“Kate,” Gray yelled. “You promised.” They could hear him hurrying down from the kitchen and living room level to the floor that held all the bedrooms. He came into the room and looked at Gemma nervously before motioning to his sister to get going.
“Yeah, yeah.” She stood and headed for the door, stopping by, but not acknowledging her food. “I’ll see you later, Gemma.” And then they were gone. Gemma couldn’t stand the fact that the damn food and drink were left and it was obvious the family had set up some scheme to get it to her. Kate had no other reason for coming up here than to drop it off. What pissed her off more was that she was going to take it because she did, in fact, need it. She was starving after a day without food. After putting the snacks, her book, and a blanket in a bag, she headed to the window that led onto the deck nearest the back of the house. Her father was most likely already up in his writing room, and Karen was probably still cleaning up dinner. She could walk out the door for all that mattered, but she liked her routine and this was it.
After getting out of the house without issue and making it a little ways down the road, she pulled out her phone and texted her mother.
I made it. Hell has a beach, who knew? Love you, good night.
Her mother hated this place and these people. She hated everything that this family represented, because all she saw when she looked at them was everything she didn’t have. Gemma liked to give her mother the small reminders that she was on her side and only here because the court said she had to be. She still hadn’t decided if she was going to finish out the summer once she turned eighteen in July. Another part of her wished the timing was different and she could leave exactly two months after her birthday just as her father left exactly two months after he found out about her mother’s pregnancy. The fact that they were legally married for thirty-eight days was irrelevant to him and his new fiancée at the time. Are you even allowed to be engaged when you’re still married with a bastard on the way?
She threw her bag over the gate that would lead her to the beach and then hoisted herself up and over. Top notch security right there, she thought. After walking a little ways, she found a spot she was sure was out of the light and close enough to the row of homes to get help if needed. She was desperate for a break from her family, not stupid. She set her blanket out and used her bag for a pillow before opening the last new book she had to read. She struggled with the mechanics of reading and holding her flashlight for only a moment as the memory of how it all functioned came back quickly from summers past. Just as the story was starting to pick up, a light beam shined right in her eyes, blinding her to everything but the shadow of an arm attached to the flashlight. She jumped up as fast as she could, prepared to run and scream if need be.
“Whoa”—the stranger laughed—“calm down. I was just coming to let you know the beach is closed and ask you to move on.”
She held up a hand to block the light’s glare. “Do you mind? I don’t need that thing shining in my eyes.” She scowled at him as he lowered the beam.
“Sorry.” He chuckled again, and she considered how many ways she could hurt this laughing idiot. Gemma let out a breath and used the time to examine the man. This was sure as hell no boy that was in front of her. As she calmed down, her reasoning kicked in.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t sneak up on a girl like that. You’re lucky I didn’t come up ready to beat you down.” She leaned over and started to gather her things and heard him chuckle again.
“Listen, I’m sorry I scared you, but I didn’t sneak up on you. I called to you and started flashing my light at you a while ago. You were just reading and ignoring me.”
Her eyes went wide, and she could feel her cheeks burning a deep red. She was not a girl who blushed. What the heck was going on? It was probably this six-foot-something gorgeous specimen standing in front of her. His hair was light brown, almost blond, and shaggy. He was wearing a blue Polo that reflected his light brown eyes perfectly and a pair of khaki shorts. It was beyond her how someone could do it but, he made that look insanely hot. The long, lean muscles, most likely from surfing, and the sun-kissed skin only helped to create the image of a Greek god in front of her. “Um, okay.” She threw her bag over her shoulder and turned to head back to the gate she used to come in. “Sorry.”
She heard him jogging to catch up with her as she power walked away. “Wait, I’ll open the gate for you so you can get out. I’m Abe by the way.” He turned and stuck his hand out to shake hers.
“That’s nice.” She didn’t turn toward him or take his hand. Keeping her head down, she picked up her pace even more and made her way to the gate. When she was there, she didn’t even look at him, crossing her arms over her middle and staring at the lock while she waited on him. Finally, he sighed and turned to open the bolt. She could tell from the corner of her eye he wanted to say more, so as soon as the gate was open, she said the customary “thanks” and bolted through it.
“You know,” he yelled and she slowed to listen, “if you come during the day, you can read all you want. No one will bother you.”
“You know”—she turned, unable to help getting the last word—“if you mind your own business, it will be fine with me.” She walked away, hearing him chuckle behind her, pretty sure he, in fact, got the last word after all.
Three
The next morning Gemma woke to a snoring Kate across the room and Gray’s laughter from downstairs. He was most likely watching the giant television in the den or playing one of the gaming systems in the massive media room. She still couldn’t figure out the need to have Kate take him to the arcade last night; he already had one in his freaking house for the summer. Just as Gemma was grabbing her clothes for the day to head into the shower, Kate rolled over and sat up.
“You take the shower first.” Gemma pointed. “I’m just going to the coffee shop; you probably have plans with your friends.”
“Nope.” Kate stretched. “Go ahead. I’m going to go for a run and then grab some breakfast here before heading out.” With a shrug, Gemma left her to it and went about getting ready. Gemma would just have to continue to wonder what people saw in running. Running for your life? Awesome. Running in circles so you could eat an extra donut? Never!
An hour later Gemma parked her rented bike at the coffee shop and waved hello to Sarah, the owner. “You’re back.” She clapped as Gemma made her way to the counter. Sarah was perfection. She had shoulder-length auburn hair, dark blue eyes, and a face that may as well be on a welcome sign. Everything about her made a person comfortable and peaceful. Gemma had discovered her a few summers back, once she was old enough to venture out on her own, and had decided almost instantly that she loved the woman. It had then become a custom to spend as much time as possible with Sarah as she could each summer.
“Yep, got in last night, and of course, you’re my first stop.”
“Liar.” Sarah laughed. “I’ve got ten to one you’ve already fallen asleep on that beach.”
“Nope, I may have been there, but thanks to some douche, I was scared to death and then run out of my spot.”
“I heard something about them beefing up the security. Apparently some of the locals started to wander past the designated area, and they needed help keeping it quiet at night.” She put a lid on a cup and handed it over the bar to Gemma. “First iced coffee of the season. On the house, love.” Sarah winked and went back to the task Gemma had interrupted.
Gemma smiled at her friend and made her way to a couch that was basically her second home during the summer. She sat back and got comfortable so she could finally finish the book she had been working on the night before, all while trying not to think about the brown, shining eyes that laughed at her or the full lips that seemed to be just waiting to be devoured in a kiss.
~~~
“Gemma, is that you?” Karen walked to the top of the stairs and caught Gemma just as she was about to make it into her room. “Oh, good. I convinced your dad to come down to din
ner tonight and wanted us to all eat together since we couldn’t last night.”
“Sorry.” Gemma frowned. “I ate at the shop already, and I was just changing shoes and heading out.” She turned before she could see Karen’s disappointment and was out of the house before she saw anyone else.
When she made it to the beach, she hopped the gate as usual and found her spot. There was no way he would make her move again. She was a patron of the beach, sitting silently and disturbing no one. Thirty minutes later, she looked around, saw no sign of him, and finally allowed herself to lie back and dive in to the book she had stolen from under Kate’s bed. She had about fifteen of them; there was no way she would miss it. Her flashlight flickered once and then twice before dying. “Damn it, mother, son of a bi—”
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to keep it down.” Startled, Gemma turned and narrowed her eyes at him.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“My job. You?” He tilted his head, and, by God, she didn’t know if she wanted to punch him or jump his oh-so-sexy bones. That thought was so far out of left field for her that she physically shook her head to clear the crazy. “I see you’ve lost your light. Would you like me to escort you off the beach?” He gave his trademark smirk and, yep, she definitely wanted to jump his bones.
“No.” She hurried to grab her things and then used her phone to light her way back to the gate.
“See you tomorrow,” he yelled after her. And he was right. That night, the pattern began.
~~~
A couple nights later she was sitting and looking out at the reflection of the moon on the ocean. She didn’t have a book tonight because Kate had been in their room and she couldn’t “borrow” one. For some reason, she wasn’t in the mood to reread anything either. She heard rustling behind her and was about to stand so he could tell her to leave, a habit she hated to admit she liked getting sucked in to. Before she could push herself up, he was sitting there next to her, arms hooked around his bent knees.
“It’s amazing, right?” He said, taking a deep breath of the cool night air.
She looked over at him in confusion, but something about him had her relaxing nonetheless. Relaxing with men was not something that happened for her. “Yeah, it really is. There’s something about the ocean at night. It’s so vast, so scary and beautiful at the same time. You know?” She looked at him, but he kept his eyes forward, nodding. “There’s a part of me that wants to jump in just so I can know what that feels like and another part of me that wants to stay so far away there is no way the tide could possibly reach me.”
“Sounds like a lot of things.” They both sat in silence as she contemplated his double meaning. “What’s your name?” He asked as he turned to face her fully for the first time since approaching.
“Why?”
“Because I’ve waited four days to hear it.”
Gemma had to work to keep from gasping. Was he a writer, a player, or just good with words? Throwing caution to the wind, she swallowed her fear and told him. “Gemma, Gemma Andrews.”
“Well, Gem”—he put his hand out for her to shake—“I’m Abe North, and it’s nice to finally meet you.”
It startled her to hear the nickname. Her mother called her Gem occasionally, but honestly, she hated it. Coming from him, though, it was way too endearing. She hated that she liked it. She forced herself to look up at him. She would tell him her name, her full name. This wasn’t an option. Crushing on the cute cabana boy was just too cheesy for words. That was her plan, anyway. She had the best of intentions until her eyes found his.
Gemma fought to catch her breath. His eyes were so much more than light brown. They shined in the moonlight, and she could see her reflection in them. Gold flecks filled in here and there keeping them interesting, and damn it if his eyelashes weren’t long enough to touch his eyelids. Gemma knew for a fact that didn’t happen for women. Why did men get all of the good stuff? His hair had a slight wave to it, and she could tell by their proximity that he was a surfer. There was just a smell surfers had that she had come to know over the years. He definitely had it and pulled it off. “Yeah, you too.”
He stood then and held out his hand. “Come on; as much as I’d like to sit here and chat, I’d better get you off the beach. Can’t afford to get fired right now.”
“Oh”—she shook her head to herself—“yeah, no problem.”
When they arrived at the gate and she was about to go through, he reached out and touched her upper arm. “See you tomorrow, Gem.” She only nodded before she walked away, forgetting far too easily that she hated that nickname.
Four
Gemma took a deep breath when she knew she was out of hearing distance of Abe. What was she doing? What was wrong with her? Men weren’t something she’d planned on messing with this summer. She wasn’t Kate, apparently here only to find someone to pass the time. She wouldn’t be her mother, lost and broken with nothing in the end. Goodbye, Abe, she thought to herself, worried that she felt grief at the thought. There was no way she could already be crushing on him. Gemma was so much more than that. She didn’t fall right away. Her mother and her life had taught her better than that, and yet, there she was, sad over the idea that she would never see him again and upset that she had been playing all those years. She wasn’t as cold as she wanted to be. Abe had just proven that to her. She would have to start going to the beach during the day. She couldn’t risk letting herself get sucked into that vortex of sad endings.
When she climbed through her bedroom window, she noticed Kate lying on her side in bed, facing the wall. Gemma wondered what she had been up to the past couple of days. They rarely saw each other, and when they did, it was as one was on her way in or out the door. After cleaning up and getting ready for bed, Gemma climbed in and pulled the curtain by her bed closed to hopefully allow for a little more sleep in the morning.
“Gemma?”
Startled that Kate was actually awake, Gemma turned over and faced her. “Yeah?”
“Oh, thank God, you’re still awake.”
Gemma nearly snarled at her. “I just lay down.”
“Yeah. So, anyway, I was talking to this guy today, and he and his friends are throwing a party up the beach a ways on the public property. I told them about you and how we’re so freaking bored here, and they invited us to join them.” She jumped off her bed and bounced onto Gemma’s. “What do you say?”
Gemma was so shocked to have Kate sitting on her bed she almost forgot to respond. Usually Kate respected her boundaries and Gemma avoided Kate. That seemed to be working just fine. Gemma wasn’t sure if she liked what was going on here. “Um . . .”
“Please, Gemma.” Kate clasped her hands together and begged. “I don’t want to go there alone. I’m not looking to get drugged, and if you go, Mom and Dad won’t think twice about it.”
Gemma thought about it and figured she could go to the beach, bail to some deserted section, and get some peace and quiet away from Abe. “Okay, I’ll go.”
“Eeeeeek,” Kate yelled, “really? Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. Thank you so much, Gemma.” And with that, Kate bounced back to her side of the room and burrowed under her covers. “Night, Gem.” Again with that freaking nickname, Gemma thought as she rolled over and closed her eyes.
~~~
The next morning Gemma followed Kate out of the house. Kate was on her way to run, and Gemma was on her way to avoid Abe at the beach. She had a hat, sunscreen, and a book. She was ready to finally have the time at the beach her new “friend” was keeping from her. Just as she turned the last corner that would lead her to the beach, she came face to face with someone all too familiar pulling a trashcan to the road and wearing one of the community cleaning staff shirts. “Oh, crap on a cracker. What are you doing here?”
His eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” she said with a clenched jaw. “Just . . . excuse me; I’m headed to the beach.” She shook her head and turned ab
ruptly to walk away.
“Okay . . .”
She had only taken two steps when she stopped and turned on her heel. “I mean, seriously, you’re cleaning crew here too? Are you just everywhere?” Gemma gasped and then paused as her mind came up with another scenario. “Are you, like, stalking me or my dad or something?”
“What?” He laughed and looked around. “Are you serious? Wait, should I be stalking your dad? Is he a famous athlete or something?”
“Oh, ugh.” She groaned. “Don’t worry about it. I’m going now.” He probably didn’t even read.
“Now, wait a minute.” He hurried to catch her. “Where are you headed? I know you aren’t on your way to the beach. That’s our thing and we don’t do that until night.”
A flutter came through her that she had never felt before as he smirked down at her. Something about this boy set things off in her she couldn’t even describe. “No, I mean, yes, I’m going to the beach, and no, that is not our thing.”
“Sure.” He winked as he started backing away. “See you tonight.”
She turned toward the water, both furious and turned on. She wanted to scream. Who the hell was that guy and what was he doing to her?
Gemma grumbled to herself the rest of her walk to the beach and found a vacant seat away from the loud group of kids building a castle in the sand. She sprayed her sunscreen everywhere she thought the sun could possibly reach, pulled on her hat, and lay back. Abe North was getting to her, damn it. The thought of reading was as far from her mind as it could get. She had walked all the way down here, and there was nothing she could think of besides the sexy security guard who also happened to clean the beach houses, which would, of course, include her own. Blowing a frustrated breath through her lips, she pulled her hat back and picked up her book. He would not ruin her day. She wouldn’t allow it. Funny how all of a sudden the dark-haired heartthrob in her book was a tall muscular beach bum. She wanted to scream. Freaking Abe North was ruining her books now too.
Break Me (The Summer Series) Page 2