Summer Fling

by Tarrah Anders

  “Cyrus has a background or at least, a degree in business,” Royce says.

  Jackson heaves a beleaguered sigh. “That means that Cyrus took classes and graduated with a business minor or something. I cannot remember. We don’t bro out about our educations.”

  “Well, I opened up my own business. Because of that, I know a thing or two. So, I will help you as much as I can.”

  "Really?" Royce turns to me with hope in his eyes, and I really like the way he is looking at me.

  “I can’t promise much, tourist season is Sweeny’s busy season and I can’t make any promises since I have my own business to run,” I answer him honestly. “My shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays, and I usually use those days to play catch up and get in my R&R time.”

  “Sundays may not always work, especially if I’m traveling back and forth between here and Sacramento. I still have to be back there once a month for a clinic rotation.”

  I try to appear unaffected by his statement, but deep down inside, I’m bummed about what he just said.

  Jackson nudges my knee under the table and smiles when our eyes meet as if he knows how I feel.

  Cyrus and Royce are too big to be in my little house at the same time. I’m sitting in between them on my couch and I feel like a child sitting in between two giants. We have dozens of papers, folders and binders in front of us on the coffee table and I cannot make heads or tails of anything they want to do.

  “Okay, so what do you have? Your business plan is decent, but you haven’t set out a budget with actual line items. Do you have a business line of credit set up?”

  The guys both look at me as if I’m talking in another language.

  “Yes?” Cyrus asks. “I think that's what I did. That folder has bank information. That one over there also has financial shit.” He points to a folder by Royce.

  Royce grabs the folder and hands it to me. I look over at the guys.

  “You don’t mind me getting this into your business, do you?”

  “I trust you.” Royce smiles. My senses are aware that every bit of his body is touching mine on the side he sits on. His thigh is against my thigh, his hip on my hip, my arm touching his arm. The nearness of his body creates a butterfly effect in my stomach, as I look at all the lack of space between our body, remembering the night we spent together and how little space there was between us in the haze of alcohol.

  My breath hitches as Royce’s hand drops to the top of my knee for a moment. He quickly moves his hand over to his knee beside mine, but his pinky finger remains touching my knee.

  I open the folder and look at the latest bank statement. I look at the balance and blow out a breath.

  I look to Cyrus.

  “This is a lot of money. However, this is an actual bank account — an individual bank account. For your business, you should have a business account separate from your personal account. I think that would be the first step here."

  “I’ve been saving up my allowance,” Cyrus announces proudly with a smirk.

  “His family is loaded,” Royce explains.

  “Okay, so what you need to do is work on your budget. I think that’s the best place to start. I’ll print out the template I use for my place and you guys can fill it in on your own. You don’t need me for that.”

  “But you are really good at it,” Cyrus whines.

  “Be that as it may, this is a completely different business than my clothing shop. I would suggest researching what exactly you need on the internet. I’m sure that there is plenty of information that you can get from that. You guys can do this without me.”

  “What if we don’t want to?” Royce asks, playfully pouting.

  “Too bad, so sad. I’ve got my own shit to do and it doesn’t involve the two of you. Plus, I’ve seen you every day since you asked for my help. A little bit of me-time would be awesome.”

  “How about this, how about next week we go and do something and not have any of it related to business?” Royce offers.

  “You mean like hang out as normal friends and not talk about business?”

  “Or like a date.” He shrugs.

  “A date,” I repeat.

  “Yeah, that's when two people go out.” Royce smiles.

  “I know what it means, but you and me?”

  “Just say yes.”

  “Yes?” I squeak.

  HIM

  “Dude! How did that happen?” Cyrus asks as soon as we’re sitting in the cab of my truck.

  “I have no clue. I seriously thought she would blow me off.”

  “Don’t hate me, man, but I thought you were barking up the wrong tree. I totally thought she was into chicks.”

  “Nah, she just doesn’t date tourists. And she still thinks that’s what we are." I leave out the part that I know empirically that she is into men.

  “Ah. Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing we moved here,” Cyrus says as he buckles his seatbelt. Once we get home, Cyrus tries to go straight to his room, but I stop him and stress the importance of getting the work done. He tries to put up a fight but when I make the point that we have someone helping us for free, he gives in and drags himself to the couch.

  We spent the next few days working on creating a real budget for the clinic. We want to succeed, it pisses me off that Cyrus, and I didn’t think of doing this ourselves. We have plenty of money, with what we’ve saved over the years, plus what our parents gave us, but we never thought to create a solid business plan. Cyrus must have failed this part of the course in school. He should have known this stuff. Hell, maybe I should have known this stuff too.

  Friday morning, I gas up the truck and head to the clinic to pick up Cyrus. The place is coming together just the way I envisioned it, and we should be able to open up the clinic in a few months. It’s much later than we were expecting, but we had some setbacks due to our lack of preparation. We have appointments next week to get our local narcotics licenses, meet with marketing managers, and enroll with insurance agents. I think after all we have lined up, a night out with a beautiful woman is just what the doctor ordered, even if this doctor’s patients are of the furry, four-legged variety.

  I park the truck in front of Emma’s shop and walk inside. The overhead bell jingles and curious eyes peek over a clothing rack like a child spying on something they shouldn’t be as I weave through the spaces in between the displays and racks of clothes. Emma comes into view and smiles when she sees me.

  “I didn’t expect to see you today,” she says.

  “I wanted to stop in before we headed back home,” I reply, smiling as her smile falters.

  “Oh.” A clouded look appears on her features for a quick moment, before she wipes it away and puts on a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “When are you coming back?”

  “Most likely on Monday sometime. I’d rather leave after the weekenders do and after workday traffic. I also have a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning.”

  “Oh no, are you okay?” she asks.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a routine checkup for an old injury. It’s more physical therapy than anything is. I was in a car accident a year ago and I have routine check-ups with my PT to make sure everything healed okay. I’m fine otherwise,” I explain.

  “Oh, good. I thought you were getting sick.” She smiles shyly.

  “I wouldn’t go to the doctor for being sick.” I laugh. “Anyways, I wanted to thank you.”

  “Thank me? For what?”

  “For all your help. You don’t have to do any of it, and you are. I mean, we’re learning a shit-ton and I don’t think Cy or I would have thought of half of the shit you have told us. So, thank you.”

  “It’s no problem. We really need a vet clinic here in town, so I would love to see it succeed.” She looks to the window and then back to me. "Plus, I've kind of enjoyed hanging out with you."

  “Next Wednesday night, you and me.”

  “Huh?” she looks confused.

  “Our date. I�
��ll see you when we get back in town, but just so you know, Wednesday night, I’m taking you out.” I pull my wallet from my back pocket and hand her a folded up piece of paper.

  “What’s this?”

  “Just a note. Hold onto it,” I say with a smile.

  She returns the smile — this time it reaches her eyes — as she pushes her hair behind her ears and she nods.

  “Okay,” she says quietly. “Have a good weekend.”

  “You too. Don’t miss me too much.”

  She laughs and goes back to organizing a shelf off to her side. I linger at the front door to her shop and watch her for a moment before I head out.

  I write up the diagnosis and hand the chart over to the intern who sat in during the appointment. I turn to the Matthews, long-standing clients who have brought all their pets to this clinic over the years. I’ve known them since I started my internship here and have seen each pet they have owned during that time. Today they’re a little worried about their young lab.

  “The good news is the Cash is okay. He just has an ear infection. That’s probably why you see that he’s paying particular attention to that ear. I wrote up some antibiotics that you can put in a treat or his food and after a few days, you will see improvement. Cash is young, so he won’t have much of an aversion to the ear infection. You may notice some itching of the ear, but overall the antibiotics will kick in quickly.”

  “Oh, thank you, Dr. Colton. I’m so glad you were here today. I don’t like that new fella.”

  “The new fella is the owner of the practice. I just come in once a month.”

  “Well, we may have to make it so we bring Cash in on the weekends when you’re here if we need to.” Mrs. Matthews smiles.

  “That’s very flattering. However, all the other doctors are just as capable, and I would hate to hear you are postponing Cash's care because I'm not in the office. That wouldn't be fair to him.” I remove the gloves from my hands and turn to them.

  “While that may be the truth, your bedside manner is far more appealing,” she replies.

  “Ethel, stop flirting with Royce.” Her husband playfully swats at her knee.

  She looks at him and huffs. “He’s my favorite doctor. All the animals love him,” she defends.

  “And that’s my cue,” I say to the intern and stand. “Nice to see you guys again. I hope you guys have a good day.”

  I exit the exam room and head up to the front desk. I lean on the counter and smile at the receptionist.

  “Do I have anything else today?” I ask her.

  She looks up at me then reaches for another file. “This is for a new puppy exam. It’s your last patient. The owners are Beth and Michael, the puppy is Savage.”

  “Savage?” I question.

  “Savage.” She nods and hands me a clipboard with the rest of my needed paperwork.

  By the end of the day, I’m exhausted and ready to climb into bed as soon as I get home. However, there is a familiar car parked in front of the row of townhomes that I’ve lived in for the past seven years and I know I cannot sneak past it. I begrudgingly get out of my car and walk towards the interloper.

  My ex-wife is sitting in the driver's seat drinking out of a to-go cup when I tap on her window. She rolls it down and smiles at me.

  “Roy, I was wondering when you would come home. I heard that you weren’t in town.”

  “What do you want, Sylvie?” I ask.

  “I heard you were coming back home this weekend. I was hoping we could chat.” Seduction drips from her tone and I cringe with every word coming out of her mouth.

  “Your version of chatting isn’t exactly the version of chatting I want to do.”

  “Oh c'mon, Roy. You and I are good together like that.”

  “That part of our marriage was never the problem. The trouble was in the actual chatting and everything else. I’m tired. Go home. I just want to pass out, alone,” I say and turn.

  “Walking away won’t solve all your problems, you know,” she shouts from her seated position in the car, causing me to stop. I turn and fix her with a glare.

  “No, it won’t. But I’m happy now. And truthfully, I haven’t been happy in as long as I can remember.”

  I turn and walk away from my ex-wife and into the townhouse we once shared, the townhouse that holds bad memories, empty rooms, and the ghosts of a failed marriage.

  I may have problems I need to deal with here in Sacramento, but they will never follow me to Sweeny. I'm starting a new life, one that includes a successful business and a particular blonde by my side.

  5

  HER

  He steers the truck through the wooded clearing and right up to the lake, then cuts the lights. I’m not sure what he’s doing until he smiles and turns to me.

  “Stay there,” he instructs as he gets out of the cab and rounds the front of his truck. He opens my door and leans in, offering his hand.

  Taking it, I hop down onto the dirt and readjust my sundress. With my hand still in his, we go to the back of his truck.

  “I didn’t know really what there was to do in this town for a date, so I’m kind of winging it. I got us some takeout and I figured we could have a pick-up truck picnic.”

  “A pick-up truck picnic?” I repeat.

  “I've got pillows and blankets back here, some takeout and my iPod.” He smiles as he unlatches the truck gate.

  He grabs me by the hips and hoists me up onto the edge. As I scoot back, he lifts himself in as well. I kick off my sandals and lean back on the pillows at the head of the truck bed.

  Touched by his out-of-the-box romantic gestures, I smile.

  “Thank you,” I say to him.

  He looks at me and smiles. “What for?”

  “I don’t think that I’ve ever been on a date like this. It’s refreshing and different.”

  “To be honest, I’ve never been on a date like this either. I’m not really sure I’m doing this right. I’m a little out of my element.”

  “You’re doing well," I reassure him. "So, what do we have to eat?” I gesture to the bag on the other side of him.

  “Ah. Yes. Fine food here. I got us what I’m hoping is lasagna and noodles.”

  “You got this from Vic’s Pizza?” I ask.

  “I did.” He nods.

  “Then it’s noodles and like a noodle casserole.” I laugh.

  “Noodle casserole?” he asks.

  “Yeah, Vic doesn’t know how to make lasagna.”

  “Man, I wish I would have known that, I was craving some lasagna like no other.” He frowns.

  We open the takeout containers and make small talk between bites. Once I feel like I can't eat anymore, I lean back on the blankets he has lining the truck bed. Royce scoots closer to me and we fall into a comfortable silence.

  “In Sacramento, there's pollution from the nearby cities making the night sky not as clear. This is crazy how many stars I can see,” he says sounding shocked.

  “One of the added benefits of living in the middle of nowhere.” I look up at the vast night sky.

  “One more thing to add to my list then.”

  We’re lying side by side in the bed of his truck. Our hands are touching, but we’re not exactly holding hands. I turn my head to him and smile.

  “You have a list? What kind of list?”

  “It’s a list of reasons why I like it here.”

  “Are you trying to convince yourself that Sweeny is a decent place?” I ask curiously.

  “No, just a reminder if I get homesick. I’ve never lived in a small town before.”

  “What else is on your list?” I ask.

  “Well, there’s the practice, of course; it’s the main reason for being here. The friendliness of the folks around here, the quiet, the lake and, of course, you. Oh, which reminds me.” He leans up and pulls out his wallet. I watch his hands as they unfold it and dig into one of the pockets. He pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to me.

  “Don’t open it y
et. Wait until you get home.” I take the note, sit up, and push it into the pocket in my dress. Curiosity is killing me, but I guess I can relish this moment while we’re out here and think about his note later.

  "So, first time that we met…," he starts and I feel my face flush. "Should we let it remain the elephant in the room or should we just air it out?"

  "Air it out?" I ask for clarification.

  "I mean, since we woke up the next morning, we have ignored the fact that we slept together."

  "I mean, I normally don’t do that sort of thing. I don’t just jump into bed with a random person all the time, especially if drinking. I guess I am a little ashamed of my out of character actions there. But that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it. I did, from what I can remember which is the majority of the night. So, I mean – I was just really, really drunk.” I ramble.

  "So was I and neither do I, sleep with people I don’t know. But I will say, I don't want to jump in bed with anyone else."

  "Kind of forward, don't ya think?" I smirk.

  "I'm hopeful."

  Royce leans back, places his arm behind me, and pulls me into him. My head rests on his shoulder and I sigh.

  “This is nice,” he says quietly.

  I turn my head to look up at him. He’s not looking at the sky like I thought he would be. His eyes are on me instead.

  “It is.” I lean up closer to him so our mouths are mere inches apart. He closes the distance and our mouths touch gently. He’s tentative until I open my mouth. His tongue brushes along mine, testing the boundaries. I open wider and his hand comes up to cradle my head as my body turns into his. His strong arms wrap around me and hold me closer. I have the urge to turn fully and slide onto his lap, but I know that would be too much, too soon. This is the first date after all, even if we've already gone there before.

  A soft moan escapes from my parted lips as he pulls away slowly. He’s looking at me and smiling.

  “I know that we did a lot of kissing that one night, but I'm counting this as an official first kiss and I know that beats any first kiss that I’ve ever had,” he says with confidence.