Sweet Heat at Bayside

by Addison Cole

  “What did you write?” Mira asked.

  “How I really feel about him. I held nothing back.” She wasn’t about to tell them what she’d written, but it played in her head like a recording stuck on repeat, just like that old Journey song Drake used to play all the time. The one she’d lived by. “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

  “Well, has he said anything about being scared off?” Chloe asked, bringing her attention back to their conversation. “Has he pulled back? Because he’s texted you three times since we started this chat.”

  “No. He hasn’t said or done anything like that, but if I got a card where he’d poured his heart out, I’d at least acknowledge it.”

  “Maybe he’s embarrassed,” Chloe suggested.

  “Ask him,” Mira added. “Or I can if you want? He promised Hagen he’d take him sailing tomorrow afternoon. I can ask him then.”

  “No! Don’t, Mira. Please? That would be mortifying. We’ve only had a few hours together. We’re not even really dating. I don’t know what we are yet. The last thing I want is to make this seem like more—or less—than it is. Promise me you won’t even tell Matt. You know the guys talk. Matt might slip up and say something, and then they’ll all try to fix us or something.”

  “Then that’s your answer,” Chloe said. “If you’re confused about it, chances are he is, too. And if you poured your heart out, he’s probably figuring out how to handle it. Just give it some time.”

  “I won’t say a word, Serena. Don’t worry. But Chloe’s right. I wouldn’t worry about it,” Mira said. “I love my brothers, but when it comes to women, they’re both a little thickheaded. Look how long it took Drake to finally give in to his feelings for you. He’s not going to back off because you like him too much.”

  Serena sighed, feeling better. “You’re right. I’m overthinking. I’m so nervous about”—last night—“starting my new job, it’s making me overthink everything. Look.” She grabbed her notebook from the table and held up her lists, explaining each one as she turned the pages. “I made all these lists just since I finished unpacking. A grocery list, questions I want to ask Monday, clothes I want to remember to bring back next weekend, things I need to follow up on for the music store. I even made a list of suggestions for Justine at Shift to help streamline her processes.”

  “You are a sick woman.” Chloe smirked. “If I were in a new city with no responsibilities for two days, I’d be out exploring, finding out which clubs are the hottest, where to get my morning coffee, where to hang out and get tan…”

  And yet here I am, in a new city, wishing I were back at Bayside in the arms of a certain man.

  Long after her conversation with the girls, when the streets were quiet and moonlight shimmered in the harbor, Serena lay in bed texting with Drake. She told him about her loft, which was efficient and cozy, though smaller than the cottage she rented at the Cape.

  There’s a view of the harbor, she texted. It’s not spectacular, but at least I can see water.

  His response came fast. Are there good locks on the doors? What’s the neighborhood like? Safe? Did you find the grocery store? Gas station?

  She smiled at his typical guy questions as she texted. Yes to locks, and yes, it’s safe. I’ll go to the grocery store tomorrow. It’s only about twenty minutes away. I had ice cream for dinner.

  He texted a scowling emoji. How will Supergirl survive without an all-night cookie bakery?

  A better question would be how would she survive without seeing him except on weekends? Last night he’d opened a tap, and her emotions no longer eked out only to be swept away. They flowed like a river. But she had no idea where she and Drake stood, so she tried to keep those thoughts to herself and changed the subject. Did you eat cookies on my behalf for dinner?

  Her eyes slid around the bedroom, thinking about how lame it was that she wasn’t asking what she really wanted to know. But she was nervous, and he was taking a long time to reply to her text, which made her even more worried. She tried to concentrate on how different the loft was from her cottage. She entered the cottage directly into the living room, and she had a real bedroom. She entered the loft between the laundry closet and galley kitchen on the left and the bathroom on the right. The bedroom had two entrances, one from the kitchen and the other from the living room. Neither had a door, and the bedroom walls stopped about a foot from the ceiling, allowing moonlight to stream in. It felt strange, but she thought that was probably normal, since it was new to her.

  Her phone vibrated, and she read Drake’s text. No cookies. The only thing I want to taste is 100 miles away.

  “Ohmygosh!” She pressed the phone to her chest, eyes slammed shut, an unstoppable grin on her face. The card hadn’t changed his feelings.

  Or had it? For the better, maybe?

  She couldn’t live like this. She had to know what they were doing, where they stood.

  She thumbed out a message before she could chicken out. You know I stink at not knowing where I stand with ANYTHING, so I have to ask…What are we doing? She pushed send and held her breath.

  Every silent minute that passed felt like an hour. After five minutes, a fissure formed in her heart. She set her phone beside her pillow, contemplating backpedaling with an apology, or saying he didn’t need to answer. She closed her eyes, and her phone vibrated.

  With her heart in her throat, she opened and read his text. Texting. You should get some rest. You’ll need your energy for grocery shopping.

  A kissing emoji popped up, and then a sleeping emoji with the message, Good night Supergirl.

  “What…?” she seethed into the darkness. “You can’t practically start sexting and then go all big brother on me.” She started texting exactly that and suddenly realized what she was doing.

  She was chasing.

  Her mother chased.

  Serena did not. Not even for him.

  She set her phone on the nightstand and burrowed down deep in the blankets. A minute later, the first warm tears slid down her cheeks. As she drifted in and out of her thoughts, it was Drake’s handsome face that accompanied her, his rough voice threading through her mind: Nothing could ever delete tonight from my memory banks.

  Except maybe a hundred miles…

  Chapter Nine

  DRAKE’S PHONE RANG at a little before two o’clock in the morning, and Serena’s name flashed on the screen. He felt bad for the way he’d left things with her, but he’d had to get his head on straight and make a decision once and for all before answering her question. He put the phone to his ear, and before he could get a word out, her panicked voice rang through.

  “Drake! Someone’s banging on my door. What should I do?”

  He clutched the phone tighter. “Slow down and look through your peephole.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. “I’m so scared.”

  “Breathe, Serena. What do you see?”

  “Hold on.”

  He listened to her hasty breathing through the phone, the frantic slide of the locks and chain, and then she was punching his chest, crying.

  “You scared me! You jerk! Why…?”

  He dropped his bag inside the door and gathered her trembling body into his arms, closing the door behind him. He held her tight, kissing her tears away as she clung to him, gasping for air.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m sorry. You asked what we were doing, and I had to say this to your face.” He drew back, cradling her face between his hands, her warm tears colliding with his thumbs like accusations. He’d driven like a madman to get there, and he was glad he had.

  “What are we doing?” she demanded.

  “What we should have done ages ago.” He lowered his lips to hers, and she smiled and cried against them, breaking his heart and then healing it again with the eagerness of her kisses.

  He lifted her into his arms and opened his eyes long enough to navigate to the small bedroom. “I found your card this evening. It had slid behind the door. Thank you for never letting us go.” As
he lowered her to the bed, he said, “Everyone needs one person they can count on. Someone who isn’t a lover or a parent. Someone who can watch out for them with nothing clouding their vision. I wanted to be that person for you.”

  “Maybe I’m not like everyone else,” she said sweetly, confidently. “Because I want you, and you are that person for me.”

  He kissed her again, slow and deep, feeling all the chained-up pieces of himself unshackling. “I was never a selfish man, but with you, I’m shamefully selfish,” he whispered, pressing tender kisses to her chin and cheek.

  “Be selfish with me, Drake. I can handle it. I want to handle it.” Her gaze turned fierce, and she said, “But if you ever scare me like that again, I will not forgive you.”

  He couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Says the girl who was sleeping in my favorite beach shirt. When did you steal that?”

  “If you’re good, maybe I’ll tell you,” she said lustily, and lifted the bottom of his shirt. “Off, please.”

  He tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. She reached for him, and he knew every moment of his life, every decision he’d ever made on their behalf, had been the right one at the time, just like this.

  “Do you know how many years I’ve dreamed of this?” he asked as he lifted her shirt over her head. Every second of his life had led to her, all right. They were made for each other. “You’re a goddess.”

  She nipped at his lips. “What took you so long to notice?”

  “Baby, I’ve known you were my kryptonite forever.”

  He lifted her into the cradle of his arms, kissing her as their bodies became one. Nothing could have prepared him for the surge of emotions engulfing him or the intensity of their connection. They both came away breathless. There were so many things he’d thought he’d say at this incredible, important moment. He’d profess his love for her, promise not to hurt her, to support everything she wanted in her career. But as he gazed into her trusting, loving eyes, he saw that she already knew all those things. Instead, he said what perhaps she didn’t yet know.

  “I’m yours, Serena. I’ve been yours since you set your mesmerizing eyes on me and nervously fumbled your way through asking if I’d sing a duet with you. I wanted you desperately then, and I regretted holding back, but it brought us to this magical place and time, and I will not let you down again.”

  Sometime later, as they lay tangled together, Serena drifted off to sleep and Drake wondered how they’d managed to give each other so much for all those years without ever giving each other this.

  Chapter Ten

  THE MORNING SUN snuck into Serena’s loft as slow and sweet as a cove kissed the shore, bringing the most glorious morning of her life into focus. She lay nestled in Drake’s warmth, his strong arms holding her tight even as he slept. He smelled heavenly and manly, like all the good things in her life wrapped up in one. She wanted to turn around so she could see his face as he slept peacefully beside her, feel his breath on her cheeks. But at the same time, she didn’t want to move and break the spell they’d fallen under. What if things changed between them? What if it became awkward?

  What if they changed for the better?

  The urge to know was too strong to ignore. She turned within the confines of his arms and found him awake, smiling sleepily.

  “Hey, Supergirl.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.

  Her heart somersaulted at the emotions in his voice. Gone was the underlying restraint, the pretense of being only friends, and she liked this much better.

  “Did I wake you?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve been awake for a while, wondering how long I had to wait before I could make love to you again without you thinking I was a letch.”

  “What if I like your lechery? We have years to catch up on, and we are going to be apart until next weekend. That leaves a lot of time for my body to forget how good you feel.”

  He nuzzled against her neck and said, “You think you’ll forget, huh?”

  “Uh-huh,” she said breathlessly. “Maybe you should keep reminding me.”

  His wicked mouth claimed hers, kissing the fib right out of her as he drove her to the brink of oblivion and then sent her soaring to the clouds.

  Later, after they’d loved each other thoroughly in her bed and again in the shower, greeting the day in a way she’d only dreamed of, Drake pulled on a pair of tan shorts and a green T-shirt, both of which hugged him in all the best places.

  “What are you gawking at?” Catching her watching him in the mirror as she put on a pair of dangling peach earrings to match her peach-and-white tie-dyed tank top and khaki shorts, he circled her waist from behind.

  She turned in his arms, so full of happiness she thought she might burst. “I’ve been crushing on you for so long, I keep expecting you to vanish or for me to wake up from the best dream ever.”

  His low laugh was music to her ears. He kissed her again, and then he swatted her butt. “This is no dream, sweetheart. Come on. Let’s go find your grocery store and explore.” He dug a palm-sized notebook from his backpack and handed it to her. “I started a list for you…well, for us.”

  “A list?” She flipped to the first page, taking in his familiar all-capped handwriting.

  HARBORWALK

  INSOMNIA COOKIES (OPEN UNTIL 3AM!)

  FANEUIL HALL MARKETPLACE

  THE CHEERS BAR (CHEERS BEACON HILL)

  INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART

  DUCK BOATS

  FENWAY PARK

  BOSTON TEA PARTY SHIPS & MUSEUM

  AQUARIUM

  BLACKBIRD DOUGHNUTS

  “You found an all-night cookie place?” She launched herself into his arms. “When did you have time to do this?”

  “When I couldn’t stop thinking about you and your new life and I realized how much I wanted to be a part of it. I want to explore Boston with you and see your gorgeous smile and your eyes light up when you see some of those things for the first time.”

  “Who knew you were so romantic?”

  “Definitely not me,” he said as he pushed his feet into a pair of loafers. “But you’re annihilating everything I thought I knew about myself.”

  “I prayed to the devil to get you to stop being so restrained around me. Where do you want to start exploring?” she asked excitedly.

  He checked the time on his phone. “I promised Hagen I’d take him sailing today, so I have only a few hours. I’ve got to be on the road by noon, and I want to make sure we get your groceries so you don’t have to stress over that.”

  She’d forgotten Mira had mentioned the sailing trip. Knowing he drove all that way just to be with her when he had to rush back made their time together even more special.

  “I’m Supergirl, remember? I can get my own groceries, and according to the handy-dandy list you made me, Insomnia Cookies will make sure I don’t starve. I say we explore.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, Supergirl. Exploring it is.”

  She put on a pair of cute sandals and they headed outside. It was a gorgeous, cool morning, made even brighter by the feel of Drake’s hand claiming hers.

  “Let’s head toward Faneuil Hall Marketplace and see what we can find,” she suggested.

  “I’m yours until noon. You lead, I’ll follow.” He leaned in for a kiss.

  How could something as simple as a kiss make her swoon like a schoolgirl? Yet here she was, grinning so hard it hurt, her heart racing like he’d just proposed, as they crossed the street.

  “Are you nervous about tomorrow?” he asked casually.

  “Yes and no. I’m confident about my skills, but I am a little out of my element here. I hope my creativity hasn’t become too Cape Coddish.”

  “It’s not like you’ve only been decorating beach cottages with Shift. And look at what you’ve done with the music stores and the resort. I don’t think you’re too Cape Coddish at all.”

  She waved at the high-rise buildings, the traffic on the four-lane streets. “I know, but ther
e’s definitely a difference between the corporate business world on the Cape and here. That’s what I’m nervous about. That and fitting in with city people.”

  “Look around you, Supergirl.” He motioned toward the people walking by. “They’re just people.”

  “City people,” she pointed out. “They think differently than we do.”

  “And you have always thought big. You’re the perfect blend of corporate woman and beach girl.” As they waited for a light to change, he gathered her in his arms and said, “I’ll tell you what. Anyone gives you a hard time, you send them my way. And next weekend, when you come home to help with the music store, I’ll make you feel better.”

  “Now, that sounds promising.”

  The light changed, and a few minutes later they crossed over the water and stopped to enjoy the view. It was so different from Wellfleet, with all the tall buildings along the shore and no sandy beaches.

  “It smells different from Wellfleet,” she said. “But it still makes me feel closer to home to see the water.”

  Drake put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. “I’ll bring sand next time. We’ll fill up a baby pool with it and put it on your balcony. Do you have a balcony? I don’t remember seeing one.”

  “No, but I read about a rooftop deck. We can put it there, throw on bathing suits, and…It still won’t be home,” she said. “But if you’re with me, it’ll be close enough.”

  They talked about the music store as they continued walking.

  “Did you connect with Carey?” she asked. Carey Osten was a free-spirited musician and record aficionado who had helped Drake run several of his stores over the years. Carey traveled often, and usually lived in his old Dodge van. Though he owned a cell phone, he wasn’t married to it like most of the people they knew. Sometimes it took him weeks to return calls.

  “He got back to me yesterday. He’s on his way back from California. He’ll be at the opening, ready to run the store. I confirmed with Cree, too. She’s all set.” Lucretia “Cree” Redmond was in her early twenties and dressed like a mini-Violet. She had an affable personality without the snark Violet so proudly touted. Cree played several instruments, and although she worked for their friend Sky in her tattoo parlor in Provincetown, she had agreed to also work part-time at the music store.