Meant to Be

by Jessica James

  Ocean City was well known for the “Scopes” photographers who roamed the beach seeking families and couples who would buy the pictures they shot. When she glanced over her shoulder, Rad was already heading back up to her while talking to Pops. The photographer was busy snapping photos of the other guys posing with their new girlfriends.

  Lauren wanted to make sure Rad had watched the photographer delete the photos, but before she had time to ask, he grabbed her around the waist from behind, leaned down, and whispered in her ear—which made her completely lose her train of thought.

  “Pops said we could use some more beer. You okay here for a couple of minutes?”

  “Sure.” She turned her head and stared up at him. “But hurry back.”

  Rad winked at her. “You can count on that.”

  Before he was even out of sight, she felt a tap on her shoulder from Reese. “I’m sure Rad would insist I keep your mind off his absence.”

  “Oh, that’s very chivalrous of you.” Lauren smiled up at the man who was even taller than Rad. He had wild, unruly hair, and a mouth that curled as if always on the verge of laughter.

  “Yeah, who says chivalry is dead?” Reese nodded and belched at the same time. “Now, Rad, he’s not like me at all.”

  Bipp and Wynn wandered up just then, each carrying a red cup that smelled of something stronger than beer. “You can say that again,” Wynn said.

  “No, Rad is not like me at all.” Reese glared at Wynn for interrupting and continued. “He’s more like the kind of guy who sets low personal standards, and then fails to achieve them.”

  That made every man there roar with laughter. Lauren wasn’t sure if their amusement was caused by the fact that it obviously wasn’t true, or because Reese didn’t have the nerve to say it when Rad was present.

  She stood silently observing the men until Wynn spoke. “Word has it Rad is pretty serious about you.”

  Lauren was in the middle of taking a sip of beer and almost choked. “Really? Why do you say that?”

  “’Cause he wouldn’t have introduced you to us if he wasn’t.”

  She laughed, thinking now he was joking. “Oh, I see. So he needs your approval.”

  Wynn looked at her sheepishly. “Well, yeah. Sort of.”

  “Then I hope I passed your test.”

  Reese draped one arm over her shoulder and raised his cup in the other for emphasis. “Put it this way, if he lets you go, I’m available.”

  “Hey! What’s going on?” Rad strolled down the beach with a thirty-pack in each hand. “Good grief, I leave you alone with my girl a few minutes and you make a move. Great friend you are.”

  All the men laughed, but Lauren noticed Jackie and Jasmine weren’t sharing in the laughter. Rad had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, and both their gazes seemed locked on his tan, well-muscled forearms. Simultaneously, their attention shifted to Lauren, and the expression on their faces changed from smiling approval to glaring condemnation.

  Lauren ignored them and helped Heather and Rad dump beers into the coolers.

  “Hurry up, bro.” Wynn slapped Rad on the back. “We’re getting a volleyball game going.”

  Rad, who was leaning over a cooler, looked up at Lauren. “You in?”

  “No way, but go ahead.”

  Rad hurriedly dried his hands on his shirt and took off after Wynn.

  “Grab a chair, or here’s a towel, if you want to sit closer.” Heather pointed to a stack of towels under one of the tables.

  “Wow, you girls have thought of everything.”

  “We’re not really wives and girlfriends—we’re mothers,” Annie said. “As you can see, they are just a bunch of kids.”

  Lauren walked to the volleyball court with a towel and plopped down on the beach to watch. She knew how competitive Rad was and soon found out that every guy playing was equally as driven. They spiked, they cursed, they dove for balls, and bruised the other team with their power serves. The only problem was, there were two women on each team as well—none of whom seemed to care whether they won or lost.

  Jackie and Jasmine, who had stripped down to bikinis, were on one team, and seemed more intent on trying to collide with the guys than actually recover a ball. The two pick-ups on the other team made an effort but had apparently never played before.

  The sun, hanging low on the horizon, caught Lauren’s eye, and her attention drifted from the game to the edge of the beach where dark waves laced with white foam lapped the sand.

  “Sorry men, but I gotta take a leak.” Everyone on the team, including Rad, groaned when Wynn made the announcement and ran off toward the Boardwalk. The two girls on the same team also decided to call it quits.

  “Lauren, get in here and help us out.” Rad waved at her. “We’re down one point, and it’s soon going to be too dark to see.”

  Lauren shook her head, but he came over and grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, we just lost three people. You can help us out.”

  “Me?” She looked around. “But what do I do?”

  “Just stand here and if the ball comes your way hit it over.”

  Lauren walked reluctantly to the net and stood where Rad placed her. “So I just hit it when it comes to me?”

  At that moment, one of the guys on the other team served a nice high ball over the net, right to her, expecting it to drop into the sand.

  “Hit it, Lauren,” they yelled, taunting her. “Just hit it.”

  Lauren jumped up and spiked the ball straight down between the front two players on the other side, too close to the net to be recoverable even if they had been ready.

  “You mean like that?” She put her hands on her hips and blinked innocently.

  “No fair! No fair!” Tork and a few of the other guys protested as they ran up to the net.

  “No fair? You told me to hit it, right?” She turned and held her hand up as Rad walked by and slapped it with a loud high-five.

  “We’ll keep playing even though we’re two-men down.” He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Our serve.”

  But Jackie and Jasmine had lost interest. “No, now you’re even,” Jackie said as they strolled away from the game, leaving the two teams with the same number of players.

  “Even better.” Rad smiled at Lauren. “Wanna serve?”

  As he handed her the ball, he whispered, “Hit it to Tork. He’s weak on serves.”

  Lauren didn’t respond, other than with a slight nod of her head. When she got to the serving line, she held the ball as if she was going to bop it from underneath like a girl, but then she hesitated, shifting her weight back and forth for a minute. She hadn’t played volleyball in years and wasn’t sure she could hit it the way she used to. By this time, those who had their hands up in the air on the other side had started to lower them.

  After another moment of deliberation, Lauren decided to go for the overhand power shot and hit the ball so hard, it slammed Tork in the chest before he even had time to lift his hands again.

  “Tie game!” Rad ran over and gave Lauren another high-five just as Tork said, “What the hell?”

  Lauren ran up to the net. “Sorry, Tork. I was afraid it wouldn’t make it over, so I might have overcompensated.”

  “Game on, girl.” Tork’s eyes flashed with competitive fire. “Don’t expect any special treatment when we serve.”

  When the ball came back for their team to serve, Rad flipped it to Lauren. “No pressure, but it’s game point, and they’re pissed.”

  Lauren frowned. “Thanks for reminding me, dude. Where do you want it to go?”

  “Just hit it like the last one.”

  Nodding again as she lined up the shot, Lauren sent the ball sailing over the net. This time Tork was ready—at least enough to react. He put his hands up and made enough contact with the ball to keep it in the air. Bipp lunged in with a fist and sent it sailing back over the net.

  Rad stepped up, and instead of hitting it back over, set it up for Lauren. She ran forward
from the back row and spiked it over the heads of the front row who were trying to block the shot. It landed in the sand behind them without being touched.

  Rad threw his hands in the air. “Game point!”

  “We demand a re-match!”

  Bipp and the rest of the team ran up to Rad, yelling and flailing their arms, acting like they had just lost the Super Bowl rather than an informal game of beach volleyball.

  “You can’t make substitutions in the middle of a game.” Bipp planted himself in front of Rad with his arms crossed. “That’s the rules.”

  “Funny, you didn’t mention that rule when we were down three people and putting a girl in.” Rad laughed. “Anyway, it’s getting too dark to see.” He took Lauren’s hand. “And I need a drink.”

  Lauren waited until they were out of hearing range, and then leaned into him and said in a low, serious tone. “In case you’re keeping score, I just saved your ass.”

  Rad’s laughter broke out so loudly, everyone within hearing distance paused and looked over at the two of them.

  Lauren didn’t notice the disturbance the outburst had caused. Her attention, and her gaze, were locked on Rad and his captivating, magnetic eyes.

  Chapter 8

  A full moon replaced the sun over the water so swiftly Lauren wondered if the day always melted away with so little notice. She had witnessed thousands of sunrises, but never paid much attention to the approach of night. It seemed like it had taken only moments for the last remnants of light to be pulled from the sky and the dark cloak of night to surround them. The rising moon took away some of the heavy darkness, making it light enough to see the frothy water licking the shore.

  At some point after the volleyball game, wood had been gathered, and there was now a small bonfire on the beach. Some of the guys stood around it chatting quietly, while a number of women wrapped in blankets sat on lawn chairs near the blaze.

  Lauren stood talking to Pops when his attention suddenly drifted to somewhere over her shoulder. She saw him nod, acknowledging some sort of message, but before she could turn around to see who was there, she felt a familiar arm wrap around her waist. “Hey, baby,” Rad said in her ear. “The guys are getting together for a meeting further down the beach. You okay here?”

  She nodded. “Sure. I’ll talk to Heather.”

  “Good deal. I won’t be long.” He pulled off his shirt and put it over her shoulders. “Here, in case you’re cold.”

  Lauren stood in the dark a moment with her eyes closed as she listened to him move away. His courtesy and consideration left her speechless, breathless. She put her arms into his oversized shirt and walked over to Heather who was sitting alone on a lawn chair beside the canopy.

  “Mind if I sit?” Lauren nodded toward a blanket as she rolled up the sleeves of the shirt that completely covered her hands.

  “No, not at all. You can grab the chair if you want. Annie ran back to the room to check on something.”

  Lauren sat down cross-legged on the blanket. “No, this is fine.”

  “It’s nice to see him so happy,” Heather said as if to herself.

  Lauren followed Heather’s gaze to Rad and watched as he tapped Tork on the shoulder at the campfire before melting away into the darkness.

  “Is there some reason he shouldn’t be?” She looked up curiously.

  Heather appeared startled that she had spoken out loud. “Oh, no. Not really. I mean, he’s had some tough times. He’s over them now.”

  “Oh.” Lauren continued to stare into the darkness as the sound of voices slowly faded away.

  “I’ve probably made you curious now.” Heather got up and grabbed a soda from the cooler. “I always talk too much.”

  “Kind of.” Lauren shrugged. “I mean, I don’t want to pry, but if he’s a manic-depressive psychopath, I’d like to know.”

  Heather laughed as she sat back down. “Yep. I definitely said too much if you think that.” She pulled the tab on her drink, took a sip, then leaned forward and talked in a soft voice. “Wynn said you two go way back, but I take it you don’t know him that well.”

  Lauren smiled at Heather’s female intuition but wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to lie, yet she didn’t want to completely destroy Rad’s story. “I guess you could say we haven’t seen each other for quite a while.”

  Heather sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. “Well, the short story is he was engaged to be married to a girl named Angie.” She nodded toward the two girls who were still guzzling beer as they stood by the fire. “That girl on the left, Jackie, is Angie’s cousin. Anyway, he came home from traveling about a month before the wedding to an empty apartment and a note.”

  “Oh.” Lauren closed her eyes.

  Heather looked down at her. “Yeah, he took it pretty hard. I think more because of the way it was done than who it was done by.”

  Lauren could tell from the tone of Heather’s voice that her resentment for Angie was intense and personal. “Sounds like you didn’t like her much.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.” Heather leaned back and stared out at the darkness. “Nobody did.”

  “Except Rad.”

  “Well, he was young and they had been together a pretty long time, so I guess it seemed like a logical step. Plus, she’s manipulative and conniving, and he just got sucked up in it.” She took a sip of her soda. “He knows now what a big mistake it was.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “Almost three years.”

  “And he hasn’t been seeing anyone?”

  “No.” Heather was quiet a moment as if thinking about it. “I’m sure it had more to do with where he was in his career than just swearing off women all together. I mean, really the only women these guys meet are hanging out in bars.” Her attention turned toward Jackie and her friend. “Or the ones that invite themselves to parties at the beach.”

  Lauren noticed Heather’s hostile expression and followed her gaze. She got the feeling Heather didn’t care too much for Angie’s cousin or her friend either. She took a sip from the mini-bottle of water she had pulled out of the cooler. “So I take it Angie was cheating and left him for another guy.”

  Heather nodded forcefully. “Oh yes. She sure did.” Then she got serious and spoke in a low voice. “She’s married to a senator now and has a big house and a high-paying job at CNN.” She stretched her legs out in front of her and shook the sand off her toes. “If you don’t mind my saying so, she got the poor end of the bargain.”

  Lauren was silent for a moment, trying to picture the type of woman who would throw away the affection and generosity of a man like Rad for money and power. Then she decided to change the subject. “Wynn and Rad seem really close.”

  “Yeah, they are. Inseparable.”

  “So you’ve known Rad a long time too?”

  “I started dating Wynn about four years ago. It didn’t take me long to learn it was a package deal.” Heather laughed. “Rad is part of the package.”

  Lauren smiled. She could feel that warmth and love from everyone here. It seemed like a very tight-knit group. If you loved one, you had to love them all.

  “Same would be true of you if you stick with Rad.”

  Lauren glanced up at Heather with a questioning look, not understanding.

  “Wynn and I are part of a package deal.”

  That made Lauren laugh. “Sounds good to me. Three for the price of one.” She turned over on her side and propped her head on her hand. “So is this get-together celebrating something in particular or do you do this all the time?”

  Heather hesitated, as if figuring out what exactly to say. “No, it’s not exactly a celebration. The guys are leaving for… some training, so it’s kind of a send-off.”

  “That’s nice.” Lauren lay back on the blanket and put her hands behind her head. “It seems like everyone gets along… like you’re one big family.”

  Heather grinned. “Yes, some of them can get a little temperamental at ti
mes, but we’re still pretty tight-knit.” She pointed to some of the other women sitting around the fire. “I don’t know if you met Molly, the redhead there in the middle. That’s Tork’s girlfriend. And the brunette on the end is Connie. That’s Bipp’s better half. They came late.”

  “Thanks. It’s nice to know who goes with whom.” Lauren stopped and blinked at her own words. Why did it matter to her who went with whom? She was leaving in the morning and would never see these people again. For the first time, she felt a tug of regret.

  They were both silent for a moment, listening to the laughter and the low hum of voices around the campfire as they combined with the gentle pounding of the waves on the shoreline.

  “How about you and Rad? Where’d you meet?” Heather grabbed a towel and threw it across her legs for warmth. “You two really seem to click.”

  Lauren swallowed hard. “Yeah, we do,” is all she said.

  “You seem so comfortable and at ease with each other.” Heather paused and looked over at her. “Like you know what the other one is thinking.”

  “Well, he knows what I’m thinking, that’s for sure.” Lauren got up and grabbed a beer. “The other way around, not so much.”

  Heather chuckled. “Yeah, Wynn is the same way. Pisses me off sometimes.”

  “Maybe we knew each other in another life,” Lauren said musingly.

  “Sometimes it feels like that.” Heather’s gaze shifted out into the darkness where Wynn and Rad had disappeared. “It seems like I’ve known Wynn forever. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

  “So when’s your wedding?”

  “Next Spring. April… hopefully.”

  Lauren didn’t have time to question Heather about what she meant by hopefully.

  “Hey, girlfriends! What’s going on?” Annie came up from behind them, carrying her flip flops in one hand and a small cooler in the other. “I see the guys deserted us.”

  “Yeah, they should be back soon.” Heather patted the chair. “We saved your seat.”

  Lauren smiled. She worked almost exclusively with men and did not recall ever having any female acquaintances she would call friends. The women she did come in contact with were, for the most part, catty, spiteful, and shallow. Yet these two women were not like that at all. They appeared intelligent, sensible, and kind, and had accepted her as one of them—part of the family.