Page 47 of Starfish and Coffee
Alex turned, seeing Will with wet hair pulling on a fresh pair of jeans. He took the quickest, most efficient showers in history.
“Yeah?”
“We are going fishing on Sunday.” Will gave Alex a guilty smile. “I know I’ve been busy lately with school. Hell, we barely see each other anymore, and I’m sorry about that. If you don’t want Holly to come, that’s cool.”
“Holly can come. She was my friend first. I like hanging out with her,” Alex reminded him. “Just, you know, don’t traumatize me by crawling all over each other like you do when we’re watching the games.”
“Is that the reason you’re gone all the time?” Will asked in concern.
“No.” Alex rolled his eyes. “It’s just that Matt’s got this fucking awesome mansion on the good side of the beach that’s totally empty. Why wouldn’t I want to crash there?”
“I guess, yeah.” Will nodded grudgingly. “It’s nice of him to let you stay there all the time.”
“That’s ’cause he’s a nice guy.” Alex gave his brother a look. “I wouldn’t be hanging out with him if he wasn’t.”
Will shrugged, obviously not fully convinced. “Try not to let him drown. Major liability dragging him along.”
Alex sorted. “Dick.”
“I’ve been called worse.” Will gave him a smile, but still narrowed his eyes in typical older-brother fashion. “Don’t let him break my gear, Alex.”
“It’s all in good hands,” Alex assured him as he turned to leave.
When he got outside, he found Holly and Matt still having a discussion. He tossed everything in the back and then walked up to Matt. “So what’s the consensus?”
“It doesn’t count.” Matt laughed.
Alex gave Holly a look of sympathy. “Told you.”
Holly’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe I need to ask a straight guy.”
“Heisstraight.” Alex gestured to Matt.
“Yeah, except for the whole having-a-boyfriend thing,” Matt said sarcastically. “Totally straight.”
Holly laughed at them. “Are you guys going trolling after you max out on the grouper?”
“Yes, we are,” Alex said as he opened the passenger-side door. “Don’t wait up.”
“Catch us some mahi. You catch it, and we’ll cook it. Fair deal, right?”
“We can have a cookout at my place,” Matt offered as he turned to Alex looking for confirmation. “Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, Will doesn’t work. We can do it after he gets home from school.” Alex nodded, thinking it would be good for his brother to start actually hanging out with Matt a little. It’d lessen the blow. “Sounds good. Mahi or not, we’ll have more than enough for a party.”
“Excellent.” Holly looked pleased. “Good luck!”
Alex leaned over and kissed Holly’s forehead. “Just ask him.”
Holly smiled as Alex crawled into the cab of the truck. Matt waved good-bye and then walked around to the driver’s side. He fell into the seat next to Alex and turned to look at him, “Are we really fishing for mahi?”
“Fuck, no.” Alex snorted. “Today we’re catching a marlin.”
“You say that every time!” Holly called, obviously having heard the conversation past the open window. “You always come back with mahi or tuna.”
“Not this time,” Alex said confidently. “I feel good. Today’s my day.”
* * * *
