Chapter 183
Chapter 183
Katie
Dinner that night was at one of the resort's beachfront restaurants, open-air seating with the smell of grilled fish heavy in the salt air. Tyler showed up fashionably late, dripping wet from the ocean and wearing the most obnoxious floral board shorts I'd ever seen.
"Lucas!" he bellowed, loud enough that half the restaurant turned to stare. "Where the hell are you, man?"
I saw Lucas wince from our corner table and I bit back a laugh. Tyler had always been loud but something about grad school seemed to have amplified it. He was wearing ridiculous tortoiseshell sunglasses despite the setting sun, his hair slicked back from the water, and he had the kind of energy that made everyone either want to join in or run away.
Emily and Ave exchanged a look. "Is he always like this?" Ave asked.
"Pretty much," I said. "You get used to it."
Tyler spotted us and came barreling over, nearly knocking over a waiter. "Katie!" he shouted, pulling me into a bear hug that lifted me off my feet. "Long time no see! You look amazing!"
"Ty," I gasped, "I can't breathe."
He set me down, grinning, and I saw Lucas stand up, his expression thunderous. "You have a problem?" he asked coldly.
"What? I'm just saying hi!" Tyler said, all innocence. Then he turned and grabbed Lucas in an equally enthusiastic hug. "Bro, I missed you so much!"
Lucas's expression shifted from murderous to resigned. "Yeah. I can tell. Sit down before you knock something over."
Tyler obeyed, still grinning, throwing himself into the empty chair next to me. "This island is incredible," he said, gesturing wildly. "Lucas, you really outdid yourself. Seriously, this is the best vacation I've ever been on."
"Glad you're enjoying it," Lucas said dryly, sitting back down.
"I mean, I've been to nice places," Tyler continued, oblivious. "But nothing like this. Private island? That boat you guys have is insane. I've been trying to convince Lucas to let me drive it but he says I'll crash it into a reef."
"You will," Lucas said.
"You don't know that."
"Ty, you crashed a jet ski into a dock last summer."
"That was one time!"
I exchanged a glance with Emily and Ave, both trying not to laugh. Tyler was a lot but he was also impossible not to like.
"So," Tyler said, turning to me with a sly grin. "I heard you and Lucas finally got your shit together."
My face heated. "Ty—"
"About time, honestly. I've been telling him for years to just ask you out instead of doing that whole intense staring thing." He mimicked Lucas's expression and I had to bite my lip.
Lucas kicked him under the table. "Shut up."
"What? I'm just saying, the pining was getting ridiculous. You were like a Victorian gentleman with consumption, all tragic and—ow! Stop kicking me!"
"Then stop talking," Lucas said, but there was no real heat in it.
Tyler rubbed his shin, still grinning. "Anyway. I'm happy for you guys. You're good together."
"Thanks," I said, meaning it. "How's Harvard? You surviving?"
His expression brightened. "Oh man, it's great. Hard as hell but great. I'm taking this entrepreneurship class that's kicking my ass in a good way. And I'm thinking about applying for the joint MBA/JD program."
Emily blinked. "You want to get a law degree and a business degree?"
"Yeah," Tyler said like it was obvious. "It's a four-year program if you do them together. Forty-eight classes total but totally worth it."
I stared at him. "Ty, you were bottom of our class in high school."
"I know!" He laughed. "Turns out I was just a late bloomer. Once I started paying attention in college, everything just clicked. My GPA went from 2.8 to 3.9 in one semester."
"How?" Ave asked, genuinely baffled.
Tyler shrugged. "I don't know. I just started going to class and doing the readings and suddenly I was acing everything. Turns out I'm actually pretty smart when I try."
Lucas made a sound. "He's not lying. I've seen his transcripts. It's disturbing."
"Thank you?" Tyler said, looking pleased.
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'm taking it as one anyway."
I shook my head, smiling. This was exactly what I'd needed—normalcy, or at least Tyler's version of it.
The waiter came by and we spent the next few minutes debating seafood options before settling on a mix so we could share. Tyler kept up a running commentary, jumping between topics with manic energy.
"So," Emily said once the waiter left, "you're really going for a joint degree? That's a lot of work."
"Yeah but I like being busy," Tyler said. "Plus my dad wants me to take over his firm eventually so having both degrees will help. And honestly? Business school is full of sharks. Everyone's obsessed with networking and IPOs and becoming the next Elon Musk. It's exhausting."
Lucas leaned back, thoughtful. "Business school teaches you how to play the game. Not how to change the rules."
Tyler pointed at him. "See, this is what I'm talking about. Lucas has this whole philosophical problem with MBAs but he's getting one anyway."
"I'm getting one so I know how my enemies think," Lucas said calmly.
"Your enemies. You mean other business majors."
"Yes."
I bit back a laugh, watching them bicker. It was easy to forget sometimes that these two had been friends for years, that they had this whole dynamic separate from me.
"Wait," Ave said, looking confused. "So which one of you is right? Is business school good or bad?"
Tyler and Lucas both opened their mouths, then stopped and looked at each other.
"Are you guys messing with me?" Tyler asked slowly.
"No," Lucas and I said at the same time, and then we both started laughing.
Tyler threw up his hands. "I hate you both."
"You love us," I said, grinning.
"Unfortunately," he muttered, but he was smiling too.
The food arrived and we spent the rest of dinner eating and talking and watching the sun set. Tyler told increasingly ridiculous stories, Lucas interjected with dry commentary, and Emily and Ave slowly relaxed into the chaos.
It was perfect. Easy and comfortable and exactly what I needed.
And when Lucas reached over under the table to lace his fingers through mine, I didn't pull away.
The end.