Page 17 of Only Ever You
“When people ask me about the channel, I usually say they should stick to watching creators who don’t do the family stuff. That way, you don’t have to wonder how the kids are affected,” I said.
“Are you glad they had you go by Jane?” Casey asked.
I nodded. “That was one thing my parents did right. Although I was annoyed with it at the time, now I’m really glad I’m just Luna. I’ve never been recognized in the wild, or at least not by anyone who told me. Not since I stopped straightening my hair and started using my real name, which I did the second I moved away.”
“How old were you when you stopped?” Phoebe asked.
“I moved out of the RV the day after my eighteenth birthday. I had already talked to my grandmother and she’d opened a bank account for me and sent me enough money to find an apartment and get on my feet. It was spring, so we had just gotten back to Alaska.”
“Did you tell your parents you were leaving?” Tiffany asked.
I shook my head. “I called them after I landed in Juneau. They wouldn’t have done anything crazy; they’re not like that, but they definitely would’ve tried to talk me out of it. It would’ve been a big argument with my grandmother. We did Christmas with her every year, mostly because I begged.”
“Wow,” Madison breathed.
“I don’t mean to be that negative about my parents. I love them. They decided they wanted to try it. Once they started making enough money to fund their travel, they just kept doing it, but it ends up—” I paused. “It ends up feeling like you’re not doing it for the experience. You’re doing it for the content.” I looked around the small table at the room of women. “I’m embarrassed to say this, but you all are my first actual friends since I was in elementary school.”
Tiffany squeezed me again. “We are absolutely your friends, and we are here for you.”
My eyes stung with tears as I took an unsteady breath. “Thank you. I really mean that.”
Amelia, who was tall and kind of intimidated me because she ran a construction business and was a badass, caught my eye and smiled. “We really mean it too.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I started to feel a little uncomfortable with all the attention, and because they were my friends, even if these were new friendships for me, they didn’t dwell on it. Conversation moved onto lighter topics.
“You’d better be careful if you have a thing against firefighters,” Maisie offered wryly after the card game was over a little while later, and we were relaxing around the table, eating off of the dessert tray I’d brought.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “I cannot believe I’m gonna say this, but falling in love with a firefighter is practically a rite of passage in this town.”
I snorted. “I have noticed that,” I commented. My gaze arced around the table. “I’m not planning on falling in love with anyone because I’m just figuring out how to be friends and have a normal life.”
Casey nudged me with her elbow. “Parker is cute.”
“And, he’s single,” Maisie supplied helpfully.
My cheeks started to burn. Since Maisie was the lead dispatcher at Willow Brook Fire & Rescue, she knew pretty much everything about all the firefighters. Of course, she was also always up to speed on any emergency in town and everyone involved. She was a great source of information.
“Hmm,” I replied vaguely.
“Parker’s a hot one,” Tiffany said. “He’s also got that whole mysterious broody thing going on.” She waggled her brows.
Amelia cast Tiffany a sly smile. “Wes could be called mysterious and broody,” she teased lightly. Wes, being Tiffany’s husband and a firefighter.
Tiffany bit her lip as she laughed. “Okay, maybe he could be. He kind of keeps to himself.”
Warm-hearted teasing carried on while I savored being with women who weren’t spending time with me because I was on my parents’ online channel. It was a blessing I’d never take for granted.
Later that night, after I got home, I eyed the text from Parker. My belly felt a little tingly just thinking about him.
I still remembered my first and only kiss. With him. I was embarrassed to even tell him I hadn’t kissed anyone since him. Those few hours at the beach with Parker that afternoon felt like a slice of time I snatched out of the universe and kept for myself.
It was rare for my parents to let me wander anywhere when we were traveling. Alaska was the only place where they felt comfortable letting me do my own thing. In hindsight, that was kind of funny because there were moose everywhere, the occasional bear encounter, and plenty of other wildlife to worry about. That afternoon, they were busy because they were updating the registration on the RV and taking care of other things. There was no content to make for that.
The following night, Parker looked at me from across the table, and I could’ve sworn he could read into my muddled, confused heart. I twisted the napkin in my fingers, trying to think of where to start.
