All the Cuts and Scars We Hide by Garry Michael

Fifteen: Wyatt

Don’t Be Weird

Elizabeth and Avery were in the middle of a serious conversation about remodeling when I entered the office.

“The contractor is ready in a couple of weeks? But we don’t have a plan drawn yet,” Elizabeth said, her eyes closed in exacerbation.

“I know babe, but we’ll have to wait until next year if we don’t take this. Every single contractor on the island is booked and they just happened to have a last-minute cancellation,” Avery explained.

They both turned when the door closed behind me. Avery’s eyes lit up and he nodded in my direction before a smirk cracked across his face. “So, how was the pizza?” he asked before crossing his arms.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “Delicious.”

Elizabeth watched me approach my desk.

“What?” I asked, hating their scrutiny.

Elizabeth glanced at Avery and he just gave her his shit-eating grin. “What’s with the smile? What’s this I hear about pizza?” she asked, crossing her arms and sitting on top of her desk with a smirk.

Avery leaned on the same desk, studying me with a knowing look. “You look goofy as shit,” he teased, earning him an elbow from Elizabeth to his ribs. “What? He does,” he chuckled, unable to stifle his laugh.

I shook my head, a little embarrassed. “Fuck off!” I flipped him off and walked past them to get a cup of coffee. Thankful that my back was turned to hide the redness creeping up my face, I added sugar and creamer to my cup.

“Leave Wyatt alone,” Elizabeth said while they followed me. “I like it when you smile,” she continued, standing next to me while fixing herself a fresh cup of coffee.

“Aren’t you one bit curious?” Avery taunted me when he stood behind us. “Because I am.”

I was sandwiched between my two best friends, unable to hide my silly grin with the hilarity of this situation.

“Dude, you’re grinning like a maniac!” he continued and wrapped his arms around my shoulder when I tried to head back to my desk. “So should I guess that last night went well? With the delicious pizza and all?”

“Avery,” Elizabeth slapped his arm, playfully.

“Is there a problem with the remodel?” I said, trying to change the subject to anything, but me.

They’d been on a mission to find a contractor and an architect to draw up the plans since we’d finally agreed to remodel. Because I trusted them with that kind of stuff, I stayed clear of the project, figuring that one less captain on this remodeling ship, the better.

“So, you’re not gonna tell us more about last night?” Avery asked after I peeled his arm off me.

“Leave him alone, he’ll tell us when and if he’s ready,” Elizabeth was as tactful as ever.

“Thanks, E, but there’s nothing to tell.” I didn’t want to discuss last night when I was still wrapping my head around the situation. “So, what’s the problem with the remodel?”

“Oh, Avery finally found a contractor, but their only opening is in two weeks,” she explained.

“That’s good, right? We can get started sooner than planned,” I said.

“It would be, only if we had someone to draw up the plans before then. I don’t know if we can find an architect to draft anything with this short of a notice,” Avery explained, dramatically banging his hand on his desk.

“I might know someone,” I blurted before I could change my mind. I immediately thought of Kai and hoped he could help us. I knew he just graduated, but how hard could it be? Our office was small and we weren’t planning to build anything elaborate. It was just to update the space with more windows and a waiting area. Plus, I could use an excuse to see him again. I fished my phone out of my pocket and started texting him. Remember when I told you that we’re renovating our office? Looks like we have a contractor, but no architect. Would you consider doing it? I looked up after pressing send and two sets of eyes were on me, again.

“You do?” Elizabeth raised her eyebrow.

“Yes, I met a guy recently, and he’s a new architect and doing freelance work.”

“So, this guy, would he happen to like pizza?” Avery asked, using his interrogation tactics on me. He walked around my desk to take a peek at my screen.

“Dude, do you mind?” I pulled my cell closer to my chest and pushed him away. That had been the wrong move since it only fueled his ribbing.

Elizabeth’s phone started ringing and I was thankful for the interruption. To my dismay, she ignored the call and followed Avery’s line of questioning, “Okay, now I’m curious to know who this guy is, you never act this weird about some guy.”

“What happened to he’ll tell us when he's ready?” I asked and pushed Avery again while he attempted to grab my phone. “Dude, go away. You’re acting like a teenager.”

“Oh, I’m the teenager? You’re the one who had a hot date and won’t tell us about him,” Avery said pointing at my face.

“So, wait, is Mr. Pizza and Mr. Architect the same guy?” Elizabeth pushed.

My phone dinged before I had a chance to answer her question. Two text messages from Kai came in, and I read them close to my face to avoid Avery’s prying eyes. The idiot was now standing behind me. The first one said, ‘Anything for you’ which he followed with a smile heart emoji. The other message was ‘Want me to come by your office?’

After texting ‘Yes, please.’ I turned my attention to both of them and gave them a stern warning. “His name is Kai and he’s on his way to check out this dump. Don’t be weird, please.”

Fifteen minutes later, Kai arrived on his bicycle. Through the large glass window, he pointed at a space close to the entrance, silently asking if it was okay to park it there.

I gave him a thumbs up and got up to meet him at the door. I didn’t miss the smirk on my friends’ faces when I passed by their desks. “Don’t make me regret inviting him here,” I warned them once again, unable to hide the smile creeping across my face when I looked at Kai.

“Kai, you might remember my friend Avery. This is his wife and his much better half, Elizabeth.” I introduced everyone before we could get inside. They’d been waiting by the door after I stepped outside, and I hoped they didn’t make fools of themselves.

“Nice to meet you,” Kai extended his hand and greeted Elizabeth first. “Good to see you again,” he offered his hand to Avery next.

We all walked inside, conscious of the state of our office. We always kept it clean, but the place was showing its age. The walls had dents from moving gear around, and the wooden floor was covered with scratches. Even the wide windows with a scenic view of the water and the dock had begun to lose their battle to the salty sea air.

“Nice to meet you too, Kai. And thank you for being here, you’re a lifesaver,” Elizabeth said.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Kai winked, giving her and Avery a warm smile.

“What do you think about this dump?” Avery asked.

I was glad Avery was behaving and not mentioning pizza or anything else to embarrass Kai.

Kai looked around the office, and I held my breath waiting for his opinion. It shouldn’t matter to me what he thought, but just like my house, I wanted him to like this part of my life too. “This place is charming,” he finally said. “And that view, I could stay here all day.”

Then do.

I blew out a breath, relieved that he didn’t hate the place. “So, can you do it?”

“Of course, easy, no problem,” Kai said. “I can draft the plans in a couple of days.”

Elizabeth, who was excitable as always, leaped toward Kai and hugged him. “Thank you, thank you,” she gushed.

“So, Kai, how do you know Wyatt?” Avery asked, the mischief returning to his fucking face.

Kai’s face turned red and the need to save him from embarrassment kicked in. “Leave him alone. He’s here to save our asses, remember?” I stressed before Kai had a chance to answer. I’d tell my friends how we met later when Kai wasn’t around.

“What? I was just asking?” Avery chuckled. “He trusted you enough to share a pizza, so…”

“Whatever. I’m gonna show Kai around,” I said, hell-bent on keeping Avery in check. I figured it was safer to give Kai a tour of the office. Starting from the outside.

“Your friends seem nice,” Kai said when we were finally outside. He turned and waved to my nosy friends who were watching us through the glass windows. They even sipped from their cups of coffee while observing our every move.

“They’re nosy as fuck, but they mean well,” I said and gave Avery the bird when he started waving back at us animatedly. “They’re my only family,” I added in a whisper.

“I’m happy to have met them then.”

I showed Kai our fleet to get some alone time away from Avery and Elizabeth’s prying eyes. We were hanging out in one of the catamarans and enjoying the beautiful summer day. “What’s on your mind?” I asked Kai who was looking at the horizon, lost in his thoughts. I grabbed his hand and brushed it against my lips.

He turned to face me and hesitated for a bit before answering. “You said something about your father a few days ago and I still couldn’t believe it, you know?”

“It was a long time ago,” I shrugged.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“When he kicked me out. He moved to Oregon after that.” The bitterness that I felt whenever I thought about my father tried to sour the mood, but I wouldn’t let that ruin my day with Kai.

Thankful that he stopped pressing, I asked, “Wanna go for a spin?”

His excitement pushed aside any thoughts of my father. He always had the ability to brighten my day. “Take me, Captain,” he saluted.