what we’ll do next, because we don’t even know what we’ll do next. The shit we get into is never planned. It’s all just passed on to us by destiny herself.
Is that your car I see? Preston texts.
I smile as I pick up my phone from the counter and reply. Stalking me much?
Keep your friends close. Keep your partner in crime closer, he replies.
I laugh. I’m home. Come over.
He doesn’t respond, but a few minutes later, I hear Dad talking outside with someone. I stand up and move to the patio door, seeing Preston and my dad standing in the center of the brick pile.
A wide smile covers my face as I push my way out the door and run to him. He catches me in a big hug, pulling me against his chest as I wrap my legs around his hips.
“Damn, Pipes. Gained a few pounds?” he jokes.
I pull away and smack him hard across the chest. He quickly covers it with his hand and rubs the sore spot. “Don’t be a jerk, asshole,” I tell him.
He laughs. “I was only kidding. Who knew you were so sensitive about your weight? You look damn good to me,” he says, eyes moving up and down my body, making that fire inside me burn hotter. “In fact, it looks like you’ve lost some weight.”
“I thought so too,” Mom says, coming to a stop beside me as she hands Preston a glass of lemonade.
“I haven’t lost much,” I argue. “I’ve just been staying busy with the magazine and working on the house.”
“Thanks for the lemonade, Mrs. Montgomery,” Preston says, lifting the glass and taking a drink.
“Anytime, dear. How’s your brother doing? I haven’t seen him in a long while.”
He nods. “He’s good. He’s been busy with work since his new law office opened last month.”
“That’s right. I forgot all about that. We were invited to the grand opening, but I’d come down with a horrible cold and couldn’t make it.”
“See, Piper,” Dad says, pointing at me, “Calvin’s who you need to be settling down with. Stop messing around with punks.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. Dad has never liked any of the guys I’ve dated. But he obviously can’t pick them out any better than I can if he thinks I need to be with Calvin, my best friend’s brother. “Yeah, yeah, I know, Dad,” I agree without meaning a word of it.
Preston laughs. “I’ve never thought of that before. You and Calvin?” He erupts into a fit of laughter.
I frown. “What’s so damn funny about Calvin and me? You don’t think I deserve him?”
He waves his hand through the air. “You’re complete opposites. I mean, he’s always serious. You’re never serious. You’re like me: wild and free and just looking for fun.”
He goes on comparing us and why I’d never work with his brother, but all I hear is how Preston and I would make the perfect couple. I wonder if he’s even listening to himself talk. Does he really think we’re alike? If he does, doesn’t he see how perfect we’d be for each other? I mean, Calvin’s idea of a good time is reading a book on a beach while sipping on some expensive cocktail. Preston and I would much rather be splashing in the water, partying, and nearly drinking ourselves to death on cheap keg beer. He’s right: Calvin and I would never work.
“All right, you’ve proved your point. Now let’s get to the bar and get a head start on Danny.”
“Now you’re making sense. See you later, Mr. and Mrs. M.” He hands off the half-empty glass of lemonade before tapping my back. “You’re it. Last one to the car buys the first round.” He goes sprinting past me.
“Hey . . . cheater!” I yell, chasing after him.
As per the (unfair) bet, I buy the first pitcher of beer since he beat me to the car. We’re sitting at our favorite booth in the back of Tino’s Bar. The entire table is covered in fried food—fried pickles, a blooming onion, cheese sticks, and hot wings. Both of us are chowing down and chasing it with cheap beer.
“You remember that time we tried to see who could go the longest without drinking while we wolfed down the hottest wings this place had to offer?”
I laugh. “How could I forget? I couldn’t leave the bathroom for days!”
He smiles wide. “Me neither. But I won.”
“You did not win,” I argue. “We both agreed to cave and drink at the same