With that philosophical thought dump, he spun and walked out, waving to everyone who said hello as he passed. That fluttering in my chest finally petered out to leave me with another weird sensation. Gut-clenching empathy. Titus hated dealing with Dom.
Maybe I should send him some funny memes tonight to snap him out of the self-loathing that always came after dealing with his brother’s messes.
Or maybe a racy selfie…
With that novel idea floating through my brain and egging me on to danger, I went back to work.
9
Titus
She was killing me.
First the flirting yesterday, and then the picture of her ample cleavage in a barely there tank top with the text “to cheer you up after dealing with your own Douchebag.” Maybe it was just my wishful thinking, but it seemed like maybe Amelia was more into the idea of us taking things beyond friendship than she let on. But then again, I’d had my hopes up for years and had been let down every single time.
I should probably talk to my guy friends and get their opinion on the matter. Lord knew I wasn’t objective enough to understand what was going on. Amelia could ask for a glass of water and my brain would get carried away thinking she was parched due to her unending love for me. I groaned out loud and pulled on a flannel over my T-shirt. What was I thinking? There was no way I could talk to any of my guy friends about Amelia. They’d give me shit for the rest of my life.
We planned to all meet down at the beach tonight for a little bonfire to celebrate Hazel’s birthday. With the weather turning chilly at night, I hoped to use that as an excuse to cuddle up to Amelia. I could picture her showing up in her standard cut-off shorts and a shirt that left her belly exposed to the night air. She’d have a sweatshirt with her, but even that wouldn’t keep her warm enough. We’d been doing these bonfires for more than a decade. You’d think she’d learn to wear jeans or a heavier jacket by now. Her shortsightedness was my gain. I was tired of waiting for her to make the first move. Tired of swallowing what I really wanted to say. Sick of pretending like I didn’t envision an entire life together with her: married, kids, the two matching rocking chairs on the front porch. The whole damn thing.
Tonight, I’d grab life by the balls and make my move.
“Rip, you comin’ with me?” I yelled out into the living room as I looked around for my keys and wallet in the mess that was my bedroom. I really needed to clean it up sometime soon or I’d be out of clean clothes shortly.
Rip didn’t answer me until I came out of my room, sitting on the couch with his cell phone in hand. He didn’t even look up at me, so enthralled by whatever he was looking at. I’d have to talk to the guys at the bonfire and see if we could stage an intervention. Rip was getting quieter and more sullen by the hour.
“Nah, I’m going to swing by a little later.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay, sounds good.”
He and Hazel didn’t exactly get along, so I could understand why he wasn’t enthusiastic about the bonfire. I shook my head and left. Another thing I never understood about Rip. He and Hazel had been really tight at the beginning of high school, much like me and Amelia. And then one day they hated each other and refused to speak about it. We all figured they had a falling-out, but would patch things up eventually. Now, a decade later, they still hadn’t worked it out.
By the time I got to the bonfire, it was in full swing. All five of the Waldo sisters were there, which surprised me. Normally Amelia tried to have her own space without her siblings stealing her spotlight. Other than her sisters, the normal crew was there: Lucy and Bain, Lenora and Jayden, Charlie and Finnie, the birthday girl herself, Lukas and several of his friends who always tagged along. Lenora swore inviting the boys kept her brother out of trouble.
I grabbed a beer and headed straight for Hazel, pulling her up off her blanket and into a bear hug that had her giggling.
“Happy birthday, tiny human,” I said before giving her a big, wet kiss on her cheek.
She squealed and I let her go. “I’m not tiny, you’re just huge!”
I shrugged and winked. “Maybe by next birthday you’ll have grown out of the kids’ sizes.”
She punched me in the shoulder. “One can only hope,” she whispered.
Hazel wasn’t that small, but compared to me, she seemed tiny. And I never let her forget it. She was like the little sister I never had, stumbling her way through life and making me cringe. She had a heart of gold, but not necessarily the best decision-making skills.
I left Hazel and moved to take a seat right next to Amelia on her blanket. She bumped my shoulder, already in her sweatshirt, her bare legs drawn up under her, covered in goose bumps. I couldn’t hide the little smile. As much as Amelia remained unpredictable when it came to big things in life, she was completely predictable with the little things.
“How you doin’, beautiful?” I asked, wrapping my arm around her neck and pulling her into me so I could kiss the top of her head.
She came willingly, snuggling up against me with a laugh. “Freezing!”
I snorted, leaving my arm over her shoulders and taking a swig of beer before answering. “Never fear, Titus’s body heat is here.”
“Ooh, I’ll take some
