West End Wonder: A Hero Club Novel

by Sheri Lynn

  She rushed away and down the path leading to the main entrance and the golf carts. He ran after her but didn’t catch up to her. The golf cart pulled away just as he approached.

  Not before he confronted a disturbing image. Her sour face. Obvious disapproval. The accusations. The disappointment he observed in her misty eyes transformed into absolute disgust and it floored him. Literally. He sprinted to the circular drive to call after her and slipped in some loose gravel and wet dirt. Skidding on his right thigh, he belted out a series of obscenities.

  The golf cart carrying her veered and went up the hill. What had he done now? He slept. Since the last time he saw Sophia, he went home and slept. Woke up. Loaded the truck. Stopped for gas. Arrived at Lazy Daze.

  He signaled for another cart and soon he arrived at the Little Dolphin house as her cart departed. He banged on her door. He shouted for her. Déjà vu. He was a glutton for punishment. They must be meant to be. Because who else would willingly insert themselves in a relationship with such an erratic partner.

  “Sophia, if you don’t open the fucking door…I will break it down,” he yelled.

  “Go away, Trevor. I can’t do this again. I won’t,” she shouted.

  Only one woman on the planet he deemed worthy of that measure of exasperation—Sophia. “I’m counting down…one…two…,”

  The door opened. With a very wide girth. He didn’t see her anywhere. Marching inside, he slammed the door behind him. He didn’t see her in the living area nor the kitchen. Stomping passed the bathroom he entered the bedroom. She lay on the bed. Her back to him.

  “What the hell. You showed up. And on-time. Only to turn around and leave without any explanation. Why? I’m not pressuring you for anything. We have a good time together. Why not take advantage of this opportunity? Is it the kiss? I won’t do it again. I didn’t mean for it to happen.” No. He desperately wanted for it too since the moment he confirmed his eyes didn’t betray him and he actually caught sight of Sophia in the flesh. But he restrained himself. For both sakes, not just hers.

  He botched it. He couldn’t resist and had to go and kiss her and he went too fast. At least he resisted his extreme desire by giving her a chaste kiss instead of what he wanted to give her. He initially contemplated delivering one where their lips and tongues ensue in a frenzy of fervor and their clothes miraculously melt away and--

  “Stop. Just stop, Trevor. We aren’t good for each other. We never were. You are my weakness. And I could so easily fall right back into what we had. And it scares me. It terrifies me that all of my logical thinking escapes me when I’m around you.”

  He so badly wanted to sit on the bed, lie on the bed, and pull her up against him. “Why do you say that? Sharing four years together contradicts what you’re once again convincing yourself to believe. No two-college students remain together over the course of those four years if they weren’t right for each other. That’s absurd and stop diminishing it,” he countered.

  “You don’t have to repeat what you did so many times. But I’m not the same young woman from ten years ago. And…and I don’t know who you are. So, stop accusing me of being unreasonable, insecure, and your all time fave—bonkers,” she uttered.

  He relaxed a little hearing her reference. “Well, hun, you are being somewhat bonkers at the moment.”

  “Well, that’s me. Damaged and irrational.”

  “Get up, Sophia. Now,” he demanded.

  She curled up into a ball. Her current position presented challenges. But he’d done it before. She may be slightly above average in height for a woman, but he had close to one hundred pounds on her and a longer and wider arm span. “Either you get up on your own…or I attempt to wrangle you from the bed and we both end up battered and bruised because you’re a li’l hellcat. Better yet, I could just spank your readily available ass as you’ve displayed it so invitingly.”

  Reaching for the bed covers and tugging them over her hips, she bellyached, “I’m not worth the trouble. And you lied to me.”

  He chuckled. Under his breath. “I have never lied to you. And…you are worth the trouble.” He kneeled one knee on the mattress and gave her left ass cheek a solid, loud smack. “Now get up. It’s ridiculous for you to not enjoy the day. Let’s go out and not waste time overanalyzing everything. Please.”

  Flipping to her back, daggers propelled from her blue eyes piercing him in the chest…and face. She barked, “Do not treat me like a child. I have a father and you know all about him. And you have become exactly like him. A vile piece of white trash. I blame myself. I do. So just go on about your merry li’l way again. I don’t have the time or energy to feed your ego.”

  Play time over. He thought she got scared because she recognized something still existed between them. And in typical Sophia fashion became overdramatic and invented reasons why they shouldn’t be together.

  Not only did he have the commitments of the resort, he had the additional ones he brought over from West End. He not only wanted to leave her after her cruelest of accusations, but he had to.

  “No problem,” he fumed. And did he ever.

  Even at their worst she never likened him to her father. And where did she draw the offensive parallel? Especially since he saw her last.

  The cart he had bring him up the hill had left. It would do him best to walk anyway. His head hurt trying to figure out how Sophia could deliver such a low blow. He knew better than anyone—well, he used to—the painful history between her and her father. The occasions during their last few months together when she often accused him of cheating, she never once reduced him to any hint of her father.

  Trevor had never met the man. At first, he believed Sophia’s shame kept him from meeting anyone in her family. He later learned they were as horrid as she made them out to be. They never reached out to her. Not a single relative of hers came to graduation. He wanted to shield her from it. He wanted her to realize how special she was. And he thought she had.

  She received a full academic scholarship. Because of her parent’s financial status, she took grants and loans to supplement her food and housing. He didn’t care where she came from. He loved where she was going. Independent. Strong. Beautiful. Her past couldn’t hold her down.

  Only once did she show him pics on a relative’s Facebook page of the trailer park she grew up in. The location and condition of her residency didn’t bring her the greatest shame. The fact that her dad had an affair with a neighbor, got her pregnant, divorced her mom, and lived with his new family within shouting distance all before her fifth birthday did.

  Craig, Sophia’s father, proceeded to withhold any support for her and her mom and avoid Sophia completely. Trevor prayed he never laid eyes on the man. Supposedly he doted on his new daughter, Abigail. Showering her with gifts and flaunting it. Trevor knew, but Craig would never know what he missed by cutting Sophia out of his life.

  Her ambition inspired Trevor. It always had. He never faulted her for her slips into a wounded girl and distrust of others. Silencing her insecurities and evidencing his adoration and respect of her were his priorities. But after four years, he didn’t ask for her to change her life plans. She asked it of him. He couldn’t. He feared he would resent her. So, she wouldn’t. He wouldn’t. They went separate ways.

  But why the backtrack now? The Craig connotation. Trevor never betrayed her. He named his fucking boat after her. Because he never lost faith in them.

  So why did she spout such a malicious correlation between him and her deadbeat dad?

  He couldn’t provide what he wanted for her ten years ago. How could he think he could now? He could be the factor that generated her current spiral.

  Leave it be Trevor. Let her be. You want her to be happy. And you aren’t the one privileged to be a part of that..

  A huge heckling greeted him at the pier. Yes. He, himself, provided the biggest faux pas in his eyes. Tardiness.

  Any other time he would have joined right in and busted his chops. Then again, h
e never carried the blame before.

  Settling in on a bench seat, he addressed Marti, “Everyone up to speed? Anything I need to cover?” He surveyed the others for any inclination.

  Marti squeezed in beside him. “What happened with the ‘girlfriend?’” she whispered, sort of.

  The freckled-nose, brunette to his other side gasped, “I thought you were his girlfriend.” She fixed her doe-eyes on Marti and her mouth gaped wide.

  Marti leaned forward and over narrowing her eyes at freckles and protested, “No. No. You told ‘Red’ that?”

  Trevor’s brain caught up. And he wished it hadn’t. So, the Freckled Bambi told Sophia he and Marti were a couple. Shit. Fuck. Damn it all to Hell.

  Doe-eyed, dim-wit continued, “She seemed stunned at first when I mentioned Marti as Marti. She asked if you were the same Marti as Trevor’s partner Marti. Oh gee, I assumed you were…partners in all aspects. You act like it.”

  Yes, they did. In a brotherly and sisterly way, he reasoned. And he didn’t introduce her to Marti at the Twisted because he knew how jealous and irrational Sophia could be. So. He made his bed of damnation. Let him lie in it.

  In his defense, he didn’t wish to run her off before he had an opportunity to establish if they had anything worth salvaging. He never lost hope. But he couldn’t cast a vote for her. And she believed he and Marti were a couple. Living together. Working together. And…they were. But they weren’t a couple.

  Only three days left to get her back. Getting into the short hairs. Shit or get off the pot.

  Chapter 7

  Friday Afternoon

  Sophia

  She should’ve asked. But why would she? She didn’t expect anything, so he had a girlfriend. He and she weren’t a couple, so no skin off her back. If that were true then why did she hurt so much.

  Because he came onto her. He initiated it. He kissed her. Oh, that kiss. No other man caused the world around her to disappear with his touch as Trevor did.

  She could have played it out. Go out on the boat, act like nothing had changed. Even go as far as mentioning the kiss. All in front of his girlfriend. Marti.

  Sophia knew how to enjoy casual sex. She engaged in the occasional dates leading to sex and concluding with an orgasm—or multiple orgasms—a guarantee when she traveled to New York and had the opportunity to see Hollis.

  So why when she got around Trevor did she think, feel, and become the crazy, psycho bitch he knew her as. She knew how to have sex without love. Just not with Trevor. They didn’t have sex. They shared an earth-shattering kiss. Oh, she wanted much more of it though. All of him. Every gaze. Every innocent touch. All of him overwhelmed her with lust and love. That’s who they were to each other. They had never been anything else until they weren’t. And they weren’t.

  If only she had asked Hollis to come with her. When she replied to the invitation for herself and one, she planned on asking him to attend with her. Being a decent guy, he would have come and been a wonderful date. All the girls panted over ‘West End Wonder,’ but they would have been dropping their panties for the ‘Park Avenue Player.” She sure did.

  Except it had become harder and harder for her and Hollis to meet up. He had custody of his niece. Between raising her and his demanding job, the opportunities weren’t as easy to arrange any longer. Plus, the last time they got together she witnessed an odd exchange between him and the nanny. Sophia quickly called it a night overhearing something regarding panties between the two. But she didn’t get all bent out of shape about it. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t given it a second thought.

  Disappointment overcame Sophia. She caged her heart after her breakup with Trevor. She threw herself into her work and her ambition escalated. The satisfaction she got landing her first notable position and earning a substantial salary waned. She wanted more. She needed more. So, she focused on making connections and branching out on her own. Nothing filled the voids in her heart though.

  For the seven years since she made the leap and started her own company, her career consumed her. She denied how lonely she truly felt. She rejected the possibility that she made a mistake. Keeping and achieving the promises she made to herself at age fourteen failed to provide the contentment she expected.

  She vowed to never return to the trailer park. She committed herself to living in a beautiful home. Making a shit load of money and never wanting for any of the barest necessities and anything materialistic she desired. It all came true. She did it. But what had it cost her?

  The hard truth stabbed at her heart and mind long before she saw Trevor again. And now she couldn’t escape it. She obtained the greatest gift of all. Love. And she let it go. All because of her inability to compromise and her obsession to be rich and successful.

  She could’ve taken his advice and accepted his plea. Take a year, even a few months, travel with him and visit different locations. Take a little job, enough to get by, and reward herself. Enjoy life and expose herself to new things.

  She refused to stray from her course. And she criticized his choices. She referred to him as an immature dreamer and preached about him wasting his business degree. He argued he had a degree and could employ it as needed.

  He never wanted to work cooped up in an office all day. He loved being outdoors. He didn’t squander his education. He utilized it exactly how he intended to—living and doing what inspired him.

  Could she say the same? Had she made a terrible mistake and now it was too late?

  After remaining in the house until early afternoon, hearing the taxi horn blow out front excited her. Getting out with the girls appealed to her so much more than being alone with her regrets, shame, and the upheaval boomeranging in her mind and heart.

  She noticed one cab continuing up the hill headed to the airport. Renee opened the back door of the one waiting. “Come on. This is going to be so much fun. I’m so glad I got this scheduled for us,” boasted Renee.

  One bridesmaid sat up front. Sophia slid in beside Renee and Ellie in the backseat. Another vehicle without any air conditioning. The driver sped away and hot air and dust swarmed the cab and the occupants.

  “So, what have you been up to? I thought I saw you come down to the common area this morning. I half expected to see you on the dive boat. I made a last-minute decision to go out snorkeling. Don’t know when or if I’ll get another opportunity to go out on the water with any guide who can rival the West End Wonder,” taunted Ellie. She leaned forward giving Sophia a biting stare.

  Obviously, Ellie still took offense to Sophia’s misconception of Trevor using the wedding for personal gain. Gee, the Smurfette had it bad for diver boy. Dramatically rolling her eyes visibly to Ellie, Sophia quipped, “Just what every girl enjoys…witnessing their fantasy guy with his hot, sexy surfer girlfriend in a thong bikini.”

  Coughing in loud, animated laughter, Renee marveled, “You have got to be kidding me. You have to be.”

  Insulted and embarrassed, Sophia pressed her back into the seat and threw her right leg over her left crossing them. She didn’t understand what Renee’s comment meant. Either way, her lack of control humiliated her, and she thought it best to remain quiet.

  Finally, Renee’s laughter ceased. Her head jolted toward Sophia and her jaw dropped open. “No. No,” she exclaimed. She lifted her upturned palms in the air bouncing them as if begging heaven for strength. Her head whipped back to Sophia accusing, “You wouldn’t. You’re impossible. And unbelievable. You behave like a first-grader.”

  Hit me where it hurts, Renee. Good job. Any amount of moderation Sophia struggled to maintain, vanished. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? If you have something to say…say it,” urged Sophia.

  “You haven’t grown out of your exaggerated and explosive jealousy. And you want to exploit it at my wedding. And on Trevor.” Slapping the tops of her thighs, clenching them so tight her fingers turned white, and stomping her feet on the floor of the cab, Renee warned, “Not going to happen. Not. I’m grateful I
remained sane through our final year and still have no idea how I managed to graduate. You were completely uncompromising. You blamed Trevor for everything. You concocted scenarios painting him the villain. He loved you. He never lied to you. And you gave up on him. Not the other way around.”

  It wasn’t words she hadn’t heard from Renee before. Only this time, she realized the truth in them. And they hurt. Renee threw her head back, closing her eyes. Sophia couldn’t recall ever feeling so mortified. Her jaw tightened and she knew the tears were coming.

  Ellie leaned forward and across Renee. “I don’t know all the history here…but Marti didn’t have a thong bikini on.”

  Really? Thanks, Ellie. Sophia signed loudly and smirked at Ellie before facing the window.

  “She’s also not his girlfriend,” Ellie added. “I bet she wishes she was. Hell, we all do.”

  Sophia didn’t comment. She wondered about the truth in Ellie’s statement. And even so, did it make any difference about anything? She and Trevor shouldn’t spend any time together. Nothing had changed. Nothing would change. He lived on the island. She lived in the States. And she didn’t deserve him. She treated him horribly.

  Arriving at the small airport, Renee led them directly to the West End Wonders counter. Did it mean anything? A coincidence. After speaking with a woman behind the counter, a man came around and took the group out of the building and over to a private hangar area.

  One by one, the man assisted the ladies inside the small airplane. Which seated more passengers than she first thought. There were vacant seats. She had never been on anything other than a commercial airplane. She hoped they had a skilled pilot.

  “Honored to have you lovely ladies flying on this perfect day with West End Wonders,” announced a voice she knew all too well. The pilot turned and waved. Trevor. “I want you all to sit back, relax, and enjoy the views you get from the air of this tropical paradise. Fasten your seatbelts. I feel assured you all can handle that requirement. I apologize there will be no drink service. Our flying altitude today will be three thousand feet and your life vests are located under your seats. Unless I forgot to have them repositioned after our last mishap.”