Hello, Handsome Read online

  Abby shrugged, turning to Megan who shrugged as well.

  I looked around. There were still people milling about, and the fields would be open for a while, and if their parents didn’t show up within ten minutes I’d call.

  “Okay, why don’t we go play on the swing sets?” I suggested. The swing sets were in clear view of the field. The two of them nodded and raced over. I slowed my step, stopping next to one of the head honchos of the soccer camp program. “I’m gonna take them over to the swing sets while we wait for their parents. Their names are Abby and Megan Barkley.” The guy glanced over and nodded his head.

  I headed over and took the empty swing that they’d left for me.

  The two of them talked and giggled, every once in a while looking over at me suspiciously. I was beginning to think they were plotting against me. They didn’t have their water bottles with them, and they’d dropped their bags where the grass met the spongy, blue colored ground that lay beneath the structure.

  If I managed to distract them long enough, maybe any evil plans they’d been working on would be forgotten.

  “What else have you guys been doing this summer?” I asked, turning toward them.

  They both popped their heads up and looked over to me, eyes wide like they’d been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

  Definitely planning something evil.

  Abby looked at Megan, their young faces smiling with false innocence.

  “We went on a family vacation with my dad and his new family.” Abby smiled, pumping her short legs back and forth on the swings. Megan sighed, leaning her head against the chains of the swing set. The smile had dimmed.

  “Did you have fun, Megan?” I asked.

  Megan shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.” Kid code for no.

  “What about you, Abby?”

  She nodded, pushing her hair out of her face. “We went on a boat and saw whales. It was really fun!”

  “That does sound fun,” I replied, noting Megan’s continued silence. Maybe she didn’t like her dad’s new family. Or, considering he was late today and had been in the past, maybe he’d become so busy and consumed by his new family that he forgot about his first one, and they were noticing. The idea made my stomach turn.

  Even though my dad and I didn’t get along, he was still there. He acknowledged me, sometimes when I wished he wouldn’t. The idea of growing up without a dad sucked. Honeybee had, for the most part. It hadn’t been easy. Not to mention she’d lived to a jerk for the past four years. I had gut-wrenching feeling that if her dad was still alive, he wouldn’t like me.

  “Where’s daddy?” Megan asked Abby.

  “I’ll go call and see when he’s gonna get here,” I said, standing from my swing. The field was mostly empty of children now. The majority of people who remained were volunteers and coaches. I ground my teeth, hoping their dad was late because of car troubles or something.

  I passed another volunteer on my way to the front. It was easy to tell who was a volunteer because they wore the same colors that the kids wore.

  “Can you keep an eye on the two girls on the swings? I need to call their dad to see when he’s coming.”

  The girl glanced over at them and nodded. “Sure thing.”

  With the girls taken care of, I called their dad. It rang a few times before he picked up and when he did, it sounded like he’d just woken up.

  “Yeah?” came his groggy answer.

  “Hi Mr. Barkley, my name is Lex, I’ve been teaching your girls soccer the past week. We finished about twenty minutes ago, and I was just wondering when you were gonna come pick them up.” It was hard to keep my voice neutral. I understood that people got caught up and busy, but kids didn’t realize that. They just felt forgotten.

  “Oh, right.” He fumbled around on his end of the phone. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up.

  Walking back over to the girls, I saw the other volunteer had them talking. I stopped near them, smirking when I heard them talking about the cupcakes they’d had at their tea party.

  “Can you come to our tea party?” Megan asked me, smiling that innocently evil smile again.

  “Sorry, kiddo. I can’t go to tea parties anymore, my tiara doesn’t fit.” The girl who’d come over to watch them for me laughed, but Abby and Megan looked heartbroken. Not the reaction I’d been hoping for. “Maybe if I get it fixed.”

  “Then you can come?” Megan asked, eyes wide and hopeful.

  “Of course,” I answered. “Your dad should be here soon.” I turned to the girl and nodded my thanks. She smiled, standing before she headed back to the main tables. My eyes followed her a moment.

  “Do you love her?” Abby cooed, giggling when I turned back to her.

  “Are you guys gonna get married?” Megan added, mouth open in a gasp. “Can I be the flower girl?”

  “Can I be the bridesmaid?” Abby asked.

  “I feel like she would have to decide those details.” I sat back down in the swing.

  “Can I still be the flower girl?” Megan asked, clasping her hands together and jutting her lower lip out. With a laugh, I nodded. For the next ten minutes the two of them started to plan my wedding, the one I was going to have with the stranger whose name I didn’t know. Kids and their fairy tale endings.

  When I saw their dad finally pull up, the three of us stood and walked over, the girls picking up their bags on the way. They trailed a little ways behind me, getting distracted by the daisies.

  Mr. Barkley smiled at me, but I didn’t return the gesture. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I was working and lost track of time.”

  I didn’t buy his excuse. No one answered a phone the way he did unless they’d just woken up. It was probably his week with the girls. Maybe there was more on his plate than usual, maybe he really had been at work. Regardless of his excuse, it wasn’t okay for him to let his kids feel forgotten.

  “It’s fine, just make sure it doesn’t happen again…” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my brain from doing something stupid. Stuff happened, people got busy. I got that. But what I didn’t get was how he could just forget about them so often. They were almost always the last ones to leave, and it was always because he was late. The guy was supposed to be on time for them. He needed to show to them that they were just as important to him as his new family.

  It was only after I looked up and saw the shock written in his wide eyes that I realized I’d said my thoughts aloud. His jaw was slack, and for some dumb reason, my brain decided it would be a good idea to keep going. It was like it thought that his silence meant he was waiting for me to unload more wisdom.

  “I know I don’t have kids, and I know that I don’t know what your life is, but I’ve seen the way they look when you don’t show up on time,” I said, propping my hands on my hips. “They need to know they’re still important to you.”

  A look passed over his features, but I couldn’t decide if it was one of acceptance or annoyance.

  “Look, kid. I was held up at work. My daughters know I love them. I don’t tell you how to do your job. Don’t tell me how to do mine.”

  Annoyance it was.

  I gritted my teeth, holding back a snide remark when Abby and Megan caught up. They didn’t need to hear me talking to their dad that way.

  “Let’s go,” he said, gruffly turning around and heading back to his car. Megan and Abby paused, hugging me quickly before running off.

  “Man, you’re really good with words.”

  I looked up to see the girl from earlier, my future wife according to Abby and Megan. “Excuse me?” I raised an eyebrow, not in the mood to socialize.

  “He’s kind of a big deal as far as funding goes and you sort of just told him he was a bad parent,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not the best choice, if we’re being honest.”

  I pulled my keys out of the front pocket of my backpack before sliding it over my shoulders. “Guess it’s a good thing this was the last camp of the summer then, h
uh?”

  “Someone’s in a feisty mood,” she laughed, toying with a braid that hadn’t been in her hair earlier. Honeybee had the tendency to braid her hair when she was nervous. Or bored. Or any time really. Maybe it was something lots of girls did.

  I gave a two finger salute. “See ya.”

  Home, dry clothes, and food were in store. And then sleep.

  Three: Beach Bum Dreams

  The dorms were only a few days away, and I had packing to do. It was one of the biggest downsides of going to a university. The pros far outweighed the cons, though. Soon, I would be living on my own. The control my parents had on my life would be way more limited. I wasn’t opposed to that at all.

  “Do you want this?” Honeybee asked, dragging my attention away from procrastinating. Since she was perfect, she’d already packed. Days ago, maybe weeks. I couldn’t remember. All I could remember was that she’d walked into my house wearing a pair of shorts that made her legs look every kind of perfect. My attention span had been distracted long enough for me to miss the majority of her greeting and judgment.

  I looked at the book in her hands. It was my dad’s. He’d probably left in my room on accident after yelling at me about something stupid.

  “Nope.”

  She dropped the book back on the bed. “What are you even doing?”

  She moved from her spot at my desk and walked over to where I was on the floor, surrounded by piles of clothes and shoes. My packing skills were quite limited. It was bad. I should’ve been picking out what I was bringing with me, instead I’d found an old comic book collection hidden away in my closet. Before she could see I threw the comics back into the closet and smiled innocently up at her.

  “Nothing. I’m no help at all, remember?” I stood, back popping as I stretched. “Lunch?” A frown curved over her pink lips. “Bee, you gotta go with the flow. You’ll get used to that in college.” I started to move, and when she didn’t follow I took her hand in mine and pulled her along with me.

  She groaned, but followed anyways. “What about getting things done in time, huh?” she asked, pulling her hand from mine. “Like papers or studying for a test? Going to go with the flow for those, too?” Her footsteps followed me down the stairs, padding softly after mine as we walked into the kitchen.

  “It’ll be fine.”

  Mom was sitting at the table. The window behind her was open to the let the summer air inside. It was still early enough in the day that it wasn’t sweltering outside.

  “How goes packing?” Mom asked, sipping iced coffee, an open book in front of her.

  “Your son doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Honeybee replied, crossing her arms over her chest. I stuck my tongue out at her. When she retaliated, I was forced to remind myself the action could not be cute. Not with Bee.

  Ignoring the flutter in my stomach, I pulled open the fridge and sandwich supplies. “I know exactly what I’m doing.” I shut the fridge after I’d pulled out the food I wanted. “I’m making a sandwich.”

  Mom laughed, but Honeybee just rolled her eyes. Hopefully I wasn’t losing my charm, that’d be an awkward thing to misplace the first week of college.

  “He’s going to fail all his classes and become a soccer beach bum,” Honeybee said, sliding into the spot by Mom.

  “You say that like he wouldn’t love that career move,” Mom said, shooting me a grin.

  “She knows me, Bee. Dream career here I come.” I put my sandwich together. “All I need to do now is fail all of my classes. How hard could that be?”

  Honeybee sighed, dropping her chin to her hand. “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”

  “I give it a few weeks,” Mom said, picking her book up again. “You are going to love living on the beach, sweetie. Lots of friendly people.” She was so supportive of my dreams.

  “Thanks, Mom.” I sat down across from them and started to eat, pushing half of the sandwich over to Honeybee. She hesitated, looking at it with narrowed eyes. Of course she would second guess my kindness. “It’s safe.”

  “Safe is a relative term when it comes to you.” But she ate it anyways.

  I swallowed my bite, looking to Mom as I said, “Do we have any packing tape?”

  She paused in her reading. “You’ll have to ask your dad when he gets home.”

  When Dad got home he wouldn’t want to look for packing tape. Maybe I would just go buy some. It probably wasn’t very expensive and buying more meant we wouldn’t have to have father-son bonding time over an argument about tape.

  “Hey, just in case I fail at both school and being a soccer beach bum, are you going to leave my room the same, in case I come back?” I asked.

  Desmond, who was also going to be at Bartlow University, said his mom was turning his room into a quilting area. I’d never pictured his mom as a quilter. I always assumed that she was the hot soccer mom, but apparently not. She was normal like mine.

  Mom shrugged. “I guess I’ll wait a few months to make sure things are working out before I turn your room into my cat sanctuary.” I grimaced, that sounded even worse than a quilting room. “I’ll need a friend to keep me company when you’re gone.”

  “You’re getting a cat?” There was no way Dad would let her get a cat.

  “It’s the perfect replacement!” Mom said with a big smile. “Cats are independent, moody, and I could name it after you. It’d be like you never left.”

  Honeybee nearly choked on her laughter.

  “Thanks, Mom.” I deadpanned. “Would you look at the time? I have to pack.” Sandwich in hand, I went back upstairs.

  My room was a mess, mostly because instead of packing I’d tossed my clothes around in an attempt to look busy. No one bought it, of course. Mom just rolled her eyes when she’d seen it, saying I was never going to leave at the rate I was packing.

  Part of me thought that maybe if I dragged it out long enough she’d just do it for me. But that was the bad son thing to do. Plus, I would probably end up wearing clothes I hated if she packed for me.

  “I wonder if my mom will get a cat,” Honeybee said as she walked into the room, a glass of lemonade in her hand.

  “She’ll probably get a goldfish.”

  I picked my bag off the floor and started to section out what kinds of clothes I would need. Since I was only an hour from home, I didn’t need to pack a lot. Just the basics. If I needed anything I could just drive back and get it, no big deal. Clothes, toiletries, and shoes. Plus sleeping stuff. There was a list, lost somewhere in my room, of the things I was supposed to bring. Honeybee probably had a very similar list memorized.

  “What are we supposed to bring, do you know?” I asked, glancing back at her. She was leaning against the doorframe. Her blonde hair was pushed back behind her ear, still damp from a shower, and one arm curled around her waist.

  “Clothes would be a good start.”

  I shook my head. “I was thinking of becoming a nudist, actually.” A blush colored her cheeks and I laughed, throwing a few shirts onto the bed, missing my open bag completely. “But just in case it gets cold I’ll bring some.”

  “Good idea,” she said, moving into the room and dropping down on the bed. She set her lemonade on the desk and then folded the clothes I’d thrown, placing them in the bag. “You really need to fold your clothes. Otherwise they’ll be all wrinkly when you pull them out next.” She would worry about wrinkled clothes.

  “I’m a nudist, Bee. I don’t care if my clothes are wrinkly.” I pulled a few pairs of jeans from the floor and tossed them at the bed. She dutifully folded them and put them in the bag. “Wanna fold my boxers, too?” I asked, watching her cheeks continue to redden. I had no idea how she managed to put up with Desmond when he was probably worse than me. “I’m surprised you aren’t helping Desmond pack.”

  “Why would I help him pack?” she asked, eyebrow raised like it was the craziest question she’d ever heard. I furrowed my eyebrows, gesturing to my room and what she was currently doing. “He’
s not a helpless cat,” she answered, biting back a grin.

  Sighing, I turned toward my dressers and pulled out a few more things I would need. I really hated packing. I’d barely done anything, but already I wanted to throw myself out the window. “Where’s Bethany?”

  “With Ryan,” she replied. “As always.” She gave a small smile. “They’re really great together.”

  I gagged.

  With a roll of her eyes, she stopped folding. “You don’t agree?”

  “Can’t say that I do,” I said with a shake of my head. “But I’m not invested in them the way you are.” Maybe if I’d been closer friends with the two of them, I would’ve cared about their budding romance. As it was, I couldn’t care less.

  “What’s wrong with you, Mr. Grumpy-gills?”

  I glanced over at her, trying not to roll my eyes. Finding Nemo was probably the only movie she quoted on a daily basis.

  “Nothing,” I answered. “Can I ask you something?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.”

  I laughed. “Am I supposed to continue?”

  “Is that your question?” she asked, a grin pulling at her lips. When I shook my head she sighed in defeat. “Fine, then. Ask your silly question.”

  I didn’t meet her gaze, distracting myself with the pile of clothes on the floor that needed to be sorted. “What’s going on with you and Desmond?”

  She was folding clothes again. “How do you mean?”

  “I mean, you guys are practically attached at the hip, being attached at the lips wouldn’t seem too farfetched.” I wanted to cringe at my own words. The very idea of them kissing sent a wave of rage over me. Desmond was not going to kiss Honeybee. That wasn’t allowed. She could date pretty much anyone else, and I would carry on without a fuss. But if she kissed Desmond heads would roll.

  Honeybee didn’t answer right away, which worried me. I wasn’t supposed to worry about her answer. She was supposed to tell me no, right way, with no hesitation. What was she doing now? Hesitating.

  A lot.

  If she said anything other than no, or a word that meant no, I was going to have a hard time refraining from driving over to Desmond’s and punching him in the face for dating my next door neighbor when it was clear that she was not allowed to date guys like him.