She meant well, so I just smiled and nodded even though I had no intention of sleeping with anyone this summer.
On our way home, we passed Sandy’s on the Beach, a restaurant that was known for live music at night and really good food. A sign out front read, Temporary Summer Help Wanted. Since there was a university just over the bridge, a lot of the students went home in the summer, leaving some of the local restaurants in need of temporary wait staff.
I stopped short in front of the entrance. “Do you mind if I go in and inquire about this?”
“Sure. I’d actually like to check it out, too.”
It turned out that Sandy’s was desperate for summer help. Both Jade and I had waitressing experience, so we sat down and filled out applications. By the time we walked out of there, we each had a job. The manager basically told us we could work any night we wanted. The extra money and flexibility was impossible to pass up. Jade was particularly happy that he’d told her it was no problem if she had to suddenly cancel a shift in the event she got called back to Manhattan for an audition. We were each going to start tomorrow.
That night, Jade thought we should celebrate our new jobs over dinner and drinks on the upper deck back at the house. It hadn’t dawned on me how peaceful being away from Justin all day had been.
When we walked in the door, butterflies started to swarm in my stomach again as soon as I smelled his cologne. Justin was standing in the kitchen drinking a beer when Jade ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Justin was tall—over six feet—but Jade wasn’t that much shorter than him. Next to both of them, I was basically a midget.
God, he cleaned up nice.
Justin had changed out of his camouflage shorts from earlier into dark jeans and a gray shirt with black stripes that hugged his chest. He’d done something to his hair that I couldn’t pinpoint. Maybe washed it? Whatever it was, it brought out the blue in his eyes—eyes that were now gazing into Jade’s.
She ran her fingers through his hair then kissed him. “I missed you, babe. Guess what? We both got jobs at this restaurant on the beach.”
“Did you tell them you could get called back to New York anytime?”
“The guy said it didn’t matter. He said I could basically just work whenever I want.”
“Really. That sounds a bit shady to me. But whatever. You sure he doesn’t just want in your pants, Jade?”
“He said the same thing to me,” I interrupted.
“Well, then it can’t be that.”
It took me a bit to realize that he’d just insulted me.
Jade intercepted before I could muster up a comeback. “It’s mild out. How about we all have dinner on the upstairs deck tonight. We could barbecue that steak I have marinating in the fridge.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her I don’t like red meat, so I just kept quiet. He would probably think I was looking for an excuse not to have dinner with them.
Kill him with kindness.
“I’m not that great of a cook, but I can make a big salad.”
Justin smacked the counter. “Great. I’ll start the grill while Amelia tosses her big salad.”
He started to walk outside when I yelled after him.
“You know what Nana would say to you right now? She’d tell you to go wash your dirty mouth out with soap.”
He turned around and lifted his brow. “Soap wouldn’t cut it.”
I suppose I should have been happy that he was talking to me as opposed to pretending I wasn’t there. I guess we were making progress?
After chopping up lettuce, carrots, red onion, tomatoes and cucumbers, I dressed the salad with homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.
I carried it upstairs where Justin and Jade were already sitting down at the table. Jade had poured three glasses of Merlot, and Justin was sipping one as he looked over at the waves, which were rough tonight.
Once we started eating, Justin wouldn’t look at me or make conversation. I filled my plate with salad and bread, and it took a while before anyone noticed that I wasn’t eating anything else.
Jade’s mouth was full when she said, “You didn’t even touch the steak.”
“I don’t really like to eat meat.”
Justin chuckled. “Is that why you can’t find a man?”
I dropped my fork. “You’re a prick. Seriously. I don’t recognize you anymore. How were we ever best friends?”
“I used to ask myself that all the time before I stopped giving a shit.”
I got up from the table and went downstairs. Leaning against the kitchen counter, I breathed in and out slowly to calm myself down.
Jade came up quietly behind me. “I really don’t get what’s going on between you two or why he refuses to talk about it. Are you sure you guys never dated?”
“I told you, Jade. It wasn’t anything like that.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”