Page 9 of Where You Are

“Wonderful. What about you?”

“Living the dream,” he returns with a smirk that I can’t read the meaning of and don’t try to. Josh is an onion. An un-peel-able one. He releases me and walks off to get settled, and I send out some good vibes for a special girl to bring some cheer to that persona of his one day.

* * *

“So what was the whole adjusting to fame and tour life thing like for you?” I ask Mayzie, as she and I sit on the pool’s edge, drinks in hand and legs in the cool water, while the guys play in the water, tossing a football back and forth. I can’t help sneaking a look at Matt now and again. The way his tattooed bicep flexes when he slicks his wet hair off his face, I have to say, does it for me. Big time.

“Ohhh…” she looks skyward as she looks for the appropriate description. “Like jumping off a cliff.” A laugh bursts out of me at her bluntness and she joins me. “Seriously though, that was their chance and they had to go for it. And no matter how new our marriage, I was Jack’s wife by then so I had to jump with him. And once you do jump there’s no going back, so you just have to see what happens along the fall and hope you land safely.”

“Wow, nicely said,” I say, clinking the neck of her beer bottle with mine.

“Thanks. Writer,” she scoffs with a humble smile as she points at herself.

“So, what was the fall like?”

“Terrifying. Painful. Exciting. Fun. But the important thing is that we seemed to have found a soft landing.”

“I’m very glad,” I assure her.

“What about you? What was taking off to see the world like?” She asks.

“Oh you know… like jumping off a cliff. Scary and exciting, and once you’ve taken the leap there’s no turning back!” I joke and we share a few more laughs and continue to get to know each other.

The sun beats down and it’s not long before I start to feel a little wading pool forming in my cleavage.

Out of seemingly nowhere, my brother’s head comes out of the water, startling the shit out of Mayzie as he wraps his arms around her waist and lays his wet head in her lap. She takes barely a second to recover from almost spilling her beer before putting her hand in his hair and gently raking the wet strands out of his face.

“You going to play some volleyball with me?” Seems like an innocent enough question, but the look he’s giving her should be reserved for the bedroom.

“Yeah, of course,” she answers, putting her empty bottle down beside her.

“You need to cool off first,” Jack insists, and pulls her down in the pool with him. She squeals when the cold water comes up around her torso but gives out an affectionate giggle when her face meets Jack’s, who’s smiling affectionately at her.

Ew. I’m out.

Okay, it’s really sweet, but still, it’s my brother and the act seems intimate and I feel like I’m intruding so I need to put some distance between myself andthat.

I chuck Mayzie’s discarded bottle with the rest of the empties and take a seat on one of the lounge chairs. Once I’m situated, I look up to see Matt approaching me, holding a towel.

He ruffles the towel over his wet hair before draping it over his shoulders, holding onto each end as he comes to stand before me.

“Hey Matt,” I say, trying to sound casual and not like I want to jump on him and see what he smells like.

“Uh, I believe that’sDipshitto you?” he corrects, holding his hands out and a laugh erupts out of me.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, but can’t keep the amusement out of my voice.

“Forget it,” he waves a hand gripping one of the ends of his towel. “It’s nice to see you again. I’m just glad it didn’t end up being over so quickly.” He’s wearing sunglasses, yet I can feel his eyes staring right through my skin. “Can I get you a beer?” he offers.

“Oh no thanks, that’s okay. I’ll take a water though.” He winks and walks a few feet over to the nearest cooler, pulling out a water for me and a beer for himself.

“You sure water’s all you want? You haven’t had a beer in a while.”

“Yeah, I only ever allow myself three so I like to space them out,” I explain coyly as I take the water from him and unscrew the cap. He pops the top off his beer and takes a slug. “I’ll have another one in a bit.”

“Just not much of a drinker?” he asks as I take a pull of the cold water.

“No, not anymore.”

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