Educating Holden (Wishing Well, Texas Book 11)

by Melanie Shawn

  “I’m not gay.” That was another sentence I’d never thought I’d be saying to Mrs. Nelson.

  “Well, then, what’s wrong with Kenna? She’s a lovely girl. And you know, you’re not getting any younger.”

  “A few minutes ago, you called me a strapping young man.”

  “Well you are, but the clock is ticking. Those looks are only going to last you so long. And all the good girls are getting snapped up.” Mrs. Nelson snapped her fingers to illustrate her point just as the ominous score from the show started playing signaling it was back from commercial. “Shhhh, it’s starting.”

  I hadn’t been the one talking but since I had respect for my elders, I wasn’t going to point that out.

  We sat in companionable silence as we watched the program and I wondered if Olivia was going to get snapped up soon. I was honestly shocked that she hadn’t been already.

  After we spent the night together, she hadn’t stopped by again. We talked at yoga and when we’d run into each other. I wouldn’t say our friendship was back to being what it had been, but we were friends. The problem was, that was all we were. There’d been no more longing glances during class, no more morning yoga sessions, no more showing up at my door with fried chicken.

  I’d been so worried about her getting attached or thinking that our night together was more than it was, but in reality, I was the one that I should’ve been worried about. She hadn’t seemed bothered at all. And that was driving me fucking crazy.

  Chapter 20

  Olivia

  “Stop looking for your happy place in the same place you lost it.”

  ~ Maggie Calhoun

  I stood in front of my floor-length mirror and adjusted the scoop neckline of my lilac sundress as I turned so I could see behind me. The dress had a low back and the spaghetti straps made a V. It snipped in at the waist and the material loosely hung over my hips, giving me the ever-coveted hourglass figure. “How do I look?”

  “Good,” Molly responded without even glancing up at me.

  “That would be a lot more convincing if you’d actually looked at me.”

  She lifted her head from her Kindle. “You look good,” she said flatly then immediately dropped her chin and began reading again.

  I loved my sister, but she was not the person to go to when one needed a confidence boost.

  Tonight, I was going on a second date. It was the first second date that I’d been on since Tyler the nose picker. We were meeting at Movies in the Park. It was a weekly event that the town threw, weather permitting. Everyone gathered in the town square on the grass and sat and watched a movie that was projected onto the side of the courthouse.

  Two nights ago, when I was at dinner with Jake, I’d mentioned that this week’s movie was going to be one of my favorites, Notting Hill. He’d said that he liked that movie too, so I invited him to come along with me and my sister, who had already made plans to see it.

  I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. Molly was an incredibly good judge of character and I knew she’d tell me right away if she saw any red flags. I could trust her to tell me the truth and not sugar coat anything. I’d know if I was wasting my time and if I wasn’t, I’d get the first family introductions out of the way.

  Jake was a doctor that I’d matched with on Love at First Click. He checked off all of my boxes and I was looking forward to seeing him.

  There was only one problem…he wasn’t Holden Reed.

  It had been a month since I’d consummated my childhood crush/first love/obsession. I’d hoped that doing so would have enabled me to put a period on the run-on sentence that was my feelings for Holden. Instead, it had only made me want him more.

  I’d had sex with a handful of people. Five to be exact, including Holden. And while the other four were enjoyable experiences, none compared to what I’d shared with Holden.

  One possibility I’d considered was that all of my pent-up emotions and expectations had heightened our encounter. But, honestly, the more I thought about it, the more I came to believe that the exact opposite would’ve been more likely to have happened. What were the odds that Holden would not only live up to the fantasies I’d had starring him, he’d surpass them? The term “slim to none came to mind.”

  But he had. And then some.

  My entire body flushed just thinking about the way he’d felt buried inside of me. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I remembered the touch of his hands. My mouth watered as it relived the soft firmness of his lips and the expert caress of his tongue against mine.

  Why did he have to be everything I’d ever dreamed of and more? And that was without him doing the things he’d said he’d wanted to do to me. I didn’t think I could survive him at full operating capacity. I’d have loved to find out, but I didn’t think I’d ever get that chance.

  I’d been the one who had suggested a one-night-only event. There would be no encore. I had to admit that I’d hoped that there might be.

  But it had been a month and nothing else romantic had happened between us. We’d talked and I was definitely back in friend territory, but the problem was, I wanted more than that. But I’d been the one serving so far and now the ball was in his court.

  I’d watched too many girls throw themselves at my brothers after they’d hooked up with them. I was not going to be that girl. I could be friends with someone after we slept together…even if I was in love with them.

  My only option was to move on. I’d wasted too much of my life obsessing over Holden Reed. And like the opening theme song to Dawson’s Creek, I didn’t want to wait for my life to be over. I needed to live my life, even if it wasn’t with the person I wanted to live it with.

  Shaking off the melancholy cloud that arrived every time I thought about how badly I missed him, I went to the closet to grab my shoes. After slipping on my camel wedges, I stood and took a deep breath.

  “Ready?”

  Molly never looked up from her device as she stood and followed me out of my bedroom and down the stairs.

  “Be a good boy, Channing.” On our way out I bent down and kissed Channing, who was sacked out. He’d been so tired lately when I came home from work. Usually, he was a bundle of energy, but lately he’d been so calm and chill. I figured he must be chasing squirrels in the backyard or something.

  As soon as we stepped outside into the crisp evening air, my eyes did what they always did and cut to the right to see if there were any signs of Holden even though there never were.

  “I heard Kenna asked him out.”

  “She asked who out?”

  “Holden.” Molly motioned to his door, still staring down at her Kindle.

  “Oh.” My heart sank. Kenna was the epitome of the sexy girl next door, which was basically every man’s type. Besides having full lips, huge green eyes, and a butt that didn’t stop, her long chestnut hair always looked like she was a walking Pantene commercial.

  “I don’t think he’s interested,” Molly continued. “Kenna said that Mrs. Nelson thought he might be gay, but I told her that Bentley had said that he had a girlfriend. Some model, I forget her name. So that was probably why he didn’t text her back.”

  Oh shit.

  How could I have possibly forgotten his girlfriend? Was I the other woman? Was he a cheater? Was that why he’d so readily agreed to it just being that one night?

  My mind started replaying what I’d done since he’d gotten back into town. The naked yoga. Showing up at his house with my mom’s famous fried chicken. Telling him he owed me a kiss and then telling him that I wanted to feel him inside of me.

  I could feel my cheeks heat. I’d aggressively pursued him at one of his weakest moments. Was I going to have to take a page out of another Julia Roberts classic My Best Friend’s Wedding and have the I’m-the-bad-guy talk with him?

  A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

  “Are you okay? You look…weird.”

  I must really look strange if my sister had no
ticed.

  “I’m fine.” And more determined for tonight to be a success.

  It was time that I put Holden and my feelings for him behind me and focus on my future, which hopefully would be with Dr. Jake Weston.

  “So what’s the deal with this guy tonight? Did you meet him on an app?” she asked as she put her device in her purse.

  “Yes. We went out a couple of nights ago and I… liked him.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, referring to my hesitation.

  “Yeah, he’s nice.”

  She smiled widely. “Oh yeah, that’s the word every guy wants to be described as…nice.”

  “He is nice,” I reiterated.

  “Is he a good kisser?” she followed up.

  “I don’t know. We didn’t kiss.”

  “You didn’t kiss him?”

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “Did you want to kiss him?”

  “I didn’t really think about it.” At the end of the night, we hugged and that was it. It seemed fine at the time.

  “That explains the nice,” she reasoned.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re not attracted to him,” she stated bluntly.

  “He is very attractive.”

  “I’m sure he is, but you are not attracted to him.”

  “He’s a doctor,” I said defensively.

  “And?”

  “And he lives in Parish Creek.” I knew that my sister had asked “and” in the context of “so what?” but I ignored that because I needed her to get on board with me. I felt like he was my ticket to get over Holden. I could hear myself making a case and, in the back of my mind, I knew that it was to convince me, not my sister. “Family is really important to him. He has a younger brother and sister and wants kids. He’s new to the area. He moved here after accepting a job at a rehab facility specializing in sports-related physical therapy.”

  Molly’s eyes lit up with interest. “Does he work with athletes?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” He’d mentioned a few names of football and baseball players, but I’d never followed any sports, so they’d gone in one ear and out the other.

  That was another way that Molly and I differed. She definitely inherited the sports gene. Growing up, while I’d spent all of my time in the dance studio wearing leotards and tutus she’d been on a field or court somewhere wearing jerseys and cleats. She’d played soccer, softball, volleyball, and basketball.

  “I wonder what his thoughts are on cryo-therapy. I’ve only done it a few times, but I feel like my recovery time is cut in half. Some people say that you get the same benefits from taking a freezing cold two-minute shower.”

  After college, Molly traded in her cleats for running shoes. She ran at least four marathons a year, so she was always training for one.

  “Um…I don’t know. I didn’t ask him about cryo-therapy.”

  “You didn’t?” Molly seemed genuinely surprised as if there’d be nothing else to talk about.

  “Nope.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “Family, movies, food, life…”

  I could see from the look in her eyes that none of those topics came close to interesting her as much as cryo-therapy.

  “Feel free to ask him about it when you meet him,” I offered.

  “I will.”

  We walked the last two blocks in silence and my mind wandered where it always did, to Holden. Why hadn’t he said anything about his girlfriend when I threw myself at him? If he’d said that when I’d asked him why we couldn’t kiss, I would have respected it. Instead, I doubled down.

  Part of me was embarrassed by my actions but another part felt totally justified. He was the one who had called me magic and told me I was way too perfect in an infinite amount of ways. Those weren’t exactly things someone should say when they are in a relationship with someone else. But the way he’d been acting since then, was exactly how someone with a girlfriend would act.

  I was so deep in thought I didn’t even notice that we’d gotten to town square until Molly grabbed my forearm. “Is that him?”

  I glanced up and saw Jake standing at the other end of the grass holding a picnic basket and a bouquet of flowers and looking around.

  “Yep.”

  “Damn,” Molly whispered beneath her breath as we approached him.

  I had to admit, I did feel a little vindicated by her reaction. I wasn’t one to say I told you so, but I had told her he was attractive.

  “Hi,” I waved. “Jake this is my sister—”

  “Molly, so nice to meet you.” He stepped toward her and shook her hand.

  “Hi.” Molly giggled.

  My head spun toward her. I thought for sure she had to be doing a bit or being ironic. My sister did not giggle. But then again, she also didn’t blush, and her cheeks were bright pink.

  He didn’t drop her hand right away, or she didn’t let it go. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I wasn’t sure which one of them appeared to be more twitterpated. I had a sinking feeling that I’d just witnessed my very own meet-cute. Too bad I wasn’t the one meeting my cute.

  Chapter 21

  Holden

  “When ya feel like everything is against ya, just remember a plane takes off against the wind.”

  ~ Maggie Calhoun

  “Thank you for coming out tonight.” My mom squeezed my arm as we walked across the grass to where my dad had already claimed a spot. He’d left an hour early so that we’d have “prime real estate.”

  I’d been home over two months now and every week I’d made excuses for not coming out to the Movies in the Park, which had been a family tradition growing up. But when my mom called and said that my dad, brothers, and their wives were all going, I knew that I couldn’t be the sole holdout.

  “Are you sure your back is going to be okay sitting on the ground?” Her brow furrowed as she looked up at me. “Your dad can go get one of the chairs from the car.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I assured her even though I wasn’t sure I would be.

  Apart from not feeling very social, the other reason I’d avoided coming out to this weekly event was because I wasn’t sure my back could handle the seating situation. A chair was an option, but it represented the same thing that the cane had. It was a neon sign that I was broken. That was the last thing I wanted to advertise.

  “Holden!” I heard my name being called out and I turned to see Mrs. Nelson waving her hat above her head as she hurried frantically toward us not paying attention to the people that were already seated on the grass. She knocked over a red Solo cup that was sitting on a cooler and it didn’t even slow her down. “Wait up!”

  “Is she okay?” My mom asked under her breath.

  “I think so,” I whispered.

  “Hello, Mrs. Nelson,” my mom greeted her as she hurried up to us. “You look lovely tonight.”

  “Oh thank you, dear. I’m not getting any younger but that doesn’t mean I’m out of the game.” She winked at my mom who covertly squeezed my bicep. “Holden, I’m so glad I caught you! My water heater is making the most awful noise, I was hoping that you could come by and look at it after class on Tuesday. And Thursday I’m having a new television delivered, it was a gift from my Sasha. I was hoping you could come and put it up for me.”

  “Of course.”

  Mrs. Nelson smiled widely, the apples of her cheeks which had circles of pink rose up to her eyes. “I’m glad I locked you down before Edith got a hold of you. Apparently, her back door is sticking. I told her to spray some WD40 on it and it would be fine, but you know how helpless that woman is.”

  This coming from the woman that had me replace the tiny bulb in her refrigerator that had been out for two years.

  Something behind me caught Mrs. Nelson’s eye and she waved. “Oh, there’s Edith now! I’m going to go let her know I’ve got you booked next week.” She headed off in the direction of Mrs. Scoggs as she called over her shoulder to us. “Do
n’t forget. Tuesday!”

  “Someone’s in high demand.” My mom patted my arm.

  I grinned as I heard Mrs. Scoggs’s voice raise. I glanced over my shoulder to see the two women engaged in what appeared to be a heated debate.

  “You’ve only been home for two months and you already have women fighting over you.” My mom chuckled as we made our way across the crowded area, saying hi to everyone we passed.

  By the time we made it to the spot my dad had come here early to scout and claim, he was nowhere to be found. We sat down and spotted him a few yards away talking with Walker Briggs, Travis and Jackson’s dad. The two men had been friends since birth making them more like brothers.

  We settled on the blanket that my dad had laid out and my mom sighed. “I know that the circumstances aren’t great, but I do have to say, I’m glad you’re home. I’ve missed you.” Her brown eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve come home more.”

  “It’s fine.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I know that you were busy.”

  I had been busy. But my mama didn’t know the whole truth, that I’d avoided coming home because I hadn’t wanted to see Olivia. I used to believe that I’d stayed away because I’d been scared to hurt her. If something happened between us and then I left, I thought that it wouldn’t be fair to her.

  Now that something had happened between us, I was starting to think that something, even if it was subconscious had stopped me because I wouldn’t have been able to leave her.

  If I’d kissed her, or made love to her then I think I would have given it all up. I would’ve walked away from my career. As it was, the only reason I hadn’t told her what I felt was because she deserved better than a broken-down man. She deserved a man that would have chosen her, not his career. She deserved a man that could make love to her the way he wanted, not one that had to worry about his back giving out on him.

  “So besides rehab and being Wishing Well’s newest handyman, what have you been up to?”