by Marika Ray
As I lost myself in her eyes, I felt the pull again. The lure of all the things I could do if I wasn't chained to The Shack. I gave voice to my desires for the first time, sure the guilt would kick in the minute the words left my mouth, but it wasn't enough to hold back my confession. "I want to travel, see the world. I live in paradise and I want to see every other wonder the world has to offer. I want to find a woman to share my life with and have the time to give her the attention she deserves, and to support her in her own dreams. I want to live life on my own terms."
I reached up and brushed some hair back behind Sage's ear, not even thinking about what I was doing. She smelled of flowers and sunshine, like the freedom I craved. The skin on her cheek was soft against my fingers, bringing my hand back to cup her jaw, holding her beautiful face. Her lips parted and I couldn't rip my gaze away from my new target. I felt my body leaning in, powerless to stop the inevitable. I wanted a taste.
Sage lifted up on tip toes, her hands drifting to my chest and gripping my t-shirt. Her lips were just a whisper away from mine, her rapid breaths fanning across my face. I could feel her heart racing as she pressed up against me, the gentle thud in her chest hypnotizing me. There was no other explanation for it. All rational thought of how we got here and what the hell we were doing floated away, drowned out by our heartbeats.
My lips just touched hers in the briefest of feathery touches when the door to the shop opened, the bell above the door ringing out like a fire alarm. We both jumped, my hand dropping from her face. She stepped back, the spell now broken.
I rushed behind the counter, my hand on the back of my neck. Several customers walked in, looking to check their equipment back in, not be the audience for a make-out session between the owner and a half-dressed customer. I snuck a quick glance at Sage. She swiped her keys and receipt off the counter, her cheeks flushed and her head down.
Before she could escape out the door, I called after her, not ready for her to go. "If you want to take another board out, call me first, okay?"
She didn't bother looking at me, just nodded and walked out.
Fuck.
I knew this would end badly.
7
Jax
I spend the rest of the evening and the next day running through the conversation with Sage. I was a little pissed with myself that I went in for the kiss. What the hell was I thinking? Yeah, she was hotter than any girl I'd ever come across, never mind her tenacity in renting a board and braving the waves when she didn't have a fucking clue what she was doing. She'd also made it clear that she wanted to buy my shop, despite my rational argument for why that couldn't happen. That made her the enemy in this little negotiation that wasn't going to happen.
I couldn't afford to be touching, kissing, or fantasizing about this girl. I had a business to run and a job to do. She didn't fit in anywhere in that scenario.
I'd just brought the jet ski into headquarters to hose it down after my shift, when Kai and Cain walked by. Kai was my best friend from high school, and also a fellow lifeguard. Cain is one of the two HB lifeguard supervisors. While the two men are similar in looks, they're total opposites in personality. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kai had the laid-back island attitude to go along. Cain's tall and muscular like Kai, but his dark hair, deep tan, and intense expressions give off a scary vibe that Kai just doesn't have with his permanent smile. Women went crazy for both these guys, but Kai was coupled up with his schoolteacher girlfriend, turning all the women away. Cain was all too happy to take the attention of his rejections.
"Nice job out there, Jax. We've had some sick waves the last few days." Cain patted me on the shoulder as he walked by, headed to his truck.
"Thanks, man. All the inexperienced swimmers are keeping me busy, making my shift go by quick." I continued hosing down the jet ski, knowing I had to hurry up to relieve Jonny at The Shack.
Kai hung by my side, letting Cain walk off. "You've been kinda quiet today. Been that busy, or you got something on your mind?" Kai was studying me, genuine concern on his face.
I shook my head, chuckling. I shut off the water and tossed him a towel. We both started drying off the jet ski, the motions second-nature after years of the daily task. "Jeez, Kai. You're starting to sound like Hessa more and more. You aren't even an old married couple yet."
"Shut the hell up, asshole." Kai playfully punched me in the shoulder before launching back in, ignoring my obvious attempt at deflection. "You can either tell me now and work it out of your system with a friendly ear or stew on it some more and make yourself miserable. I don't really care, but if you're going to be absentminded another day I'd rather know ahead of time so I keep an eye on you out there on the water."
Jet ski thoroughly dry, I threw our towels into the dirty towel bin and gave in, knowing he'd just keep asking me. I looked around to make sure I wouldn't be overheard, but it was just us in the outdoor garage space.
"Fine. There's this girl." Kai laughed and I gave him a death glare. "She showed up in this stuffy suit, wanting to buy The Shack. I said no, she turns around and rents a board from Jonny, ends up trying to surf right by me yesterday. Can't surf worth a damn, suit falling off, waves crashing on her, so I make her haul it in. She won't take my help with her board. Argues with me. She's hotter than shit. And then we're arguing again about selling the shop and I almost kissed her."
I finally wound down my verbal diarrhea, having laid it all out there, not making much sense, I'm sure. He looked like he was thinking it over, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration.
"Hotter than shit, huh?" Kai broke out into a grin, completely ignoring my angst.
"Yeah, hotter than shit. That's part of the problem. I can't stop thinking about her even though she's a pain in the ass and she wants me to sell my dad's shop. And a part of me kinda wants to sell it." I look back up at Kai, gauging his reaction to my confession.
Frowning, he took a step closer. "I didn't know you were thinking of selling."
"I wasn't thinking of selling, but the idea sure is tempting. It's not making any money. Fewer people are interested in boating, which is where most of our rental sales were coming from. The boats are expensive to keep in good shape. I'm working long hours." I run my hand through my hair again, a habit that seems to be increasing lately. I sighed. "I just don't know, man. Maybe I'm holding onto something that just needs to die a quiet death, you know?"
Kai looked at the ground, his head shaking slowly. "Preserving your family's heritage is never a bad thing. In fact, more people should take that endeavor more seriously. But I can see that it's wearing on you. Maybe it just needs to look different than what you've been thinking." His head pops up and he's got his smile back. "Why don't we talk to some people in town for some business advice. You can implement some new ideas and see if that doesn't revive your bottom line."
I shrug. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. Couldn't hurt. What do I do about the girl?"
Kai laughs again. "If she's as interested as you are, explore her in the bedroom and get her out of your system." Then the smile dropped from his face. "But I remember how you were after 'the girl who shall not be named'. She was all about the money and that's not what you need, brother. If this girl is the same way, walk away now. You don't need to experience that again and learn the same lesson."
I grunted. "Got that right. Did you see she's engaged?"
Kai nodded. "Dodged a bullet on that one. Mark my words."
We walked into the station, heading to the locker room for our things, each of us thinking about the girl I'd dated for years before she'd dropped me over money, like our plans for the future were nothing in the face of a man with deeper pockets. I was thankful to have a best friend to watch out for me and make sure I didn't end up in that kind of mess again.
Unbeknownst to me or Kai, we weren't alone for that conversation in the lifeguard garage. A meddling group of women hid just around the corner, having shown up to surprise their lifeguard boyfriends. Of course, being the anno
ying, yet lovable, group they were, they didn't announce their presence, instead eavesdropping to get the latest gossip straight from the horse's mouth.
Sage
I was still sitting in this little coffee shop just off Main Street in Huntington Beach. The view was fantastic and nobody looked at me weird when I set up camp at a little table in the corner. The coffee was fantastic, even if the shop itself was a little old and dated. What it lacked in sophisticated furniture and trendy lighting was made up for in charm and loads of it.
I'd only planned to grab a cup to go and head back to The Surf Shack to work another angle I'd thought of last night while lying in bed. I should have been fast asleep, dreaming of spending my trust fund in interesting ways, but I couldn't get Jax out of my head. The muscles, the almost kiss, the emotion in his voice when he described what that place meant to him. We were at opposite ends of this thing. But my heart felt like I was over there on his side feelin' him up.
There wasn't an easy answer and the longer I sat here, the more I wondered if I'd find the answer in the bottom of my coffee cup. Before that terrible moment when the coffee was all gone and the questions were still swirling, a shadow fell over my table, blocking my sunshine. I looked up to find four women standing in my personal space, varied expressions on their faces.
They didn't look particularly friendly, judging by the way the tallest one had her arms crossed over her chest like she could kick my ass at the slightest provocation. The one with the dark eyeglasses was looking down her nose at me like I forgot to shower recently. And then there was the stunning African American woman scrutinizing me, like I was a puzzle to be solved and she was the girl to do it. The only one who looked like someone I wanted to converse with was standing front and center of the group, smiling at me like she was holding herself back from pulling me into an overenthusiastic hug.
You didn't live near New York City without having some sort of backup plan for when shit goes down, and I was as prepared as I needed to be. I returned the smile-slash-grimace, making sure to show lots of teeth like a crazy woman, and made a mental note of where my cell phone was. Would I have enough time to grab it and call 911 before these ladies tore me to shreds? Would the local bystanders help a stranger in danger? If these were my last moments, why oh why, didn't I kiss Jax yesterday when I had the chance?
All these questions ran through my brain in the span of a nanosecond, sped along by the three shots of espresso that had been in my coffee cup.
The friendly one stuck out her hand first and calmed my nerves, even if what she was saying was crazy.
"Hi, I'm Esa. You don't know me, but I've heard about you. Mind if we sit?"
"Well--"
Before I could find an excuse for a hasty departure, all four girls found a way to wedge into my table space, blocking my exit. There were only two other chairs and yet all four somehow sat down in unison like they'd practiced that maneuver. I straightened up in my seat, realizing I had a full-scale situation on my hands.
"Ladies. It's lovely to meet you all, but I'm late--" I went to grab my bag off the floor, but the tall one put her hand on my arm, not aggressively, but enough to make me halt my movement.
Glasses Girl cleared her throat. "I think you'd better stay and listen to us for just a moment. It's come to our attention that you've had some business dealings with a good friend of ours and it would behoove you to cease and desist before we have to take further action."
My eyes narrowed and I fought the urge to gag. It was like I was back in one of my father's boardrooms, listening to some lawyer drone on and on in this legal language that nobody understood. I knew just enough to know I'd been threatened. Politely. But threatened nonetheless.
"I think what Brainiac over here is trying to say is that you've been messing with Jax and we don't like that. As civilized ladies, how about we talk this thing out and come to some sort of resolution? Oh, I'm Bailey, by the way." The beautiful woman gestured to Glasses Girl. "That's Hessa. And you met Esa already, so that leaves Brinley, the tall one to your right."
I leaned onto the table, intrigued by their tactics. These women seemed a little crazy, and I liked it. Besides, they knew Jax. Maybe they'd tell me some things I wanted to know. "I'm Sage. Lovely to meet you all. How do you know Jax?"
The friendly one, Esa, jumped in to explain. "My fiancé, Ivan, is Jax' lifeguard supervisor. Hessa is dating Kai, Jax' best friend, also a lifeguard. Brinley is dating Dean, another one of the lifeguards. And Bailey is just here for the drama." They all chuckled and Bailey shrugged, not bothering to the deny it. I wasn't sure I followed all of that, but it sure seemed they knew Jax.
"Well, I did go out on a couple dates with Jax." Bailey put her hand on mine. "But don't worry, that was a long time ago and it never went anywhere."
I sat back, my muddled mind only grabbing onto that last line. "Oh, I'm not involved with Jax. Not like that. I'm just here to buy his property and build a new restaurant."
"Mmmhmm...your pink cheeks say differently." Bailey winked at me.
"Wait a minute. You're gonna tear down The Shack?" Hessa directed her question at me. Her disbelief didn't bode well for my project.
I nodded and rushed to explain. "Yeah, I'm looking to build a new five star restaurant here in HB and that spot is a prime location. The building is tiny, but the actual lot size is perfect for a restaurant and parking lot. Plus you've got the ocean view in front and the harbor view in the back."
"But that building is Jax' whole life," Brinley said quietly, her voice super sweet for a girl with that much muscle.
"Yeah..." My excited smile dropped. Exactly my dilemma. "He told me about it yesterday. I had no idea that it meant so much to him and his family." I looked around the table and all four heads nodded at me. The guilt weighing on my heart increased with each nod.
I bit my lip and accessed the situation. My nose wasn't tingling which led me to believe that this was a good situation, no matter how crazy these ladies were. And when in doubt, I always trusted my gut. Or should I say, my nose.
"Can I tell you ladies something?" I asked, voice just above a whisper.
All four leaned in, creating a huddle around the tiny table.
Here goes nothing. "I have to buy that property and make it into a successful restaurant. Or I lose my father's company." Esa gasped and the girls looked at each other in dismay. "So either way, someone's losing their father's business. And as nice as Jax seems, I'm just not willing to lose this thing."
Bailey's face scrunched up. "What's your last name?"
"Vanderman"
Bailey's eyes grew large. "As in, Vanderman Realty? One of the biggest commercial real estate companies in the U.S.?"
"Yep, that would be the one. Now you see why I don't want to lose this." I wasn't being altogether honest with that statement. I didn't really care about the business. He could leave it to someone else. But the trust fund? That, I wanted. But really, I just met these girls. I wasn't going to go into all the details just yet. You didn't lay all your cards on the table in the first round.
"Damnation, this really is a conundrum." Hessa looked worried. "My boyfriend, Kai, goes way back with Jax. They're both hyper focused on family and tradition. I just can't fathom Jax giving up the place. Not even for your ultimatum."
Esa was shaking her head, like she was lost in thought. "There's gotta be a way around this. Some middle ground that will make you both happy." She broke out into a smile and smacked the table, startling us all. "I know! Let's go for a run tomorrow on the beach and brainstorm. We do our best thinking out there, I promise."
The girls all murmured their agreement, like that would solve everything. She had a point though. I did like to be outside in the fresh air when I did my deep thinking. Maybe these girls weren't so crazy.
"So. What do you say, Sage Vanderman? Wanna join the Beach Squad for a run tomorrow afternoon and figure this thing out?" Esa asked, an eagerness to her face that was oddly endearing.
I stood up,
almost dislodging Brinley from her precarious perch on the chair next to me. "Yeah, I'm in. I may regret this later, but my nose is saying go for it."
All four of them looked at me like I was crazy, which was really a ‘pot calling the kettle black’ type of situation. Whatever. Maybe they could help me get my trust fund and keep from booting out Jax and making him hate me forever.
It's always the crazy ones you gotta watch out for. They came up with some really weird ass ideas that sometimes panned out. I should know. I was one of them.
8
Sage
After talking to the ladies at the coffee shop, I felt way better about things, even though I wasn't any further along in solving my problem. I guess just chatting with someone about the dilemma was helpful. Instead of bulldozing my way into Jax' shop that afternoon and most likely pissing him off, or getting distracted by bulging muscles, I decided to take the evening to myself. I had plenty of time to figure things out.
Walking down Main Street on a Tuesday night was an interesting undertaking. The street was closed off from vehicles, allowing street vendors to line up their carts along the street. Bouncy houses, petting zoos, fire pits for sale, organic produce, face painting, and live bands could all be found blended together in one chaotic street party. I saw teen girls strutting down the road with just bikinis on, even though the sun was low in the sky. A couple of scuffles broke out amongst some rowdy men. And even with all that, I saw plenty of young families out enjoying the sites, usually with the cutest leashed dogs along for the night festivities.
My hands were full with fresh fruit from several vendors when I reached the end of the street where you could see the ocean laid out before you. I sighed, a sense of peacefulness sliding through my system as I breathed in the salty air and let the breeze whip my long, flowing skirt around my ankles. I'd bought a long, thin feather earlier in the evening and the lady selling them had been nice enough to tie it to a couple strands of my hair. With the wind picking up as the sun set into the blue water, I hoped it wouldn't come untied and blow away. My last purchase was a bag of henna to use later on to make my own tattoos.