got free food and I won the bet! And a year of free Netflix! Triple win!”
“And that’s why we’re friends,” he laughs out. “You see what I mean about you and Calvin never working out? He would never even consider doing something like that. And here you are, doing it just to prove a point.”
I snort. “Not that I would ever even consider dating your brother, but am I really that different from him? And if I am, people do say that opposites attract. Maybe he’s what I need and I’m what he needs. You know, he needs someone to push him to do something out of the box, and I need someone to keep me from crossing the line, because you know the line and I have never seen eye-to-eye.”
He shrugs. “I guess you could be right, but what the hell would the two of you talk about?”
I bite my lower lip, desperate to prove my point. Don’t ask me what my point is, because even I’m not sure. “Anything. The same things we talk about. I mean, you and I are exactly alike. We would have fun doing anything and everything. But Calvin and I would have to connect on a deeper level. Well, either that or he’d just have to be really good in bed,” I joke, but he doesn’t laugh. It’s like he’s too focused on something else, so I let the topic fall away completely.
A little while later, we make it to the beach and he grabs our things and carries them down to the sand. While he sets up the blanket, I stick the umbrella into the sand and get everything situated. I set up our beach chairs, strip out of my shorts, and place the cooler between our two chairs so neither of us has to reach far for a beer. I know beer is the last thing I should be thinking about after last night, but the hair of the dog is the only way I’m getting through this.
I take a seat in the chair and grab a beer. I slide on a koozie and pop the top, taking a long drink. Alcohol isn’t allowed on the beach, but everyone does it, and as long as things don’t get crazy and you’re not openly showing your container, no one gives a shit.
Preston sits beside me and does the same. We both drink our beer and look out over the water. “Remember the graduation party we had here?”
I smile. “Of course I do. I finally got the chance to show up stupid Linda Miller by doing that keg stand and winning the party.”
“Winning the party? That’s what you think you did?” I can hear the amusement in his voice, so I turn to look at him with my brows drawn together.
“Yeah, what do you think I did?”
He smirks. “If I remember correctly, you did a keg stand, got dizzy and drunk, then puked on half the student body.”
Oh yeah. I forgot about that part. “But after that, I did another keg stand and didn’t puke. Still sounds like I won.”
He laughs. “I love how you always make everything so positive. It’s like that time I got into that fight and was suspended from the football game. You came over and we ended up getting trashed and going skinny-dipping in the pool.”
I nod. “I remember that well. That was the first time I got to see little Preston.” I laugh because I know the only word he’ll focus on is little.
“Little? What do you mean little? If anything deserved the title of ‘little,’ it was your tits.”
I gasp. “My tits were not little. They were still growing. I was a late bloomer. The same couldn’t be said about you, though. Your voice changed in the sixth grade. One day you sounded normal and the next it sounded like you got ahold of Chewy’s squeaky toy and had it lodged in your throat.” I can’t hold back my laugh when I think of a 12-year-old Preston chasing after the dog to get the squeaky toy from him.
“Shut up. It wasn’t that bad.” He playfully smacks my leg.
I nod. “Oh, it was that bad. I remember you trying to talk your mom into letting you skip school until it calmed down.”
He shakes his head, annoyed that this is what we’re talking about. “You think mine was bad? Don’t you remember Calvin’s?”
I honestly can’t say that I do. By that point, Calvin was too old to hang