Page 8 of If They Knew

“What about those ladies?” I point to the group of women she was standing with. Not that I care, but whatever.

Kelly waves her hand to dismiss them. “Oh, they all know each other, and one of them knows Sara. I was only standing with them, so I didn't look ridiculous in a corner all alone.”

“I’m free tonight if you’d like to grab a drink,” I say with a sly smile.

“I already have a drink.” She smiles, holding up her glass.

“I meant another one after this. We can find a less crowded place and get to know each other better.”

I sense she knows exactly what I mean because she responds quickly, licking her beautiful red lips. “Sounds good to me. I have no idea what those women are talking about anyway, and you seem way more interesting.”

I motion toward the elevator. “Let’s head to one of the lounges with a bar. I need something stronger than champagne. Maybe at the Stardust Lounge. I overheard someone say it's really nice.” As we wait for the elevator on the atrium floor, I look up and spot Julie leaning over, watching everyone. A moment later, she's gone. Hoping Kelly doesn't mind, I tell her, “I’ll meet you in the Stardust Lounge in a few. I just saw someone I need to talk to. I’ll only be a minute.”

“Okay, see you there,” she says, walking away, and I can’t take my eyes off her perfectly plump ass.

Instead of taking the elevator, I take the stairs up two floors. Julie’s not standing at the rail anymore, but the library’s glass doors are just off to the side. From what I can see, the library appears to be closed; there's no one inside browsing or sitting around. I open the door and look around just to be sure, but I don’t see her. The library is surprisingly small, so there is no way I could have missed her. So where is she?

I navigate the bookshelves again, but I still don’t find her. Just as I’m about to leave, I catch a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye. I turn to look, and that’s when I spot her lounging on a window seat in a large circular window. She doesn't see me, and I take advantage of that. Watching her carefully, I walk silently toward her, planning to startle her. But I stop short when I see her pull out folded pieces of paper and start writing on them. I can’t quite make out what she’s writing. Trying to get a better look, I walk slowly toward her doing my best to not make a sound. I notice the name “Theo” written at the top, but her hand blocks my view of anything else. As I get closer, I accidentally bump into the bookshelf and knock over a stack of books. “Fuck,” I whisper. Julie quickly scrambles and shoves the papers away.

“What are you doing, Tyler?” she snaps.

“I can ask you the same question. What's that in your hand?”

“It’s none of your business,” she tells me sharply.

“Well, it didn’t look like you were reading a book,” I say with a smirk I know she hates.

“You know, if you weren’t so irritating, people might actually like you. Your daddy’s money won't last forever, and when it runs out, which it will, I don’t want to see you come crying to your brother for help.” She pauses for a moment, glaring at me. “He’s worked his ass off to get where he is, and all you've done is party and drink your life away. You’re not a kid anymore. Grow up, asshole.” She rolls her eyes at me, shaking her head.

Stunned by her words, my grin fades. “Wow, that…okay. Ouch. That was harsh,” I reply.

Julie takes a deep breath and some of the irritation in her eyes fades. “Okay, that was harsh, but I think you needed to hear it, Tyler. I’m writing a letter to Theo telling him how proud I am of him. If you weren’t so damn self-centered, you’d see that he’s been struggling. He needs you. You need to get your shit together; Lord knows he’s always been there for you.”

“I thought this was what he wanted: the perfect wife, the perfect job, the perfect life. How was I supposed to know he was having a hard time? He makes everything look so… easy.” I run a hand through my hair. I had no idea shit had been so hard for him. “I’m sorry. I wasn't trying to be an asshole when I walked in here.”

I can barely admit it to myself, but I'm jealous that he has it all together. I act the way I do because I feel lost. I sleep with a lot of girls and party all the time because it gets me attention; people act like they like me and want to be around me. My partying and flaunting my wealth hide the fact that I have no real talent, unlike Theo.

“All our dad cared about was this damn ship and Theo. He never had time for me or anything I liked. That’s why, when he died, I signed over my share of the company to Theo. All this—the ship, the cruise line business—has always been their thing, not mine. I absolutely hate the ocean and boats. I figured if I just stayed out of Theo’s way and let him do his thing, he’d be happy.”

She closes her eyes briefly, then lets out a heavy sigh. “Tyler, you have no idea how much Theo cares about you. You mean so much to him. Why can’t you see that? He doesn’t want to drink and party every time he sees you. He does it because he thinks that's what you want. He just wants to hang out with you. He wants you to be happy. All you have to do is ask, and he’ll gladly help. No one wants to see you fail. Use your money to do something good, or go back to school. When I first met you, you were trying to become a police officer. Whatever happened to that?”

“I didn’t pass the initial training and was too embarrassed to tell anyone, and no one ever asked. All our dad ever cared about was the ship, which is why I hate it so much.” I say now, my head down, feeling defeated.

“You should go back and try again. If it’s something you love, do it for yourself, not for anyone else.” Her tone is one I’ve never heard from her before.

“You’re right.” Everything she’s said is valid, but it doesn’t make it hurt less. I do need to get my shit together. “I… I’ll work on it. I never meant to be such a shitty brother.” I really didn’t. Shit just… fell apart after Dad died, and I couldn’t get back on track again.

“You’re not a shitty brother,” she says, settling back onto the window seat. “Besides, the first step in fixing your problem is admitting you have one. Go away now. I need to get back to writing.” As she gets comfortable in the window seat, I notice a stack of books she almost kicks in the process.

“I didn’t know you liked Nicholas Sparks,” I say, staring at the books.

She glances at the books, then back at me. “Yeah, I’m a sucker for a sad romance.”

“You can keep the romance books. That shit’s boring. I’d rather make the romance real so a woman can think of me when she is reading about it.” I wink at her.

“Get the fuck out of here, Tyler,” she says, taking a flip-flop off and hurling it at me.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” I say, running out of the room before she can throw something else at me.