Page 136 of The Long Way Home
“I’m just saying,” I reply, grinning, “I figured you were going to deny it, give us some mystery. You know a little suspense for the entertainment of your friends.”
Slone pulls her sunglasses down to glare at me over the rims, a playful gleam in her eyes. “Mystery is overrated. I know what I want, and I take it. That has served me well in my twenty-six years of life.” She laughs softly and takes a sip. “Life’s short. Flirting is fun. Why waste it pretending otherwise?”
“Maybe you could date him,” I mutter. “We all know you have chemistry.”
“Oh, I don’t do serious,” she fires back.
Lexi rolls her eyes. “Don’t waste your time, Rach. I’ve been begging her for years to have a serious relationship. Years. It’s exhausting.”
Slone shrugs, sipping her drink, unfazed. “I’ll enjoy my freedom while it lasts. What about you, Lex? You work so hard, you don’t even have time to sleep with men, let alone date them,” Slone teases.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lexi says, brushing it off, but her cheeks tint faintly pink.
Margo leans back and waves a finger toward Lexi. “Wait, Lex, when is the last time you, you know.”
Lexi groans. “Uh, maybe six months ago? Hard to say. I did go on a date with a guy named Chad, which tells you everything you need to know. So yeah. It’s been a minute.”
Slone snorts. “Six months is way too long.”
“Oh, absolutely not.” Lexi drops the towel, laughing. “Men are almost never worth the effort. All my effort goes towards relaxing nowadays.”
“You know,” I say, smirking, “Wes seems like a guy who would know how to help you relax.”
“You guys are the worst. I definitely do not need a man. Especially one named Wes.”
“We’re the best,” Margo corrects, smirking, reaching over to pinch Lexi’s shoulder. “You’ll thank us someday when you’re naming your firstborn Wesley Junior.”
“Gross. Hell would have to freeze over before I let Wes in this temple. Plus, if anything, it’d be like Alex—why should his name get passed down if I did all the work?”
We’re still laughing when the guys wander back up the slope, sun-drenched and sweaty. Half-finished beers in hand, they’re debating loudly about whose arm is stronger, who can throw the ball farther, and who definitely cheated on the last round.
Connor is first to reach us, towel slung casually around his neck. “Ladies. Anything good happening over here?”
“Just girl talk,” Slone responds, tilting her head.
His eyes flick to her. “Anything I should be worried about?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
He shakes his head and drops into the grass at her feet. Wes slides in beside him.
Anderson follows, ambling up the hill with a grin tugging at his lips. “Hi, wifey,” he murmurs, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.
Rhett collapses into the grass next to Wes, back damp from sweat, hair falling into his eyes as he stretches out.
Slone sits up straighter, the faintest smile playing across her lips. “Okay, everyone, I’ve got something to say.”
Heads turn, chatter dies down. Even the boys pause, their curiosity piqued.
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” Slone begins, “about all kinds of things. About what I want. Where I want to be. And uh, I’m moving back to Atlanta.”
My jaw drops. “Wait—what? Seriously?”
Margo blinks slowly, then glances at Anderson, eyebrows raised.
He shrugs, a subtle tension in his shoulders. “I knew.”
Margo shoots him a side glance, disbelief written all over her face. “Why didn’t you say anything? I can’t believe you kept a secret from me.”
