Too Close for Comfort

Summer: Day 16

Summer: Day 16

Zach's POV:

"Hey man," Tanner says, wiping off the sweat from his forehead with a towel. "Can I ask you something?"

I lean back against the bench. "Shoot."

"So I started going out with this girl," he starts, nervously running a hand along the nape of his neck. "Her name is Lilah and she's the best—"

"You're not trying to ask me for relationship advice, are you?" I pray that he isn't. I mean, do I even know how to give relationship advice when my non-existent love life is a disaster?

"C'mon bro." He gives me a small, guilty smile. "I've seen the way you look at Mack, and I want that too. How'd you know she's the one?"

Is she the one? Mackenzie—

"You just do," I state, my mind drifting off to everything Mackenzie has to offer. "If I mention Lilah's name, what comes to mind?"

"Her smile. And her laugh," he answers in a heartbeat. "Lilah's laugh is contagious."

I nod. "And if I ask you what comes to mind when she says your name?"

"I'm ready to worship her like she's a goddess," he replies, offering me a cheeky grin. I know the feeling.

"And if I ask you what you like about her?"

"Everything, Monty. Goddammit, I like everything about her." He shakes his head and lets out a breathy laugh. "I sound all sappy, don't I?"

"That's what girls do to you," I put simply. "They turn your world completely upside down."

"So what about you?"

I twist my face up in confusion. "What do you mean—"

"Stop being an idiot, you know what. Mack, what do you like about her?" he asks, looking at me with a genuine interest in what I have to say. Tanner is one of my best buddies, but I am not one to talk about my feelings with even the closest of friends; Corey being a minor exception. Credit due to my high emotional wall barriers.

"To be honest," I start as I try to find the words to describe how I feel. "I don't know."

"You idiot. You've been together for a year and have known her your whole life, and you still don't even know what you like about her?" He gives me a look that leaves no room for question. He thinks I'm bullcrapping him. "Are you blind or something?"

That's the question that makes me snap. "I don't know. I don't fucking know what I like about Mackenzie," I say sharply, giving him my best straight face. "I don't know what it is about her that makes me wanna stay in this rundown beachtown of ours, fight with my brother over her, and answer the phone at three in the morning when she calls just to make sure she's alright. I have no freaking clue what it is about her that makes me want to stay and leave at the same time."

Tanner stares at me blankly.

"I may have known her my whole life, but I messed up pretty badly a few years ago. And now I'm here trying to convince myself that I'm still worthy of her. So Tanner, I don't know when it comes to Mackenzie because she makes me feel so many things at once. But whatever it is about her, it's enough to keep me guessing."

"Damn, what do I even say to that?" he asks, flabbergasted.

"Something. Anything," I reply, raking a hand through my hair as I clench my jaw. "I don't do love, I don't do relationships, and you wanna know why? Because four years ago, Mackenzie and I had something—something so real, so raw—we had something and I pushed her away because I didn't know how to man up and say how I was feeling."