Page 45 of I Found You
“Who’s up for some more beers?” Seb asked loudly.
I had a few more hours before Maeve would expect me. If Reid wanted to keep at this, I was game.
“Not to Harpoon’s. I don’t want to see anyone,” he said.
“We can pick up some drinks and go somewhere,” Luke said.
“Let’s meet at the beach by the docks,” I suggested. We had been going there a lot, Maeve, Jane, and me. It was a nice spot, and it was always quiet. Most people used the beaches on the other side of town. They were prettier and had some amenities like food trucks and bathrooms. The docks wereworking docks for fishermen, lobstermen, and the like.
“Drop me off at the beach first,” Reid said quietly. “You guys can get the beers and meet me there.”
Luke and Seb went off to buy the alcohol while Wes, Reid, and I made our way over to the beach. My truck had a few camping chairs stashed in it, but I didn’t have my truck. Reid only had a blanket, but I was pretty sure it was the same blanket he’d used on Saturday when he proposed. Wasn’t about to break that out. Luckily, Wes had a few chairs in his SUV. And Luke came equipped for every scenario, so I knew he would have some too.
The sun was hidden behind some gloomy-looking clouds, and the humidity was making me feel like I was sweating when I was standing still. The guys came back with a couple cases of beers and a few rounds of nips for each of us.
We worked our way through all of it. We all told stories about our respective love lives, four out of five of us now single.
“Oh, Luke’s the only one of us in a relationship?” Seb laughed loudly. “Bullshit, dude.”
“What? Me?” I asked. “I’m not dating anyone.”
“Does Maeve know that?” Wes’s low voice rumbled.
“Oh, she does. The way I heard it Wyatt here told her she’s not good enough for him,” Luke piped up, brows raised at me.
“Fuck that. I never said that. Who told you that?”
“That’s not what I said,” Reid slurred. “I said that you told her she wasn’t your type.”
“She’s not. She’s way too good for me.”
Luke quickly agreed, “Fuck yeah, she is. But I don’t think she cares about that. Not going by the way she was looking at you at dinner that night.”
“Until she heard him in the kitchen. Fuck, I felt so bad for her.”
“We’re just friends,” I said lamely. We were, right? We never crossed that line. Besides when she was sleeping, she never made a move or any indication she wanted me to make a move.
I looked around at how dark it had gotten while we were shooting the shit. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked the time. Nine-thirty. We had been at this all fucking day, on top of the drinking we did earlier at the restaurant. Apparently, Maeve had left me a few messages, and my heart beat harder as I looked at her name.
Wes offered to take Reid home when I mentioned that I wanted to head out. Wes wasn’t one to overindulge, a holdover from an alcoholic father. He would drink socially but never to excess. I gave Reid a one-arm hug before I left. He was looking better, at least for the moment.
I debated about taking Reid’s truck and going home, but I’d had a bit too much to drink. And Maeve’s house was right up the street. I was just going to stop in and ask to crash on her couch. It was just because I probably shouldn’t be driving, I told myself. No other reason.
19
Wyatt
The clouds opened up on my walk to Maeve’s house. I was already damp from sitting on the beach in the drizzly conditions. Now, I was soaked through. I had been getting so comfortable at her house that I didn’t usually knock and wait; it was more of a knock and walk, but when I tried that this time, I found the door was locked. Good. It was dark out, and she needed to keep herself and Jane safe. The lights were still on in the living room, so I knew she was awake.
I knocked again and waited. It took a minute, and I was just getting my phone out to text her when the door opened. Her eyes roamed my face, my body, from head to toe. My shirt was plastered to my skin, and my drenched ball cap had water rolling over my face. I took my hat off and squeezed out some of the water. “Hey,” I said.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. She stood in the doorway, barring my entrance. She looked upset. My blood started pumping faster, immediately livid with whoever hurt her.
“Is everything alright? Can I come in?”
“Where did you park? And why are you soaked?” she asked as she moved out of the doorway so I could go past her.
“I’m parked down by the docks. I walked here. Had a few drinks with the guys and thought it best if I didn’t drive right now. The sky just opened up on me,” I told her, walking toward her bathroom so I could grab a towel.
