Page 50 of Small Town Swoo
I stepped out into the yard with the dog, and it was so nice out, I decided to go for a run. After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, I laced up my running shoes, put Fritz on the leash, and headed out. As I jogged the streets of the neighborhood where I’d grown up, I remembered different things from my childhood—the lemonade stand Devlin and I had on the corner (he was the CEO, I was the employee), the house that gave out the best Halloween candy (full-sized Snickers bars), the races my brothers and I used to run from one end of the block to the other (yes, I came in last.Every fucking time, because those assholes had never let the youngest win).
It really was a great place to grow up. If I had a family like my brother Austin, I’d live here. You had sun and the lake in the summer, you had snow and ski hills in the winter, and fall here was the prettiest season I’d ever seen anywhere. I could understand why Ari had wanted to come back.
I still couldn’t believe what we’d done last night. When I opened my eyes this morning, the first thing I’d done was check my phone to make sure I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. But those texts were there, ending withCall me.
Then it wasn’t just words on a screen. It was her voice in my ear. Every time I thought about the things she’d said, my body ignited.
Now that we’d broken this barrier, did that mean we could keep going? Would it be a mistake? Or just a great fucking time? I didn’t want to mess with her feelings—Ari was always going to be part of my family, and thelastthing I wanted to do was hurt or mislead her, creating an awkward situation for years to come.
But thefirstthing I wanted to do was get naked with her.
Could we enjoy some sort of friends with benefits arrangement while I was home? I’d never slept with anyone I’d known for so long or considered a close friend, so I wasn’t sure how that worked.
When I got home, I took a shower, wrapped a towel around my hips, and checked my messages. Nothing from Izzie or Ari, but there was one from Devlin asking me to give him a call. I tapped his number.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” I smiled at the sound of my brother’s voice. “How’s everything going?”
“Good. Busy. I hear you’re in Cherry Tree Harbor.”
“Yeah, I came home a little early to spend some time with Dad, although he hasn’t been around much.” I laughed. “I think his social life is busier than mine.”
We took a few minutes to get caught up, and Devlin filled me in on finishing up the renovation at Snowberry. “It took a little longer than we expected to get it all done, but it was worth the wait.”
“I’m excited to see it, and to meet your wife,” I told him. “Although I still can’t wrap my brain around the fact that you’re married.”
Devlin chuckled. “I know. Speaking of my wife, there’s something we’d like to ask you.”
“Name it.”
“Since you’re the best man, would you mind giving a toast at dinner after the ceremony?”
“I’d be honored,” I said. “And I won’t even mention all the times you said you’d rather eat dog shit than get married.”
“Go ahead and mention it. Lexi loves that I was anti-marriage before her. She feels a huge sense of accomplishment.”
I laughed. “She should. I never thought I’d see the day. But I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, brother. I can’t wait to introduce you to her.” Devlin’s voice grew quiet and serious. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
After Devlin and I hung up, I took advantage of having the house all to myself and wandered around naked for a while. I thought maybe it would show the universe or God or whatever higher power Delphine had access to that I’d taken her advice to heart.
Strolling from room to room, I looked at old photographs, watching myself change from a tow-headed toddler into a sandy-haired kid into a teenager who finally grew into his ears. I saw the way my older brothers grew up to resemble our dad and the way Mabel and I took after our mom.
I looked at the corner where we’d always put the Christmas tree. The window I’d broken when I accidentally threw a baseball through it. The couches where we all sat during family game nights. I smiled when I thought about the way we all used to accuse Mabel and Ari of cheating at Pictionary because they seemed to communicate in some kind of silent language. One of them would start scribbling, and it would take the other one less than five seconds to guess the correct answer, even though what had been drawn lookednothinglike a pirate or a platypus or whatever the thing was supposed to be.
At one end of the living room were some built-in bookcases, and I spied my senior year high school yearbook on one shelf. I pulled it down and opened it up, the spine cracking. On the front flyleaf, a bunch of my friends had signed their names, and some (mostly girls) included little messages likealways stay sweetorhave a great summer.I flipped to the back, and Ari’s name caught my eye.
Dash, thanks for always driving me and Mabel around and being like a big brother to me. Good luck in L.A. but don’t forget about everyone back home. There is more I want to say but I can’t. Maybe someday. Love, Ari DeLuca
She’d dotted the i in her name with a little heart.
I skimmed through the senior portraits in the front of the book—there I was in full color, wearing a suit and tie, hair freshly cut, grin confident. I’d been voted Most Talented, which was noted beneath my name. Then I skipped to the freshmen pictures, which were at the back and smaller, shown in black and white. Laughing a little at my sister with her crooked bangs and glasses, I scanned the next page and found Ariana DeLuca. Her curly hair was long, held off her face with a headband. Her eyes looked wide and her lashes were thick. She was smiling brightly, innocently, and I felt like the biggest pervert on the planet for?—
“The fuck are you doing?”
I looked up to see my brother Xander standing in the doorway to the living room.
