Page 69 of The Summer I Destroyed You

Goddamn, I wish I could just agree and stand my ground on another day. I don’t know why she’s willing to have furtive sex in her office and talk to me on the phone for hours, yet a date is where she draws the line. “Nope.”

“Come on, Liam,” she groans. “You can’t be serious about this bullshit.”

“I’m not giving the milk away for free anymore. You’ve missed all of me, whether you want to admit it or not, and we aren’t sleeping together until we’ve gone on a date.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she says. “I’m calling Troy.”

“No, you’re not. Get ready for dinner by candlelight.”

“Get ready to jerk off in the shower alone.”

I laugh again but when we hang up, I’m questioning my strategy. I know Emmy likes me. I’d stake my life on the fact that she wants more than a quick fuck on her desk. But I’d also stake my life on the fact that she’ll hold out way too goddamn long to prove a point.

I arrive in Santa Cruz and find that absolutely nothing is happening. Every one of my guys is standing out on the sidewalk beside their cars, deep in conversation, which is exactly the kind of shit the homeowner will throw in my face later on. We have even a single delay and he’ll be saying, “Well, if your employees weren’t standing around all day, maybe you’d be done.”

I park the truck and storm toward them. My mouth opens and then falls closed again at the look on JP’s face.

A look everyone else seems to share. Fuck.

I brace myself for the worst. A nail through the hand, a fall off the roof, the homeowner’s incredibly expensive car crushed by falling bricks. “What happened?”

“It’s—” JP’s voice cracks.

“It’s Mac,” says one of the younger guys. “He died.”

I stare at him, trying to think of anyone we know by that name other than the healthy twenty-two-year-old who I just watched getting married last week.

“Our Mac?”

The guys nod. “Snorkeling. One of those face mask things. They think carbon dioxide built up inside it. Cassie thought he was fine, and then she realized he’d been still too long. They couldn’t revive him.”

I slump against the side of someone’s truck.

Six months ago, he was showing us all the ring he was going to propose with. Two weeks ago, he was gamely walking around the store with that sash on.

A week ago, he was trying not to cry as he and Cassie said their vows.

And he had no idea. He saw an entire future ahead for himself, for both of them. You know life is unpredictable, but you never think yours is. You know lives end early, that people get taken away from you, but you always assume you’re somehow immune to it.

I help the guys pack up, as quietly stunned as they are, and then I go by Mac’s brother’s house to pay my respects. It’s evening when I get home. I stand in the shower, letting the spray hit my back. Two days ago, Mac still had his whole future ahead of him. He probably showered thinking only of the hours ahead, thinking of dinner with his pretty wife. I can’t get over the fact that it all ended for him so quickly, so unpredictably. He thought he’d kiss Cassie ten thousand more times. He thought he’d sleep with her nearly that many. You just never know when you’re nearing the end.

I dry off and get dressed. I’m not sure what exactly I’m doing when I get back in my truck and start driving, but I wind up on Main Street, parked in front of the store, dialing Emmy’s number.

“Come out to the truck,” I say. “Now.”

“Ohhh-kay?” she says as if it’s still in question.

She walks outside. I catalog everything about her as she locks the door behind her—the long silk skirt that will slide through my fingers like water; her bare arms; the stubborn, luscious set of her upper lip. I’ve missed her since yesterday. I’ve missed her all weekend. This town is going to be empty as hell for me once she’s left it for good.

There’s uncertainty in those pale eyes of hers as she climbs into the passenger seat.

“What’s happening right now?” she asks as I reverse out of the space without a word.

“You’ll see,” I reply gruffly.

“You know it doesn’t turn into a date if I haven’t agreed to go on it,” she says.

I don’t reply as I turn onto my street and swerve into my driveway. I go to her side of the truck, wrap my hands around her waist, and set her down. Her feet are barely on the ground before I’m stepping into her, letting my palms glide over the silk covering her ass.

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