeper level yet. I thought I have too many times to count, yet I can’t seem to find the answer.
My parents are so in love with one another and have been my whole life; I wantthat. Is that too much to ask?
Thinking about findingthe onehas my mind wandering to Maisie.
I want toknowher, beyond her glowing face. I want to know why she’s been the constant thought in my head since that morning at the diner. I want to know what about her makes me think I can let someone in close enough to knowme.
Maybe it's nothing.
But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to learn more about her.
8
MAISIE
Wren and I spent the whole day doing exactly as we planned—coffee, bookstore, and a lake walk. I got a new cowboy romance set in a small town called “Saddlebrook Falls” that sounds like a place I’d like to visit.
Neither of us wanted the day to end after our walk along the lake, which is how we ended up at Wren’s apartment having a movie and wine night.
I pop open a bottle of wine—I don’t drink too often but it is fun to let loose from time to time. While I pour out the wine, Wren begins digging through our take-out we got on the way home.
Nothing like burgers, fries, milkshakes,andwine to end a night.
“I know we eat, sleep, and breathe Ruby’s,” Wren says before taking a sip of her chocolate shake, “but they really do have the best burgers.”
I look up at the ceiling in a prayer, mouth full of the bite I just took from my burger. “God bless you, Grandma Winslow, your special sauce will go down in history.”
