Page 4 of Tastes of Him

He’d been crushing on Jennifer since the first time we set foot in the bar, and while it was cute in a way, it was also kind of sad. According to both of them, their first and only date two years ago had gone remarkably well, but it hadn’t led to anything, and despite Brody hoping for a second one, it never came. Regardless of the reason, I always knew there was a fondness there. Brody was sometimes like a bull in a china shop, and the end result was a big ass mess and a heartfelt apology. Still, anyone else who made a mess in Jennifer’s bar usually got the boot, accidental or not. She appeared to have a soft spot for Brody, yet neither one of them seemed to be able to make a real move.

Not that I’m one to talk,I thought to myself.

“So, I hear your little sister’s coming into town next week. Are you excited?”

“Of course, I am,” I replied. “It’s been almost two years since the last time she came, and I’m looking forward to getting back home and settling in again. What about you? Are you really planning on sticking around here?”

Brody laughed. “Yeah. There’s not much left for me back home in Alabama, so I might as well stick around.” He looked around the bar before looking back at me. “This place has kind of become home, you know?”

I knew a little of his past, so I understood where he was coming from. “You know, you’re always more than welcome to come room with me down in Atlanta.”

“Nah, that’s okay. I know you want to get back home to the love of your life. I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of that reunion.”

I chuckled quietly, even as my stomach clenched at the thought of getting back home. Four years away was more than long enough. I wasn’t even going to try to hide the fact that although I was excited to see my family and get my future going by joining my family friend’s private practice. He had been the one to get me interested in possibly going to med school back when I was figuring my shit out in high school, and joining him was kind of like coming full circle. Still, even though I was looking forward to starting work, the one thing I was most excitedly anxious about was really giving it a go with Sean.

Or trying to, anyway. Not that he seemed to take my efforts seriously at this point. I wasn’t sure what more I needed to do to show him that this bantering relationship we had fallen into was not just a bit of fun, at least on my end. I wanted it to be so muchmore.

“Well, if he still thinks I’m joking, then I don’t know how much of a reunion it’ll really be,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Dude, are you and Boy Wonder still not Facebook official yet?” Richard piped up for the first time. He tilted his head and looked at me. “How long has it been now since you’ve been in love with the guy? Five years?”

“I don’t think it’s been that long. It’s not like I’ve just been pining away and not getting on with my life,” I shot back.

It was the truth. I had been on a few dates here and there and was even in a relationship the first year I was out here, though that relationship was less about emotional connections and more about finding comfort in a warm body to make the days seem less stressful. It was nothing like what I hoped to have in the near future. I was in my thirties now, and while everyone always said age was nothing but a number, I was more than ready to settle down with the right person.

If he would take the hint.

“Besides, when you find the right person, it will be more than worth the wait.”

“Hey, I agree with you,” said Brody as he clapped a hand on my shoulder. I knew exactly who he was thinking of when he said those words, and I gave him a grateful smile. “Granted, you should probably sit the guy down and have a serious conversation with him about your feelings. As much as I know us guys hate to talk about our feelings and shit, my therapist says that is the only way to accurately and efficiently communicate what you want and what you hope will happen.”

All of us turned to look at Brody with varying expressions of surprise and shock. He glared back before crossing his arms with a pout. “What? There’s nothing wrong with going to therapy.”

I held my hands up and looked at him with a fond smile. “Nothing, man. You’re absolutely right, and thank your therapist for me for giving me that kick in the butt without me having to pay for it.”

Before I could say anything else, the chair beside me was pulled out, and our fellow resident, Kevin, sat down beside me. “What are you guys talking about? Why do you all look so serious?”

Brody’s smile slipped slightly, and I wondered what that was about. He and Kevin had never been the best of friends, but usually, we could all get together without there being any issues other than a few jokes that might not have landed well. I threw an arm around Brody’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. I knew that underneath his golden retriever energy, he was quite insecure about a lot of things. It sometimes made him overly enthusiastic with the need to be liked and prove his worth to those around him. Getting him to chill out and realize that we hung out with him just because of who he was and not because of what he could do for us was still something that was a struggle.

“Our man Brody here was just giving us a taste of his newfound wisdom right when I think we all could use it,” I replied. “I know I’ll benefit from it, especially once I get back home.”

Before anyone could say anything more, my phone beeped, and I reached into my pocket to pull it out.

“Sorry, I’ll be right back.”

I walked away from the table and unlocked the screen. When I saw I had a message from Cameran, I quickly clicked on it.

Guess who is coming with me to see you in three weeks.

I typed a message back to her, perplexed at why she was bringing this up. We had already cemented plans weeks ago when she bought her plane tickets.

I thought you said Julie was coming. Are mom and dad coming now too?

They had been over to see me a couple of months ago, but as far as I knew, they hadn’t planned on coming to help me with the move. If I had asked for it, I’m sure they would have been more than happy to fly out and join me as I drove my things back cross-country. Still, with dad’s busy dental practice, I was sure that he wouldn’t be able to find that much time off, especially since I planned on taking a whole week to make the drive. I knew that things would be incredibly busy once I got home with getting started at the practice, seeing brand new patients, and settling into my new place, so this was my last chance to take some time to get my head on straight before I began another grueling stretch of work.

Nope.

Cameran’s response was short and left me still confused. Before I could send a message back, another one from her came through.