Mom took the empty bag the beans had been in to the trash and pointed toward one of the windows that faced the dock. “Fred’s at the grill if you wanted to give him a hand.”
“What kind of meat are we having?” I stretched my neck to peer out the window, catching my uncle swat at his neck, more than likely annoyed with a fly that wouldn’t stop pestering him. It made me laugh. No matter where he was, the time of day, or even the weather, there could be a hundred people around, and he’d be the only one with either a fly buzzing in his ear or a family of mosquitos munching on his legs.
Aunt Diane always said it was because he was so sweet.
Kelsey always said that it was because he’d owned a pest control company and the insects all had banded together to enact their revenge on the man who’d killed their friends.
“Diane said he’s doing beer-can chicken. But I’m not entirely sure. You should go see if he needs any help.” My mother had a horrible habit of shooing me out of the kitchen.
Honestly, if Tatum hadn’t been in here, she wouldn’t have had to tell me twice before the patio door shut behind me. But I wasn’t ready to walk away from her, so I rounded the counter and perched myself on one of the barstools.
Tatum dumped a pile of sautéed onions into a bowl and took the pan to the sink. It amazed me to watch her wash dishes—both here and at my house—considering she couldn’t pick up after herself to save her life.
“Where’s everyone else?”
Mom glanced around the room as if my aunt and cousins had just been here and then vanished when I’d asked where they were. “Well, Marlena is in one of the bedrooms putting Lizzie down for a nap, and Nick’s in the pool with Connor.”
Normally, hearing that my cousin’s husband was here would’ve excited me—given me another guy to hang out with in this house full of women—but this time, I was torn. As much as I wanted to hang out with Nick, I didn’t care to walk away from Tatum to do so.
“Oh, and Kelsey ran up to the store earlier with Diane to grab drinks.” Mom watched the pot of water, probably waiting for it to boil, completely oblivious to Tatum’s silence.
But it didn’t matter, because just then, my cousin and aunt waltzed through the front door at the same time Marlena rounded the hallway into the living room. Tatum finished washing the pan and dried her hands to help the women with the drinks.
Marlena came up behind me and squeezed my shoulder. “How’s it going?”
“Better now that you’re here.” I gave her the cheesy grin I saved for my favorite people, which earned me a playful smack across the chest. “I heard Nick came. How’d you manage to drag him with you this time?”
“I told him he could either come with me or I was leaving the kids at home with him.” An evil glint flashed in her eyes. “I guess he wasn’t excited about babysitting.”
“You should be nicer to him,” Aunt Diane piped up. “The poor man needs to sleep. You know he would be up all day with those kids if you left them at home.”
Marlena grabbed the digital camera off the counter and handed it to her mom. “Here. Go take pictures of that poor man. I’m sure he’d love it.”
Kelsey snickered to herself while Tatum fought off a grin. Aunt Diane just rolled her eyes and continued to unpack the sixteen different kinds of soft drinks. “I probably should. Connor’s getting so big, and since it doesn’t look like Kelsey will give me grandbabies while I’m young enough to enjoy them, I should capture as many moments as I can of the ones I have.”
“You do realize Lizzie’s only two, right?” Kelsey glared at her mom. “Can’t you just enjoy her for a few more years until I’m ready to settle down?”
My aunt waved her off with a few bats of her hand. “That would require you to find someone to settle down with, dear. And at the pace you’re moving these days, I’ll have great-grandchildren to spoil before you make it to a second date.”
Tatum giggled but abruptly stopped when Kelsey turned her hateful stare on her. “Who knows, Ma . . . maybe Tatum will give you little tater tots to fuss over.”
My mom’s eyes grew wide, almost alarmed. “Oh? Are you expecting, dear?”
“Not yet,” Kelsey answered for the wide-eyed goddess who clearly couldn’t speak. “But she’s been hooking up with her boss, so who knows how long it’ll be before there’s a tiny tater in her Easy-Bake.”
Instead of denying my cousin’s claims, Tatum focused on the sleeves of Ritz crackers that she crumbled into a bowl, keeping her back to her best friend. I practically held my breath while I stared at the top of her head, waiting for her to look up or offer something to tell me this wasn’t true. After all, she’d told me she hadn’t been with anyone other than her ex and me. I should’ve dismissed it the second the lie spewed from Kelsey’s mouth, but the longer I went without anything from Tatum, the more doubtful I became.
The chatter continued, though I didn’t listen to any of it, too busy trying to make the woman in front of me glance up. And before I knew it, the kitchen had emptied out. Mom put the baking dish in the oven and then moved toward the sliding glass door. “You coming, Tatum?”
I was left to watch as my temporary fun just became a little more short lived.
I hadn’t stayed too long after the table was cleared off, unable to deal with much more of Tatum’s avoidance. I had no idea what I’d done to cause that kind of reaction. The only thing I could think of was that it had more to do with Kelsey’s claims of Tatum sleeping with her boss than it did with me. And if that were the case, I hadn’t wanted to wait around for confirmation.
“I don’t get it . . . is she not allowed to sleep with other people?” Aaron tipped his beer to his lips while keeping his eyes glued to me.
I propped my feet on the coffee table in my living room and downed a quarter of my bottle before responding. “It’s not that. I guess I just don’t like the idea of her letting some other guy between her legs while she’s fucking me.”
“Wouldn’t you know if someone else was there while you’re fucking her?”
I raised my middle finger in his direction. “You know what I mean, asshole.”
“Yeah, and I get it, but how is that any different than what you did last weekend? And technically, what you did was worse. Not only did you get it on with that chick from the club, but then you came back here and crawled into bed with this other one.”
“Her name’s not the other one. Not what’s her face. Just Tatum.”
He held up his hand in surrender. “So sorry. Wasn’t aware you’d be so offended by that, especially considering you don’t remember any girls’ names,” he muttered under his breath.
I ignored his comment, refusing to analyze why Tatum’s name was the only one I could remember—and had remembered without any problem. “And I didn’t do anything with that girl. She had her driver take me home. End of story.”
“Then what did you guys do all alone in the back seat?”
I shrugged; that ride was still a little blurry. “Not sure, but I can guarantee there was no touching . . . of any kind. And I have proof. She texted me the next day to see how I was feeling and thank me for being a perfect gentleman.”
“You gave her your number?”
“I must have. But I don’t remember the details.”
“Yet you’re positive you didn’t touch her? Yeah . . . sure.”
I needed new friends. “You don’t have to believe me. I know I didn’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Why the hell would I fuck anyone else when I had Tatum in my bed?”
He remained quiet, just sat there and nodded slowly.
“Go ahead and say it, Aaron. I know you want to.”
“Say what?”
“Whatever you’re over there thinking.”
He smirked and then finished his beer, making me wait even longer to hear what would probably end up pissing me off anyway. When he set the empty bottle on the table between the recliner and the couch I sat on, he wiped his
mouth and leaned forward. “If you don’t want Tatum hooking up with other guys, you should probably tell her.”
“I don’t want to give her the wrong impression.”
“Wrong impression about what?”
Apparently, I had to spell everything out to him. “Kelsey is convinced that I’ll hurt her, whether I mean to or not. I’d stay away if I could, but it’s clear that I can’t—nor do I want to. We’ve been on the same page so far about keeping this casual, and I worry that’ll change if I tell her I don’t want her to sleep with anyone else.”
“And why don’t you want it to be anything more than casual?”
“Aside from what it would do to Kelsey and Tatum’s relationship, as well as Tatum’s relationship with the rest of my family? How about the fact that I just got out of a serious relationship, and jumping into another isn’t a good idea. I thought you of all people would recognize that reason.”
“That’s why you should explain your reasons. I’m sure she’s a smart girl. She’ll understand. What she won’t understand is you getting your dick in a twist because she didn’t follow rules she was never given.”
Making friends with an opinionated psychologist had its pitfalls—unless you were interested in hearing about everything you did wrong.
“And since we’re on the topic of you being a hypocrite, let’s discuss the pole dancer.” Aaron had never met Jen, yet that didn’t stop him from being the self-appointed president of her anti–fan club.
“Nothing to talk about. Conversation’s over.”
“Fine, then I won’t point out that you’re wasting her time by not telling her to stay in Nevada. Face the facts, my man . . . if you really thought she could be the one, you wouldn’t have to think twice about getting her on a plane.” He clapped his hands together and stood. “I need another beer; you want one?”
“Nah . . . I’m good, but thanks.”
Aaron hadn’t even opened the fridge when a few soft raps against the front door caught my attention. I hadn’t expected any visitors other than Aaron, so I had no idea who would show up at . . . I groaned when I caught the time, unsure when eight fifteen had become too late for someone to stop by unannounced.
But when I turned the knob and swung it open, only to find Tatum standing on my front step, I no longer cared what time it was. It could’ve been two in the morning, and it wouldn’t have changed anything.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” I opened the door wider to invite her in and then glanced over my shoulder toward the kitchen, wondering where Aaron was or what he’d do when he realized I had company.
“I wanted to talk to you about what happened today.”
I dug my phone out of my pocket and checked the screen, surprised to see no missed calls or texts. “So you drove all the way out here?”
Tatum followed me inside and took one step toward the living room. Without warning, she stopped and began to twist her fingers in a show of nervousness. “I, um . . . I’m sorry. I had no idea you had company.”
Confused by her reaction, I followed her line of sight, hoping to understand what had tipped her off. That’s when I noticed not only my beer sitting on the coffee table where I’d left it, but Aaron’s empty bottle on the side table as well.
“You’re right; I should’ve called first. It was stupid to just show up.” She put one foot behind the other, her hands now clutching the front of her shirt over her chest.
The thought of her leaving was enough to force me into action. I grabbed her elbow to at least stall her exit and explain that Aaron had parked across the street, but I didn’t get the chance.
“Hey . . . I know you.” Aaron came around the corner, his eyes wide with surprise as he grinned with excitement. For what, I wasn’t sure yet, but I certainly wasn’t excited to find out. He stepped closer and held his arms out. “You’re the hugger from the food festival.”
I shot him a silent warning, which he understood immediately. It could’ve been the raised brows, the wide eyes, or the tic in my jaw. Whatever he’d recognized in my expression, he got the hint without me having to tell him twice.
Instead of following through on the embrace, he stuck out a hand. And it seemed the brain doctor was back—Aaron’s professional alter ego. “It’s really nice to see you again. I had no idea the Tatum he’s talked about is you.”
She turned with surprise my way, probably her reaction to hearing that I talked about her.
“Uh, yeah. Aaron stopped by to have a few drinks. Did you want one?” I hoped that offering her a beverage would help smooth things over, even though I didn’t hold my breath that she’d accept the invitation.
“N-no, but thank you.” Finally, she smiled at Aaron and slipped her hand into his. “It’s nice to see you again, too.”
“Don’t listen to anything this bastard says about me. Got it?” It appeared the good doctor had left the building. “They’re all lies. Unless he happened to mention how intelligent and good looking I am, or how great I am in b—”
“Enough, Aaron.” There was no mistaking the warning in my tone.
“What?” He genuinely appeared offended, yet that didn’t mean he was. “I was about to say I’m great in bad situations. Good God, man. What did you think I was going to say?” He regarded Tatum again, who now had the corners of her lips turned up in amusement. “It seems he also thinks I’m disrespectful. Honestly, I’m not sure why I’m still friends with him.”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question for weeks.” My retort earned me a breathless giggle from the otherwise silent woman at my right and a wink of approval from the asshole on my left.
“I was actually on my way out,” Aaron lied, which I appreciated.
Tatum eyed the cold bottle of beer in his hand. “Didn’t you just open that?”
He looked at it for a second and then passed it over to me. “It’s his.”
At this point, I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but if it came down to one of them leaving, it better not be Tatum. So, I took the beer from his hand even though it wasn’t mine and started to drink it.
Tatum glanced over her shoulder, yet I wasn’t sure what she was looking at, considering the front door was closed. “I didn’t see a car out there. Do you have a ride home?”
“Oh, no. Jason makes me park my truck across the street because it leaks oil, and this neat freak would have a coronary if there were any stains on the driveway of the house he rents.” He cupped his hand around his mouth and added, “He takes the whole ‘care for it like it was your own’ thing to a whole new level,” as if I couldn’t hear him.
She eyed me, mocking me through her thick, dark lashes. Tatum enjoyed making fun of me for being a clean freak, even though I was sure she secretly wanted me to come clean her room. If she didn’t . . . she really should.
“Are you really going? Or are you just saying that so I don’t leave?”
Aaron slapped his hand over his chest and dropped his mouth wide open. “Trust me—I would never walk away from drinking someone else’s beer, especially so some other guy can spend time with a pretty girl.”
Tatum glanced between the two of us, yet she didn’t say anything.
Aaron slapped me on the back, slid between me and Tatum like Moses parting the Red Sea, and walked out the front door. As soon as it closed behind him, she made her way around the recliner to the couch.
“That was totally his beer, wasn’t it?” she asked, taking a seat on the sofa.
I took the cushion next to her and regarded the bottle in my hand. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, that one’s half full.” She pointed to the one on the coffee table that I had been drinking and then turned her finger to the one Aaron had left behind next to the chair. “And that one’s empty. You’d never leave an empty anything sitting out—you would’ve finished drinking it while standing over the trash can, just so you could throw it out after the last drop was gone. Which means this one’s yours.” She picked up my old beer, brou
ght it to her lips, and tipped it back. “Also . . . you hate the recliner, so you wouldn’t have sat in it.”
I couldn’t exactly argue with her, so I shrugged. I tipped my new bottle back and gulped, hoping she wouldn’t be able to read the reaction I had over her knowing these things about me. It turned me inside out, flipped me upside down, and hung me out to dry.
But when Tatum cleared her throat, preparing herself to begin, I paid attention.
“That first night I stayed here—when I helped you cook dinner and then we . . .” She nodded in the direction of my room, as if I could’ve forgotten. “Well, when I got home the next morning, Kelsey was up, and of course, she wanted to know where I was all night. I’d forgotten all about the excuse we came up with and just tried to pass it off. At some point in our conversation, I thought she figured out I had been here with you, so I tried to explain as best as I could without making her mad.”
There had to be more to this story, considering my cousin had never mentioned this, and if she didn’t get to it soon, I’d end up dragging it out of her.
“I’m still not sure how it all went down,” she continued, “but while I was telling her about you, she was referring to Michael, both of us under the impression that we were talking about the same person. It wasn’t until the very end, right before she stormed out of my room, that she said his name. That’s when I realized she thought I had slept with him, not you.”
“So Michael’s your boss?”
“Yes, whom she hates. Which is why she’s making such a big deal about it. I didn’t correct her because I thought the truth would be worse—in her eyes, I mean. I never expected her to bring it up at her parents’ house in front of everyone, and I really didn’t think she’d ever tell you.”
“But you’re not sleeping with him, right?”
She laughed and shook her head, humor sparkling in her eyes. “No. Don’t you think that would’ve come up this morning during the whole no-condom conundrum?”
I shrugged, unable to give her a real answer.
“I thought you would’ve put two and two together—that every time I came here, I had to tell her I was somewhere else. But then you kind of took off after lunch without saying bye, and I started to worry that you might’ve believed her.”
The (Half) Truth Page 22
