Page 11 of The Tides Between Us

“Okay, so I need to have a moment of truth with you,” I said to Adrian as our plates were cleared away and the fifth round of beers wound up in front of us.

“Here we go.” Adrian stared at me for a moment. “Do I even want to know?”

I scowled. “Why do you say it like that? It’s not like it’s something bad.”

“I never know what the hell you’re going to tell me.” He let out a laugh. “Seriously, Dec. The last time you started a conversation with that, you told me you were going to Brazil for a year to live in a damn shack.”

“Okay, first of all, that year was fucking amazing. Second of all, it wasn’t a shack. It was a sweet little cottage that you enjoyed when you came to visit.”

“It was like I couldn’t reach the outside world with the limited cell service and no Wi-Fi,” he said matter-of-factly.

I shrugged. “I would highly recommend unplugging like that to anyone who needs it. It’s refreshing.”

“The only thing refreshing about it was the fresh fruit, maybe.”

I smiled at my too-civilized, too-reliant-on-technology brother. “See, I knew there were some things you liked about it.”

“Your moment of truth,” he waved his hand, motioning for me to continue. “Let’s hear it.”

I sucked in a breath. I had forgotten what even started our conversation, but was quickly reminded that it was me. Me and my damn thoughts of her. If it weren’t for the alcohol and bonding moment, I would have kept it to myself. I had to tell someone about her.

“So, I met this girl and for the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do.”

Adrian’s eyes widened and he cocked his head. “What do you mean? Why would you not know what to do?”

“I don’t know, man.” I ran a frustrated hand through my hair as I took another swig of my beer. “She’s a marine biologist at the place where I dropped off that turtle.”

“That explains why you went back there again.”

“Well, no,” I argued and shook my head. “I wanted to check in on the turtle too.”

Adrian gave me a pointed look and rolled his eyes. “Sure. So, what is the problem then?”

“Is it too soon to go back and check in again?”

He fought back a smile and choked back a laugh. “Yes. You just went there, don’t go back again.”

“Dude, I know.” I shook my head, feeling the alcohol entangling its warmth in my brain. “I don’t want her to think I’m psychotic or anything, but I want to see her.”

“I thought you were going there for the turtle?”

I narrowed my eyes at him as he smirked at me. “Goddammit.”

“At least give it a few days, Dec. You don’t want to come on too strong.”

I nodded, agreeing with him. “That’s what I was thinking. You know how I live my life. It’s weird having someone stuck in my head like this.”

“Oh, I know,” Adrian agreed with a chuckle. “I feel like the last time I saw you worked up over a girl was back in high school when Melanie Dean refused to go to prom with you.”

“That whole thing was fucked up,” I scoffed. “She wanted everyone to think we were together and then went with Patterson Yangley instead.”

Adrian was still laughing and shaking his head. “I remember it clearly.” He pushed away from the bar and rose to his feet. “I’m going to head to the bathroom. Ask Bentley for our bill and then we can head out.”

I nodded as he disappeared and drained the rest of my beer from the glass bottle before setting it down. Bentley was helping someone else at the moment, so I pulled out my phone to check the time. My mind didn’t even register it as I began to scroll through the different apps, ultimately ending up on my messages.

Opening the thread between Giana and me from yesterday, I couldn't help but smile as I read back over the messages. The last one was her asking me why I would save her number. The memory played over in my mind and my response. I couldn’t stop myself as my fingers began to move across the screen.

Declan

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