I shake my head, not even knowing what Mac’s father does, but not wanting to ask either. I think Mac wants to remain a mystery to us all, and I’m fine with that.
Reaching forward, I turn up the music and bob my head to the beat. The drive into town doesn’t take too long, and Ben finds a place to park easily enough. He’s telling me about his girlfriend. I didn’t ask, he just started talking—telling me how they met online and how loved-up he is.
He never dropped the L-word, but he’s so obviously into her.
It’s hard not to roll my eyes at how sappy he’s being.
No human is as perfect as he’s making Mandy out to be.
When he finally pauses, I give his shoulder a light slap. “Good for you, man. Glad things are going well.”
I’m hoping it’s enough to wrap up this thing, but then he asks me, “How about you? Anyone special on your radar?”
I snicker and shake my head. “Not now. Not ever.”
“What?” Ben grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop just outside the liquor store. “Not ever?”
With a shrug, I try to explain it as simply as I can. “Relationships aren’t all they’re cut out to be. Seems like hard work to me. I like being single and plan to stay that way.”
“What about kids and stuff?”
I clench my jaw, looking away from him and shaking my head. “Don’t need ’em. I’m a happy bachelor.”
Ben gives me a skeptical frown, and I force myself to look as unaffected as I can. I’m not about to tell him that growing up in a house with warring parents can put a guy off ever falling in love. Sure, after their split, they got back together again, but should they have?
And as for kids? Why would I go to the effort of having them only to lose them?
My parents never got over Louisa’s death. Shit, I don’t know if I did either.
She was two, and I’ve never heard my mother scream like that. It was a guttural, heart-wrenching sound that will ring in my ears forever. It was seventeen years ago, and I can still hear it as clear as day.
So, no. I don’t need the whole wife-and-kids thing.
I’m happy with casual hookups and lots of friends. I’ll never need more than that.
17
JIMMY
I setout a stack of cups where Sawyer told me to put them and glance over my shoulder to check that I’ve got it right, but he’s not even looking anyway. He’s too busy throwing his head back and singing some song I don’t know with Charli. She’s laughing her way through the lyrics, and the way they’re acting makes it obvious they’ve been singing this song together for years.
I’ve never had a sibling. I do have a cousin, but he lives in China, and the few times I’ve met him, it’s been awkward as our parents sat nearby, watching our every move.
This whole weekend—these games, this noise, this party—it’s all so foreign.
Foreign and terrifying, yet… I don’t want to be anywhere else.
This afternoon, we got back out on the water. I paddle-boarded down the river with Cash while Mac attached this donut thing to his boat and gave wild rides to anyone who was up for it.
Watching Darian and Sawyer fly off that thing was pretty entertaining. Ben ended up doing a flip and crashing into the water, and Enzo managed a belly flop that gave him the reddest mark on his stomach. It lasted for a few hours. Must have hurt like hell.
So yeah, I had a good time.
That might all change, of course, when the hordes arrive. But I can always sneak up to my room and hide away if I need to.
For now, I’m not minding the noise so much.
“It doesn’t go like that.” Nix points at a table that’s laid out with a bunch of Solo cups. “It’s diamonds, not triangles.”
