by Elyse Riggs
That's when Kaylee comes up behind him and tosses half the sand from her sandbag over his head. Ha.
For a moment, he just stands there with a smirk on his face. Then he glances at Fi. "Seriously? Weren't you just telling me that shooting off the pirate canon isn't in the spirit of things? And now you're resorting to throwing sand in my face? I mean, it' a little cliché, don't you think?"
"Pirate," I announce as I finally get close enough to throw the bucket of water on him. Except I trip halfway through the throwing motion, tossing most of the water from the bucket onto Kaylee, who screams when the cold water hits her.
To my horror, the motion of the throw carries me forward. Right into Jake.
The last thing I see before I crash into him is the surprised expression on his face. Then we make contact and I drop the bucket. Only my feet get tangled with his, and then we both go over.
In the end I drop the bucket entirely and land body on body on top of him. And let me tell you, it feels like he never skipped a single workout in the league. His rock-hard abs and chest break my fall.
I put my arms into the sand on either side of him and push myself to a sit-up position, straddling him. My nipples are threatening to break hulk-style out of my bra and tee shirt and my core is on fire at the feel of him beneath me.
I try to calm myself by closing my eyes and counting to five. That's when I feel that his abs and chest are not the only things that are currently hard.
I open my eyes and stare into his face, willing myself to glare at him, but my face won’t cooperate. Then I realize with a start that the sadness and longing in his eyes matches my own. We stare at each other for a long moment. And in that moment, I see the old Jake, the one I knew so well.
"I'm sorry, Angie," he whispers softly.
I shake my head, coming to my senses. Then I roll off of him. He may look like the old Jake, but he's not. "Oh yeah? Well, I'm sorry too." I am. I'm sorry that I never got over him. And now I'm sorry that he's back.
I hear a commotion after I get off of Jake and see a group of photographers taking our picture. Shit. That's the last thing I need.
Then, of all things, people start clapping. Not Fi and Kaylee of course, they're looking around at everybody and they’re just as horrified as I am.
I hear whispers of aww, they're back together. All of a sudden I realize that if that's what the locals are saying, that's what the out-of-town media are going to assume.
"No, no," I say out loud, realizing what it looked like when I was lying on top of Jake. "We're not back together. I tripped. Really. That’s it."
None of that matters though. Because when I look down, all I see is Jake with that million-dollar smirk of his and everybody with huge smiles on their faces. And the backs of the paparazzi as they walk away.
I do what any girl would in this situation I never expected to find myself in. I sit back down in the dirt.
Jake scoots over to me and fixes me with that cocky smile. "Angie, can we talk? Please?"
Sweat is glistening off of his tan, perfectly sculpted biceps. God, how I missed those arms. And those full lips. His blue eyes stare at me with a hungry expression that causes my lady parts to officially break with my leave me alone party line and go on strike.
What's a girl to do? Say hell no, that's what. I’d like to properly storm off, but that’s hard to do when you first have to stop and swat all of the sand off your ass.
I can hear Jake’s voice as I make my exit.
"Well, Angie Stroud, you're the most stubborn girl I've ever met in my life."
As I exit the beach, I fight back tears. Jake has no idea what I went through after he left me high and dry. There's no way I can go through that again. If he thinks he can just breeze into town, screw up Puppy-Thon, and then destroy my favorite pirate festival, well that's where he's probably right.
But if he thinks I'm going to get close enough to those biceps, lips, and parts beyond to get my heart broken again, then he's dead wrong.
Fi and Kaylee join me in the storm off. Luckily, we're headed to the only place in the world I want to be right now. The Beaky Tiki. With the sun going down, a cool ocean breeze, and a few drinks maybe I can salvage what little bit is left of my calm.
Chapter 11
Angie
Thankfully, it doesn’t take long before we are seated at our favorite table overlooking the ocean with appetizers and our favorite new thing in the world. Beaky Tiki Punch.
Yes, it's as delicious as it sounds. It even comes in a pitcher full of the beautiful blue concoction and enough ice to quench any thirst.
It's exactly what I need. I grab a chip, dip it into the fresh salsa, and munch away. Then I chase it down with the punch.
I start to feel better, and that's when I also notice that my very best friends are both staring at me. "What?"
"What do you mean what? What was all of that back there?" Fi asks.
Kaylee nods.
"What are you guys talking about? I'm mad at Jake. This is not complicated."
"Girl, I saw your face when you were on top of him," Kaylee chimes in with an eyebrow raise.
Fi nods. "And what's that saying about a woman who protests too much. Or something like that."
I shake my head. "No way. He's just an ass, that's all."
"The anger did seem over the top," Fi adds, pouring herself some more punch. “And that was a moment.”
“Yes,” Kaylee adds, pointing, “that’s exactly what it looked like. There was definitely a moment there. Between the two of you.”
“No, no,” I argue, “there was no moment. He tried to cannonball us. I tried to throw water on him and tripped.”
I guess I should be honest with my friends about exactly what is pissing me off about the whole thing. They already know something's up, so there's no point in pretending.
In my defense for keeping it from them all these years, I never expected to see him again. I can’t believe I’m going to say these words out loud. "Okay, here's the deal. He was my first."
Kaylee gasps. "I knew it. That night before he left for training camp. You disappeared on us!"
I nod.
Fi shakes her head, her face is now flushed with anger. "That was your first time and he just left and never even bothered to say goodbye? I don't blame you for being mad, Angie. He’s a total asshole."
"It's worse than that. It's not that he left the next morning without saying goodbye, it's that he left the night of without saying a word."
"Shut the fuck up." Kaylee shouts. "He did not do that to you. Sweetie, why didn't you ever tell us?"
I motion for everybody to simmer down just a notch.
"Why didn't I tell you that my first time was with a guy who snuck out afterward while I was sleeping and then never spoke to me again?" I whisper-hiss at them, but I can see that they’re lost in their own follow up questions. There’s no use fighting it.
"Does he have a tiny penis?" Fi asks.
"Was he terrible in bed?" Kaylee adds.
"You mean, was I so bad that he snuck off without ever seeing me again?" I say it first. It’s what I’ve been thinking ever since.
"No," Fi says too loudly. “No way. None of us were thinking that.” She swats at me with her hand. “And you better not either. The three of us are beyond fabulous. You’re amazing, Angie. And you deserve better.” She says it too loud and other tables start to glance in our direction.
"You mean the four of us," Abigail says, bringing us a refill pitcher of Beaky Tiki Punch.
"Yes, the four of us," I correct.
"I'll drink to that," Kaylee smiles.
"Congratulations," Abigail says to me with a smile.
I wonder what the hell has finally gone right in my life that I get a congratulations. "Thanks? Um, but just for the sake of asking, why are you congratulating me?"
Abigail turns and looks at the bar. "That guy over there works for the Sun newspaper. He says that you and Jake are back together."
; "Nope," Fi says as she makes a slashing gesture to Abigail. "They are not back together. They were never really a couple in the first place. Who writes that garbage?"
"Him, I guess. Sorry, Angie. Want me to march right over there and tell him he's wrong?"
"No," I blurt out, thankful that at least Abigail did not hear the most embarrassing part of the conversation.
"No, I would prefer that the guy from the Sun not even know I'm here. I'll figure something out. Besides, it won't matter, there were at least half a dozen reporters at the Pirate Festival incident a little while ago. They got pictures. There's nothing I can do about it now."
Abigail kneels down next to me. "Sweetie, what pictures?"
I feel my cheeks heat at the memory of Jake's hard body underneath me in the sand. "I fell on top of him. On the beach. It wasn't pretty."
"Found it," Fi says. "Hey, this is actually a really good angle for you, Angie." She waggles an eyebrow at me and turns her phone so I can see the absolutely crystal-clear high definition picture of me straddling Jake.
He’s got that perfect smirk on his face while he looks at my boobs and I've got a weird expression that looks like a cross between I have to pee and a bug just crawled up my butt. “Oh my God, what face am I making?”
Kaylee slaps the table. “I think it’s kind of sexy. Screw Jake. This picture should get you your pick of any of the other men in town.”
Perfect, just perfect. Of course the reporters can't capture a moment where I'm giving the camera a sexy, smoldering look in perfect high definition like the models do on Instagram.
"Sorry about the photo, Angie,” Abigail says, “but if you want me to leave it alone, then that’s what I’ll do.” She leaves to head back to the bar.
Fi takes her phone back and places it on the table. I turn to stare at the ocean for a minute. Find your happy place, Angie.
Unfortunately, my happy place is in another dimension where Jake Mann hasn't come back to town forcing me to relive some of my worst memories along with destroying my career and my favorite pirate festival.
Okay, it's the only pirate festival in town. But it kicks ass and I love it. At least I used to. Is there anything he hasn't come back to ruin?
Then it hits me that he's doing it on purpose. I didn't even know that he was back in town. And then, all of a sudden he shows up unannounced at my clinic, signs onto a marketing campaign at said clinic, and then shows up at the Pirate Festival? It's way too much of a coincidence.
"Earth to Angie?" Kaylee says, "it looks like you're thinking particularly important thoughts over there. Care to share?"
"I was just thinking about how coincidental it is that I keep running into Jake over and over again. Considering he's the one who keeps running into me and I didn't even know he was in town."
Fi bangs on the table, startling me. Those two get loud when they get enough Beaky Tiki Punch in them. "That's a very good point,” she says, pouring herself a refill. “I just don't know where you're going with it. And what do you want us to do? Help you avoid him? Run him out of town on a rail? Continue the Pirate war? What?"
Kaylee nods furiously. "Yeah, Angie. Whatever it is, say the word and we're in."
"Thanks, guys. I think I'll just do what I should have done a long time ago."
"Punch him?"
"Graffiti his car? Take a baseball bat to the headlights like that Carrie Underwood song?"
"Talk to him," I answer.
"I don't know," Fi says, "that sounds terrible.”
Kaylee points a chip at me. “It’ll never work. Not after what happened. I mean, you still seem torn up about it."
"I'm an adult. Hopefully he will be too." I say it, but I have my doubts.
Chapter 12
Jake
I pull up to Salt Life. It’s the best beach front sports bar in St. Tropic. I sit in the car and hesitate while I soak it all in. It’s been a long time, after all.
A part of me knows that once I step inside, I’m officially back. This used to be my home base. I might have even more great memories of this place than the actual football field.
And everything about it takes me back to who I used to be. From the music wafting over on the breeze to the bamboo bar with its back to the ocean and the multiple televisions with different games on them.
I spot three of my guys at the bar. Mike, Jimmy, and Stu. They’re early. And that makes me right on time. I saunter over to them like I’m officially entering a time warp. It feels awesome and strange all at the same time.
I wave to old Bill at the back of the bar. “Hey, Bill!”
I see Bill’s white head swivel around and do a double take. A minute later he practically sprints to the bar in front of me where I sit down next to my old high school football team-mates.
“Jake,” Bill says, “as I live and breathe. Welcome back!”
“Thanks, I’ll take a Salt Life Special.” Bill is a craft beer guru. If you walk into this place and order a Budweiser, then you’re a sucker. And I’m not a sucker. I throw a fifty-dollar bill on the counter. “I’ll need you to keep them coming, Bill. I missed this place. And you too.”
Bill disappears in a jiffy and comes back with the bottle. “You’re money’s no good here, son. You’re a Shark!”
“Hey,” Mike says. “We’re Sharks too. You take our money all the time.”
“Well, you’re not playing on Sundays,” Bill counters with a smile. Then the smile evaporates as he does the math. “Hey, wait a minute. What are you doing back here in the middle of the season?”
I point to my left foot even though he can’t see it behind the bar. “Ankle injury.”
Bill shakes his head. “Sorry to hear it, son. Let me know if you need anything.”
Bill disappears back inside the bar leaving me and the boys with the ocean breeze, the barely audible sound of sports commentators, and our beers.
“Hey, guys. Where’s Alan and Wayne?” I used to come back all the time in between college seasons, but not since I got drafted. It’s been years, and I was hoping all the guys could make it to one guy’s night.
“Oh, you know,” Stu says, “Wayne’s wife’s about to go into labor and Alan didn’t get that promotion so he had to work tonight.”
I hold up my beer. “Okay, then. To us.” We clink our bottles and yell, turning a few heads and then things simmer down.
“What’s it like being in the League?” Jimmy asks. “Is it like all those television documentaries? Because I watch the shit out of those.”
“Yeah, Jimmy. It’s just like that.” I laugh.
“No shit? I’m asking for real.”
“Training camp sucks the most, man. If you can make it past those dog days, then you’re golden. Then you can get into a routine and it gets better.”
He nods like he understands. On some level he does, I mean football is football. There are just degrees. And money.
“Hey, enough about me. I’m more interested in what you assholes are up to.”
“Bullshit,” Stu says, “who wants to hear about the life and times of a financial advisor, restaurant manager, and car dealership owner?”
“Me.” It’s true. I’m interested in literally anything that doesn’t make me think about my injury, being cut from the NFL, and what my life is going to look like going forward. I’m not going to tell them I got cut, but I’m sure they googled it. They’re being nice because they’re my best friends. And I appreciate it.
A waitress makes her way over and hands me another bottle even though I’m not even halfway done with this one. She’s cute and she knows it with her short red hair and perky tits.
“Bill said to bring you this,” she says with a flirty smile.
The guys are smirking at me. She hands me a cocktail napkin too, and I can see the blue ballpoint numbers on it. “Thank you, darlin,” I say, winking at her and then I watch her walk away before turning my attention back to the boys.
“What the fuck was that?” Stu asks.
&nb
sp; I line up the second bottle of beer next to the first. “What?”
Jimmy sets his beer down loudly on the table. “Are you married or something that we don’t know about?”
“No, why?”
“Then why the hell aren’t you going to go try and fuck that waitress?”
It’s a good question. Last week, I’d have been all over that situation. What the hell is wrong with me, anyway? It’s the whole Angie situation that’s holding me back. Shit.
For so long, I’ve been able to get any woman I want. I haven’t had a challenge in forever. But all I want now is Angie. So now I have the mother of all challenges. A childhood friend who’s fucking pissed at me and hates my guts.
“Well, maybe I’m tired of playing the field.” The words are true. And they spill out before I can take them back. “I mean, you guys are settled down and happy, right?”
The boys nod agreeably. They have wives and kids and shit and what do I have? A couple of condos and parties every weekend. And now that I’m not there, those people don’t even miss me.
Just to be sure, I pull my phone out of my pocket and glance down at it. I’ve got zero messages.
Jimmy puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s all right, buddy. I’m sure you’ll settle down. You just haven’t found the right girl, yet.”
I take a long pull on my beer. That’s the problem, though. Maybe I did find the right girl, but I lost her.
Chapter 13
Angie
Another morning, another moment staring at the broken coffee maker I forgot to replace. I give it a good glaring at, even though it's not its fault it's broken.
And with all of the pirate, Jake, and paparazzi drama yesterday I completely forgot to buy another one. I could buy a really good cup of coffee every day for a month for what it would cost for a decent coffee maker, anyway.
And the one I'm staring at can be called a lot of things. Burnt, old, gross, noisy. But decent isn't one of them. Maybe life’s just too damn short to live with a crap coffee maker.