“I’d go with them,” Scott said as he rinsed his plate. “But golf’s never been my thing. Too slow and long. Josh really liked Nathan, though. Said he’s really happy for you.”
Anna wished she could say the same for Scott. But as usual, she bit her tongue and smiled. “You two seemed really happy Friday night too. I was surprised.” Scott turned to look at her from the sink. “I mean because it felt so much like old times, like nothing had ever happened between you two. I was sort of expecting it to be kind of weird. At least in the beginning, you know?”
Scott nodded as he shook his hands and wiped them dry with a towel. “It’s what we keep saying. Strange how we can just go back to where we left off. But we’re taking it slow. It’s why I’m not moving back in with him just yet.”
Beyond relieved to hear it, Anna let out a slow breath, hoping Scott wouldn’t pick up on it. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said, lifting her plate and cup from the table. “I really hope he’s learned his lesson and everything works out for you two. And for the record, he really did seem sincere when he called me last week.”
The moment she put her dishes down in the sink Scott pulled her to him and hugged her, groaning as he squeezed her. “Thank you.” He kissed her head. “I know you worry, and I get why you would. But it’d mean a lot to me if you could just get on board with me on this. I have a good feeling about it.”
Anna nodded, feeling bad for referring to Josh as the enemy now. She’d teased Nathan after Friday night, calling him a traitor for making friends with the enemy.
“I just want you to be happy, Scott,” she said, glancing up at him. “You know that, right? I really am hoping things work out and you two will live happily ever after. I know it’s what you want.”
“I know that and I know you were apprehensive about this and I don’t blame you, but I’m glad you think he’s sincere. I really want to believe that he is. I never thought I’d be one to give second chances, so I really hope I’m not making a mistake here.”
“Hey, what about me?” Sam hugged them both, trying to squeeze between them.
Anna laughed. “I swear you’re like a pesky little sister, always trying to squeeze yourself into group hugs.’
Sam pulled back, giving Anna her fake serious face. “Don’t say that, Anna. You know how vulnerable I am.”
Anna laughed again. “Newsflash. Vulnerable people never admit they are.”
Sam’s brows furrowed. “Really?”
“Yes,” Anna said as Scott started to walk away. “It’s like crazy people. The only ones that don’t know they’re crazy are them.”
Scott had since walked out of the kitchen, and Anna had heard the shower start up. She waited until he was in the bathroom with the door closed then turned to Sam, who was pouring herself a second cup of coffee. “So what do you think?” she whispered.
Sam turned to her then glanced out the kitchen door. “I don’t know. He seems so emotional about it, though. Makes me nervous.”
“I know,” Anna said, shaking her head. “I swear if that little shit does anything to hurt Scott again I’m gonna get locked up because I’ll kill him. I just wish . . .”
“Just wish what?” Sam asked.
Anna stared out into space for a moment. “That I could pick Josh’s brain a little, find out what’s really going on in that head of his.” She snapped her fingers with a smile. “I think I know how!” Sam stared at her curiously. “I gotta make a call!”
In a flash, she was off and running, assuring Sam she’d tell her about it later. Maybe Nathan being a traitor wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
~*~
Nathan
The smile Nathan wore as he drove up the long drive to the country club in Del Mar, waned when he remembered something. He’d promised Anna he’d try to get Josh to share with him about the breakup. This was so not what he wanted today to be about. It was his day off, and since Anna had school and work it was the next best way to pass the time. Playing golf.
His brothers were the only other guys he ever opened up to about anything personal. He hardly knew this guy. Sure, he’d been easy enough to laugh and chat with at the party last week, but they’d never talked about anything deeper than sports and golf clubs. Nathan had put his foot down—at first. It was easy enough to reject the idea over the phone, but then he saw Anna Tuesday, and she’d brought out the big guns, the pouty lips and big puppy dog eyes. Not to mention that for a novice she was getting pretty good at doing things to him that would have him agreeing to anything.
In spite of the movement going on in his pants now just thinking about it, Nathan shook his head, remembering why he’d be working the idea of her moving in with him sooner than he first anticipated. She was just about done pleasuring him on Tuesday. He’d been ready to blow when Sam barged into the room, ruining the fucking moment.
She’d jumped right back out, apologizing profusely. Nathan didn’t drive down to Temecula too often during the week, and Sam hadn’t been there when he arrived. So she didn’t know he’d be in the room with Anna. As fast as Sam had jumped back out, her eyes had frozen on his very erect cock for a second before she left. It was awkward as shit for everyone, but when he left, Sam had locked herself in her bedroom, calling it a night, so he at least hadn’t had to face her that night. By the time he’d gotten home, Anna had texted him to tell him what they’d both suspected. Sam was mortified, and she had, in fact, just been hiding in her bedroom to avoid facing him.
Thank God for that. Hopefully, the next time he saw her they could just pretend it never happened. For now, he focused on what he’d be forced to do today. But he had warned Anna he’d only casually bring up Scott. He wasn’t all-out asking what the fuck was going through his head when he betrayed the guy. That was way too nosey and absolutely none of Nathan’s business.
Josh was waiting for him at the club house where he said he’d meet him. As usual, hanging out with him felt like when he hung with any of his other guy friends or when he played golf with his firefighter buddies. Except he was a little better than most of the guys he usually played with. They’d already gone through half the course, and Scott’s name had only come up in general: how the guy liked most sports but never really gave golf a shot and how the only thing he ever liked about golf was driving the little cart and the beer time afterward.
Nathan mentioned that he’d be taking the hour-long drive to see Anna after he was finished there and that he’d hoped there wasn’t much traffic.
“Good luck with that. I’m hoping to convince Scott to move in with me again. The drive out to Temecula from here is a bitch.” He leaned against his club as Nathan set up to hit the next ball. “But it’s all part of paying for my mistake. This was my fault, so I have to suck it up now for as long as it takes him to trust me again.”
Nathan stared down at his ball, squeezing his eyes shut. This was it. There was no better time to ask him about it than now. Fuck. He lifted his club then swung and watched the ball fly through the air. “Good shot,” Josh said as they walked back to the cart together.
“Thanks,” Nathan said.
They got to the cart where Nathan slipped his club back into the bag, and he conjured up his nosey girly talk side. “You two seem pretty tight. I never would’ve guessed you two were coming off such a bad breakup if I didn’t know it.” Or that either of them were gay, but he kept that one to himself.
“Yeah, it was bad,” Josh said, getting into the driver side. “I don’t know how much Anna’s told you about it, but I fucked up pretty bad.”
Nathan got into the passenger side, and they started to the next hole. Nathan hated to ask, but he’d promised Anna. “So was it just a slip? Or was it something that built up to it?”
“Anna’s never really told you about it?”
“All she’s ever told me was that Scott’s heart had been broken pretty badly. But I never asked for details.”
Nathan had to bite his tongue because he nearly said what he really wanted to
say. You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business. But he didn’t and Josh began to spill his guts.
“It’s long and convoluted and it’s not so cut and dry. It didn’t just happen. Don’t get me wrong; I take full responsibility for my actions. I’m a grown-ass man, but there were other factors that sort of added to everything going down the way it did.”
For the rest of the course, Nathan heard the rest of the story. Bottom line was Josh didn’t actually sleep with anyone else. But for years, his ex, Bryce, had been a huge source of contention between them. Bryce was older than Josh, had been out for years when they met, and was Josh’s first real relationship.
Once Josh got on a roll with the story, Nathan got the feeling he was really trying to explain himself because Anna was so important to Scott. The guy likely knew either Nathan got put up to ask about it or just figured whatever he told him would get back to her.
By the time they were done with the course, it was still too early to head out to Temecula. Anna wouldn’t be out of school for at least another two hours. Josh asked Nathan if he wanted to have a couple of beers at the club’s bar, so Nathan agreed.
Josh had already covered him on the entire backstory of him and Bryce. The older guy had taken advantage of the fact that Josh was young and still trying to find his way. Josh had become a little obsessed with Bryce to the point that Josh said, in hindsight, he knew it was an unhealthy relationship. The guy had way too much power over him for too long—something he’d never admitted to Scott.
Already, Nathan felt like he knew too much. To his utter consternation, there was more.
A lot more.
As against getting involved as he’d been when Anna first asked him to, Nathan was glad now that he knew more. He felt for Josh now. Here Nathan had expected him to be a total cheating douche. The guy had been trapped, not just by a slick talking older guy who’d used his charm and experience to manipulate him, but by his own mother, who’d turned her back on Josh when he came out. Only Bryce charmed her too. The guy actually got her to come around and accept it. He did such a damn good job of it that, even when Josh finally manned up and left him, his mother had urged him to reconsider.
“She never gave Scott a chance,” Josh explained with a frown. “And Bryce used that to his advantage. I never cheated on Scott, but I’m pretty sure it’s what Anna told you because I know it’s what Scott thinks. Not physically anyway. But I did lie to him. I gave into Bryce and met up with him on a few occasions, snuck around until it bit me in the ass when Scott found out about it. I was honest with him because I didn’t know how much he knew, and I know he assumed I’d slept with Bryce. It’s why he left. I know he’s still not convinced I didn’t, but he’s willing to forgive me and give us another chance as long as I cut all ties with Bryce, which I have. Trust me. I’ve learned my lesson.” He scoffed then took a swig of his beer and shook his head. “I’ve seen the light. I know now Bryce was just an asshole who lives to placate his giant ego. Once I walked away, I became nothing more to him than a challenge.”
Today had been proof positive that there are always two sides to every story. The whole time Nathan sat in traffic after leaving the country club, he thought about everything Josh had shared with him. Before he’d rush to judge the guy for being weak, he reminded himself he’d chased after girls he hardly knew a few times because they were a challenge. Of course, the first one was when he’d been way younger. But it was one that was most relatable to Josh’s predicament with Bryce. Nathan knew all about being taken advantage of by someone older and more experienced and the feelings of obsession that followed. He’d gone through something similar in high school.
Nathan saw the unnerving text preview from Emi when he was at a stop.
What’s up with Anna’s obnoxiously flirty friend?
Fuck! Had Scott flirted with her too? Now this had him wondering the same thing. What the hell was up with that? He’d have to wait until he came to a complete stop to read the whole thing and either respond to it or call her back. This was too weird. He’d since mentioned Valerie’s friend saying he flirted with her to Anna, but she’d brushed it off as a misunderstanding. She’d also explained the kiss on her prom night had been totally innocent too. It was just Scott feeling bad that she’d mentioned thinking she might get her first kiss on prom night. So he kissed her. But that was it.
It’s why she thought his flirting had to be a misunderstanding. It was in his nature to be overly sweet. Only Emi’s text had an air of irritation. This had to be more than just him being overly sweet. The moment he pulled up in front of Anna’s place he read the rest of the text.
I first thought I’d just imagined it, even forgot about it. But I just got off the phone with AJ and he confirmed I was right. W.T.F!
AJ? Had Scott flirted with Addi? Nathan hit speed dial immediately. He wouldn’t have the patience to sit and wait while they went back and forth texting. “What happened?” he asked as soon as she answered.
“The night of the party I thought I noticed her friend being all flirty with AJ—”
“Wait, wait,” Nathan said, feeling even more alarmed. “Scott flirted with AJ?”
Nathan almost chuckled, trying to visualize AJ’s discomfort, but he shook his head instead. This still made no sense.
“Scott?” Emi asked, sounding confused. “No. The girl. I think her name was Sam? She cornered him at one point, but I was watching from the other side of the room, so I couldn’t be sure if she was being playful or just chatting with him. Then they walked out of the area where the gathering was, and I didn’t see either of them for a while. So I had a bad feeling. But I’d forgotten all about it until I was talking to him just now, and he said she’d been all over him. He said he tried to get away from her by sneaking into the men’s room and she followed him in there!”
“What?” Nathan’s mouth had fallen open; then he remembered. “She was drunk, like real drunk. Anna said it’s not like her. I guess she had too many shots.”
“That’s still no excuse, Nathan. That’s really disrespectful to Addi. Can you imagine if she’d seen them going into the men’s room together? AJ said he told Addi about it afterward and she didn’t make a big deal of it, but then she’s used to dealing with his overzealous and obsessive fans. This is different. If she can’t handle her liquor, then maybe next time we have a gathering where there’s going to be some, and you know there always is, you might consider not bringing her. I like Anna and all, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna put up with her friend throwing herself at my married brothers or, worse, my man. I can tell you right now most of the other wives in this tribe will not be as understanding as sweet Addi.”
“Alright, alright.” Nathan nodded, and the only thing that kept him from smirking at his little sister’s spunk was knowing he’d have to discuss this with Anna now. She’d likely be embarrassed. “I’ll make sure nothing like that happens again.”
“Good. Because I mean who does that? How drunk was she to follow him into the men’s room?”
“Very drunk.”
He explained about her going missing and how Anna had said Sam had been very embarrassed about the whole thing the next day.
“Well, she should be. Anyway,” Emi said, her tone easing up a bit. “Are you anywhere near my house? I just made chicken dumpling soup to take over to AJ’s since everyone over there was hit with the flu this week. But I made plenty. You wanna stop by?”
Nathan thanked her but let her know he was nowhere near her and he’d be spending the evening with Anna. Once off the phone, he noticed the text from Anna and clicked on it.
I’m running late. Call me as soon as you get this text.
“Crap,” he muttered as he hit the speed dial.
“Hey,” she said as she answered. “I’m on my way now, but I’m stuck in traffic. Sam and Scott should both be gone. Scott’s gone most of the night, and Sam’s staying over at her mom’s tonight, so we have the place to ourselves, and I have a surprise for you,??
? she added with a murmur.
Nathan smiled, already feeling excited. “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“No more than fifteen or twenty minutes, but there’s a key to the front door in the red planter hanging in the porch. Let yourself in and wait for me inside. There’s beer and wine in the fridge if you want some.”
“Got it,” he said, opening his car door and getting out.
“How did it go with Josh? Did you get anything out of him?”
“Yes. Way too much, but I’ll tell you about it when you get here. I don’t want you distracted while you’re driving.”
“Just tell me if it’s good or bad?”
Nathan smiled as he walked up the front stairs of her small house. “I think he’s sincere about not wanting to hurt Scott again. But I’ll give you the full details later. Just hurry up and get here. I’m already anxious about that surprise.”
He easily found the key, frowning about how effortless it was to do so. Even though Anna had assured him no one was home and there weren’t any cars in the driveway, he still knocked first, a couple of times. When no one came to the door, he unlocked it with the key. Except for a light on in the kitchen, the rest of the house was dark. Nathan walked back out to return the key to the planter then back into the house. He closed the door behind him and turned on a lamp in the front room. His eyes were instantly on the photos on the small mantel. There was a photo of Anna, Heidi, her mom, and he assumed the man in the photo smiling just as big as the rest of them was her stepdad.
Next there was a photo of her and Scott in a Six Flags amusement park frame. They looked a lot younger and again their smiles beamed. He noticed the shelf off to the side with small photo albums. Not even his sisters kept photo albums anymore, but these looked kind of old. Curiously, he picked one up and opened it. More photos of Anna and Scott. Nathan flipped through pages of photos of just the two of them. When he flipped back to the front cover, annoyed, he was slightly relieved at the big BFF on the cover. Lots of butterflies and flowers adorned the front but no hearts. He’d begun to grind his teeth at how in every single one Scott had his arm around her or she was leaning against his arm. In one, she was even sitting in front of him between his legs on bleachers somewhere.