Up for Everything (Up for Grabs #3)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  Up For Everything

  Heather Young-Nichols

  Copyright ©2016 by Heather Young-Nichols

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the author’s rights.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and registered trademark owners or all branded names referenced without TM, SM, or ® symbols due to formatting restraints, and is not claiming ownership of or collaboration with said trademark brands.

  Cover by Colbert Creative LLC

  Everyone deserves a little bit of everything.

  Chapter One

  “Mom,” I called out then waited for her reply so I’d know which way to head. When she answered, I turned toward the kitchen. “Hey,” I said poking my head inside. “I’m outta here.” I needed to get to the airport to meet Flannery and Cain for the flight home. My flight home and hopefully some reprieve from the constant pounding in my head. For them, the first leg of their honeymoon.

  “Have a safe trip,” she said with her arms stretched out demanding a hug. I obliged. “Call soon. Don’t get an STD, and your dad’s waiting in the driveway.”

  “Mom, Jesus.” It came out a cross between surprise and disgust as I pushed her away from me. “Why didn’t you tell me he’s waiting?” I smiled back at her as I left.

  It was our thing. Sometimes she said not to get herpes, others a reminder she wanted grandchildren. I never knew which way she’d go. When I got to the waiting car, I shoved my bag into the open trunk then dropped into the passenger seat of Dad’s black Cadillac.

  “Sam,” Dad said.

  “Jason,” I said back bowing my head quickly. A smile tugged at Dad’s lips. “Thanks for driving me to the airport.”

  “Not a problem. That was some reception last night.” Couldn’t disagree with him even if I didn’t remember all of it. “How much did you drink?”

  “Too much.”

  “Is it something we need to talk about?” The question made me feel sixteen again instead of the twenty-three year old man I actually was.

  “It’s not a usual thing. I fucking hate hangovers.” And I had a raging one right then.

  I ran my hand through the dark hair I hadn’t bothered to do more than brush. Good enough. Girls liked the recently out of bed look. That’s what they said anyway. Along with my dark brown eyes, I’d been told I looked dangerous or mysterious. Sexy came up a lot, too. I don’t know about the first two but wouldn’t dispute the last one.

  “Have you decided what you want to do about California?” He asked as he pulled into the drop-off at Detroit Metro.

  He already knew the answer. We’d talked about it a few days before the wedding. He’d offered me a way out of California and I was pretty sure I wanted to take it. I hopped out of the car to get my bag.

  “Ok.” He sighed when I didn’t answer. “Let me know. We miss you, Son.” He pulled me into a big hug. It wasn’t one of those guy hugs where there was a quick pat on the back and then release. Not my dad. He always hugged me like I was still five.

  After getting checked in, dropping off the satchel and being molested by airport security, I pushed through the crowd to find my best friend Cain and his new wife Flannery. It wasn’t hard.

  They were the only ones in the waiting area making me want to throw up.

  Maybe that’s an exaggeration but they looked so ridiculously happy I could smell it in the air around them. Like cotton candy, pheromones and lust all rolled into one. It even had me second guessing my plan.

  But only for a second.

  Living closer to them I’d probably witness more displays of affection that I was comfortable with. May as well get used to it.

  “Can we make this a threesome?” I asked sliding in next to Cain and resting my arm around his shoulders.

  “Not on your fucking life.” He shrugged me away while Flannery giggled.

  “I’m going to hit the ladies while you two debate the issue.” She stood, ruffled her fingers through my already messy hair before bouncing off toward the restroom.

  That was the walk of a ridiculously happy woman.

  Or the peppiest cheerleader anyone had ever seen complete with a swaying, light brown ponytail.

  Because fucking with Cain brings me joy, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth and smirked over at him.

  “She seems happy,” I said.

  “Yup.” He got a prideful grin on his face showing he was replaying every moment of their wedding day, and night, through his head.

  “So who’d she spend last night with then?”

  His hand moved quickly, grasping the back of my neck and squeezed. I expected that move. His body language to the rest of the world would say he was a laid back guy just chilling but the death grip on me said I may have gone a little too far.

  I always went too far.

  It’s my thing. I’d been telling Flannery for years that I would wait around for her to get sick of Cain. I wasn’t serious. She wasn’t my type because she wanted to be married, have kids one day. No way would that be in my future. Besides once Cain met her, the decision had been made. She became his future even during the days that seemed so dark when they were apart.

  It’d been a long road, and I honestly hadn’t thought it would give them a happy ending. When Cain found out his girl was selling her virginity, it took the wind out of his sail. They fought their way back, and I couldn’t be happier. Seeing the closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had heartbroken wasn’t something I wanted to see again.

  Hit too fucking close to home. They deserved to be happy

  “You were saying?” He asked with a smile on his stupid face still holding on to me.

  “Yeah, yeah.” I wormed my way out of his grasp as Flannery rejoined us and they called for our plane to board.

  The honeymooners were headed to Hawaii. First class everything. I booked a first class ticket to Los Angeles with them. They had a layover so we planned to grab some food. Plus, I had a decent paying job as well as a trust fund and what the hell else was I going to do with the money?

  Unfortunately, I got the seat right behind them so it was several hours of Cain whispering in her ear and Flannery giggling.

  Fuck my head hurt.

  As long as they didn’t try to join the mile high club right there in their seats, all would be right in the world.

  By the time we landed, they hadn’t tried.

  “Don’t you need to get your luggage?” Flannery asked me as we walked over to one of the restaurants in the airport for a late breakfast. As far as they knew I’d hang out with them until they needed to head to Hawaii.

  “Nah. I’ve got time.”

  Which was true. I didn’t eat much because I didn’t think I could trust my stomach but those two ate like they might never see food again. I guess they really worked up an appetite the night before.

  Nice.

  Then came time for my reckoning.

  “We’ll call you when we get back,” Flannery said leaning in for a hug.

  “Well…” I said stopping her mid-air.

  “What did you do?” Cain raised
an eyebrow with immediate suspicion.

  Because he knew me too well. We’d been friends since we were kids. He knew everything. When I didn’t answer, he pushed.

  “Sam, what the fuck did you do?”

  “Well…” Glancing at Flannery, I found her brown eyes narrowed like she was trying to figure this out for herself. She wouldn’t and I could only hope neither of them would be too pissed at me. Like never speak to me again, pissed. “The fun doesn’t have to end, guys.” I smiled pulling my ticket to Hawaii out of my back pocket.

  “What is that?” Flannery snatched the paper out of my hand to see for herself. “You’re going to Hawaii?”

  “What?” Cain roared. “Sam…” He sighed.

  “Don’t be mad. I’m just not ready to go back to real life.”

  My words came out like I was begging and I wasn’t. I’d end up in Hawaii either way. I didn’t have to see them while we were all there. But being the only one of our little group to move away sucked and I needed to figure out what I wanted to do about it. Adam happily worked in Grand Rapids with Kendra close by in law school in Lansing. Flannery and Cain lived just outside of Detroit. They were all in Michigan and I lived all the fucking way in California.

  “I —” Cain started.

  “It could be fun,” Flannery cut Cain off before he had a chance to tear me a new one. Even my eyes widened in surprise. When he started to protest she hopped between us so he’d have to focus on her instead of me. “Sam has been with us for everything else. It’d be sort of weird if he wasn’t in Hawaii.”

  “No. It most certainly would not,” Cain said through clenched teeth.

  I had to try hard not to snort.

  “Cain, come on,” she said like I was missing something.

  “Fine,” he bit out. “I swear to god if you pound on the wall like you did in Florida, they’ll be finding pieces of your body all over the islands.”

  This time I couldn’t hold the laugh in.

  He threatened physical violence which meant he was fine with the situation.

  I took a deep breath when we headed for our gate, walking behind them where they couldn’t see me. I needed this time and somehow Flan knew it.

  My mind wandered to the incident in Florida Cain mentioned. He’d been about to take Flannery’s virginity that night but the girl was getting so loud and I’d heard his parents pull in the garage so I pounded on the wall between our rooms. He’d been mad and suffered a case of blue balls but I’d saved his ass.

  Just another reason I needed to take the job with my dad’s firm and get the hell out of California. Cain and I had saved each other’s asses so many times over the years. Living so far apart made that more difficult.

  Since I booked my ticket much later than the happy couple, there weren’t any first class seats available. Which meant I got stuck in a regular seat. I didn’t mind. Cain and Flannery were mostly accommodating about me third wheeling their honeymoon that they should get some time alone.

  If nothing else I figured I could sleep off some of the alcohol I drank at their wedding reception.

  No luck.

  A girl a few rows in front of me wouldn’t stop her fucking laughing. It wasn’t the sound of someone purposely being loud. It was genuine. A genuine happy laugh that had me wanting to wring the girl’s neck.

  Again with the laugh.

  Curious to see what the hell was so funny, I leaned to the right it took all of ten seconds to figure out where the sound came from.

  Three rows up to my right in the middle section, a girl with long brown hair spilling over her shoulder held an iPad, earbuds jutting out of the jack. I couldn’t quite see what movie was playing but whatever it was, she enjoyed it.

  Another giggle escaped, though this time she clasped a hand over her mouth, I assume to try to keep quiet. The thumping in my head when I woke up was a painful reminder that I drank too much at my best friend’s wedding. This girl’s laughter didn’t help that. The plane was so quiet that even a small noise seemed extra loud.

  She startled. Not sure if it was the guy beside her or the movie that caused it but she jostled and a book that had been on her lap fell to the floor beside her. She leaned over quickly to grab it. When she did, her hair fell like a curtain blocking my view of her.

  Then she pushed her hair back, grabbed the book and glanced my way.

  Our eyes locked.

  I must’ve looked like a fucking creeper. A hungover creeper at that. Even though I could feel the scowl on my face, she gave a small, friendly smile you’d give any stranger, sat back up, adjusted her book under the tablet and didn’t look back again.

  Chapter Two

  Stepping out of the airport, I could feel my entire body relax. The warm fresh air might have been better than the alcohol at the wedding. Sure being on the West Coast, I was used to it yet somehow in Hawaii…it was different.

  Two weeks of relaxing and figuring out my life was exactly what I needed. I already made my decision although I wouldn’t admit it even to myself. I wanted to keep it quiet for the time being.

  “I assume you’re staying at the same hotel?” Cain asked with the tone that said he wasn’t happy about it. Annoyance mixed with acceptance. He was probably just tired.

  “Not the same floor. I made sure. I don’t need to hear all the noise of you thanking god that Flannery allows you access.”

  He couldn’t help the following smile any more than I could.

  “Boys.” She sighed sounding like an exasperated mother. It wasn’t the first time and I knew it wouldn’t be the last.

  We checked in and they said they were tired, which I knew what that was code for, so they disappeared and after unloading my clothes in my room, a full two floors away from their Honeymoon Suite, I fell onto the large bed and passed right out. A hangover, jet lag and the long flight wore me the fuck out.

  When I woke up, it’d already started getting dark. I’d slept for hours which hadn’t been my intention but between the drinking and the lack of sleep my body just gave out.

  And my stomach reminded me that I hadn’t really eaten since dinner at the wedding, a full day before, so it needed to become a priority.

  I asked at the front desk and headed three blocks down to a bar and grill like the one Cain and I frequented in college. I chose to forgo the beer that might go with my burger because I wasn’t sure my blood stream could handle it. Halfway through devouring the thing, my phone rang and Kendra’s name popped up.

  “Are you seriously in Hawaii?” she asked as soon as I answered. Some girls had a high pitchy voice when they were outraged but Kendra Robert’s got lower. I used to think she might be part demonic underling sent to Earth to recruit for Satan. Turned out she was just a normal girl.

  “Yup.”

  She laughed. “Why are you there?”

  “Needed a vacation.”

  “And you just happened to decide on the one place on this planet that our best friends went on their honeymoon. Is this a weird sex thing? Are you trying to get with Flannery?”

  Kendra had already been one of Flannery’s best friends in college when I met Flannery. The more Flan was around, the more Kendra and her boyfriend Adam were around, though she never would’ve admitted that Adam was actually her boyfriend then.

  A loud chuckle rumbled in my chest. “No.”

  “Cain?”

  “Lord no. Adam’s more my type.”

  “Hands off. He’s taken.”

  We talked another ten minutes. I knew the girls’ game.

  They’d already spent a couple of years trying to figure me out and got nowhere. I wasn’t a puzzle for them to build or take apart. And I wasn’t a fucking onion. I chalked it up to the fact that people were uncomfortable when someone they were close to didn’t fall into their neat little boxes but I couldn’t care a lick about that.

  I’ve never really had a girlfriend as far as they knew. I had one in high school but that was years before they met me and I never spoke about Emily.
I dated a bit but all of those had an expiration date, though I never led a girl on. They knew the score as well as I did. I wasn’t going to go home and meet their parents. And I wasn’t going to be around long term. Then there were a few hook-ups but I wasn’t the campus bicycle either.

  This perplexed Kendra and Flannery.

  When Kendra got frustrated over me not giving her my reasons for going to Hawaii in the first place, she growled at me and hung up.

  The next morning I headed out to the beach but when I overheard the guy at the front desk telling a couple about surf lessons, I knew that would be the perfect way to spend my morning. Again, I could’ve done the same thing at home but never had the time. Which would be an added benefit of working for Dad’s firm. As a top partner at a huge law firm based in Detroit he didn’t demand the kind of overtime I worked in California even if I would be the head of IT.

  Put that in the pro column.

  So off I headed into the Maui sunlight to get some surf lessons.

  Julie, my instructor, was serious about her surfing and my safety. She didn’t laugh at my wipeouts until I did and she celebrated as loudly as me once I caught the smallest wave possible.

  It was fun. And it was nice to just have fun.

  I toweled off before heading back to the hotel in the early afternoon, hungry again with a plan to order room service while deciding what to do next.

  Parasailing sounded good.

  I’d been alone in Maui for twenty-four hours yet hadn’t felt as lonely as I did in my apartment in California. Knowing Cain and Flannery were lurking around somewhere made being alone better.

  Still wet, I made it through the hotel lobby but heard my named called out before getting to the elevator. I stopped and waited to either hear it again or figure out who it was. That tiny brunette who was like a sister to me skirted around people as she came my way.

  “Why are you all wet?” Flannery asked as soon as she got to me.

  “Because we’re surrounded by ocean.”