Still the One (Book 2 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

2 | Why Not?

Rachel

"Well, hello to you too, Rachel," Brooke answered, the annoyance evident in her voice.

"Do you want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" 

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," she answered, and I could hear loud noise in the background.

I wrinkled my nose. "Where the hell are you?"

"Uh, I'm at a party. What's it to you, Rachel?"

I laughed out loud. "Well, considering Luke just showed up at our door in Tallahassee saying you broke up with him... I'd say I'm just a little concerned."

The line went quiet for a moment, and I thought she had hung up. "I can't talk about this right now, Rachel," Brooke said, and I could tell she was whispering into the phone.

"Brooke, please. What happened? Luke is broken – "

"Hey Brooke, babe, get your sexy ass back over here!" I heard a male voice call in the background, and I just shook my head, closing my eyes.

"Wow. That's really fantastic. You didn't wait long, did you?" I hissed and before she could answer, I ended the call, throwing my phone onto the couch.

How could she do this to Luke? He can't find out about this... It will break him.

Miles

I ran all the way downstairs, yelling at Luke the entire time, but he refused to stop. He just kept walking until I finally caught up to him and grabbed his bicep.

"Bro, you forget; I'm a varsity baseball starter for the Seminoles. Running is kinda my thing," I joked.

He jerked his arm out of my grasp. "Miles, please, leave me alone," he pleaded, running both hands through his hair.

"No way. I'm your brother. It's my job to be here for you. Please, don't leave," I pleaded.

He looked at me, and I could tell he was relenting. "Fine," he sighed, and I grinned, putting my arm around his shoulders.

"Want to go get some ice cream?" 

"Yeah, that sounds good," he agreed.

***

Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting at Baskin-Robbins eating three-scoop sundaes. We hadn't spoken since we ordered, and I didn't really know where to start.

"So," I started awkwardly, "how have you been?"

He looked at me sideways. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Before today, dude."

He sighed. "Fine, I guess. Since I got my Associate's, I've been trying to decide what to do next." Suddenly, he looked like he had made a connection in his head. "Brooke didn't want to go back to school. She got her Associate's degree and was just done. She did interior design, like she always wanted, but she didn't even want to try to look for a job. She was happy working at Sephora and that was fine... but in the past few months, she's felt like something was missing..." He sighed. "Maybe that's what she wants? Time to figure out her life?"

I nodded. "Could be. Maybe after the dust has settled you can talk to her? When did this happen?"

"A week ago. I stayed home every day and moped around the house until Dad told me to come see you. Sorry I didn't call first... I haven't exactly been thinking straight," he apologized.

I held up my hands. "Don't apologize. That's what I'm here for." A thought occurred to me. "Why don't you sign up for classes here at Florida State?"

He looked at me and tilted his head. "I didn't even think of that. Isn't it too late to sign up for classes?"

"The late registration window doesn't close until Wednesday. Do it, dude!" I urged. "You can stay with me and Rachel until you find a place."

He considered for a moment and then shrugged. "What the hell? Why stay in Panama? I mean, except Mom and Dad... but honestly, I think they'll be glad I'm going to university."

"Awesome! Let's go tell Rachel," I said, dropping my trash in the garbage can.

"All right."

Luke

I didn't plan on coming here to stay... but Miles spoke sense. There was no reason not to come here for school. I mean, there's not a four-year college in PCB, so this makes sense. I had gotten my Associate's in business management so that one day I could take over the company formerly known as Jefferson Properties – it had been promptly changed to Salazar Properties soon after William's death. I can go to school, finish my Bachelor's in Hospitality, and be with my brother and best friend. It was the happiest thought I'd had in a week.

Thankfully, Rachel was open to the idea of me staying with them, and I loved her for it.

"Of course you can stay here, Luke! This is a fabulous idea!" she said, clasping her hands to her chest. I glanced at Miles and saw him looking at her with so much love. That was going to be hard... as much as I hated to admit it, it was going to be tough to see them so in love.

"You don't think I should go back to PCB and try to win her back?" I asked, and Rachel's face fell for a split second.

"No, not right now. You need to do you, boo," she said quickly. I bit my lip, wanting to press her but seeing she was closed off to the topic. "Let me show you to the guest room," she said, pulling me down the hallway.

***

The next morning, Miles and I drove the three miles to Florida State's campus, and I felt myself actually starting to get excited about school. I signed up for five classes and paid my tuition (plus a late fee) in full, shocking the hell out of the registrar.

We stepped out of the office into the bright sunshine, and Miles grinned. "Let me show you around campus," he said.

"Okay, sounds good," I said, following him down the sidewalk toward what looked like the student union.

We spent the next few hours touring campus, figuring out where all my classes were. Most of them were in the Dedmon School of Hospitality building, with the exception of one writing class that I signed up for to fulfill one of my elective requirements.

"When are you going back home to get some clothes and things?" Miles asked as we climbed back into his Jeep.

"I was thinking I'd go on Friday... do you and Rachel want to come?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. At this point, I didn't want to go back there alone. If I did, I'd be too tempted to go see Brooke. I didn't want to go crawling back to her.

"Sure, I'm sure Rachel will want to see her parents. I'd love to see Ma and Pop," he said, and my heart warmed at his personal names he'd picked for Mom and Dad.

"Good. Thanks, Miles."

"No problem."

My phone suddenly rang.

It was Brooke.

"What the hell?" I said out loud.