Uncontrollable (Key West #3) by C. A. Harms

sat on the beach as the water washed up around me. I had been there for more than an hour, just taking in the calmness. The cool water felt refreshing as the sun beat down on me. I had left the shop and come straight here, needing the solace of the ocean.
    I wanted Avery to accept my apology. I wanted things to stay friendly between us, because her friendship meant the world to me. But why the hell did her brushing off what happened between us bother me so much? It was an easy out from the mess I’d caused, yet it ate away at me.
    I looked down at the oversized cup in my hand, still over half-full with whiskey. The contents weren’t soothing the ache I felt—the emptiness that set in more and more each day. I knew I’d brushed off Jett, pretending I didn’t need his help. But the truth was, I had to get out of my own head. I was drowning, and I didn’t know how to pull myself out of this fucked-up funk.
    It had been seven days since Avery acted as if what we’d shared was just a hookup—and that she did one-night stands all the time. It shouldn’t bother me, but the entire situation between us was a mind fuck. And it was the total opposite of the outcome I said I wanted.
    I stood up, brushing the sand from my shorts and walked toward my Tahoe that was parked only a few hundred feet away. Maybe a little time with my boy could shed some light on my confusion.
     
    ***
     
    As I pulled up at Jett’s house, I could hear the music spilling out from the backyard. I turned off the ignition, grabbed my keys, and walked toward the gate at the side of the house.
    When the pool came into view, I stopped just at the side of the house, where I was hidden by the darkness.
    Jett and Easton were sitting on the deck, holding a bottle of beer each. Avery, Harper, and Quinn were at the side of the pool, dancing around to the music. Callie floated on a raft in the center of the water, laughing at the girls as they hollered out the verses of the song.
    Avery held her hands above her head and twisted them around, wiggling her hips. Quinn matched her movements, like they had practiced them a hundred different times.
    The sounds of Avery’s laughter pulled at something in me. I knew my presence would only take her laughter away. I observed a few minutes longer, loving the sight of her being happy. Harper, Avery, and Quinn were now standing side by side at the edge of the pool, holding hands. They counted to three and then cannonballed into the water right next to Callie. Her raft wobbled in their wake before she fell off the side and went under.
    I chuckled to myself, remembering the time I pulled a cannonball on Jett about a year ago. He was feeling down about his relationship with Quinn, and I was trying to cheer him up. Now I was the one in the dumps, though honestly I had no right to be. I was the one who remained detached and distant. I had caused this mess between me and Avery, so why did it feel so fucked up?
    I quietly slipped away and made my way back to my truck. I wasn’t about to ruin the moment and her mood.
    Suddenly that bottle of whiskey sounded real good.
     
    ***
     
    My phone ringing on the table next to my couch woke me. I had drunk myself into oblivion last night and passed out on my couch. It was Saturday morning, and only one person would call this early.
    I didn’t even look at the screen as I swiped my finger across it. “Morning, Mom,” I said, squeezing my eyes closed tightly. Her voice was one of those that went right through you. It was always a few decibels too high, and after the night I’d had, it was going to hit me hard.
    “Kade Russell, what does it take for a mother to get a visit from her only child?” she asked. “Did you forget where I live?”
    I chuckled at her attempt to make me feel bad. Even without seeing her, I knew she was grinning. She always tried to pull off the “wounded, lonely mom” act. “Just been a little crazy, Ma. Sorry.”
    “Well, I made a big ol’ breakfast, and