Her Beach Bum (Man Card Book 7)

by Terra Kelly

  “Oh that sucks.” A part of me wanted to join him. The other part wanted to run home and sulk.

  “What are you doing here?” He rolled his eyes. “I mean… are you alone.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed and looked around. “I’m sorry about today.”

  He smiled and waved his hand. “Already forgotten. Want to join me?”

  “I need to get home.” I stepped around Joey and stopped. How the hell did we manage to time it perfectly and see each other at the same damn bar. It was a city with thousands of people and a shit ton of bars. This was yet another sign but I didn’t have the energy to listen. “Warning”–I glanced back–“the bartender is a bitch tonight.”

  He laughed and headed inside. “Good to know.”

  What I really wanted to say was, the bartender thinks you’re a nerd and we don’t make a good fit.

  I unlocked my car door and slid into the driver seat. After ten years with the same friends doing the same routine, I needed a scene change. I was starting to regret how I ignored the phone call this morning about the free Bahamas trip.

  Not that it was real. None of that shit was ever real.

  There was always a catch with those offers.

  Four

  Joey

  “Just call one more time,” I begged and sat down beside my cousin, Andy. “Maybe do a different approach this time.”

  “What was wrong with my approach yesterday?” Andy said and grabbed the phone from my hand. “You owe me big time for this shit.” He started to dial the number. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

  “Sasha would never agree to go on a trip with me.” I was only slightly worried she would hang-up again. There was a fifty-fifty chance this plan would backfire.

  “So you think tricking her into taking a random trip to The Bahamas is a better idea?”

  Andy had a point but I didn’t care. “Just shut up and call.”

  About a week ago I was watching TV and had this insane idea. The hardest part would be getting Sasha to agree. Well, actually the hardest part was convincing Sasha that she really did win a trip. I had everything set up to make it all look legit.

  “If I call, you have to cut your hair.” He held his finger over the green button to call. “And you need new swim trunks.”

  I stepped into the small half bath by the kitchen and looked into the mirror. “What’s wrong with my hair?” The curls were unruly today and there were strands of hair facing in all directions. “How is cutting my hair going to make Sasha like me more?”

  Andy dropped his hand to his side. “Listen.” He actually rolled his eyes. “You know I think you’re a good guy?” He had to be nice because we’re family. “I’m just going to be honest, okay. You should have a total makeover if she falls for the free trip.”

  I stepped out of the bathroom and stared at him for a moment. “Makeover?” I attempted to comb my fingers through my hair but they got stuck in the snarls. “I look that bad?”

  My cousin let out this heavy sigh. I had a feeling what he was thinking was going to be deep or extremely mean. “Joey, I just want to see you happy.”

  “And cutting my hair or using your swim trunks will ensure my happiness?”

  “Well now you make me sound like an asshat for saying anything.”

  I burst out laughing. “Not an asshat but I am questioning your motive.”

  He stood and stepped closer to me. “The only motive I have is to see you with the girl. That’s it.”

  I turned and walked back into the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a Missio T-shirt from the last concert they had in Wilmington. The shirt was pretty baggy but that’s how I wore most of my clothes. I couldn’t remember the last time I wore clothes that were the proper size.

  Maybe I needed to listen to my cousin. As I stared at myself, I realized my hair and my clothes covered me up perfectly. It was my way of hiding. This was something I had done for years. Every piece of clothing was huge. What if I stopped hiding? Would Sasha really notice me? Although, the way she kissed me in the elevator, there was an argument to be made she did notice me. If that was true then I didn’t need to change. I knew I couldn’t be Brad or Chris but what if I was exactly the man Sasha wanted in her life? What if I did show her all of me and finally stopped hiding?

  I pushed my hair back away from face. When the curls were not falling around my forehead and cheeks, I looked different. Something happened at that moment. I had this urge to do exactly what Andy said and give myself a complete makeover.

  “I’ll do it.” I said with probably a little too much excitement. “If you call.”

  He shook his head and lifted the device back up. “I hope you know what you’re doing?”

  “Not really. I’m making it up as I go along.” I pushed at his shoulder. “Come on, just do it.” I was inwardly saying a few prayers she would even answer the phone.

  Right as he hit her number and I could hear it dial, a small part of me was doubting my decision. Then the visual of Sasha peppering me with kisses in the elevator flooded my mind. What if she accepted and we were on the island together? No nurses or doctors interrupting. No one to judge our decisions. Just two people getting to know each other.

  “Yes, is this Sasha Irving?” Andy was standing in the middle of the kitchen. I leaned my head closer so I could hear her responses. “A few weeks ago you signed up for a drawing that included an all expense trip to The Bahamas. I’m excited to share that you won the drawing.”

  I could hear Sasha asking questions but I wasn’t sure what exactly she was saying.

  “No, this is not a joke.” He glanced my way and rolled his eyes. “Sure you can call back to make sure this is a legit phone number and not a prank.” Andy pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at me. “She hung up.”

  “She’s going to call back.” I pushed his hand back up to his ear. “Don’t let it ring too many times.”

  “It’s not ringing at all.” He stepped away from me. Then at that moment it rang. “Now it is.” On the second ring he hit accept. “Sasha Irving.” He laughed. “Yes, I told you it was a real contest.”

  I was pacing the length of the kitchen. Everything about his call had me on edge.

  “Congratulations, Sasha. I know you’re going to have a wonderful time.” He had no idea what kind of time she would have but it sounded good. About thirty seconds later Andy hung up the phone and glanced my way. “I’m not sure what changed from yesterday to today, but she’s in.”

  I dropped down onto the couch and covered my face. “Holy shit.” I lifted my head. “Now let’s hope I didn’t make the biggest mistake of my life.”

  “Cut your hair and take the swim trunks I bought last year and you’re golden.”

  “They’re swim trunks not a speedo, right?” I was not a show off your junk kind of guy.

  “Who cares. Just give her more to look at than this,” he waved his hand in front of my chest. “Trust me, when you come home from the trip she will not be able to keep her hands off of you.”

  If swim trunks had the power to do all that, I was all in.

  Five

  Sasha

  “Wait, let me get this straight,” Leslie said and sat down beside me at the kitchen table. “You don’t remember entering a drawing, but you won a trip from said drawing?”

  “There is so much that happens at the hospital. The ladies are always flashing some form from their kids in front of my face.” I took a drink of my water. “Look.” I picked up the envelope with all the trip details. “It’s real.” I pointed to the voucher. “This was real. I already bought my plane ticket.”

  “You didn’t spend a dime?” He turned the voucher over and proceeded to read the fine print.

  “I only had to pay twenty-two bucks for taxes and surcharges.”

  “So you did have some out-of-pocket expenses.” He was trying to find a reason this was a bad idea.

  “Leslie, relax.” I leaned back in my chair
. “Besides, we all know I needed a getaway. If I had to pay a small fortune it would be worth it.”

  “And you want to go to The Bahamas? You’re surrounded by a beach here.”

  “It’s different there.” I grabbed all the paperwork and shoved it into the envelope. “I’ll be surrounded by a body of water on all sides of the island.”

  “And nowhere to run if it’s a shit trip.” He stood and made his way to the back door. “Make sure to add international service to your phone.” He waved as he walked out the door.

  I glanced down at the envelope in my hand. “The trip will be fine,” I mumbled to myself. Then the end of the voucher caught my eye. I noticed the words printed at Koko’s and wondered if Leslie was on to something. I grabbed my phone and quickly called my service provider. If something did happen, at least I could call my family and tell them I loved them. As the phone rang I realized I was being dramatic. Then customer service answered and I decided it was always better to be safe than sorry.

  “Here you go,” the attendant at the counter said and handed me the ticket. “First-class round-trip ticket to The Bahamas. I wish I could join you,” she teased and reached down to grab my luggage. “Have a good trip.”

  “Wait, did you say, first-class?” I scanned the ticket and handed it back her way. “That has to be a mistake.”

  “Oh.” She started to type on the keyboard. “I don’t think so.” She turned the monitor my way. “Yup, it’s correct. See,” she said and pointed to the word by my name. It was right there in black and white.

  “Um, okay. Thank you.” I gathered up my stuff and quickly made my way to the correct terminal.

  First-class. I had never flown in the fancy section before. I felt excited for the flight now.

  The airport was slow, so I made it through security with flying colors. The wait to board was about forty minutes. I decided to grab a water and a quick snack. When I sat back down someone sat beside me, so I moved my stuff to give them room.

  “Have you ever visited The Bahamas?” a young woman said and flipped her phone back and forth in her hand.

  “No.” I popped a small cookie in my mouth and offered one to the woman. “I needed this vacation though. I’m excited to get there.”

  “What do you do?” She reached for a cookie and settled back in the chair.

  “I’m a nurse.” It was odd, she was alone, too. I wondered if she won a trip the same way I did. “Are you traveling by yourself, too?”

  “Oh no, that’s my husband over there.” She was pointing to a guy walking our way carrying a small child. “We take turns for the potty breaks.”

  “Oh.” I watched as the guy let the kid down. “A family vacation. That sounds amazing.” I wanted to say, Disney World not good enough for you. The idea of traveling with a small child to an exotic island was my definition of hell. Maybe I was selfish but an island trip seemed more fun by yourself or with a special someone.

  Knowing I was traveling solo had my emotions all over the place. The thought of traveling alone honestly didn’t bother me. I had traveled to London solo and had an amazing time. It was easier to do things by yourself because you didn’t have to worry about waiting on a travel buddy.

  As I sat in the airport terminal watching a family chase after each other, I realized it was easy to tell myself all those things, but a part of me did feel lonely.

  The vision of Joey ran through my mind. It had been several days since he surfaced from the basement. After I played crazy woman and tried to jump him in the elevator, he basically disappeared. There was another guy doing the deliveries for the last week. About a dozen times I wanted to take the elevator down and apologize. I’m not sure what was stopping me.

  “Excuse me.” A guy dropped his book on the floor in front of me. When he bent to pick it up, he glanced in my direction and then walked away before I had a chance to register what happened.

  The guy looked familiar. He had short hair, a form fitting white T-shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts. I tried to see his face but he kept his back to me the whole time we were waiting to board.

  As I stood there staring at the mystery man, all I could think about was how I wanted to kiss Joey one more time.

  Six

  Joey

  “Can you take this to the woman in row five seat A?” I handed a small box to the flight attendant. “Don’t tell her who it’s from though.”

  “Sure.” She glanced at the small box and then at me. “Does she know who you are?”

  I sighed. “Not yet…I mean, yes. I’m trying to find the right time to let her know I’m the reason she’s here.”

  The woman leaned her hip against the seat. “I have a feeling this is the beginning of a very romantic story.”

  I proceeded to share how I had my cousin call her. As I shared the story I realized how crazy I sounded. “You’re going to get a restraining order aren’t you?”

  She burst out laughing and grabbed the small box. “Not even a little bit. I’m actually jealous.” She winked and headed toward row five.

  After Sasha kissed me in the elevator I immediately assigned someone else to do the deliveries. Maybe I chickened out, but I didn’t care. Andy, my cousin had been making clucking sounds for almost seven days. I was glad it was finally time for the trip. If I had to hear him make another chicken sound I was going to poke my eyes out.

  I watched as the flight attendant bent and handed Sasha the little white box.

  A week ago I found a pair of earrings and randomly bought them. They were silver and in the shape of seashells. I don’t know why I wanted to anonymously give them to Sasha. It felt mysterious and romantic at the time. Now I just felt like a creeper.

  The flight attendant walked my way. I was prepared for her to hand the box back. Instead she handed me a small piece of paper and said, “She loved them.” I actually let out a heavy sigh. “Awww, don’t worry. She really did love them, but she’s anxious to know who gave them to her.”

  “Thank you.” I waited to open the piece of paper until after the woman walked away. When I finally opened the folded note, my heart rate increased. The words, “Give me a hint. What row are you in?” were scribbled in the center of the paper.

  The flight attendants were going to get annoyed by the end of the flight if we were passing notes back and forth. I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to say. There was no way I wanted to reveal myself on the flight. My plans were easy, check in at the hotel and when she was by the pool have a cocktail delivered. I would be at the bar when the cocktail was handed to Sasha. Just like in the movies, I could wave and she would be surprised to see me.

  “Joey,” the woman on my mind said and stopped in front of me. “Is that really you?” She stared at me for the longest time. “I knew you looked familiar when you dropped your book.” She glanced around. “Wait, why are you on this flight, too?”

  So much for a surprise.

  “Sasha.” I felt lost for words. How was I supposed to tell her I’m the one who planned the getaway? “Um…”

  The woman seated directly next to me pulled out her earbuds. “Do you want to switch seats?” She was talking to Sasha.

  “Oh my word, that would be amazing.” Sasha ran over to her seat to grab her purse. “Are you sure you don’t mind?” She asked the woman as they switched seats.

  “Not at all.” The woman touched Sasha’s shoulder and hurried over to row five to sit down.

  “Wow, this is so weird.” Sasha sat her purse under the seat in front of her. “I can’t believe we’re on the same flight.”

  Now I had to figure out how to tell her it was because of me. There was a high chance this could end badly. A vision of her slapping me and running off to find a different seat ran through my mind.

  “Oh, look at this,” the flight attendant winked at me and handed us each glass of champagne. “So he told you how amazing he is and all that he did.”

  “Nope.” I glanced at the woman and tried to get her to shut up.r />
  “What did you do, Joey?” Sasha asked and took a sip of her champagne.

  I let my head fall back against the seat and thought about my words. “Um…” I cleared my throat. “You may get upset.”

  She leaned up and turned her head to the side. “Mad. Why would I get mad?” Then out of the blue she grabbed my hand. “By the way, I love your haircut.”

  “You do?” I let myself get distracted, it was better than the alternative.

  “Yeah, I get to enjoy all the features of your face now.” She surprised me by brushing the back of her hand down the side of my face. “You were always hidden behind those gorgeous curls. Which, by the way, I was jealous of?” She spun a lock of her hair between her fingers. “My hair loves only straight. I dream about having even a few waves.”

  Maybe my cousin was right. I was hiding behind all the curls.

  “Oh, thanks.” I rested my hand on the armrest and thought about my words. “Listen Sasha.” I rubbed my other hand behind my neck.

  “Are you okay?” She touched the top of my hand. Right as I was about to share my secret, the plane started to shake. The pilot came over the speaker and let us know there would be some turbulence for a few more minutes. “This is what I hate about flying.” Sasha looked terrified and leaned her body closer to me. “Well, at least I’m not alone. There’s a plus if the plane crashes.”

  I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. “We’re not going to crash. It’ll be over in no time.”

  She lifted her head and smiled. “You seem pretty sure of yourself.”

  “Maybe.” I dragged my finger down the bridge of her nose. “Sasha,” I whispered.

  “Joey, why are we on this flight together?” Her head was still resting on my shoulder. “Did you have something to do with this happy occurrence?”