red hill - jamie mcguire

ecause you’ve shot before.”
“So has she!”
“Well, then she’s not as good as you are.”
“She is sad, Joey. Whatever you’re thinking Don’t.”
“Don’t what Maybe I’m stupid, so you’ll have to tell me exactly what you’re saying.” He was
getting defensive, which only made me angrier.
“I’m saying Ashley is my sister. I love her. She just lost the love of her life, and she’s vulnerable. I
don’t know how much more clear I can be, so let me just say it: I don’t want her to be taken advantage
of.”
“You don’t really think I would do that,” Joey said, seething. When I didn’t answer, his expression
changed again. “Do you really think so little of me that I would try to fly under the radar to get into her
pants While she’s grieving”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying, I’m—”
“Good, because if you really think I’m that big of a piece of shit, what have we been doing”
“We haven’t done anything!”
“You know what I mean!”
“Wait, did you mean that when she’s not grieving anymore you’ll try to get in her pants”
“What” he said, clearly trying to remember when he’d said anything remotely close to that. He
shook his head, completely flustered. “You have to know me better than that. You have to know how I
feel about you. She’s your sister. I would never . . .”
“Yes. I do know you, and I know you’ve lost someone, too, so I thought maybe you felt like you
two had something in common.”
“So it’s not that you think I’d pull a dick move like that, but you wanted to warn me not to make a
dick move like that.”
“No! I don’t think you’re an asshole, I just think you’re both . . . maybe not thinking about what it
means if you get together just because you’re alone.”
“So you came down here to make sure I wasn’t trying to get close with your sister because you
didn’t think I would try to get close with your sister”
“Yes!”
“You’re not making any sense!” He turned his back on me and walked a few steps in the other
direction, and then turned to face me. “Or maybe you are.”
I watched him for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I was embarrassed or angry or both, but that smug
smile that I hated and loved was spread wide across his face. I flipped my wrist and showed him my
middle finger. “Maybe you are an asshole.” I turned on my heels for the stairs, but Joey flipped me
around and then his mouth was on mine. After the initial surprise, I gripped his skin and pulled him
against me just as his tongue slid into my mouth. He smelled like two days of sweat and dirt, and I’m
sure I did, too, but I couldn’t get close enough to him. I wanted more of his mouth on mine, more of
his arms around me, more of his hands on more of my skin, but he pulled away.
By the look on his face and the glimmer of sadness in his eyes, kissing me had brought back a
memory. Maybe I deserved it, loving someone who loved someone else.