Wind shot up from the table, and Julie braced for a theatrical performance. “Oh, darling. You really are out of the loop. I should’ve chaperoned you two.” She tsked and looked down at Julie with a disapproving shake of her head. “It’s a kiss that makes you believe there are no more guys out there for you. That no other kiss will ever be able to live up to that one kiss. That you won’t be able to sleep, eat, or function again without seeing, feeling, living that kiss over and over again. It is a kiss that suckers you into believing there is no life beyond that one single kiss.” Wind paced around the room uncharacteristically biting her thumbnail. She mumbled, “Trust me, I know.”
“You’re insane.” Julie swatted Bri’s hand away and headed for the kitchen to make some tea.
“Am I?” Wind followed, snatching the kettle from her hands. “Then tell me one thing.”
Bri joined them, and they both stood looking at her with narrowed eyes, as if analyzing every twitch and turn of her body.
“Were you just thinking about that kiss a minute ago when you touched your lips?” Wind tapped her foot, and Bri leaned in closer.
Julie didn’t know what to say. If she admitted she had been thinking about that kiss, they’d make a big deal out of it, but if she said no, Bri would know she was lying, so she snatched the tea kettle back. “You both need to get a life.”
Wind left the room, grumbling something about losing her best friend to a man again.
Julie turned on the water and filled the kettle. The sound of the pipes squealing at least covered Wind’s rantings.
A hand rested on her shoulder. “Mom, this is a big deal. I know how you don’t like change and how you’ve struggled with moving on after Dad’s passing. He would want this for you, though.”
“I know.” She patted Bri’s hand.
“And as for Wind’s comments,” Bri said, “I think she just wanted more time with her friend. She missed you. And after so many failed relationships, I think she’d hoped to keep things casual and fun between all of you.”
Julie remembered Wind’s mumbling about the sucker-kiss. “I think I know why she’s had so many failed relationships.” She turned, eyeing the living room where Wind had disappeared to, and leaned in to whisper, scared of the Wind wrath if she overheard the mention of a name. “Damon Reynolds.”
“You mean Mr. Reynolds, who lives in Cocoa Beach and went to your high school?”
“Yes, he and Wind had a thing back in the day. They were supposed to go off to New York together, but then, out of the blue, he told her to go without him. That they didn’t belong together and he had other plans for his life.”
“That’s terrible.” Bri took the kettle from Julie’s hand and placed it on the stove.
“Yes, it was. When she married husband number one when she was only nineteen, I knew it was a rebound, but I couldn’t get Wind to hear me. We drifted even further apart after that, so I wasn’t around when that marriage broke up. Perhaps if we had stayed in touch, I could’ve helped more, but life happened. Friends grow apart when they are geographically undesirable.”
Bri turned the knob on the stove, and the electric plate glowed orange in a matter of seconds. “Sounds like she’s had her own issues. Maybe things will work out with Dustin, or maybe they won’t. I can give you one piece of advice though.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t get involved. As much as Wind meddles in your life, she’ll never let you into hers. Unless you want to lose her as a friend for years again, let her figure things out with Dustin and you stay clear.”
“No worries. I learned my lesson last time.” Julie crossed her arms and leaned against the old white refrigerator door. “Do you really think there is something to this sucker-kiss thing? I mean, it sounds silly and made up.”
“It’s not,” Bri said with way too much authority that told Julie her daughter had the same experience.
“Who?” Julie asked.
Bri shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. It’s old news now. Happened right after Dad died, and honestly, I wasn’t in a place to be emotionally available to him. We went our separate ways and remained friends.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Any hope that’ll change? I mean, if he’s really still on your mind…” Julie said, careful how she worded her question so she didn’t cause more harm.
“No. Not at all. Trust me on that.” Bri smiled. “You’re good, aren’t you?”
“Me? At what?” Julie asked, not sure what she meant.
“At changing the subject so you don’t have to deal with your feelings. You must be who I get that from.” Bri removed three mugs from the cupboard and set them by the stove. “Do you like Trevor? Do you see yourself with him a day from now, a week, a month, years?”
Julie held up both her hands. “Whoooa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“Come on, Mom. I know you’ve thought about it. You’re not the casual-dating type.”
The kettle whistled, so Bri removed it from the stove and poured the hot water into each of the cups before retrieving the box of tea bags.
Julie didn’t answer. Instead, she dropped her tea bag into her cup and watched it steep. The dark coloring reminded her of the brackish water. How Trevor had been such a trooper through all of the discomforts of getting to the beach, and instead of making her feel bad once they arrived, he tried to make her feel better. He was a good man. A man who made her feel things she never thought possible to feel again.
The front doorbell rang, announcing the rest of the crew’s arrival. Julie let out a long breath, but before she went to face her old friends and all the crazy they’d bring with them, she made a
