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“Jesus. That’s your new neighbor?” Jeremiah asks, sitting up straighter in his chair, not even trying to hide the blatant way he’s staring at her.
Nobody’s hiding it.
“Busy Mitchell,” Teddy says, drawing out her name like he knows her, and when I glance his way, I’m relieved to see he’s staring at his cards. “She’salwaysbeen a bombshell.”
“You two are friends?” I ask, putting out a few chips without really paying attention. I might have a shit hand, but I can’t fold every time.
“We went to high school together.”
It doesn’t surprise me. Teddy’s in his early 20s—about ten years younger than me—which tracks with what I know about Busy and the few memories I have of her, as vague as they are.
I look back over to where she’s now hoisting her daughter up on her hip. Junie sees us then and waves her hand wildly in our direction, making me smile. Busy turns, finally spotting us out on my deck.
“Hey,” she calls out, nodding her head at our group.
A chorus of hellos are sent back her way, then she turns and steps down off her deck and follows the short path to the dock, where we all have the perfect view of her putting Junie down then bending over again.
“Man, she is…” Jeremiah starts, then shakes his head and makes a humming noise like he wants to eat her up.
I don’t like it.
The thought surprises me, but I try to set it aside and refocus on the game. I’dreallylike it ifeveryonewould return their focus to the cards, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to have that kind of luck.
“So what was she like in high school?” Jeremiah asks Teddy.
I try not to roll my eyes. Does it matter? Does it really matter what she was like in high school? Most of the men at this tableare far too old to be staring at her the way they are, myself included.
Of course I can’t help but lean in slightly, more than happy to take in the information if Teddy’s going to be sharing it anyway.
“She was a partier, that’s for sure. We weren’t friends, but we ran in the same crowd.” He takes a swig of his beer and looks back out toward where she’s sitting on the edge of the dock. “She was kind of a loner, though. Kept to herself a lot.”
Nowthatsurprises me.
“I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, if you know what I mean.”
In most situations, I’d keep my opinion to myself. I’m not friends with Jeremiah. It’s no skin off my nose if the guy wants to run his mouth about a woman I know is way out of his league.
But for whatever reason, tonight, I can’t keep my mouth shut. I don’t like the way he’s eyeing her.
“She’s a single mom, man.”
He nods, his eyes oscillating between his cards and where Busy and Junie are now down at the end of the dock. “Single and ready to mingle, or what?”
His response makes it clear he didn’t hear me the way I intended.
“Single and maybenotin need of someone sniffing around who just wants to get in her pants.”
I don’t know where this protectiveness is coming from. All I know is watching him look at her like a piece of meat he wants to sink his teeth into has me all kinds of riled up.
Jeremiah turns to look at me, one eyebrow raised. “You heard Teddy. She likes to party.” He looks her way again, biting his lip in a way that makes me want to bust it open. “If she wants to party, I’ll give her a party.”
Disgust roils through me, and I take a deep breath then let it out long and slow.
“Folding this one.” I drop my cards on the table, face down. “I’m gonna grab another beer. Anyone?”
Teddy nods, but everyone else declines. I head inside and into the kitchen, retrieving two cans from the fridge.
I don’t know Busy any better than I know the dozens of other neighbors who have come and gone over the past year or so. She’s been in town a week, we’ve talked a few times, she’s kind to my dog. I have a few memories of her when she was a kid, but that’s really it. The kind of protectiveness I felt when Jeremiah said what he did—it came out of nowhere.
