Anything Like Me

by Kimberly Knight

  “Oh––Blake, this is my best friend, Ryan. Ryan, this is Brandon’s brother, Blake.”

  The two shook hands. Blake excused himself to grab a quick shower and Ryan turned to me and mouthed, “Oh my God”. Yep, pretty much. Those Montgomery boys were dreamy.

  I placed an order for Chinese food and poured Ryan and myself each a glass of Pinot. While waiting for the food to arrive, we sat in the backyard, sipping our wine with Brandon and Blake.

  Blake offered to be our bartender for the night, but given his excessive pouring style, I quickly declined and told him we would stick to the wine, claiming it was tradition.

  After dinner, the four of us went to work on mailing out all the invitations to our wedding.

  “You’re inviting Stacey?” Blake asked when he got to her name on the list.

  “Yes,” I said dryly.

  I didn’t care what he wanted. I felt that I needed to invite her since I had texted her about Brandon proposing and everything. It wasn’t my fault that Blake was being a douche and still running away.

  Our wedding invitations were gorgeous––silver stock paper with teal writing.

  THIS DAY

  I WILL MARRY MY FRIEND,

  THE ONE I LAUGH WITH, LIVE FOR,

  DREAM WITH, LOVE

  MR. AND MRS. KEVIN MARSHALL

  INVITE YOU TO CELEBRATE

  THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR DAUGHTER

  SPENCER NICOLE MARSHALL

  TO

  BRANDON LUCAS MONTGOMERY

  ON SATURDAY, THE TWELVTH OF OCTOBER

  TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN

  AT THREE O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON

  THE BENTLY RESERVE

  301 BATTERY STREET

  SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111

  RECEPTION FOLLOWING CEREMONY

  After all the invitations were stuffed, sealed and stamped, the boys played Call of Duty while Ryan and I took Niner for a walk to burn off some of the calories from the Chinese.

  “I miss this, Ry.”

  “I miss this, too. So much has changed in a year.”

  “I know. I wish I didn’t move so far away, but I love it out here. The city is just so––chaotic.”

  “I know. I will talk to Max. You know I’ve always wanted the white picket fence. We don’t have those in the city.”

  “Oh, look at this house. It’s for sale,” I said as we walked by a house a few blocks from mine.

  “Wow, it’s gorgeous.”

  Ryan grabbed a pamphlet out of the box and said she would talk to Max again. She was used to getting her way, and I was sure she could persuade Max––she always had.

  *~*~*

  “Lori just texted me. Gideon has been delivered to her Kindle,” I said to Ryan, noticing that it was only ten-thirty and not midnight.

  “Really?” she asked, setting her wine down and reaching into her bag for her Kindle.

  I ran upstairs to grab mine. Brandon was lying in bed, watching TV––shirtless. If I didn’t need this night with my BFF or Gideon, I would forget everything and crawl into bed with him.

  I grabbed my Kindle off the nightstand on my side of the bed and started to leave the room. Brandon looked too hot to pass up. I tossed my Kindle on the bed, jumped up and straddled Brandon, giving him a long, hot kiss.

  “Well then…,” Brandon said.

  “I couldn’t resist.”

  “Are you all worked up ‘cause of this Gideon fellow?”

  “Kinda. He is my book boyfriend, and I am about to read about him having hot sex––with another woman.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “Did I just not suck your face off? You will benefit. Trust me,” I said, giving him another kiss before scurrying off down the stairs.

  Lori was right; Gideon had been delivered. Ryan and I got cozy on each couch. We made sure we had enough fluids and snacks in case we needed them, and then we dived in.

  “God, I’ve missed Gideon,” I sighed after we had been silently reading for a while.

  “Me too. Which part are you at?”

  “Chapter three, he is talking about B.O.B.”

  “I just read that part. It was hot. You might want to grab a fan for us,” she said, laughing.

  We read in silence again for a very long time, just enjoying the story.

  “Oh my God!” Ryan gasped.

  “What?”

  “Chapter sixteen.”

  “Dude! I know right?”

  “I hope Gideon punches his brother.”

  “Me too. That asshole deserves it!”

  “And Corrine. Damn, she needs to leave Gideon alone.”

  “I want to punch her myself!” I said, and we both laughed and nodded in agreement.

  We both continued to read until the sun was peeking in through the blinds, and not long after that, Brandon came down the stairs, dressed in his work polo shirt and jeans.

  “You two are still reading?” he asked, laughing.

  “It’s tradition when it comes to Gideon, Babe.”

  “How many more times will you two need to do this?”

  “Two,” Ryan and I said in unison.

  Brandon laughed and shook his head and walked into the kitchen to get his morning coffee.

  “Do you guys want coffee?” he asked from the kitchen.

  I checked the percentage on my Kindle and saw that I was almost done with the book.

  “No. We are almost done and then we’ll go to sleep for a few hours,” I yelled back.

  Shortly after, Blake came down the stairs. Ryan peeked up from her Kindle and watched Blake walk into the kitchen after saying good morning to us. I watched her watch him and then once he was out of the room, turn her attention back to her book. Blake was good eye candy, but he was my soon to be brother-in-law, so I didn’t look at him like that.

  “Those girls are nuts,” I heard Blake tell Brandon when he walked into the kitchen.

  “Yeah, over a fictional character, too,” Brandon replied.

  “At least he is fictional and not real,” I yelled to them in the other room.

  “Yeah!” Ryan yelled in agreement.

  I heard the boys laughing. They just didn’t get it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  We planned a summer trip with all our friends for the Fourth of July. The trial was fast approaching and I needed to get my mind off what could happen. More than anything, I needed to be surrounded by my friends during this time. The DA informed me that Christy’s attorney was trying to get an insanity plea, but I just wasn’t sure if that was enough. She tried to kill me after all. Yes, she was crazy, but was being committed to the nut house enough justice?

  Also, they DA refused a plea bargain for Colin. I was happy. He didn’t deserve any slack.

  Ryan rode up with Brandon, Blake and me while Jason and Becca drove separately and met us in Tahoe. Max was in the middle of a big trial––again. Even though he had the Fourth off, he had to work the next day and was unable to join us. I’m not sure how Ryan handles holidays with Max unable to join her; I hope that Brandon and I never run into the same issue––even if it was a little holiday like the Fourth.

  We were going to Ryan’s parents’ cabin on South Lake Tahoe. The Fourth was on a Thursday, and we collectively decided that we wanted to be there to see the fireworks shooting off over the lake. The house was perfect. It was a log-style home with four bedrooms, three baths and a massive fireplace downstairs that made the house warm and cozy for the cold, snowy winter nights.

  I had only been to the cabin once since Ryan and I became friends. Even though it was a vacation home, Ryan’s parents had decorated the house to feel like a home. It reminded me of a ski lodge.

  Wood beams ran along the ceiling that accented the stone fireplace. You would think that there would be antler chandeliers throughout, but there were very modern light fixtures that worked well for a cabin and were still complementary to the interior design.

  We left the city a little after five o’clock after Ryan and I were abl
e to get off work a little early. After arriving in Tahoe five hours later because of traffic, we all scattered to bed to get a good night’s sleep so that we’d be well rested and ready to party the next night.

  Tahoe had one of the country’s top fireworks celebrations, which lit up the clear sky for miles and reflected off the lake; luckily, we didn’t have to fight traffic with the thousands of other people trying to find the perfect place to watch the show.

  I woke up around three in the morning and noticed that the downstairs light was on. After using the bathroom, I peeked down the stairs and saw Ryan and Blake talking while sitting on opposite couches. Not wanting to be social, I turned around and crawled back into bed with my love.

  *~*~*

  The next morning, the boys went mountain bike riding while Becca, Ryan and I, lounged on the deck that overlooked the lake, watching people ski, wakeboard and cruise the lake in their boats. The boys were also stopping at the store on the way back to grab stuff to grill for dinner and plenty of alcohol so we––minus the pregnant Becca––could all drink the night away.

  Ryan was putting on tanning lotion to my right while Becca adjusted her hat and sipped a glass of lemonade on my left. Not able to contain my curiosity any longer, I asked Ryan the question that had been bugging me since I woke up this morning.

  “So, you and Blake stayed up late.”

  Okay, maybe it wasn’t a question, but I wanted to know what that was all about.

  “Oh…yeah. It was hard for me to fall asleep without Max, so I came downstairs to get some water and Blake was awake and watching TV––so I joined him.”

  “Hmmm, I didn’t notice the TV on,” I said, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “We started talking about Stacey and Max and since we weren’t watching the TV, Blake turned it off,” Ryan said, squeezing tanning lotion onto her hand like it was no big deal.

  I hadn’t pried into Blake’s relationship since our “fight”. After Stacey had sent me the text that Blake told her he wasn’t coming home, I didn’t bring him up with her either. It wasn’t my business; however, I really thought they belonged together.

  “What do you mean? What’s going on with you and Max?” Becca asked.

  “Nothing is wrong. I don’t know…he just works so much and I rarely see him, except on the weekends. I’m lonely.”

  “Why were you talking to Blake about him, though? I mean, Blake doesn’t really have a good track record in the relationship department,” I said.

  Ryan didn’t have to tell me about her private conversation, but I was confused. She and Blake had barely spoken to each other a month prior when she spent the night at my house for our reading sleepover, and now she is best friends with him and getting love advice? From Blake?

  “We started talking about Stacey, and then we talked about Max,” she said with a shrug.

  “Okay, start over. What was said?” I asked, before looking over at Becca and mouthing “What the fuck?”

  “Okay, don’t tell him I told you,” she warned. “He said that he misses Stacey, but he really wants to get his bar idea off the ground.”

  “No, I mean about you and Max. Why were you getting love advice from Blake?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, shrugging again, then leaned back on the lounge chair, tilting her head up to catch some rays. “We were just talking. No big deal.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “I saw the way you were eyeing him when you stayed over last month. You have the hots for him, don’t you?”

  “What? No! I’m married,” she protested. “We were just talking and I was getting a guy’s perspective.”

  Becca sat up in her lounge chair and turned her legs towards us. Her little baby belly hung out between her bikini. “I’m not sure I would want relationship advice from Blake. You do know he is a manwhore, right?” she asked.

  “Yes, Spencer has told me. Nothing is going on between us, I swear.”

  “Ry, I know you are lonely, but Blake is not the answer. Don’t cheat on Max,” I said.

  “I would never. I swear nothing is going on with Blake. So I’ve checked him out. It’s okay to look.”

  “I know. I just don’t want you to get seduced by him or something.”

  “Seduced?” she asked, chuckling. “What is this, a soap opera?”

  We all started to laugh a little. “Yes, and maybe the start of our very own Jerry Springer episode.”

  *~*~*

  When the boys returned from biking, they all went their separate ways to get cleaned up while the girls and I used that time to prepare dinner. Jason had bought a case of lemonade for Becca. Since she had become pregnant, she had been drinking nothing but lemonade. She didn’t know why, but there was something about the sweet and sour taste that Baby Taylor loved.

  Brandon was the first out of the shower, and soon after, Jason joined him on the deck to get the grill started. The girls and I started wrapping potatoes in foil to bake them, chopping lettuce and veggies for a salad, and preparing corn wrapped in foil for the boys to grill.

  Blake was the last one out of the shower. I watched him closely while he eyed my best friend as she bent over to put the potatoes in the oven. “Blake, can you bring these beers out to the boys?” I asked, attempting to draw his attention away from her.

  “Sure.” He grabbed the three beers I had in my hands and joined Brandon and Jason on the deck. I sent up a silent prayer that Ryan wouldn’t fall for his Montgomery smile.

  *~*~*

  After dinner, we all took a walk down to the lakeshore. People were everywhere. Some were starting to set up fire pits to make bonfires, volleyball games were in progress, and kids and adults were swimming in the lake while boats floated in the deeper parts.

  “I’m glad we have a house all to ourselves,” Becca said, walking hand in hand with Jason.

  “I know. Every year my family comes, it’s always packed. I think it’s one of the reasons why my parents bought a house here,” Ryan said.

  Brandon and I were walking barefoot in the water along the shore. Ryan walked next to me while Blake was on the other side of her, and Jason and Becca walked in front of us. The sun was starting to set, and in a few hours, the fireworks show would start.

  “Y’all up for a drinking game?” Blake asked.

  I gave Brandon a look. A look that said, “Of course he wants to play a drinking game”.

  “I can’t drink,” Becca said.

  “You could just drink your lemonade and still play with us,” Ryan said.

  “What drinking game?” Jason asked.

  “King’s Cup,” Blake said, throwing a football back to a guy who missed so it almost hit Ryan.

  “I love that game!” Ryan said, clapping, not even realizing she almost got a ball to the face.

  “Yeah, let’s head back and get it all set up,” Brandon said, taking my hand.

  “Bec, you’re okay with taking care of five drunks?” I asked, laughing.

  “Won’t be the first time, you do remember I went to college with these two?” she asked, pointing at Brandon and Jason.

  “Hey, we were good boys,” Jason said, swatting her butt.

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Becca said, running a little to make Jason chase her.

  We walked back to the house. When the boys were at the store, they also picked up a few bottles of vodka, Captain Morgan, Coke, cranberry juice and beer. Ryan and I made our vodka cranberries while the boys set up for the game.

  King’s Cup is played with a deck of cards that are spread out and surrounded by a large cup––The King’s Cup.

  We each take turns drawing a card that was facedown, and depending on what the card was, you had to do a certain thing. If you drew an Ace, you would start to drink and then everyone would follow. Everyone continues to drink until you stop. It’s called a “waterfall”.

  If you draw a two, you pick a person to take a drink of their drink.

  A three means you
take a drink of your drink.

  A four means “whores” and all the ladies have to drink.

  Five is “bust a jive”. A person does a dance move, and then the next person has to do the same dance move and add on. It continues until someone screws up, and then that person has to drink. Any time you get drunken, uncoordinated people dancing, you know you’re having a good time.

  A six is “dicks” and of course, the guys drink.

  A seven is obviously heaven––seventh heaven and all players reach for the sky. The last person to do it drinks. This is a great card when people aren’t paying attention or someone is too drunk to realize a seven was picked.

  Eight is “mate”. The player who picks the card chooses another player to be their mate. That means when one of them drinks, they both have to drink.

  A Nine can either be one of the best or worst cards, depending on how creative the group is. It’s called “bust a rhyme”. The player who picks the card, picks a word and then the next person has to pick a word that rhymes with it. This goes on until somebody can’t think of a word that rhymes.

  Ten is “categories”. The player who picks the card, chooses a category like types of liquor, types of cereal, etc. Obviously this goes on until someone can’t think of what fits the category.

  Now the Jack. This card is the reason to play the game. Jack represents the game “Never Have I Ever”. That one really doesn’t need to be explained, but you find out a lot about your drinking buddies.

  The Queen can be fun. The person who picks the card starts by asking anyone a question. That person has to reply with a question to anyone else. It goes on until someone gets tongue tied and can’t think of a question.

  And finally we have the King. The player who picks a King gets to “make a rule”. The rule can be anything, but must always be followed until another King is picked. If the rule is not followed, that person has to drink. The first three people who pick a King have to pour some of their drink into the cup in the middle. Whoever picks the last King ends the game and loses. This person has to chug whatever is in the King’s Cup, which is a disgusting mixture of different alcohols.

  We sat on the bench seat on the deck. Brandon, Ryan and I were on one side and Jason, Becca and Blake were on the other. We all had our choice of drinks. Ryan and I had our vodka cranberries, Becca had her lemonade, and the boys had Captain and Coke.