The guy looks familiar. He seems close to my age, but I didn't go to school with him. He must've come into the salon before. But if he had, I would've remembered him. A girl remembers a guy this hot.
"Where are you going tonight?" I ask, setting the dustpan back against the wall.
"Just out with my cousin. We'll probably grab dinner and a beer."
Cousin? Wait—is he Nate's cousin? He kind of looks like Nate, which is probably why I thought I knew him. But Nate said his cousin wasn't getting here until later today.
"What's your name?" he asks with a smile that makes my stomach do some fluttery thing it's never done before.
"Riley." Now my heart's beating really fast, which is making my fluttery stomach feel kind of sick.
"I'm Brad." He takes my hand and shakes it. "Good to meet you."
"Yeah, you too. Are you Nate's cousin?"
His brows rise. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Small town."
"Not THAT small."
I smile. "I'm Nate's friend. He told me you were coming."
Brad slowly nods. "So you're THE Riley. The girl Nate can't stop talking about."
"Um, I guess, but I'm sure he talks about more than just me."
"He does, but somehow every conversation comes back to you."
This guy is so freaking hot he's making me nervous. I can't even think of anything to say.
"Can I have a seat now?" he asks.
I step back. "Go ahead."
He sits in the chair and my eyes go to his legs. He's wearing shorts and his legs are pure muscle.
"I need a good trim on the top and a little shaved off the sides," he says, showing me in the mirror.
"Oh, no, I'm not your stylist. I just sweep up the hair."
He smiles. "I bet you could do it. It's just a trim. Go for it."
"I can't. I'm not trained. I went to cosmetology school but had to drop out. I'm really bad at hair."
"C'mon. You can't be that bad."
"Trust me, I'm horrible. I even screwed up the mannequin's hair. It was so bad they had to throw it out."
He laughs, a deep hearty laugh. "Sounds like me and ceramics. I took it for an easy class in college. First time I tried to use the potter's wheel, my clay went flying across the room. Hit some poor guy in the head so hard his glasses flew off."
I laugh, then cover my mouth. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Was he okay?"
"Totally fine. And you can laugh. I sure as hell did. Everyone else did too. I ended up dropping the class." He chuckles. "So yeah, you can't be good at everything, but hey, at least we gave it a shot, right?"
"Right." I stare at him, completely enthralled by him. He has this energy about him. He lights up the room. I've been dragging all morning, but now I feel alert and awake.
"Is this my new client?" April asks, hurrying over to him. "Sorry I'm running late."
"No problem," Brad says. He holds his hand out to her. "Brad Whittaker. Good to meet you."
"I'm April." She shakes his hand.
"He's Nate's cousin," I tell her. "He's here for the summer."
She looks at him in the mirror and tilts her head. "I kind of see the resemblance, although you're a lot bigger than Nate."
"Coach made us hit the weights hard. But I've always been someone who works out a lot."
"Let me guess," she says. "You play football."
"I did in college. Just graduated, so my football days are over."
"What position?" she asks as she gets her station set up.
"Tight end."
She nods, glancing at me and smiling. "Tight end. My favorite position."
I stop myself before rolling my eyes.
She motions for him to get up. "Let's get you shampooed."
As he walks to the shampoo chair, she turns back and mouths, oh my god he's gorgeous!
I just smile, then go to the back room to do laundry. As I fold towels, I notice my heart's still beating fast. That was not what I was expecting Nate's cousin to look like. Nate's cute, but his cousin is hot, and not like average hot, but a whole different level of hot. Just wait until the girls in town get a look at him. They'll be lining up at his door, begging to go out with him.
My phone chirps and I see a text from Nate. Did Brad show up?
I text back. He just got here.
The phone rings. It's Nate. I duck out the back door to answer it. "Hey, I can't talk during work."
"I know. I'll make it quick. Did you meet Brad?"
"Yeah, a few minutes ago. Why didn't you tell me he was coming by?"
"I wasn't sure if he would. He said he had some errands to run and might stop in to get his hair cut. Who'd he get?"
"April. Oh, she cancelled on me tonight so if you still want me to tag along with you and Brad, I'm in."
"Yeah, definitely. I think we're just going to grab dinner and a couple beers. You want us to pick you up?"
"If you could, then yeah."
"We'll swing by around seven. Does that work?"
"Yeah, see you then."
I hurry back inside just as my mom comes through the door to the laundry area.
"Hey, Mom," I say, sounding out of breath. "You need towels?"
"Yeah." She looks me up and down. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing. Why?" I hand her a stack of towels.
"You're out of breath and all sweaty. I thought maybe it was because you saw that hot thing out front." She smiles as she saunters over to me.
"What hot thing?" I ask, but I know who she means. I hope she didn't flirt with him. She would've if she'd been drinking, but she seems sober.
"The guy April's working on. You gotta come see him. If I wasn't with Dave, I'd be on that guy so fast."
"Mom, he's MY age. He's way too young. And he's Nate's cousin."
"Huh. I thought he looked familiar, although he's a hell of a lot hotter than Nate." She nudges my side. "You better get him before someone else does."
"ME? I'm not going to date Nate's cousin."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because he's Nate's cousin. It wouldn't be right."
"What's not right about it?"
"It just...it seems wrong."
"Does he already have a girl?"
"No."
"Then go for it! Grab that hot piece of ass before it's taken."
I cringe. "Mom, please don't call him that."
She laughs. "Get your butt out there and claim him. And do it fast because Kacey's already got her eyes on him."
"Kacey has a boyfriend."
"Never stopped her before." My mom turns and walks back in the salon.
Grabbing more towels, I follow her, passing Brad as I walk to the shampoo sinks. I glance at the mirror and see him watching me. I expect him to look away, but he doesn't. He keeps his eyes on me and smiles.
My heart takes off again, that nervous flutter overtaking my stomach. I drop off the towels and race back to the laundry room.
Ten minutes later, as I'm folding towels, Brad walks through the door.
"Hey," he says with that gorgeous smile. "Just wanted to say goodbye before I go."
"Oh." I stand up. "Okay, bye."
"You should come with us tonight."
"Who?" I ask, then realize he means Nate and him. My brain doesn't seem to work around Brad.
"Nate and I are going to dinner. You should come with us, unless you have plans."
"I did, but they fell through. Nate called while you were in the salon. I told him I'd go tonight."
"Good." He holds my gaze a moment. "See you later."
"Yeah," I say, sounding breathless.
He leaves and April rushes in. "Did he just ask you out?"
"No, we were just talking about tonight. I'm tagging along with Nate and Brad since you cancelled on me."
She grabs my arm. "I think he likes you."
"What? No." I laugh. "He was just being nice because he knows Nate and I are friends."
"You wouldn't date him?"
"Why? Because Nate wants you for himself?"
I set down the towel I was folding. "Why do you keep acting like Nate and I are a couple? He's not interested in me that way. In fact, just the other day he said he'd never thought of me as anything more than a friend."
"Really?" She scrunches up her nose. "Are you sure you heard him right?"
"Positive. He has no interest in me romantically, and I feel the same way about him. Nate's like a brother to me."
"Then you're free to date Brad! But you better hurry up. Every woman in the salon was checking him out. Even the old ladies. You gotta make a move before someone else does."
"I'm not dating Brad." I fling open the dryer door and yank the towels out. I'm so tired of washing and folding towels and sweeping up hair every day. I need a different job. At least the lifeguard job will get me out of here in the afternoons.
"Look what Wayne just sent me," April says, showing me her phone. It's a photo of Wayne, shirtless, with his old man hairy chest. Gross.
Not sure what to say, I just nod, then quickly go back to my laundry.
She shrugs. "I know he doesn't have the best body, but he treats me better than the guys I dated before."
None of the guys she's dated have treated her well, including Wayne, but I'll never convince her of that. I've tried, and it was a waste of time.
"My next client is here. I gotta go." She heads to the door. "Oh! Brad left me a ten-dollar tip! Isn't that great?"
I wish I got tips. Maybe I should've stuck with cosmetology school. If my mom could do it, and April could do it, why couldn't I? Because I was terrible at it, that's why. And it's not what I want to do.
The hours slowly pass until I'm finally able to leave at four. I'm so excited to be done. Today was my last full day of work here until the pool closes in the fall. I'm really lucky Renee lets me do this every year. She only does because of all the high school kids looking for part-time jobs in the summer. She pays them less than me so it works in her favor to have them take my hours.
When I get home, Dave is there, watching TV in his boxers and no shirt.
"Do you have something against clothes, Dave?" I ask as I go to the kitchen to find a snack. I didn't have money for lunch, so skipped it.
"It's too damn hot for clothes. And when your mom gets home, she'll just take them off anyway." He laughs.
"I'd rather not know that," I mutter.
"You ever see this show?" He points to the TV. "It's one of those game shows where you have to do all this stupid shit to win prizes. I'm thinking of trying to get on it. Get some extra cash, you know?"
"Sounds good, Dave," I say, going past him. I don't know why he hangs out here so much. His house is bigger than this trailer and my mom's not even home.
I go in my room and search through my tiny closet, trying to figure out what to wear. Normally this isn't a problem. I just grab something and go. But today I can't decide. Is it because Brad's going to be there? I don't know why that would make a difference. I've already decided he's off limits.
"Hey, babe!" I hear my mom say to Dave in what she considers her sexy voice, which is a few octaves higher than her normal voice. "Got off a few minutes early."
I hear the couch squeak and know they're making out. The trailer walls are paper thin. I can hear everything, which is why I wear headphones to bed whenever one of her guys sleeps over.
Grabbing a towel, I race to the shower before having to hear more sounds from my mom and Dave. When I'm done in the bathroom, I see my mom's door is closed. At least they took it to the bedroom instead of doing it in the living room.
A text pops up on my phone. When can you be ready?
I don't recognize the number.
Who's this? I text back.
Brad. Nate gave me your number.
I chew on my lip, suddenly nervous like I was when I saw him at the salon.
He texts again. I'm out doing stuff and thought I'd swing by and pick you up early.
Does Nate know about this? If so, why didn't he tell me?
I just showered, I text. Need to get ready.
How long do you need?
I could just tell him to wait until tonight like we originally planned, but I really want to get out of here so I don't have to listen to my mom and Dave. And part of me wouldn't mind seeing Brad sooner rather than later.
Give me ten minutes, I text.
Racing to my closet, I shuffle through the hangers and decide on a denim mini skirt and white tank. It's nothing great, but I don't have a lot of clothes to choose from.
Ten minutes later, a shiny white SUV pulls up next to the trailer. Nate must've given Brad my address. Seeing his fancy SUV and knowing he comes from a rich family, I'm embarrassed having him see where I live. I'm sure Nate told him I live in a trailer, but I'm still embarrassed. It's not even a nice trailer. It's old and dumpy and has weeds growing all around it.
As Brad gets out of the SUV, I race to the door so he won't have to come inside.
"Hey!" I wave at him as I walk out. "Right on time."
"Yeah." His eyes slide down my body before returning to my face. He was totally checking me out, but I'm sure he does that with all girls. "Let me get the door." He comes around and opens it for me.
"Thanks." My gaze meets up with his and stays there a moment, neither of us looking away. I'm feeling that nervous flutter again, probably because I've never been around a guy who's this freaking hot. Or maybe it's because I know he's off limits.
"You look gorgeous," he says with a smile before closing my door.
"Thanks," I say. I know it's not a date, but the compliment and him opening my door makes me feel like we're on a date.
The SUV is cold from the air conditioning and I shiver.
"I'll turn it down," Brad says, messing with the panel on the dashboard. "I run hot so I've always got it on high."
"Our air doesn't work so I'm used to it being warm."
He checks the mirror as he backs up. "How long have you lived there?"
"My whole life." I look down at the black rubber mats on the floor. They're so clean they look brand new.
"You know I don't care, right?"
I feel his eyes on me and look out the side window, not answering his question.
"I'm not someone who cares how much money you have. Ask Nate. He'll tell you, if he hasn't already."
"He didn't really say much about you."
"What do you want to know?" he asks as he turns out of the trailer park.
I pause, watching the road go by. "Why don't you care?"
"About what?"
"How much money people have?"
"Because I used to not have any. When my parents divorced, my mom didn't have a job. She had to sell the house and move us into a studio apartment. I was really young so I don't remember much from those years, but I remember my mom not having enough money for groceries."
"So this is your mom's second marriage?"
"Yeah. She married John when I was five. He was already a successful lawyer and had a huge house. We went from poverty to luxury overnight."
"And you get along with him? Your stepdad?"
"I did until recently. He's really the only father I know. My dad took off after the divorce. John stepped in and raised my brother and me like we were his own kids." Brad looks over at me and smiles. "I didn't mean to tell you my whole life story. I just wanted you to know I wasn't judging you for living there. You don't have to be embarrassed about it."
"I wasn't. I—" I take a breath. "Okay, I was embarrassed. But I'm not now." I give him a slight smile. "Thanks for being cool about it."
We drive in silence for a few minutes, then he looks over at me and says, "I'm looking forward to tonight."
"Yeah, I bet. How long's it been since you hung out with Nate?"
"About a year. But I wasn't talking about Nate."
The light changes and Brad turns do
wn Nate's street. Was he just flirting with me? I'm pretty sure he was, so what do I do? How do I respond to that?
Brad's phone rings and he answers it by pushing a button on the steering wheel. "Hey, man, we're almost there."
Nate's voice comes through the speakers. "Yeah, about that. Gonna have to go without me."
"Why?"
"I'm sick. Been throwing up the past hour. Must've been that sushi I had at lunch."
"We'll still come over," I tell him. "We'll just hang out and watch movies tonight."
"Riley, that's sweet, but I can't. I don't want you guys around me when I'm throwing up. And maybe this isn't food poisoning. If it's the flu, I don't want you guys catching it. My mom's here. She'll take care of me. You guys go out and have fun. And Brad, don't let Riley pay for anything. Tonight's on me. I'll pay you back whatever you spend."
"Don't worry about it," Brad says. "I'll cover tonight. You can buy me a beer when you're feeling better."
"You sure you don't want us to stop over?" I ask. "We could bring you something. Soup? Tea? Whatever you need."
"I don't need anything, but thanks for the offer. Go out and have fun, Riley. Don't worry about me. Brad will take care of you."
"Drink lots of fluids," Brad says to Nate. "You can dehydrate fast with food poisoning."
"Okay, Dr. Whittaker," Nate jokes.
"We'll check in with you later. Hope you feel better." Brad ends the call, then pulls into someone's driveway and stops. "What do you think? It's kind of early for dinner. Want to grab a drink somewhere?"
"Sure." I hide my hands under my legs and turn toward the side window, nervously chewing my lip.
"Riley?"
"Yeah?" I say, still turned to the side.
"If you don't want to do this, I can take you home."
Turning back to him, I pause, then say, "It's not that I don't want to go out. I just feel bad that Nate can't go."
"I'm his cousin, so it's kind of like being out with Nate." Brad smiles and I see a hint of Nate in his smile. "And it sounds like he wants you to go out and have fun tonight. So what do you say? Drinks? A movie? What sounds good?"
"It's been a long week. I could use a drink."
"You'll have to suggest a place. I don't know my way around yet."
I give him directions to the local brewhouse that Nate loves. And they have decent food so it's an option for dinner.
Better If He Goes (Always You Book 1) Page 4
