Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,28

you have no filter, and see how many months go by without seeing her again. It was five last time. Not that she was running from me, but that didn’t stop me from counting the hours.

“Naked?” Izzy belts out a laugh and her teeth glitter in turn. “I guess they’re typical boys.” She touches her hand to my cheek and holds it there a moment. “Good night, Holt.” I watch as she sways her hips all the way out the door, and my heart breaks because every last part of me wishes I were going with her.

Annie leads me to the back where we have a table and chairs set out for employee breaks. Mom sits off to the side with a decidedly ticked-off expression, and I can’t say I blame her. Jenny is seated square on my dad’s knees, giving him what looks like the lap dance of the century while my father holds her at the hips.

I slap Bryson some skin. “Congrats, bro.”

“You up for best man?” He pulls me into a half hug.

“You bet.” That almost guarantees I’ll get to dance with Izzy again, and this time I can’t help the goofy grin from blooming on my face.

“So you and Sawyer, huh?” He shakes his head as if scolding me on some level. “Is it the real deal?”

I glance over to Mom who looks far more lonely than she ever has before, and it both pisses me off and breaks my heart.

“Nah, Iz and I are just friends.” For a second there I almost forgot I destroy relationships, not build them. Regardless, Izzy’s not up for some traditional relationship, at least not with me. I guess we’ll see how things pan out with the foot doctor on Wednesday. In fact, I think I’ll add myself to the schedule that night so I can see firsthand where this goes. “So what’s up?”

I pull a seat out for Annie, and she takes it.

Dad clears his throat. “I’ve come to a rather sad conclusion.” He glances at my mother then to Bryson and me. “I’ll be putting the bars up on the market.”

“What?” Bryson is shocked enough for the both of us.

“Its simply time. They’ve had a good run, but my head’s no longer in it.” He pats his girlfriend on the knee to let us know exactly where his little head is at. “There’s no point in going forward. This was once a joint venture between your mother and I, and I’ve held onto them longer than I needed to. I’ve already agreed to help pay half of Annie’s education. And, Bryson, I’ll do the same for you until you finish up with your masters, but that’s all she wrote. The bars—much like your mother and I—are history.”

My fist glides over my palm just hearing him talk about her that way. She gave him everything, and he’s just sitting there grinding his heel into what they once had. I hate him—I hate me for this.

“So what’s next?” I ask as if I didn’t know. I get the ax, that’s what’s next.

“I’m going to work it out with the new owner to keep the staff, at least for a little while. And, whatever you do, I wouldn’t tell anyone just yet. Trust me, you’ll have a mutiny by morning if people think they’ll be losing their jobs. I don’t want to spook anyone.” He gets up and wraps an arm around his new gal pal as if it were perfectly normal, and I’m afraid that’s exactly what it is—the new normal.

They take off, and Bryson gives me a light sock to the arm.

“You all right, man?”

“I’m great. Just a little caught off guard.”

Mom comes over and gives us each a hug. “Don’t worry. It’ll all work out I promise.”

I nod as if I believed it, but, the truth is, nothing is going to work out. I’m about to lose the one thing I had that was real in my life, this damn piece of real estate.

Bryson has Baya and his shiny new degree. Annie has a bright future which starts in a few short weeks at Whitney Briggs. And what do I have? A front row seat as the girl of my dreams dates a podiatrist. Nothing more.

That kiss from earlier comes back strong, and a surge of adrenaline spikes through me, vying for hope.

There’s something more brewing between Izzy and me.

I can feel it, and judging by that kiss, so can she.

Touching You, Touching Me

Izzy

Dad,

Every now and again I