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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Brian's grandma brings in a chocolate cake with raspberries on top and a candle in the shape of an eighteen.
A rush of air leaves my lips, extinguishing the flame, and I make three wishes while Brian and his grandparents sing Happy Birthday to me. We eat the dessert and chat. At the end of the evening, Evelyn gives me a plant in a beautiful flowerpot. I try to object, but it's difficult to say no to a woman who has been nothing but kind to me from the get-go.
"They like you," Brian says as we leave his grandparents' house later.
"I like them, too," I reply. "You have an amazing family."
Brian chuckles. "Yeah, I really do. It's never dull when all of us are together. I hope you liked your birthday, Kitten."
"It was wonderful," I say as we stroll toward our cabin. "Thank you."
"No problem. I wanted you to enjoy it. You don't turn eighteen every day."
"What did you do for your eighteenth?"
Brian shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and looks at the ground. "Got drunk, ended up in a club. You don't have to know more."
"Spent the night with a girl? You can say it. You're older than me, and I'm not that naïve."
"Yeah, Kitten, although spending the night isn't what I'd call it. I wasn't too happy, I guess. I missed my friends and my hometown and was fed up with everything."
"I feel that way sometimes, too," I say. Brian and I climb the wooden steps, and he lets us in, switching on the lights while I hang the jackets by the door.
"I'm gonna smoke," he says, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his jean pocket.
I follow him onto the terrace and watch him light a cigarette after he puts it in his mouth.
"I want to try it," I say.
Brian raises his eyebrows. "Why would you?"
"Curiosity." I shrug. "I won't start smoking; I just want to know how it tastes."
"Here," Brian says, handing me his cigarette. I bring it to my lips and cough when it's in my mouth, and I let in the smoke.
Brian laughs as he goes back into the house. He returns with a glass of water and gives it to me. "Drink, tiger."
"Disgusting," I say after gulping down the liquid.
"It is." Brian nods. "The fucked up thing is, you get accustomed to it."
"Have you tried other things?"
"Drugs?"
I nod.
"Yeah, but nothing heavy, just some weed. I don't smoke it now. I never liked it, I guess," he says.
I fall quiet and wait for Brian to finish smoking. We reenter the living room and sit on the couch. Brian pops some chewing gum into his mouth, and I wonder if he wants to kiss me.
