He's the guy moms warn their daughters about. Bold, outspoken, and self-confident, Brian O'Brien returns to his hometown only to discover some things changed in his absence.
Brian has a new neighbor - a shy, smart girl Leah, who hates his guts since...
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Our family dinner goes smoothly. We joke and remember stuff from when Jimmy and I were kids, and Mom has a huge grin on her face the entire time. She always does when her boys are together.
Mom leaves us when the sun sets. Pops, Jim, and I go to the porch. Dad takes the chair, while Jim and I sit on the swing.
We take in our surroundings for a while. "The haunted house is rented," Jimmy says.
Dad smirks, and Jim squints at him. "What?"
Pops shrugs. "Ask the little fucker who talked shit about the girl living there."
I roll my eyes and grab a beer from the cooler. "I apologized. Don't listen to him, Jim."
"Is she coming?" Dad insists.
I peel a corner of the label off my bottle. "No idea."
Pops gives me one of his signature looks — the one that says his disappointment is as deep as the lake where I nearly drowned when I was a kid. "Make sure she's there, Brian."
Jimmy's smirking the entire time, and I kick the fucker's leg. Let's face it — he can get away with anything now that he's grown-up and independent. While Jimmy's the dude you can always rely on, I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck I am.
I zone out as soon as Jimmy and Dad start talking about their shit and go to my room after wishing them good night. They need their alone time, and I need a smoke.
After grabbing a cigarette, I open the window and yell, "Yo, Kitten!"
Kitten's window opens, and she huffs, "What, O'Brien?"
I light the cig and take a drag. "Are you gonna come to the barbecue tomorrow?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
"What's there to think about? It's gonna be fun — better than staying alone in your room all afternoon."
"What I do isn't any of your business," Kitten bites out. Claws, here we go.
I inhale a lungful of smoke again. "You're right, but so am I. You have a boyfriend, and yet, you're always alone. Where's he?"
Kitten sighs so loudly I hear it from where I'm leaning on my windowsill. "He needs to study. It's our senior year."
"Is studying more important to him than his girl?" I ask. I'm not trying to be a dick; I'm genuinely curious about Ferdinand and whatever they are to each other. Mac and Kennedy are my only friends in committed relationships. Neither of them would leave their girls at home alone and probably hungry. Fuck, I hope Kitten isn't hungry.
"What do you know about it, O'Brien? I bet you're not the relationship type."
I shrug. "You're spot on, Kitten. I'm a fuckboy and a bad boy."
