Page 16 of Pressure

“You need to get out, man. You’ve been hiding in here since the interview. Cut your losses and move on. You have a job waiting for you as soon as you get your law degree. Besides, your dad has cut you off from your allowance.”

“You’re sounding more and more like my family.”

I stood up from the couch and tossed the tennis ball at Braxton. I needed to get outside and take in some of this fresh air. I picked up my sketchbook from the coffee table and pulled out a picture I’d drawn of Trudy and Frank’s patio deck.

“I’m going to go for a walk and stop by Frank and Trudy’s,” I said as I headed toward the screen door. Frank and Trudy were heading back to Scottsdale tomorrow, which was earlier than expected. Their daughter had gone into labor and had the baby early, so obviously they wanted to get home to see them. I wanted to stop by to give them the picture that I’d sketched for them.

I took my time and meandered around the lake on the way to Frank and Trudy’s. I’d grown to really enjoy the peacefulness of the lake and was definitely going to miss it when I leave in a few weeks. I had no idea what I was going to do when I got back to L.A., but I knew it wasn’t going to be law school.

As I approached the cabin, I could see that Trudy and Frank were sitting outside on their deck. Instead of going to the front door and making them get up to answer the door, I walked around to the back deck.

“Hey,” I said as I waved to them. “You guys already done packing?”

“Cash, good to see you,” Frank greeted me. “We’re all packed and will put our bags in the car before we leave first thing in the morning.”

“We were hoping we’d see you before we head back to Arizona,” Trudy added. I climbed the stairs to their deck and sat in an empty chair. “Here’s some pictures of our grandson, Linus. You just have to swipe to the right,” Trudy said as she passed me her phone.

“Linus, huh?” I glanced up from the phone to see if I could tell what they thought of the name.

“Yes, Frank and I are just so happy he’s healthy.”

I could see how you’d just want them to be healthy. Hell, my parents weren’t even creative. My brothers and I were all just named the same fucking thing and a number was attached to the end.

“I’m sure Linus will love you guys,” I said as I handed the phone back to her. “I’ll let you guys get back to enjoying your last night here. I just wanted to stop by and give you this.” I handed Trudy the sketch as Frank inched to the edge of the chair.

“Oh my goodness! You drew this?” Trudy asked.

“Yeah, I draw a lot in my free time and have been drawing most of the summer.”

“This is lovely, Cash. Thank you so much.”

“Well look at that, he even drew your hummingbird,” Frank said.

I glanced over to the red hummingbird feeder that hung from the tree. Trudy could reach it from the deck and all summer long she said they had lots of hummingbird activity. So I had added it to the sketch of them on their deck, with a hummingbird fluttering near the hummingbird feeder.

“Have a safe trip home, and I’ll see you guys next summer,” I said as I stood to leave.

“Thank you, Cash. We’d love to see you next summer,” Trudy said. I hugged Trudy and then extended my hand to Frank.

“You plan on coming up here next summer with your friends? It would be great to see you, if so,” Frank asked as we shook hands.

“I’d love to. My friends come each summer, so I plan to as well.”

Even if I didn’t come back next summer, I sold it to them as if I couldn’t imagine spending my summer anywhere else. Cashman Montgomery Jameson the fifth didn’t do goodbyes. If there was one thing Ididknow about myself, that was it.

9

JOEL

Since it was Monday morning and our weekend event was wrapping up today, I told Tristen that I’d stop by Frank and Trudy’s. Yesterday when Tristen and I spoke about which one of us wanted to go to their place today, Tristen said he didn’t mind. However, he was thoroughly enjoying the party and had been out late each evening and surfacing late in the mornings. I thought it would be better for me to go to Frank and Trudy’s and let Tristen enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I left my suite and pulled on my jacket as I walked across the decking toward the main part of the resort. As I neared the deck walkway that led to the main building, the sound of grunts caught my attention. I looked over to the pool area and private cabanas, and a smile spread across my face. Though the morning chill was in the air, it hadn’t prevented Parker from being outside. He was stretched out on a pool lounger, sipping on something in a mug, while getting blown by Maxx. The grunts were coming from Jay as he slowly fucked Maxx. Perhaps one last bit of play before Jay and Maxx would head home today.

“Good morning, Mr. Stafford.” I was greeted the moment I stepped into the warm lobby. Olivia stood beside the entrance to the restaurant where breakfast was served for our event weekends. She had been at the resort since we’d opened and had been promoted to Food and Beverage Director for the Tahoe resort. Olivia knew how to be professionally polite and friendly without overdoing it. During our special events, Olivia not only handled the organization and managing of the food, but also the hostess duties at the restaurant.

“Morning, Olivia.”

“Would you like some breakfast this morning?”