Page 12 of No One But Us

Later, after Elle’s shift has ended, he shows up at the bar, something he’s never done. The shot of tension crawling up my spine is beginning to feel familiar.

“Where’s our new housemate?” he asks. “I thought she was working tonight.”

“Please tell me that’s not why you’re here.”

He raises a brow. “Dude. I know how old she is. Chill. I’m just surprised Brian doesn’t have her working cocktail with you. She’d be popular.”

That hadn’t even occurred to me, and I hope to God it doesn’t happen. I frown. “She’s new. No way could she keep up over here.”

“I’m pretty sure the male half of your customers won’t give a flying fuck about whether she keeps up,” says Max.

I slam the fridge door harder than I should. “She’s barely out of high school.”

He leans back in his chair and looks at me a moment too long, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, so you keep saying. What’s your deal?”

“She was like a sister to me growing up. If you’re saying something I wouldn’t want to hear about Ginny, then assume I don’t want to hear it about Elle either. Which brings me to my point. I don’t want a bunch of older guys hanging around Elle and Ginny. It’s one thing if we’re having a party and I’m there, but I don’t ever want to come home again and find them drinking with some douchebag 30 year old.”

“I wouldn’t have let anything happen, and you know it,” he says. “You’ve been tense as fuck for days. I think you need to get laid.”

“Excellent suggestion, asshole, but my girlfriend is four hours away.”

He raises a brow. Max lectures me about Allison almost as often as my parents lecture me about leaving the internship. My summer would really improve if they’d all shut the fuck up.

* * *

We walk back to the house together once I’m off and find Ginny and Elle on the back deck.

“You two are the lamest 19 year olds I’ve ever met,” says Max. “Why aren’t you out?”

“I have this thing called a job, Max,” says Ginny. “A real job, that occurs during daytime hours and requires more than the ability to pour beer. And also, Elle is lame and is still moping about her ex-boyfriend.”

Elle rolls her eyes. “I’m definitely not moping about Ryan. Where’d you even get that?”

Ginny shrugs. “You aren’t interested in any other guys, and you don’t want to go out. That spells moping to me.”

Max drops into the chair beside her and drapes his arm around her shoulders. “I want to hear more about this ex-boyfriend of yours,” he says. “I need to know what he did wrong so I don’t mess up when we’re a couple.”

I growl, and he looks at me and throws up his hands. “I’m kidding!” He turns back to Elle. “But seriously, what did he do? So I’ll know once we’re a couple.”

“We had different thoughts on fidelity,” she says.

“Oh my God,” Max cackles. “He cheated on you? What a moron.”

“I like how you emphasize the word you,” scoffs Ginny. “Like it’s okay to cheat, but not on a girl who’s attractive.”

“He didn’t cheat on me,” Elle replies. “But it was clear that a summer apart was going to be an issue, so he wanted me to give up my internship and travel with him.”

Ginny shrugs. “I don’t think that’s so awful.”

“Maybe not,” Elle says, her voice quiet and certain, “but just once in my life, I want someone who puts me first, and I knew right then that he was never going to be that person.”

Our eyes meet as she says it, and behind that set jaw I see something fragile about her that I wish I didn’t. It’s something I saw in her face even when she was little. I still remember the way her mother would simply forget to come pick her up from our house, the glance the housekeeper and nanny exchanged when someone finally showed up.

I think of all this as our eyes lock, and I find myself hoping one day she will find someone who loves her the way she deserves. I know for a fact that person can never be me.

Chapter 8

ELLE