AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We should do some catching up,” she said. “If we’re going to have to be around each other for the summer, we might as well make the best of it, right?”
She grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and invited me to join her near the pool. I couldn't get in and enjoy a swim because my legs were wrapped in bandages, but being in her presence was good enough for me.
“I agree,” I said. “I never wanted us to end up on such bad terms. Life just took a turn for the worse after the accident.”
I followed her through the sliding glass doors in the kitchen and out to the turf where the pool sat. It was a large space, decorated with all sorts of outside furniture and gym equipment. There was a bar and grill too. Neither one of us were grilling that night, but we used to all the time when we were younger.
Being around Mia made me miss those days. We had nothing but fun times and fun memories up until Trent was sentenced. After that day, it was as if the world stopped spinning and Mia and I became complete strangers.
"So, tell me about life, Brayden. What makes you the man you are today? How's work, aside from the injury? Love life, children, family. What?”
Mia took a seat on one of the loungers, popped her cork, and filled up her wine glass. I popped the top on my beer bottle and parked my chair not too far from hers, preparing myself to tell her about my life. There hadn’t been much to happen in my life since our trio broke apart. She and Trent were the ones who had the most interesting stories to tell.
“I haven’t done much,” I said. “As sad as it sounds, I haven’t had much excitement in life over the years. My mom's still the same. Uncle Joe’s still the same. I've won a few awards for my job, but nothing as exciting as traveling the world as a romance writer.”
I was happy and proud of all of Mia’s success, but I realized it didn’t sound like I was. I sounded like I was jealous or complaining that my life hadn’t taken the road hers did. I could have followed different opportunities or continued my education to become something greater than a firefighter, but I didn't. I got stuck in the loop of time and settled.
“Being a firefighter is a big deal,” she said. “From what I hear, you're one of the best in the town. That's something to be proud of. Trent would have loved to see you doing this.”
My triggers wanted me to take her comment as a stab, but when I looked into her eyes, I saw that she was genuine. I also knew that Trent dreamed of getting onto the fire squad before he was sent away. That was part of the reason I joined in the first place.
“What about your love life?” she asked. “Any special lady occupying space in your heart?”
“No,” I chuckled. “It’s been a long time since that’s happened. I haven’t been interested in a relationship in a long time. What about you? Seems like it from your books.”
“You’ve read my books?”
I read one of her books. The first book she wrote after she left. I felt like it was about our love and how it faded, but I never asked questions to clarify.
“One or two,” I said. “I’m not much of a romance guy but from what I read, you’re good.”
“Wow, I didn’t think you could read at all at one point,” she joked.
It felt nice to sit outside under the stars with her and laugh again. We hadn’t done that in years. We hadn’t done much of anything in years. I often thought about how things would be if we ever crossed paths again and my thoughts were nothing like the way it went.
Sure, I knew it would be rocky after all those years and after so much damage was done, but I didn’t think we’d be able to pick up and laugh so easily. I certainly didn’t think she’d ever agree to stay under the same roof with me again.
“What about you?” I asked. “Boyfriend? Children? Any special guy taking up space in your heart?”
“Hell no,” she said. “You were the last guy I entertained on an intimate level, and I haven’t thought about doing it with anyone new. Relationships are too much work for me. I spend enough time writing about them anyway.”
I thought it was ironic; a romance writer who hated the thought of a relationship. But, in a way I was pleased to know that I was her first and her last. I don’t think I would have taken it lightly had she told me she was involved with someone new. I always thought it’d be me and her.
“I guess your view on love is just as tainted as mine then, huh?” I teased.
“Yeah, well, if my boyfriend at the time would have paid more attention to the things I said, maybe mine wouldn’t be so tainted.”
Her playful smile let me know there were no hard feelings. She was simply stating her opinion without wanting to cause any real damage. I respected her way of going about things. Afterall, I was uptight and a grumpy man those days, so I was looking for any little thing to use as banter for an argument.
We spent the rest of that evening talking about our accomplishments and the things we wished we would have accomplished sooner. We didn’t talk about Trent much because it was a touchy subject, but there were instances where I knew we both wanted to bring him up. Until we got our feet on solid ground, it was best we didn’t. Otherwise, we would have argued nonstop.
“I think I'm going to call it a night for now,” Mia said. “It’s been a long day. Maybe we’ll run into each other tomorrow.”
“We’re in the same house so I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” I said. “I’m going to call it a night too. I'm not sure if Olga will pop up on me tomorrow.”
Chapter Eight ~ Mia
The morning after sitting by the pool with Brayden felt different. I felt like my barricade for him had somehow shifted and he was closer to my good side again. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to mend things with him. Then again, I thought it was too late to still be on the fence after asking him about his love life. Being stuck in limbo or a never-ending game of love me, love me not, was the wrong thing to do.
