Gordon reeled in his line, then moved closer to John. John looked at him, curious.
Gordon spoke in a low voice. “I’ve got to tell you, to clear the air, I wasn’t psyched when you came back here to Isle of Palms. And that you were living next door to Linnea. I was half a world away, could only see my girlfriend through a screen, and she let it slip you were here.”
John focused on reeling in his line. “Nah, man—there’s no secret. We’re not doing anything wrong. I just want to try to repair our friendship.”
Gordon turned his head to check on Cooper, who was doing what he could to look preoccupied with his fishing.
“Don’t worry,” John said. “He can’t hear us.”
“He can hear us,” Gordon said. “He’s just got enough grace to appear to not listen in.”
“Look, man,” John said begrudgingly. “What do you want me to say? We were together a year ago. We fucking lived together. Then I screwed up and let her go. What else do you want to know?”
Gordon looked at him impassively. “Do you still love her?”
John wasn’t about to tell this guy how he felt about Linnea. “I don’t know.”
“Does she… have feelings for you?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” When Gordon continued staring at him, John said brusquely, “No. Not really. Maybe a little. I don’t know. I mean, we’re friends again. I think.”
Gordon smirked. “How well do you really know her?”
“Trust me. I know her.”
“What’s her favorite color?”
“Pink.”
“Wrong.” Gordon smiled. “It’s green.”
“You’re both wrong,” Cooper said. “It’s blue.”
“I thought you weren’t listening,” John said, then turned to Gordon. “Okay, smartass. Does she like rom-coms or action films?”
“Both.”
“Damn.”
Gordon cast his line again, a little too close to Cooper’s.
“What did I say about crossing lines?” Cooper called.
Gordon winced. “Feels great being corrected by a ten-year-old.”
“I can hear you. And I’m twenty-one,” Cooper retorted.
Gordon leaned closer to John. “Listen, this whole thing is kind of embarrassing. I feel like we’re competing and, frankly, I’ve traveled halfway around the world chasing this woman. And now, you show up. And you say… maybe you’re still in love with her.”
John narrowed his eyes. “What’s your point?”
“My point is, you’ve had your chance. You let her go.”
John snorted and shook his head.
“Why would you think she’d give you another chance? She told me what you did when you broke up. Harsh. Why do you think you even deserve another chance?”
John felt a rush of shame and couldn’t argue back. He didn’t feel funny anymore. He felt like the fool he was. “I don’t think I do deserve it.”
Gordon didn’t reply.
“Hey,” Cooper interrupted. “She’s a woman and she’s entitled to change her mind.”
“Just fish,” Gordon snapped. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“I beg to differ,” Cooper said with his first flare of temper. “It has a great deal to do with me. I’m her brother. I give a damn about her. You two can float away like sea foam, but I’ll still be her brother. And I’m not going to let you two play Lancelot and Arthur around her. You won’t hurt her, got it? Neither of you. Not on my watch.”
“All right,” John said, his palms up in surrender. “Maybe I deserve that. But don’t either of you pretend to know what goes on in someone else’s relationship. It’s never cut-and-dried. You have to be in it to know it.”
“It’s a two-way street,” Gordon agreed.
“It takes two to tango,” Cooper said with exasperation. “What the hell? Those are quotes from, like, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart movies. Cliché central.”
“Hey,” John said to Gordon, “I’m impressed he knows who Humphrey Bogart is.”
“I’m a film guy,” Cooper shot back. “And, if you don’t mind my saying, I don’t know what she sees in either one of you.”
“Right,” Gordon said, tossing up his hands. “I can’t even make a paper airplane.”
“What?” Cooper stared at him in bewilderment.
“It’s called ingenuity, numbnuts,” John said, facing off to Gordon. “You might be Jacques Cousteau out in the deep, but I’m a multifaceted guy. I can do a lot of things. Paper crafts are just one thing.”
“Paper crafts?” said Gordon with disbelief. “Did you just say paper crafts?” He looked to Cooper.
Cooper shrugged. “What can I say? The man has some skills.”
“Skills are how a man romances a woman,” Gordon said. “Not paper crafts.”
“Seriously,” Cooper said, turning away with a wave of disgust, “you guys are turning me off love. I didn’t think it was possible. Yup. You’ve just turned me off of love. Nice job.”
“Enough games,” Gordon said irritably. He was clearly reaching the end of his long rope. “Let’s be straight. Are you still in love with her? Is that what this be-a-good-neighbor bit is all about?”
“This what?”
“You coming home and being there to fix things, help her out. You sticking around. Always around.”
“Me giving you my place to live in…”
Gordon’s expression changed. “Thank you for that.” Then he tilted his head. “I think. Or is that one more way you’re trying to make yourself the good guy in this scenario?”
“You know,” Cooper said, chuckling, “if this was a film, the heroine would have to choose between Hugh Grant, which is you”—he pointed to Gordon—“and Ryan Gosling, which is you.”
“Why are you saying I’m Hugh Grant?” Gordon asked. “Because I’m British? Well, if you want to pick someone who is British, then how about… Liam Neeson.”
“He’s Irish.” Cooper smiled.
“Hugh Jackman, then.”
“Australian,” John jabbed.
“I know,” Gordon said. “Benedict Cumberbatch.”
John looked at Cooper and they smirked. “Okay, sure.”
“Never mind,” Gordon said. “This is a ridiculous game. Don’t you two ever take life seriously?”
“All right. Look,” John said in a serious tone. “I’m just trying to get through the day, you know? Like everyone in this lifeboat called the pandemic. Maybe I do care about her still. Maybe I know I messed up. Maybe it’s just a lot of maybes right now. So, why don’t we all just fish or cut bait.”
Gordon’s line suddenly dropped hard, the tip pulled into the water.
“Bloody hell!” he said loudly, suddenly alert. “I got a hit.” He beamed as his line whirred.
“Let it out,” Cooper instructed, stepping closer. “Let the line out. Let it wrestle a bit, get the hook in there good.”