he's 28, so she's a little older. his brother is closer to her age. we could take it back to his being in college. augusta is only a two hour drive so he was home all the damned time even while going to school. he's also always had a habit of being with older women, so that leaves a pile of options open, too. a fling turned friends, even. or a situation where she was like you're a puppy, not going there. down boy. and then they wound up friends anyway. he'd still joke with her "remember when i had a thing for you and you insisted on breaking my heart? brutal" but all in good fun because he'd laugh about it now.