A Boy I Used to Love(69)

"Cass got arrested?" I asked.

"More than once," Tate said. "Meeting Diem toned him down a little. She was raising his daughter. That's a whole other story though. Probably not my place to tell it."

"Agreed," Maddox said. "So, about River … "

"What the fuck is this?" he asked. "You trying to embarrass me?"

Maddox laughed.

"I want to hear," I said. "Did he fight Dirt?"

"He knocked him clean out," Tate said. "With one punch."

"Then he kicked him under a pool table so when Jonesy and the cops arrived, they couldn't find Dirt."

"What?" I asked.

River looked down at me and winked. "He ran his mouth, and I wanted to show how cool I was to the guys."

"Real cool," Axel said. "He was a bum."

"Who?" River asked.

"You," Axel said with a laugh.

"Lacey," Tate said. "You remember those cartoons and shows where the bum would have the scruff on his face? His big toe sticking out of his shoe? Carrying broomstick handle with a handkerchief balled up with some cans of beans in it? That was River."

"Wow," I said. "A bum."

"Not a bum," River said. "I was in a transition part of my life."

"Yeah," Axel said. "The one where you said you had no money, no job, nothing."



       
         
       
        

I thought about what River had told me. How some woman said she was pregnant with his kid. And how the kid turned out not to be his. And that he sold his shop and gave her everything and then split.

I had to bite my tongue a little as the guys poked fun at River, trying to get a rise out of him in front of me.

I just grabbed at River's hand and squeezed tight. I knew the truth. That was all that mattered.

After everyone got done laughing, it got really quiet. We all just stared at the fire for a while. Tate leaned forward and tossed another piece of wood to it. The flame died down a little for a minute before the wood crackled and popped, and the fire came back to full life.

Then he looked at me. "So, you're the one. Finally."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Tate, what are you doing?" River asked.

"No, it's okay," Tate said. "From the day I met River, his life revolved around you, Lacey. He never got close to a person like he got close to you. He never brought anyone to my parties. Ever."

"Okay," River said. He stood up. "You guys done here?

"You built her a damn cabin," Axel said.

I looked up at River.

"Richie wanted the cabin," River said. "I just helped."

"Because you were always up there," Axel said. "Looking for her. Waiting for her. Shit, I had been married once in my life, and I'm not sure I loved her as much as that."

"Jesus, man," River said. "Can we let this go?"

"Sorry," Tate said. "I just think this is good. The two of you. It works. You seem happy, River."

I stood up and slipped my arms around River. "I know I'm happy. It's been a long and crazy road for us."

"Well, with that said, I'm coming to the end of the road for the night," Tate said. He put his feet up and leaned back in his chair. He put his head back and looked up to the sky.

"I'm going in, then," Axel said.

"I'll follow you," Maddox said.

"What are you going to do with Prick?" I asked.

"Screw him," Maddox said. "He'll wake up tomorrow and feel like hell."

"This was really fun," I said as the small group broke apart.

Nobody was listening to me, though.

River grabbed at my hand. He tugged at me and nodded.

"What?" I asked.

He leaned down and put his lips to my ear. "How about we get you in the pool?"





River





PRESENT DAY



 

She had her jeans rolled up and her feet in the water.

The whole naked thing didn't work out so well, not that I could blame her. There were still a few people lingering around outside, finishing up their night. Most of everyone had crashed at Tate's. I made sure to pace myself so I could get Lacey home.

She gently kicked her feet in the water. There were white lights along the side of the lining of the pool. I noticed that her toenails were a light blue color. I liked it.

"This is my last one," I said, grabbing my beer. "Then we head out."

"Great. Are you sure you don't want to stay? Wake up and have breakfast?"

"Trust me, there's no breakfast here, darling," I said. "They wake up, take pills for their headaches, drink coffee, and move on."