44. Dusty

We always fish for our supper.

Fishing is kind of Josh’s thing. There’s never any talk of what do we eat if we don’t catch something? Because we always catch something. Josh wills it into reality.

When Skyler finally arrives, it’s our cue to move to the pontoon.

He’s the only one of us guys who has an office job. It’s a remote office job, but he still has to show up to virtual meetings and all that. He couldn’t get away during the middle of a Friday like the rest of us could. So, when he finally rolls up, we shift from water-skiing to fishing. I climb aboard the pontoon, because it’s tradition, but when the girls pull Marnie back to the beach, I almost dive back in the water to follow her.

Reese is the only female who joins us on the boat, but she’s as big of a fishing fanatic as her big brother. I sit with my fishing rod and nurse my beer, but Marine pulls my gaze to shore. I’m like a reverse lighthouse, constantly scanning the beach for her.

That yellow bikini glows like a beacon. All I want to do is get her into the tent so I can pull the top down, drag the bottoms to the side and fuck her while she’s still wearing it.

There’s a smattering of chuckles and I realize everyone is staring at me. Skyler recasts, his bob hitting the water with a little bloop.

I glance at their expectant faces and shrug. “What’d I miss?”

“We’ve been talking at you for a while now.”

Skyler laughs, shaking his head. “Where’s your head at, brother?”

“Back at the beach, is my guess.”

Josh mutters, trading amused looks with his sister.

“You’ve got it bad, Dusty.”

Bo laughs. “I didn’t know it was possible to capture the heart of Don Juan himself.”

I shrug. “When you look like that, anything is possible.”

We all look at the woman in question. She’s laughing at something Andy said.

“What are you going to do when she moves back to Lincoln?”

Reese asks, wincing when we all turn to look at her.

“I’ve got some time to figure that out, I guess. She won’t go back until August.”

Bo takes off his sunglasses. “Really? When were you going to drop that little nugget on us?”

I shrug, laughing. “I’m telling you now.”

Bo nods, sitting back. “Fifty bucks says they’re engaged by Christmas.”

“Whoa, don’t put so much pressure on things.”

I say. “You owe Andy a ring before you start putting the rest of us on the spot.”

Josh smiles that quiet smile of his. He’s the only one who’s actually married. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

Skyler snaps his rod back, catching the first fish of the day. We watch him pull a big catfish out of the water. He takes out the hook before grunting. “October.”

We look at him.

He grins, throwing the fish in a cooler. “Fifty bucks says they’re engaged by Halloween.”

I sit back, slumping. “Take me back to the beach. I’ve had enough.”

Thankfully, they eventually drop the topic, choosing to grill Reese about her future instead. It takes us an excruciating ninety minutes to catch enough fish for the group.

But who’s counting?

I almost jump out of the boat and swim back to shore. Finally, finally, we make land. Erin and Marnie have already prepped the rest of our food, creating little tin foil packets full of veggies. Andy is entertaining them, telling them a story that involves a lot of flailing limbs. I walk up, wary, hoping that the story doesn’t star me.

Marnie turns to look at me as I approach, holding out her arms.

I don’t even bother holding back the goofy smile that tugs at my lips as I take her into my arms. “What are we talking about?”

Marnie’s fingers draw up and down my spine. “Turns out we know a lot of the same people. Especially Erin and me. I’m surprised we never ran into each other.”

That doesn’t surprise me. Erin is the artsy fartsy type. She expresses herself through clothes, wearing things that are whimsical and loud. She’s got her soul on her sleeves, so naturally, I am quite fond of her. People around these parts are too restrained. Too worried about what other people will say. If they wanted my opinion, I’d tell them opinions can’t kill you. And it’s a hell of a lot more fun to live out loud.

“Who got the fire going?”

Bo asks, carrying the cooler up the beach.

“That was Marnie.”

Andy says, blushing when he gathers her up in an aggressive hug. She’s still getting used to being around him and us at the same time. We were all in the same class in school. Hell, she and Skyler had the same babysitter as toddlers. But we didn’t travel in the same circles as Andy back then. It’s taken some adjustment all around.

Erin helps Josh gut fish, unaware of the green shade the other girls are turning. “We were talking about what it’s like living in a small town.”

Marnie hooks her hand around my hip. “Andy grew up here, so she knew what she was getting into, but Erin and I aren’t used to these small-town dynamics. Everybody knowing everybody.”

She glances up at me, a coy look in her eye. “I was telling them about how Tia left you in charge of the bar that night when we first met.”

The casual reference to that night, and what obviously transpired after, has my blood rushing south. She notices the heat in my eyes and smirks.

Oh, she’s going to pay for that later.