Ocean Breeze

by Laura Conway

“You’re frowning.”

  “No. I’m not. Thanks for this,” she said, raising the bottle before taking a long swig. “I’ve got the basics down. I’ll add to it later.”

  “Anyone interesting?”

  Hayley propped her chin up on her palm. “I didn’t get that far.”

  “You didn’t go window shopping?”

  “Gross.”

  Kyle picked her phone up off the bar, his thumb flicking over the screen. “What about her?”

  Hayley leaned closer. “No.”

  “Her?”

  “No.”

  “Okay...” Kyle swiped a few more times and showed her a photo of a dark-haired woman. “What about her?”

  She had sunglasses on, and the photo was taken at a distance, so Hayley couldn’t make out any of her features. “What’s the point of having a photo? I can’t see her.”

  “So, is that a yes?”

  “Maybe?”

  “I’m saving her profile,” Kyle said, tapping the screen with his index finger. “See? That’s progress.”

  Hayley shook her head. “Enough,” she said, taking her phone back. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Jenna stirred the pitcher of sangria before pouring herself a glass and bringing it into the living room. She got comfortable on the couch, sliding her feet out of her sandals and tucking them underneath her as she picked up the remote.

  She’d found that show Hayley told her about, and if it was any good, she’d be binge-watching it tonight. She deserved to. She also deserved this refreshing sangria that was somehow better than the last time she’d made it. Maybe it was just stronger.

  She’d had a very long day down at the local animal shelter, filling out forms and talking with the woman in charge so that she could figure out when and for how many hours she needed Jenna.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she volunteered to do something, probably not since college. Jenna loved animals, so hopefully this would help her de-stress over the next few weeks. Not only would it keep her busy, but she’d be helping out.

  Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She paused the TV and leaned forward to reach it. Ugh. That app.

  Jenna was just about to uninstall it when another message came in. She tapped on it.

  Hi. What’s the story behind your username? I’m intrigued.

  Jenna read the message a second time. Her username? She scrolled back up to the top of the app. TheCaptain. That’s right. She smiled to herself. She was actually debating answering that message. She’d ignored the dozen or so that were in her inbox which all said basically the same thing. Hey there beautiful. Hi sexy.

  Jenna took another drink before leaving it on the coffee table. Her thumbs hovered over the screen.

  I was the captain of my softball team, debate team, and chess club in college.

  She pressed send, knowing it wasn’t at all conversational, but she didn’t really care. She wanted to get back to watching this show.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand a few seconds later with a new message.

  Not all at the same time, I hope.

  Jenna scoffed.

  Yes, actually. They were all at the same time.

  She pressed play, assuming that was the end of the conversation, but this woman wasted no time.

  You’re not short on confidence then. I’m surprised you don’t have links to your social media profiles on here.

  Jenna left down the remote again to reply.

  I’m confident in just about every department except this one... Dating. You’re actually the first person I’ve replied to on here. I’m not really into social media by the way.

  Jenna tapped on this woman’s profile. There wasn’t a lot of information, and the photo wasn’t of her.

  “God, I hope this isn’t some weirdo,” she muttered as she pressed play and got comfortable again, forgetting about the app for the moment and letting herself get lost in the adventures of Anne Lister.

  Chapter Ten

  The smell of tomatoes and garlic hit Hayley as soon as she turned the key in the door, her surfboard under her arm. Seeing Jenna in the kitchen with her hair pulled back and secured with a clip, her neck exposed, sent a tingling sensation across Hayley’s skin.

  Jenna glanced over her shoulder when she heard the door shut, a wooden spoon in her hand. “Hi,” she said, her back to her as she stirred the contents of the pot on the stove. “Are you hungry? This’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

  “Hey.” Hayley stood beside the door. “Yeah. I haven’t eaten since lunch. Are you sure though? I can’t have you cooking for me every evening.” Her eyes roamed over Jenna, taking in her toned legs and the way her black sandal straps crisscrossed over her ankles. Her black chino shorts showed off her ass, and Hayley couldn’t keep her eyes from moving upwards, to her gray tank top and her neck.

  “I’m finding it surprisingly therapeutic.”

  It took Hayley a second to remember what they were talking about. “Well, it smells delicious. I’m going to put this board away and have a quick shower.”

  “It should be ready by the time you’re out.”

  “Thanks. I won’t be long.” Hayley carried her surfboard down the hall and closed her bedroom door behind her. She propped her board up against the wall and stripped out of her bikini and shorts. She took her black silk robe down off the hook on the back of the door and put it on.

  Hayley ignored the noise her phone made from the nightstand even though it was probably another message from the woman she’d been chatting to on that app. She’d sent her a message when she was still with Kyle last night, and they spent almost a half hour messaging each other. Hayley didn’t know what to make of it. She could barely see what the woman looked like from her photo. All she knew, really, was that she was an extremely competitive thirty-eight-year-old brunette.

  Hayley thought talking to her was serving its purpose. She had forgotten about Jenna for a whole hour last night. She still popped into her head a few times today, and seeing her now, being so, domestic... Hayley didn’t know why that was so attractive, why her heart almost swelled when she saw her standing in the kitchen cooking.

  Not only did she need to go on a date, she needed to start looking for somewhere else to live. Hayley couldn’t keep doing this. It hadn’t even been a week, and she already knew that this could drive her mad. She couldn’t spend this much time around Jenna. She’d start looking at apartments tomorrow, and she’d see if this woman that she’d been messaging wanted to meet her.

  Hayley grabbed her towel and padded into the bathroom. She’d do just about anything to get Jenna out of her head.

  Hayley turned on the water and stepped into the shower. Kyle did have a point. What he’d said to her last night was exactly what she needed to do. Going on a date was someone else was the best thing she could do right now.

  That’s all this is. Infatuation. A crush. I’ve been single for too long, and I’m jumping at the first attractive woman I’ve spent any time with.

  As much as Hayley would have liked to stay underneath the hot spray, she didn’t want to keep Jenna waiting. She turned off the shower and dried herself off.

  Acknowledging the problem would make it better, wouldn’t it?

  Hayley stared at her reflection as she slipped into her robe and towel dried her hair on her way into her bedroom. She picked up her phone and typed out a message, asking her if she was free to meet on Friday night.

  She tossed her phone onto the bed and got dressed in navy shorts and a white tank top. She took the extra few minutes to dry her hair, leaving it down as she followed the aroma of Italian food, her mouthwatering even though she didn’t know what Jenna was making.

  “Just in time,” Jenna said, as she carried over two plates of pasta, setting them down on the table beside a large wooden bowl full of salad. “Do you want a glass of wine? It’s a merlot,” she said, topping up her own glass, the bottle hovering over the empty one.


  “Sure and thank you. This looks amazing.”

  “Dig in.”

  Hayley did just that. After four hours of lessons, she easily cleared the plate. Both of them were happy to eat with just a little bit of small talk mixed in between bites.

  “What are you doing tomorrow morning?” Hayley asked, reaching for her wine glass. Jenna said she’d volunteered for the animal shelter, but she hadn’t gotten the impression it was full time.

  “Nothing, why?”

  “I’m going to take you down to the beach, give you the basics.”

  “If this is about paying rent-”

  “No. I want to. You’ve said you’re looking for a new hobby. Give me one hour. If it’s not for you, fine.”

  Jenna opened her mouth but closed it again, taking a sip of wine instead. “Okay,” she said after she’d put her glass down.

  “Ten o’clock okay?”

  “Sure,” Jenna said, a smile on her lips.

  Hayley never had trouble keeping things professional when she was teaching someone how to surf, but she had a funny feeling that tomorrow would be different.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jenna’s arms ached. Her neck hurt. They’d only been in the water for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, and it was like her body was giving up on her. She was discovering muscles she didn’t even know she had, and as Hayley talked her through the process of popping up, going from lying on her surfboard to pushing herself into a standing position in one go, Jenna didn’t know if she could try it again.

  For some reason, Jenna didn’t even think they’d be out in the ocean today. It was her first lesson, and she thought that they’d just be on the beach, practicing all this in the sand, and while they did do that, in less than a half hour Hayley had them wading through the water.

  Jenna had already taken several embarrassing tumbles into the waves. She was a complete beginner, so she didn’t know why she was surprised. Hayley was always giving her words of encouragement, but Jenna’s competitiveness was coming out.

  She hated being awful at something, probably because she wasn’t used to it. With almost every sport she tried growing up, it didn’t take her long to be average and within a few weeks, she was usually one of the best on the team. It had been the same at college. She had high standards. She worked hard. She was used to being in control of the outcome, but sitting out here, straddling her surfboard, bobbing up and down to the rhythm of the ocean, Jenna had never felt more out of control.

  “You okay?” Hayley asked, sitting on her board a few feet away.

  Jenna looked up at the sky as she blew out a breath. “I’m too old for this.”

  Hayley just laughed, and Jenna was about to give her a piece of her mind, but a small wave brought them closer together, their boards knocking against one another and their thighs brushing.

  Jenna reached out to hold on to Hayley which was a mistake. “Shit,” she muttered, flailing her other arm, doing her best to keep herself upright, but in the end, she brought them both down.

  Jenna surfaced first, pushing her hair out of her eyes as Hayley popped up a few feet away. “I think that’s enough for today.”

  “Sorry,” Hayley said, climbing back on her board. “I didn’t get to finish my thought there. I wasn’t laughing at you, but I’ve taught plenty of people how to surf who were much older than you. Age is not the problem here.”

  “Oh? And what is?” Jenna asked, treading water, not trusting herself to get back up on her board without sliding off again.

  “Patience.”

  “Ah.”

  “You’re trying too hard,” Hayley said, the next wave pushing them closer to the shore. “It’s going to take a few lessons before you’ll be able to pop up cleanly and actually ride a wave. You’re doing really well, but it’s not something you’re going to master in an hour or two. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Jenna didn’t say anything as they made their way back to the beach, and she didn’t think she’d ever been so glad to have sand between her toes. She glanced down at her black bikini. Everything was still in place. She’d need to switch to a one piece if she was going to try that again. She’d popped out once, but thankfully she was already underwater, and Hayley hadn’t noticed.

  “Thank you,” Jenna said when they were drying off. “I am competitive. I know that, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult. I’m glad I’ve got nowhere to be tomorrow, because I imagine just about every muscle in my body is going to ache.”

  “That’s all but guaranteed. I probably should have mentioned that, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”

  “I think... Maybe. I would try it again,” Jenna said, and she couldn’t miss the smile on Hayley’s face.

  “Great. I’m glad. It’s exhilarating, isn’t it? Even without catching a wave.”

  “It is. Not exactly relaxing, not yet anyway, but it’s something new, which is what I’m all about right now.”

  “Well, just let me know when you’re ready for another lesson,” Hayley said, sliding her feet into her flip-flops now that they were back on concrete. “I’ll work you into my schedule.”

  “Don’t go to any trouble. I’m pretty free, except for this animal shelter.”

  “How did you think to sign up? Is it something you always wanted to do?”

  “No,” Jenna said, switching arms to carry her board on the other side as they strolled home. “I was going for a walk, trying to get a feel for the neighborhood, and I just walked past it and I don’t know. I wandered inside and asked if they needed any help. I was thinking about a once off. You know, one day of volunteering or buying whatever supplies they were low on, but I got talking to a woman who works there, and before I knew it, I was filling out the paperwork to volunteer at least three days a week.”

  “I don’t think I could do it.”

  “Work with animals?”

  “I love just about any pet, but that’s the problem,” Hayley said with a smile. “I’d want to take them all home. I’d be that crazy cat lady in no time. Every cat that no one wanted, who was missing a tail or who was temperamental, I’d be adopting each and every one of them.”

  Jenna laughed. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have the same problem. You seem more... I don’t know, controlled? I don’t think that’s the right word. I know I’m a soft-touch.”

  “Kind is a much better way of putting it, and it’s an amazing quality to have. It’s not something you can conjure up. You have it or you don’t,” Jenna said as they climbed the stairs to their apartment, and Jenna let Hayley go ahead of her, knowing they both wouldn’t fit with their boards.

  “Thanks for letting me show you the basics,” Hayley said when they were both inside.

  “No, thank you.”

  Hayley glanced at the clock in the kitchen. “I have to be at the coffee shop in a half hour, so I better get in the shower.”

  “Yeah, of course. I’ll see you tonight, probably. Oh,” she said, realizing she was still holding the beginner’s board that Hayley had lent her. “Can I leave this in your room?”

  “Yeah,” Hayley said as she went into her room and propped her own board up against the wall. She took Jenna’s from her, leaving it beside her own.

  Jenna left the room, knowing Hayley was in a hurry, but also knowing that if she stayed any longer, Jenna would probably say something stupid. Something about what great shape she was in or how blue her eyes were when she was in the water.

  Jenna shook away those thoughts as she went into her own room to get out of her bikini. She was going on a date tomorrow night, and that was exactly why she agreed to it. She had to forget about whatever this thing was with Hayley. She wasn’t going to start something with her, not when she was going back to New York.

  She’d go on a few dates, something she hadn’t told Nina about during their phone calls. She wasn’t going to admit that she’d caved so easily and tried out the app that Nina had installed on her phone, bec
ause then Nina would figure out the real reason why she was putting herself out there. She already knew that Hayley was living here. It wouldn’t take her long to connect the dots.

  Jenna would let Nina think she was doing her usual thing, picking up women at bars and now online, never getting too involved. She wished that was what she was doing, but if she was honest with herself, no one had really caught her eye, other than Hayley.

  It was starting to become her mantra, something she found herself thinking several times a day.

  I’m not getting involved with Hayley.

  It was definite. It wasn’t something she shouldn’t do. It would be a complete disaster on just about every front, and if she was trying to put her life back together, to get healthy, she didn’t need any drama.

  If only it were that simple.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hayley found herself sitting next to Kyle at Nina’s again, with a bottle of beer in front of her. She couldn’t go home. She couldn’t be around Jenna.

  “So, was she any good?” Kyle asked.

  “Huh?”

  “The lesson. You said you convinced Jenna to go out with you this morning.”

  “Oh yeah. Right. She was, but she’s super competitive. I don’t think she really enjoyed it. She won’t until she’s good at it,” Hayley said, drumming her short fingernails against the green bottle that was nearly empty.

  “That’s what I was like. Do you remember?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “I’m so glad I stuck with it,” he said, signaling to the bartender for two more. “I assume you’re okay to hang out for a while longer?”

  Hayley sighed. “Yeah.”

  “Oh. Well, if you want to go,” he said, his hand on his chest. “If I’m such bad company.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Sorry.” Hayley closed her eyes as Kyle slid another bottle of beer in front of her. “I can’t be around her. She nearly killed me today. In that bikini. Oh my God.”