Never Let Me Forget (Summer of First Kisses Book 2)

by Michelle Pennington

  Looking intrigued, Brittany asked, “And you all worked together on that?”

  “No way. Piper is the driving force behind it all,” I said. “She’s always been the bossy one.”

  Piper opened her mouth to argue, but Kat spoke over her. “Piper didn’t help me get my kiss.”

  Spinning around, Piper asked, “Why would I help you kiss my brother? But I was working hard to set you up with someone, and admit it—if I hadn’t made your first kiss a thing, Tate never would have forced the issue.”

  Kat rolled her eyes but nodded. “True. I guess. Sadie, if you’ve got things figured out now, Pipes and I need to head out. We’re having a big dinner with our two families tonight. Tate and my mom set it up.”

  “Oh?” I asked. “Where are you guys eating?”

  “I don’t think we’d decided yet.”

  “Come to Captain’s.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Piper said, standing up. “And it will give me a chance to see you, Dante, and Jeremy together.”

  That made me nervous. “I guess so. Mostly I just thought it would be fun to wait on friends.”

  Kat smiled. “We’ll make sure you get a good tip.” She opened the door. “See you later, girl.”

  “Can’t wait,” Piper added as they both left.

  When the door closed behind them, I felt sort of like I’d revealed a lot of private stuff but was no closer to making a decision. I mean, sure, Piper thought I needed to take Jeremy up on his offer to make Dante jealous, but that didn’t make me more comfortable with it. “I don’t think Piper has a clue how scary this is.”

  “No way,” Liv said. “But that’s kinda what makes her the perfect person to push us out of our comfort zones, you know?”

  I tried for about the hundredth time since we’d been friends to guess what Liv was thinking. “So, does that mean you’re going to let her help you?”

  “Since the extent of her help for you has been giving you advice and cheering you on? I can handle that. And I could use more of those things.”

  “But you’re such good friends with the guys. You hang out with them all the time so you should understand them better. Dante confuses the heck out of me.”

  Liv shifted so that she laid down on her stomach facing us. “There’s a big difference between going for a run or playing a pickup game of basketball with a guy and being romantic with him.” Her tone deepened. “I’m not even sure I can be romantic. Like, I want to be, but I don’t think I’m made that way.”

  “I don’t think that matters,” Brittany said. “You’re so pretty, I bet a guy could be romantic all on his own. Just smile when he does and enjoy it.”

  Looking intrigued, Liv nodded. “I could do that. Maybe. But if I don’t know how to flirt or act feminine, why would a guy ever want to be romantic with me.

  Brittany and I looked at each other, shaking our heads at how clueless she was. “Seriously, Liv,” I said. “If you gave any guy eve a hint that he had a chance with you, that’s all it would take. And anyway, the right guy is going to want you to be yourself.” I studied her for a minute. The last thing I wanted to do was put her on the spot, but I couldn’t help but be curious. “Is there somebody in particular that you have in mind?”

  Her head jerked back and her expression shifted back to her usual unreadable one. “Nope. Just wondering for when I do.” She scooted off the bed. “Well, I think I’d better be going, guys. Good luck tonight, Sadie.”

  Feeling bad that I’d made her uncomfortable, I was about to apologize, but that caught me off guard. “What? You think I should do this tonight?”

  She sent me one of her rare grins. “Yes. Stop being a chicken and just go for it already. Drag Dante off to a private corner and kiss his brains out. I expect to hear all about it next time I see you.”

  Liv left. I stared at the door. Brittany laughed.

  “Tonight? Oh my gosh. Do you think it could happen that fast? Could I get Dante to kiss me tonight?”

  “I think you could get him to kiss you within a few seconds with two little words—kiss me. How soon do you need to leave for work?”

  I looked at the time on my phone. “In thirty-minutes.”

  Brittany hopped up and held her hand out to help me stand. “Come on then. Let’s make you fabulous.”

  “I can’t be too fabulous. I have to have my hair back and wear my Captain’s Kitchen shirt.”

  “We can do something with your makeup and make sure you smell alluring. Maybe curl your hair.”

  “I don’t want Dante to kiss me because I dressed up.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “No. But you do want him to think you dressed up for Jeremy.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The first thing I did when I got to work was head to the bar to talk to Jeremy. He didn’t have any drinks to make, so he was restocking the mini-fridges behind his counter. I ducked behind the bar and squatted down next to him.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “I bet you say that when you look in the mirror every morning too.”

  He looked surprised for a second then laughed. “So, are we making lover boy jealous?”

  “Not you. Me. I don’t want this to backfire and have him think we’re together. So, thanks for the offer, but I’ve got this. As long as you don’t mind me implying things about you.”

  Jeremy’s expression looked more disappointed than I’d counted on. “The only reason I was doing it was to get a few kisses. What do I care if the two of you get together? But whatever. Do what you’re going to do. But just remember…I’ll be happy to back you up if you need it.”

  “I’ll just bet,” I said, as I straightened up to leave. When I turned around, I ran into a wall. Looking up, I met Mack’s suspicious gaze. “Um, hello.”

  “What were you doing behind the bar.”

  “She was just helping me stock the bar,” Jeremy said as naturally as anyone else might tell the truth. His ability to lie so easily made me glad I wasn’t getting tangled up with him.

  “You know you’re not supposed to have anyone back here who isn’t twenty-one.”

  Jeremy looked at me, a very believable expression of shock on his face? “How old is she?”

  “Eighteen,” Mack answered. He looked down at me as if he might get onto me too, but he just shook his head. “I’m letting you off with a warning since you’re new. But the last thing I need on my hands is losing my liquor license because you’re flirting with Cassanova here behind the bar.”

  “Got it,” I said, nodding and escaping over to the hostess stand. I made sure the girl working tonight’s shift knew to put Kat and Piper’s families in my section, then got to work. A few minutes later, when I went to turn in an order in the kitchen, I ran into Dante on his way to do the same thing.

  “Hey,” I said, pushing down my nervousness. Hopefully, he wasn’t so mad about yesterday that he just ignored me or this was going to be a lot harder than I hoped.

  “Hey.” His eyes swept over me and his expression darkened. “You put on makeup for your new boyfriend I suppose.”

  “I think she looks lovely,” Tyra said, looking over the tickets we’d just turned in.

  “I never said she didn’t.” Dante’s eyes flashed. “But she was before without all that junk on her eyes.”

  “Gee thanks.” Ouch. I wasn’t expecting him to make me feel bad. Maybe this was as bad of an idea as I’d originally thought.

  “Dang it Sadie, I—”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I left the kitchen before he could say another word?

  I fumed as I worked for the next hour. Why did he have to keep hurting my feelings when all I wanted him to do was hold me and make me feel special. My heart ached for him—ached for the kind of relationship where I was that someone special he wanted to see more than anyone else. The person he wanted to spend every second with. I wanted us to hold hands when we walked on the beach and talk for hours after we said goodnight and…”

  “The right plate is
the one with the spicy grilled shrimp. The other plate is the lemon garlic,” Anthony said, interrupting my train of thoughts. Only then did I realize that I’d been walking around on automatic pilot.

  “Right,” I said, determined to focus and not serve the wrong plate to someone.

  “Hey, Sadie, your big group is here,” Lori said. “Try not to screw it up because I’m too busy to save you again.”

  I turned away and headed for the big tables in the back. Like I would ever ask for her help.

  Because of all the little darts of hurt inside me, it felt like a warm hug to walk up the table and see so many people smiling at me. Kat and Tate sat together across from His and Piper’s parents. Piper set next to them across from Kat’s mother and some man I’d never met.

  “Sadie, you look so cute,” Kat’s mom said. “I can’t believe Kat didn’t tell me you were working here. I would have come in before now.”

  “It’s okay. I was a terrible waitress last week. This week, I’m almost decent.”

  Everybody laughed, and Piper said, “Let’s give her a challenge, shall we? I want a glass of water, half full of ice with three lemon wedges.”

  I made a quick note on my pad. “Gee thanks, Piper. You’re a great friend.”

  Soon, I had all their drinks ready on a tray. As I came over to serve them, Dante was standing there, saying hello to everybody. Wonderful

  “Here she is,” he said, looking back over his shoulder. “Let me help,” he said, taking the tray from me before I accepted it.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  “Didn’t say you weren’t.”

  He helped me pass out the drinks than smiled at everyone. “I’ve got to get back to my tables. I’ll come back later.”

  “Not too soon, I hope.”

  Dante frowned as he left. I wasn’t sure he’d heard my muttered comment, but I hoped he had.

  “Are you trying to kiss the boy or scare him off?” Piper asked.

  “Neither. At this point I just want him to leave me alone.”

  “No you don’t,” Kat said, smiling at me.

  But since all the adults at the table were looking way too curious, I said, “Do you guys have any questions about the menu or are you ready to order?”

  It was fun to see them all at work, but I admit to feeling left out while they all got to sit around eating yummy food, talking and laughing, while I had to keep leaving to take care of other customers. But after they’d finished eating and I’d cleared away most of the plates on their table, Tate asked me to stay.

  “We have a present for Kat and we thought you’d like to stay and see her open it.”

  “A present for me?” Kat asked.

  Her mom pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it over to her. “We never really got around to celebrating your birthday and once I knew you were going to beauty school, I figured you could use help with that more than a trip shopping for school clothes.”

  Kat opened the envelope and revealed an impressive wad of green bills. “Wow. What is this for?”

  Tate put his arm around her and pulled her close. “Its for you to buy all your supplies for your classes. I called the school where you enrolled and got the exact amount.”

  With her eyes brimming with happy tears, she turned and hugged him, pressing a fierce kiss to his lips, then breaking away to hug her mother.”

  I almost cried too. It was just so sweet and I knew what it meant to Kat—not the money exactly but knowing she had their support since they hadn’t been happy with her choice to do this instead of college. “I think this calls for dessert.”

  I turned to bring over some key lime pie but stopped when Kat’s mom said, “I have a little bit of an announcement too. She smiled over at the guy next to her and said, “Paul and I are going to get married.”

  I was surprised. He seemed like a nice guy, but our only interactions were me serving him dinner. From the look on Kat’s face, she wasn’t any more sure about him than I was and she certainly wasn’t happy about it.

  “What did I miss?” Dante asked coming over.

  “My mom and Paul are getting married,” Kat said, her voice hollow.

  Dante’s eyebrow quirked up. But being who he was, I wasn’t surprised when he immediately went to hug Kat’s mom and shake Paul’s hand. “Congratulations,” he said. His charming manners broke the awkwardness around the table, and soon everyone else was congratulating them. Kat still looked shocked, but Tate had an arm around her waist as he whispered in her ear. He’d take care of her for now and later, us girls would have a good long talk about it.

  When I got to the dessert fridge, I realized that Dante had followed me. “Wow. I thought Kat was going to throw up.”

  “Yeah, she went from being happy to shocked in a matter of seconds. She needs some sugar.” I pulled out a whole Key lime pie.

  “Good idea.”

  I cut the pie into eight slices, slightly smaller ones than those we served to guests, and grabbed a stack of dessert plates. “Will you do me a favor and mark this down on my employee discount sheet?”

  “Sure. I guess that means we’re friends again?”

  I nearly threw the pie in his face. “I never said we weren’t friends. You’ve just been a butt-head to me lately.”

  “And you’ve been confusing the heck out of me.”

  “Likewise.”

  Mack stepped into the narrow room. “What’s all the yelling about?”

  I gasped. I hadn’t realized how much I’d raised my voice. “Nothing. Sorry.”

  I hurried out with the dessert and just hoped Dante was as good at soothing Mack’s irritation as Jeremy was before I completely annoyed my giant boss.

  “Here you go, everyone. One of our cooks, Tyra, makes these in house every morning. They’re just the right amount of tart and sour.”

  “Sounds about right for the night,” Kat said, taking a plate. But she smiled at me and seemed to have recovered her spirits some. “Thanks, Sadie.”

  “I have to get back to work, but let’s talk tomorrow, what do you say?”

  “Sounds good.” She waved me down to her and whispered, “How are things going with Dante?”

  “He’s lucky he hasn’t gotten a wet mop stuffed in his mouth tonight.”

  “Oh.” She winced.

  “Don’t give up,” Piper said from across the table. “He can barely keep his eyes off you.”

  “Really.”

  “Oh yeah,” Tate said, taking a bite of pie.

  “It's obvious,” Kat’s mom said.

  Huh. Of course, they hadn’t heard him in the waiters’ station just now.

  “Seriously,” Kat said, “Just go for it.”

  “All in favor of Sadie kissing Dante, raise your hand.”

  My cheeks had to have been a dozen shades of red when everyone at the table put their hands up, including Piper and Tate’s parents. “Okay, okay. But not until you guys leave. That would be way too embarrassing.”

  After their bills were settled, I waved at them all as they left, both disappointed that the rest of my customers would seem boring after them, but also relieved to not have so much pressure on me.

  We weren’t very busy that night, which gave me plenty of chances to watch Dante. Once, when I went by the bar to drop off a drink order, I stood watching him for long enough that he must have felt my eyes on him. He looked up and met my eyes. But they shifted immediately to Jeremy who chose that minute to grab me by the face and kiss me over the bar.

  Chapter Fourteen

  My first kiss. And it was from a truly gorgeous man that likely knew exactly what he was doing.

  But I didn’t want any part of it. With all my strength, I swung my hand around and slapped Jeremy right on the ear. His lips released mine with a sucking pop as he staggered back holding his hand over his ear. “What the—”

  “How dare you. That was… I didn’t…” I couldn’t talk. Hopefully, the pain in his ear would get the message across for me.

>   I didn’t care that every eye in the restaurant—which had grown unnervingly quiet—was on us. I didn’t care about what people thought or about losing my job or anything. I just knew I had to get out of there.

  With a chocking sob, I ran around the bar, tripped slightly on a chair that stuck out from a table, and then ran out the back door toward the beach. I nearly slipped on the sand-covered steps, but I kept going. Past all the people enjoying drinks on the back deck, past the last few people hanging out on the beach, and down to a stretch of sand in front of some of the big private homes down from the restaurant. With the sun mostly set, I just hoped not many people would pay attention to the girl crying down the beach.

  Too late I realized I should have just gone to my car and gone home. Now, I was going to have to go back inside at some point and face everyone inside to get my phone and keys. But not yet.

  I sat on the sand far enough back from the surf that it wouldn’t reach me, but close enough that the sound of the waves and the wind blowing past my ears drowned out the sound of my sniffling. Maybe it was a stupid thing to cry about, but I’d built up this first kiss thing so much in my mind only to have a creep steal it away from me. And man, he was like a suckerfish.

  I remembered so clearly the day Dante had offered to kiss me and I’d turned down his offer because I’d wanted it to mean something. What I’d meant is that I’d wanted him to care about me when he kissed me, but if I’d known how things would turn out, I wouldn’t have been so stupid.

  A splotch of warmth landed on my dry lips. I licked them and tasted salt. It seemed fitting somehow that tears were as salty as the sea. And the hole in my heart seemed as vast.

  Then I just laughed at myself. Even in a truly horrible situation like this, I couldn’t help being melodramatic and romanticizing it all.

  “I thought I’d find you crying, not laughing.”

  I stiffened, barely suppressing a gasp. All I could see were Dantes’s legs and feet, and even that not clearly because of my misty, puffy eyes.