Beach Thing

by DL White

  I pulled up alongside Wade, who had been lingering and circling while I got comfortable.

  “You good?”

  “Am now.” I smiled over at him. “I thought I had it this morning during the lesson, but being out here without the instructor is…”

  “Different?” He squinted into the sun, then pulled his shades down from their perch on top of his head.

  “Yeah. But I’m good now.” We floated peacefully, keeping an easy rhythm alongside each other. “So, you have a nice voice on you.”

  “Yeah,” he said, but didn’t elaborate.

  “No interest in singing?”

  “Nah,” he answered, fixing his gaze on the tip of his board.

  “Hmmmm. Okay.”

  He paused, looking back at me since he had just passed me. He looked… irritated. “Hmmm, okay what?”

  “Nothing. I… guess you don’t want to talk about it. It’s cool.”

  He reversed his stroke and moved backward, then brought his paddle out of the water. “My voice is about the only thing I got from my dad. Besides my face. And honestly… I don’t want shit from him.”

  My questions weren’t timid but weren’t bold, either. More like softly lobbed. “So you don’t know him? Or… want to know him, then?”

  “I know who he is. I’ve seen him, more than I want to, lately. We don’t have a relationship. He’s just a guy that has nothing to do with the man I am today. So maybe we look alike and I can sing a little bit, but…” He shook his head, his expression solemn. “I don’t want that from him.”

  “Understood. I didn’t mean to bring up a difficult subject.”

  “You didn’t.” He brightened, nodding his head toward an inlet where we had planned to stop for lunch. “You asked me about my voice. I’m the one that made it weird. So, sorry about that.”

  We paddled over to where the land jutted out a bit from the shore. Now that it was the height of midday, it was a good time and place to stop. We pushed our boards up onto land and laid the oars next to them.

  I opened my backpack and started setting out our lunch — deli sandwiches, fresh fried kettle chips, pickles and orange cream cake with granola crust. Bottles of water and blood orange San Pellegrino were buried deep in the bottom of the bag, staying cool under ice packs.

  “How come on your birthday, I’m getting the treat?” He dug his fork into an individual serving of cake and shoveled a scoop into his mouth.

  I laughed, scraping the sides of the plastic container. “You’re with me, doing something I want to do. Can’t help it if you’re enjoying yourself.”

  “Guess I’m lucky we like the same things.”

  “Or we’re willing to try the same things. You never got on a paddleboard before today?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head, licking his fork clean, then tossing it and the container into the bag I’d brought to cart our trash back with us. “City boy. Just good on my feet. I always wanted to try surfing, but as many times as Gage and I have been to Hawaii, we’ve never found the time to get out there.”

  “That all work, no play thing is serious, I see.”

  “We play.” He smiled, coy and mischievous. “Gage is probably out on a boat with his wife right now. I’m playing with you right now.”

  “That you are.” I started piling up wrappers and containers to put inside the bag. “Wade… I wanted to apologize. You said it wasn’t a big deal, but I can hear it in your voice that talking about your dad bothers you. I guess I was just being nosy. My dad and I aren’t as close as we used to be, but I can’t imagine not having him.”

  “Yeah? What’s up with Mr. Maker’s Mark?”

  I shrugged. “I told you that my family owns Porter Hospitality, right?” He nodded. “Well, ever since… forever, I’ve known that the plan was for me and Anthony— my brother — to take over for them. Breaking the news that I wanted to sell my shares and move to Gran’s house on Black Diamond was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t well received. My parents felt they’d worked hard to build a company their children could take over. When Gran died, leaving the house and her shares to me, the assumption was that I’d sell the house and put that money into the company.

  “And for a long time I was with the plan… until I came down to prep the house for sale. Just everything about this place — the house, the sand, the breeze. Brightman’s and Adele’s and all the little shacks that have been around here since I was a kid…”

  I sighed and glanced up at him with a wistful smile. “I was so overwhelmed by my memories. I felt… I had a longing to be here, stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. I felt like I was supposed to live out some kind of legacy. Gran left all kinds of things for me, things that reminded me of my childhood summers with her. I couldn’t let it go.”

  “And your parents don’t get that.” Wade watched me while sipping from his bottle of San Pellegrino.

  I shook my head, slowly. “And I guess that’s why I didn’t tell them. Which was wrong. They could have had all of that time to get used to the idea, but I was scared. So I plotted behind their backs. I made some repairs, had some renovations done, but kept my secret to actually occupy the house.”

  “So nobody knew what you were doing?”

  “Paige knew from the beginning. I called her from Gran’s house in tears and hysterics. I couldn’t sell that house. I needed to be here. She’d come down with me every few trips to help renovate and update. But what we were really doing was planning how I could do this.

  “And eventually, Andrew knew. He’d been running three restaurants already. My parents said they thought I was ready to take over the other three, and I fell apart. I showed up on his doorstep in tears and then sobbed through my disappointment at my “promotion”. We came up with a plan for me to do what I wanted to do.”

  I paused for a beat, awash in emotion. I’d packed a lot of it away, since I’d arrived on the island. I was here… no sense in crying about it. But Mama and Daddy had called exactly once, since I made it to the island, to see how things were going.

  “Seems like this should be a time for being proud of their daughter. But… maybe parents get blindsided by what they want for you. It was probably hard for them to let go.”

  “Yeah. Probably.” I reluctantly agreed to his point. “Anyway… as much as my folks and I aren’t getting along I really can’t imagine not knowing them or wanting to know them. But I guess I’ve always had them, so…” I lifted a shoulder in an apologetic shrug. “I just wanted to say I was sorry for being nosy.”

  “I’m really not bothered by your curiosity, or whatever. Your questions are innocent, because you don’t know him and the history that’s there with him. Other people though… people that think they know me and know the best for me—”

  He paused, drawing his lips inward. I reached out, landing a hand on his forearm. His head whipped around to me as if he’d forgotten I was there.

  “It’s okay, Wade. You don’t have to… it’s okay.”

  He gave me a look that I read as appreciation for not pushing more. Then he leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Lunch was good. Even though it was your birthday and I should have brought lunch for you.”

  “You can make it up to me later, Beach Thing.”

  Wade laughed, the mood finally lifting a little. He uncrossed his legs and stood, reaching out a hand to help me up.

  “Let’s get back on this water. We can talk about later… later.” He wiggled his brows at me before he turned to pick up his paddle and push his board back into the water.

  * * *

  * * *

  * * *

  After a full day on the water, plus lunch and a short session of making out in the middle of the Bay, we turned in our rentals and headed toward home.

  “I kind of want to drop by the shop,” I said, hiking my backpack over my shoulder.

  “Why? You want to spy on your employee?”

  I shrugged. “I just want to make sure everything is going
okay.”

  “She made my Frozen Sunshine just how I like it yesterday, so I’d say she’s doing okay.”

  Dionne, my new employee, was a riot to work with — bright and energetic and took to the running the place with ease. She was a yoga instructor and led sunset yoga classes on the beach. She’d already invited me to take a free class.

  I’d left her alone a few hours at a time on her third day, and she had done well. I had still planned on closing the shop for the day, but she insisted on filling in.

  “At least, by the end of the day, I’ll know what I don’t know. Besides,” she said, picking up the binder that I’d been calling the Tikis & Cream Bible. “You put everything you’ve ever even thought about in this book- recipes, opening and closing procedures, you even created an FAQ. I’ve been studying it. Your shop is in good hands.”

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” Wade said. “Let her do her thing without you hanging over her. She’ll call you if she needs something.”

  “I guess you’re right. So, I’m going home to shower since somebody knocked me into the water.”

  Wade snorted, dropping an arm over my shoulder. “It was an accident. I swear!”

  “Uh huh. Accident, my ass.” I smiled though, mostly to myself.

  My heart had nearly leapt out of my chest when he flipped my board. I was sitting on it, trying to get my balance to stand. The next thing I knew, I was heading into the water and Wade was cackling, loudly. In the next moment, he was in the water with me.

  He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me up against him. I lifted my legs, wrapping them around his body, pressing myself into him. He was hard and not shy about letting me know.

  We kissed and clung to each other, trying not to look like we were about to have sex right in Black Diamond Bay. If there wasn’t a small group of teenagers nearby on boogie boards, Wade would have been introduced to the “Sex in the Bay” club.

  “Why don’t you come by around seven? The grill will be warm and we can set this birthday off right.”

  “Sounds good. Sounds really good.”

  He leaned over to peck me on the cheek, but I moved my head so he caught the edge of my mouth. And since he was there, he leaned a little further for a full kiss. “I got somethin’ else good for you. Come ready.”

  “Ooooop!” I squealed as he hugged me, then hung a right toward his house. “I’ll be ready,” I called out to him. “You be ready.”

  “I’m always ready,” he called back. “I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready.”

  “Yeah, I saw some of that stay ready earlier,” I said, laughing as I reached my driveway. In my bag, my cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out and glanced at the display.

  I waved to Wade, then climbed the front porch steps and picked up the call. “Hey Paige!”

  “What up birthday girl! I’ve been trying to call you all day! Where have you been?”

  “Oh, I… had plans.”

  “You… had plans?”

  “Yeah. I… had plans.”

  I unlocked my front door and stepped into the house, rolling my eyes at myself. Paige would never be satisfied with the morsel of information I’d just given her. Granted, I did it on purpose so she would ask and I wouldn’t have to call her to brag that I’d just spent my birthday with Wade Marshall.

  And was about to spend the evening with him.

  I hadn't told anyone about Wade, including Paige. He was a fun, temporary thing, not something that could or would last. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up.

  Including mine.

  But today, I was happy. Paige could keep a secret better than anyone. And I was dying to tell someone about Beach Thing.

  “So… these plans you had that kept you away from your phone all day. Share them with me. And don’t skip any details.” Her voice lowered considerably, taking on a conspiratorial tone. “Especially if they have to do with tall, dark and fuck me down the street.”

  “Well….” I paused, dragging out the explanation, waiting for the screech in my ear that came a moment later. “Okay, okay! It’s not what you think.” I tossed my backpack on a chair at the dining room table. “Yet.”

  “Girl! You are so lucky you’re far away right now or I’d come over to your apartment and mess you up! You’d better start talking.”

  So, I started talking. I carried the phone into my bedroom, putting Paige on speaker while rifling through my closet for something cute to wear. I told her about my conversations with Wade after our not-so-friendly first meeting; about his regular visits to Tikis & Creme and my visits to the house and the night we’d jumped into this fling and see what happens.

  “And so you’ve been fucking Wade Marshall for like… how long?”

  “Like… a couple of weeks. Maybe a little more.”

  “Weeks! And your fingers weren’t itching to dial up your girl Paige and share in the good news.”

  “Like said, it’s new. And it’s not a huge deal.”

  “To you. It’s not a big deal to you, Miss Dating a Famous Producer. Who’s best friend is the sexiest dude in the game right now.”

  “We’re not dating. This is just a casual summer thing. Something to pass the time. It’s just a… beach thing.”

  “A beach thing.”

  “Yes, exactly. We’re having fun, not hurting anyone. It won’t last past September and we both know it. The last thing either of us, but especially Wade needs, is any kind of controversy about it. So zip those lips the way I know you can.”

  “Alright. I’ll keep this secret like I kept the last one. But I better get regular reports. On everything.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “Oh, you think I’m sharing everything, huh?”

  “Every. Thing. Don’t hold out on me. You know I have nothing going on since taking this new job. These jokers think I’m a miracle worker or something.”

  We chatted for a few minutes about her job as a legal assistant to two very demanding personal injury attorney partners. Business was booming and Paige had replaced an inefficient assistant. Learning that she knew how to do everything they needed and more seemed to have opened a Pandora’s Box.

  “Well, look at the bright side,” I said pulling my still damp tank top over my head, followed by my swimsuit top in the same state. “The more hours you work now, the closer you get to building up enough vacation hours to come out here.”

  “Believe me, that’s one of the few silver linings. Maybe I can come out for Thanksgiving, provided I’m not on the phone with some hump trying to fake a neck injury.”

  “Oh, no. You’re not giving up your Thanksgiving for personal injury fraud. You're welcome to come out if you can swing it.”

  “You’re not coming home for Thanksgiving?”

  I scoffed, peeling my shorts and panties from my hips and turning on the shower. “As of right now, no. My parents are still being cold to me. Andrew and Liam will miss me, I’m sure—”

  “And, hello? Me?”

  “And you. I don’t want to deal with it. I want peace and quiet in my new home. I know people come out here for the holiday and I’d like to stay open. I have a couple of chai tea recipes I want to try, anyway.”

  “Well, I admire you for making your dream happen. I’ll support you however I can. So long as I get the details.”

  “Thanks, P. I appreciate it. I miss having you down the hall from me.”

  “I know. I miss it, too. Your apartment is still vacant.”

  This information gave me pause. I’d been led to believe that there was a waiting list for my apartment. An efficiency with brand new appliances and a window seat in a secure building was hard to come by. “That’s amazing. It’s so cute and well priced.”

  “And still vacant.”

  “You said that.”

  “I’m just saying. If you ever want to come home—”

  “Paige…” I sighed, closing the door to the bathroom to keep the steam in. “I have a date with a very handsome, very sexy, very well endowed man. I need to get
in the shower and take care of my situation. Can we pick up the guilt trip tomorrow?”

  “Yes, yes. Sorry. Fine. No guilt trip. Happy birthday, I love you, have fun.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Wait, very well endowed? How...uh, endowed is Gage, you think?”

  “I don’t know why you think I would know that, but I’m guessing…bullet in your ass. That endowed. Gotta go, love you, buh bye.”

  10

  Wade

  I had everything all set up outside on the deck. The grill was warm and holding a cast-iron skillet with the steaks and scallops I had made and the steamer for the freshly cut green beans was on standby. I’d also grabbed a nice white wine, which was chilling in the wine fridge.

  I stepped back into the house in time to hear my phone chime a familiar tone. Gage was calling, probably about the samples I’d sent him the night before.

  “What up, playa?” I called into the phone as I put it on speaker. I had a few things yet to do, and I still had to change clothes, so I was going to talk and work.

  “What up yaself? You workin’?”

  “Not right now.” I searched through the drawers in the kitchen for the candlesticks I knew I saw at some point. I found them, grabbing them and the linen napkins from their hiding place.

  “Not right now? What are you doing right now? Sounds like you’re looking for something… what do you need? I probably know where it is.”

  “Nah I’m good. I’m just… busy.”

  “Busy doing what?”

  The cagier I got, the more Gage laughed. We were always wide open with each other—couldn’t afford not to be, so my not coming right out with what I was doing at the moment was probably funny to him.

  “I’m about to have a guest, if you just gotta know everything.”

  “A guest? Like, the female kind? You met somebody that quick out there?”

  “Kind of. It’s uh… you know, that girl from the smoothie shop? Remember the first night—”