All It Took

3.Jeff

Hurts So Good // John Mellencamp

As soon as Alison drives away with her friend, I head out to the back deck and plop onto a lounge chair. One arm behind my head and feet propped up on the railing, I lean my head back and close my eyes. Immediately I picture her, snuggled up to me, sitting close by the fire, kissing her. I know this was a quick meet up, the cliché of love at first sight from across a crowded room hasn't been lost on me. But damn if it doesn't feel deeper than that.

"You are already a goner, man." Micah chuckles as he joins me on the deck. "Less than twenty-four hours and you're a lost cause. I want my wing-man back."

"Wing man? You're practically wifed up with Charlie. Who are you kidding?" I laugh back, even though the dude is right. I'm a goner.

"Shut up." Micah scowls.

"Deny it all you want, but you're into her."

Micah stays silent for a while, rubbing his hands on his thighs. He doesn't look back at me when he finally speaks.

"Doesn't matter. She's a good friend. My best friend. I can't ruin it." His words are quiet, as though he didn't want to admit this raw truth.

"Best friends make the greatest lovers, or at least that's what my dad says."

That catches Micah's attention. "Your parents started as best friends?"

I laugh. "Not exactly. More like mortal enemies. But it evolved into friendship and then they started dating. My dad says he was in love with her from day one, but she had a chip on her shoulder, so it took a while. He played it cool until she was open to dating him."

"Casanova."

"Nah. Rich coffee shop executive. She was a customer, having a bad day, kind of being a Karen, although they didn't call it that back then. My dad stepped in to calm her down or whatever. Didn't exactly work."

"This sounds like a soap opera that my mom watches with my grandma." Micah laughs as he stands up. "I'd love to hear the rest sometime, but I've got to start packing up. We have to be back for practice."

"That's not until tomorrow."

"Yeah but we have to be there early as fuck and I need my beauty sleep after last night."

"You went to bed before I did," I say, doing the math in my head. "You must have had at least eight hours of sleep."

"Okay, we'll go with that." Micah heads back into the cabin and down the hall to his master suite. I'm almost fully packed so I take the opportunity to relax and take in the view. I wish Alison had been able to stay longer and explore with me, but she said she had assignments due before work tomorrow. I don't know how she's dealing with taking a summer course. My brain can't handle more, with all of the new plays to learn and getting to know this coach's style. This team is already a night and day difference from high school ball. I can barely handle football practice at this point.

Although that could have something to do with the fact that Matt has no time for me now that Hannah and he are together. I rooted for them the entire time not realizing how things would play out in reality. And reality sucks. I never see my best friend or my cousin anymore. My sister, who's closer to Hannah than I am, has been giving me the cold shoulder. Ever since we brought everyone up here to Salt Creek for a graduation celebration get away last month, Kyra has kept a low profile around me. It's starting to piss me off. I might have to sit her down and tell her to quit blaming me for Hannah's MIA status. I can't help how she and Matt have taken things to the next level. I had no way of knowing that giving him her number would evolve to this.