by Violet North
There Was This Boy
Violet North
Published by Violet North, 2018.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THERE WAS THIS BOY
First edition. December 22, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Violet North.
Written by Violet North.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
Carly Roberts stepped out of the car and surveyed the beach house that would be her vacation home for the next week. It was a cream colored bungalow, and the shutters and front door were a gorgeous shade of light aqua. She tipped her head back, smiled, and breathed in the sea air. It felt good to be on the coast and bask in the calming ocean vibes.
She closed the car door and walked around to the trunk to grab her suitcases. She’d only brought two small ones that would classify as carry-ons if she’d been flying, but it would be enough. Bikinis didn’t take much room.
Carly pulled out the suitcases’ handles and rolled the bags behind her up the short driveway to the front door. She still couldn’t believe her good fortune in finding this VRBO. It was one of only sixteen or seventeen in this gated, ocean side neighborhood, which made her feel totally spoiled. Usually, if you wanted to have a vacation on the beach, you had to stay in a crowded hotel or pay two months’ wages for a tiny house that sat on a major freeway.
The guard at the gatehouse had handed her a key to the bungalow once he saw her ID. As she dug in her purse to find it, Carly reminded herself she needed to call her parents and thank them again. Not only were they tolerating her moving back in with them for a month or two while she saved money from her new job for an apartment, but they were also paying for this getaway as her college graduation present. Well, half of it anyway. Penelope was paying for the other half of the week’s rent. Carly glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see her best friend’s Jetta pulling in behind her Kia. No luck. She wasn’t there yet.
Well, what else was new? Carly was pretty sure Penny had been tardy for her own birth. She would definitely be late for this girls’ vacation, even though it had been her idea. Carly remembered the pitch her best friend had given her on the idea: “Come on! Let’s just take a week to chill on the beach and drink daiquiris and margaritas. We worked hard in school, graduated with honors, and it’s almost time to join the real world. Let’s get a little wild first.”
Whatever—it was no big deal that Penny was a little late. Carly could definitely find something to do until her friend arrived. Namely, hit the private beach with a margarita in her hand.
If she ever found the keys.
She could feel her thick blond hair trying to escape from the high ponytail she’d wrangled it into before she started the two-hour drive to the coast. It was more humid here than back at her parents’ house, and she knew her hair was going to curl up and be totally unmanageable. Carly puffed air at a piece of it that fell over her forehead and tickled her nose. “Dammit!” The purse fell out of her hands, and lipstick, hand sanitizer, and Mentos rolled out along with the key she was searching for. The blown hair had settled right back over her eyes, so she brushed it back savagely and got on her hands and knees to retrieve her stuff.
Where was the lipstick? She’d seen her favorite, Angel Kiss, fly out of the purse, but now she couldn’t spot it anywhere. She scanned the small porch and finally caught a glimpse of it peeking out from behind a potted plant. She crawled over to get it, reaching behind the plant at an awkward angle. Carly could feel her shirt slipping up and felt sure a piece of her panties was showing. Luckily it was a pretty quiet street.
Just as the thought entered her mind, she heard a car on the road behind her. Carly knew it wasn’t Penelope because the Jetta’s engine didn’t roar like that. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the gigantic Ford F-250 roll past her rental and pull into the next driveway. The dark-haired driver had even darker sunglasses on, but she could tell he was watching her. She snatched up the lipstick and bolted to her feet, tugging the shirt down and pretending she didn’t see him.
Great, Carly. Way to show your ass to the guy next door before you even meet him.
Oh well. She would probably never formally meet him anyway. Penny was a go-go-go type, and she usually had Carly hopping from one activity to another when they were together. Hopefully, there would be some time to read, cook, and relax, but with her best friend around, Carly would have to fight for any downtime she wanted.
As she finally slipped the key into the bungalow’s deadbolt lock, Carly saw the guy get out of the Ford from the corner of her eye. Wow was he sexy. He wore jeans that hugged him just right, a black, short-sleeved, cotton shirt, and black boots. He walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. A brown Labrador hopped onto the driveway. As the guy walked toward the house with the dog on his heels, he waved at Carly.
Crap! At some point, she had stopped watching him with her peripheral vision and was, instead, staring at him straight on. Her mouth even hung open like a fish gulping out of water. She felt her face flush and hoped he couldn’t see it. She smiled and waved back and then fled into the coolness of the air-conditioned bungalow, yanking her suitcases over the threshold.
It was the cutest little vacation home. Carly hadn’t imagined it would be so cheerful and lovely. The décor was bright and beachy—all whites, creams, aquas, and browns—with wicker furniture and an open floor plan. The living room faced French doors that led to a large deck overlooking a private beach and the expanse of the ocean. Off to her left was the kitchen, which was airy and functional, with lots of counter space for its size. Carly walked through the living room to a short hallway, which contained three open doors. Two led to cozy bedrooms and one to a pretty big bathroom with a soaking tub and walk-in shower.
Carly smiled, clapped her hands, and jumped up and down, feeling like a small child who’d just been given the keys to an empty water park they could play in ‘til their heart’s content.
She peeked into each of the bedrooms again. Since Penny hadn’t shown up yet, it only seemed fair Carly should get to choose which bedroom to take. Both rooms were nice, but ultimately, she chose the one furthest from the living area. A king-size bed took up the majority of the small room, and a lightweight pink and mint green quilt and pillows with frilly white cases clothed it.
Carly went back to the entryway, grabbed her suitcases, and pulled them into her chosen room. She hauled them onto the bed, and emptied their contents into the tall dresser and small closet on the other side of the room. Then she shoved the bags into the closet too.
She changed into a bright peach sundress, grabbed one of the two books she’d left on the bed, and went back into the living room.
She remembered the VRBO ad said the kitchen would be stocked with some basics so occupants wouldn’t need to run out to a store immediately upon arrival. Curious about what was there, Carly rummaged through the fridge and cupboards. There wasn’t enough for the whole week, for sure, but she would be able to make a nice dinner with the chicken thighs, barbecue sauce, and salad fixings in the refrigerator. Two bottles of wine sat on the kitchen island. The thoughtful bungalow owner had even lef
t a wine opener and glass next to the bottles. Carly put the Riesling in the refrigerator, opened the Merlot, and left the bottle on the counter to air while she went onto the deck to check out the view.
It was breathtakingly beautiful. As far as she could see down the beach in both directions, there were only a handful of people. The ocean was calm and gorgeous, and she found herself longing to go down and touch it with her toes.
Carly had worked hard in college, not taking many breaks that were longer than an evening or two. She was starting her new job as a reporter in one week. After that, she doubted there would be much time to vacation again for a while because she intended to work as hard as humanly possible, impress her editor, and move up the ranks at the paper fast.
The thought made her smile. Carly couldn’t wait to get started in her real, bona fide career. It wasn’t like journalism had been her first choice—she’d been an English lit major for a couple years. But she’d attended a lecture during her sophomore year. The speaker had been Carl Bernstein, who had heavily investigated and reported on the Watergate scandal. Carly had been completely mesmerized by his talk. She was absolutely hooked on the idea of becoming an investigative journalist and making a true difference in the world.
Carly looked around, realizing she stood on a huge, wraparound deck that extended all the way across the back of the bungalow and along each side. A few steps led down to the sandy beach. A big, shiny grill stood facing the ocean, and there was a sweet looking bistro table and chairs on the other end of the wooden deck. Well, that settled it. When Penny arrived, Carly would serve her grilled, barbecued chicken, salad, and wine on the deck.
She glanced at the book in her hand. The bare-chested man on the cover gave her a smoldering look. Carly grinned and headed for the steps leading down from the deck.
She’d start dinner in an hour or two. Until then, the raunchy romance novel wasn’t going to read itself.
Chapter 2
Carly took a shower to get the sand out of her hair. She’d read half of the trashy novel and spent longer at the beach than she’d intended. Penelope still hadn’t shown up, and Carly was starting to worry. This was pretty late, even for her somewhat flakey friend.
She dried off, put on a rainbow-colored maxi dress and strappy sandals, and scrunched wet hair in her hands. She might as well just let it be curly—straightening it every day of vacation was going to take way too much time out of her relaxation schedule.
Carly made her way to the kitchen counter and dug in her purse for the cell phone. She pulled it out and checked it, but there were no missed calls or texts. She frowned and checked the time. Seven. Penny was due hours ago. Carly tapped the phone’s contact list and scrolled down to her best friend’s name. She touched it and held the phone to her ear, holding her breath. What if Penny had been in an accident or something?
But the phone only rang twice before her friend answered breathlessly. “I’m so sorry.”
Carly grinned in relief. “Where are you? Are you almost here? This place is amazing.” She crossed the floor to look out the French doors toward the ocean.
“I’m at the airport. Heading to Mexico.”
Carly opened her mouth to respond but closed it again when she couldn’t immediately find appropriate words to say. Penny was always late and there was no one more impulsive, but Carly had never expected her friend to stand her up. This was supposed to be their post-graduation vacation. Their week to absolutely live it up like crazy before they entered the working world for the rest of their lives.
Not that Penny had a job lined up. She had a degree in archaeology and big dreams of traveling the world making fantastic discoveries with her boyfriend, Ty. He’d been her TA in Archaeology 101 her freshman year, and they’d been together ever since. When Ty had graduated the year before and gotten a job at the university, it was a dream come true for both of them. Ty had promised Penny to help her get a job there when she was done with her degree, but it hadn’t materialized so far.
“Are you there?” Penny’s voice sounded tense. “I’m so sorry, girl. I totally forgot to call you.”
“Yeah, I’m here. Why aren’t you coming?”
“Ty got called to the Yucatan peninsula. A group of researchers from the university found a new archaeological site there.” The concern in her voice had melted away into pure excitement. Carly smiled as she imagined Penny bouncing on the balls of her feet while she spoke, setting her glasses to bobbing on her nose. “Ty went and talked to the dean, and she agreed to hire me as a research assistant to go on the trip too! If I do well, she’s going to hire me full-time when we get back.” She gave a little excited squeal.
“That’s awesome, Pen!” Carly felt a twinge of disappointment that their vacation wasn’t going to happen, but her best friend’s enthusiasm was catchy. She couldn’t help but feel happy too.
“Thanks. I’m really sorry about our vacation, though. Don’t worry—my part’s all paid for. Mom said she’d still cover it. So, you get the place to yourself for half the cost.” Penny paused and then spoke again, her voice full of affection. “I hope you have the best time of your life. You deserve it.”
Carly laughed. “I don’t know about the best time of my life, but it’s definitely relaxing here. And I expect to get the best tan of my life anyway.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up, and Carly stood gazing at the ocean for another moment. She sighed and crossed her arms, feeling a little sorry for herself. How would she keep herself busy for the next week without getting totally lonely and bored?
She turned toward the kitchen, suddenly not very interested in going through the trouble of grilling chicken and chopping vegetables for salad. It seemed like too much to do for just herself.
She saw the wine and went and poured herself a glass. Then she wandered over to the entertainment center and fiddled with the stereo until she found some nice classical music. As she took the first sip of wine and swayed a little bit to the music, Carly thought that maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. Penny would have had her bouncing around between night clubs and shopping sprees, and the time would have flown by. Now she could spend it doing what she wanted when she wanted to do it without having to deal with anyone else’s schedule. She could take baths in the soaking tub, watch sunsets on the beach, cook elaborate meals or warm up a frozen pizza depending on how she felt, and just spend the time totally spoiling herself.
She might have to grab a couple additional sexy romance novels when she went to town to get her through the week, but otherwise, she could be completely selfish and self-indulgent.
Yeah, that sounded kind of perfect.
Once the week was over, Carly would be heading back to her parents’ house and starting a new, hard-won job at a busy online newspaper. She planned to throw herself completely into her work and write the best, most evocative stories possible. She was going to change the world. She knew it would take at least six months of work before she could afford her own place. In the meantime, she’d have very little alone time while living with her folks.
So a nice, solitary beach vacation would be just the thing to recharge her soul, reset her mind from school life to the real world, and get her ready to dive headfirst into the exciting life of a journalist that she longed for.
A knock at the front door pulled her out of her thoughts. She frowned. She was barely five minutes into a solitary vacation and someone was already bothering her. She sighed and moved toward the door. It was probably the home owners making sure she’d arrived and gotten settled.
When Carly opened the door, she stood face to face with a handsome blond man who was smiling at her, displaying a picture-perfect row of straight white teeth. “Hi,” he said in a deep, resonating voice that seemed to rumble up from somewhere in his chest.
“Hi,” she answered. He was pretty attractive, and she hadn’t had a boyfriend in about a year, so Carly’s body was trying to react to him even though her mind told her he looked like a surfer dude she’d hav
e nothing in common with. Still, she had to fight to force her spine to stay put. It wanted to arch and thrust her breasts at the guy.
“I saw your car and thought I’d stop over and say hi. Some of my friends and I are renting the house a couple doors down.” He jerked his jaw to the left. When Carly poked her head out to follow his gesture, she caught a glimpse of movement from the opposite direction. It was the guy who’d driven up in the Ford earlier, getting back in the truck. She tried to drag her eyes back toward the blond guy in front of her, but they revolted. Suddenly, her body was no longer trying to seduce the buff surfer dude on the porch. The dark-haired neighbor in the other direction interested it much more.
“Anyway, my name is Rob. You’re welcome down at our place anytime. We’ll be partying round the clock for the next few days.” He grinned.
Carly forced her attention back to Rob as the Ford backed out of the neighboring driveway. “Thanks. I’m planning on a nice, quiet getaway this week. But I’ll keep it in mind if I get an urge to party.”
She started to close the door, but Rob spoke again. “Alone sounds boring.”
Now that her hormones had settled down, Carly was getting irritated with this guy. He didn’t even know her—how dare he call her boring? But she couldn’t deny that some tiny, totally rebellious and stupid part of her was interested in his offer. She knew she should let loose more. Take some chances. Experience the wilder side of life. But that was what Penny was for—to drag her into crazier situations than she’d willingly head into herself. And Penny wasn’t here.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” she repeated and finally managed to close the door, blocking out his smiling, tan face.
She really hoped the partyers two doors down wouldn’t be too noisy. Carly wanted to sleep, read, sunbathe, and cook in relative quiet. Nothing too crazy. Nothing too noisy.
Her stomach growled, and she decided it was time to cook. Her motivation to cook a nice meal for herself had returned. Maybe the wine had pulled it back out. She topped off her glass, got the chicken and barbecue sauce out of the refrigerator, and headed for the deck. There were speakers on the deck, piping out the stereo’s music. When the sea air hit her, she felt happy. Yeah, this was going to be an amazing week.