Chapter 12

Whether it was the past or the future, time was limited—Xander should’ve realized that. He was kicking himself for not thinking of that sooner. He wanted to make sure he had no regrets, or coming back in time would have been a total waste, which would beg the question ... what was the point?

Xander needed to remain focused on his goals. He wanted to make sure Izzy stayed on the right path so she didn’t die young; get himself healthy and stay healthy; and not be alone later in life.

Even if he weren’t getting a do-over, it made him realize he should’ve done his best the first time through. He shouldn’t have spent so much of his life on time-wasters and focusing on trivial matters.

That being said, Xander now had money saved and needed to grow it; money was a tool he could use to help him achieve his goals. He knew there would be opportunities to make a lot of money down the road. To take advantage of those prospects, Xander wanted much more than he currently had in the bank. What he needed was a short-term boost to his war chest.

He tried to remember everything he could about his summer before high school.

Xander’s mom had come through for him. It turned out his Uncle Andy had more than just dumbbells and a bench: he had the entire setup to build a small gym. His grandfather grumbled that Xander might as well get some use out of it.

The story had it that Uncle Andy wanted to play football and convinced his dad he was serious. He even began working out with it, but then he discovered girls. One in particular led him astray, and he began sneaking out, drinking, and doing drugs. All his interest in sports was set aside, along with his gym equipment.

Xander might’ve done the same if he’d been in his uncle’s shoes, but this time, Xander had the old man inside him to keep him in line. Yes, there were a few ‘hold my beer’ moments, but the oldster helped by warning his younger self about things he would regret later.

He’d finished setting up his garage gym when John’s mom pulled up and dumped him off. It was funny how moms had little smiles as they drove away. Xander was familiar with that look from when he was raising his niece, Nevis.

’Finally ... Time to myself!’

“You ready to lift?” Xander asked.

John looked around and nodded.

“This’ll do. I need to get in better shape. The bike ride back from ... you know ... almost killed me. I don’t know how you do it,” John said.

The trek up the mountain had been eye-opening. Xander had assumed that everyone lifting was in shape, with John being one of the leaders. He discovered John had to stop three times to rest on the ride to his house. It might explain why Xander’s lower body was in such good shape: he’d been making that trip three to four times a week.

“How about we warm up by riding bikes to my grandparents’ house? It’ll be downhill all the way back,” Xander suggested.

John scowled.

“This time, I get your bike, and you have to ride your sister’s.”

“Fine with me,” Xander said.

He probably should’ve warned John that his grandparents had built their home close to the ridge to give them a view of the valley. The road wound around to follow the contours of the hill. It was a steep, steady climb of a little over half a mile. That didn’t sound too bad until you had to actually do it.

John jumped on Xander’s bike.

“I’ll race you!” he called out as Xander pulled Izzy’s bike out of the garage.

He chuckled when he saw John speeding toward the road that would take them to his grandparents’ place.

Xander took his time because he didn’t want to wear himself out too early. Even for him, it was a challenging climb. He caught up with John about a hundred yards up the side of the mountain. His friend was huffing and puffing as he stood up on the pedals, trying to power up the climb.

Xander easily passed John and left him in the dust. When John finally reached the top, Xander was sitting on his grandparents’ porch with two glasses of lemonade.

John was drenched in perspiration. He grabbed his glass and chugged it down.

“Me and my big mouth,” John moaned.

“Now that you’re warmed up, let’s go lift. I bet you can’t go down the hill without using your brakes,” Xander challenged.

“You plan on killing me, don’t you?” John asked with a big grin.

“Yep. Let’s go.”

“You’re a pussy,” Xander said.

“Fuck you. You have a death wish. We had to be going a hundred miles an hour,” John said, attempting to justify his using his brakes the entire way down.

“Whatev ... pussy.”

“You going to Kelly’s tomorrow?” John asked.

She’d sent them and Pam a message saying her pool was now warm enough to swim in, and her parents wouldn’t be around.

“I can’t this time because I have to help my mom paint one of my grandpa’s houses.”

His grandfather thought they’d done a good enough job on the last three houses to let them paint the four he’d built this spring. Since he paid them what he would have paid his usual paint contractor, it was one way Xander made good money.

He recognized his grandfather’s ulterior motive: Grandpa Davidson wanted to ensure Xander’s mom had enough money coming in that she wouldn’t worry about her finances.

Xander was actually booked for the next couple of weeks. He would meet his mom at the first house after lifting.

“Pam will be pissed,” John said.

Xander shrugged.

“If either of them had asked, I would’ve given them my summer schedule,” Xander said.

“That’s a two-way street, man,” John said.

Xander scowled because John was right: Xander should’ve let Pam know. He’d made the effort to give Brandi and Chantel a heads-up. If he was in any way serious about Pam, he’d just dropped the ball ... again.

Xander grabbed his phone and called Pam.

“Hey, I fucked up. I didn’t tell you about my commitments this summer, and I can’t swim with you guys at Kelly’s. What can I do to make it up to you?” Xander asked.

The phone was silent for a minute before Pam answered.

“What are you doing?”

He explained about having a summer job.

“Does that mean you’ll have money to take me out on a real date?” Pam asked.

“It does.”

Her entire attitude changed.