“Then we’ll meet you back over there.”
She doesn’t say another word before leaving. I reach for the new showerhead and hand the detachable part to Elliot while I search for my other wrench. Elliot remains quiet, but I can feel him staring at me. “What?”
“I’m just trying to decide how long it takes for you to sleep with her.”
“You’re out of your mind. I already told you guys, I’m just trying to keep things simple here.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I asked her out then?”
I drop the wrench from my hands, the loud clang of it hitting the shower floor ringing out, but my eyes are laser-focused on my friend. “Don’t fuck with me, Elliot.”
There’s a smirk on his lips, but he doesn’t flinch. “I’m not. I mean, she’s hot, man. I can see why—”
Before I know what’s happening, my hands are fisted in his shirt and I have him pressed up against the shower wall. He’s fucking smiling at me, knowing what he just did. He dangled a carrot right in front of my face, and I fucking took the bait. But I don’t fucking care. The thought of Elliot and Vienna makes me want to pry his hands off of his body so he can’t touch her.
“Don’t. Fucking. Think. About. It,” I grind out, punctuating every word.
Elliot’s grin is so irritating right now, I contemplate punching him just because. But I think I’ve made myself clear.
“Thenyoudo something about it, Rhonan.”
“I told you—”
He cuts me off. “Yeah, I know what you said. But I call bullshit. I think the reason you’re so on edge right now is because your body is telling you one thing, but your head is telling you another.”
I deepen my glare. “Funny, I could say the same thing about you.”
His smile falls. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Tell me why you walked away when Dilynne was riding the bull at the bar,” I demand.
His hands wrap around mine where they’re still fisted in his shirt. “I needed a fucking drink.”
“You sure? Or did your little experiment work and—”
He shoves me off of him, both of our chests heaving. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Turning back to the showerhead, I pick up the new piece and start to attach it. “Just take this as a warning not to come for me if you’re not willing to face your own fucking truth, man.”
Elliot stays quiet for a moment, but when he speaks, it’s not what I expected him to say. “Will we ever move on, Rhonan?” The words almost come out as a whisper, but they’re filled with much more uncertainty than I wanted to hear from him—because he sounds like me.
My thoughts race while trying to find an answer. “I—I honestly don’t know, Elliot.”
I can pinpoint several instances in my life that have turned me into this man, but the idea of moving forward means letting go of the past—and the only thing I’m certain of is that I have no idea how to do that.
***
“Look at me, Daddy!” Ellis shouts as she cruises past me on her bike, pride radiating from her smile.
“Nice, Ellis! Keep going!” Standing on the sidewalk and watching my daughter ride her bike without training wheels is a feeling I can’t quite explain. After last year when this task felt unattainable, she and I are both beyond proud of how far she’s come.
“I’m the fastest bike rider ever!” She turns around slowly at the end of our street and pedals as fast as her small legs will allow. I bet if I clocked her with the radar gun, she’s barely breaking five miles per hour, but to a five-year-old, I bet it feels like sixty.
Chuckling, I humor her. “Definitely the fastest one I’ve ever seen.”
Reaching down to pick up the hose again, I turn the nozzle on and spray the stream of water over my truck. I meant to wash it last weekend, but I spent that time fixing Vienna’s showerhead instead. Now, it’s Thursday and I’m working all weekend, so I won’t have time to get it done. And I hate having a dirty vehicle, on the inside and out.
Ellis cruises back onto the driveway just as a car slowly comes down the street. It only takes me a few seconds to recognize the silver Mercedes, which means my neighbor is home.
