“Because that’s just the way it is,” I pulled the door closed, leaving him in my bed as I ran to the showers.
After quickly getting dressed, I stepped into my room just long enough to grab my bag and rush downstairs. Aaron didn’t ask about giving me a ride again, and I was thankful. He could never give me a ride. He could never meet my parents. He could never come to my house. My personal life was more than he could ever handle. The two could never mix, and I could already tell that it was a battle I’d constantly fight with him.
Chapter 8
Aaron
With the way she ran out of there this morning, the last thing I expected was a phone call this afternoon. Brock and I had gone to pick up Emma’s car, and just as we were heading to breakfast, my phone rang. I almost did a double take when Mel’s number appeared. First off, she never calls me, like ever. Second, this morning she rushed away without even a goodbye. It was like a bad one-nighter that hadn’t even happened.
“Hello?” I tried to hide the surprise in my voice, but it still came through.
“I wanted to tell you I was sorry,” she sounded worried.
“Sorry for what?” I was confused, but hey… she called. I’d take it.
“For rushing out this morning. I had things to do, and I just couldn’t stick around. I owe my mom…” her voice trailed off.
“It’s ok. It was nice having the bed to myself,” I chuckled. I could sense her blushing on the other end of the line. “You still there?”
She released a deep breath and I imagined those pretty eyes rolling back, “Yeah.”
“Wanna go out next weekend?” I hoped she’d agree.
“I can’t,” she huffed.
“Why?” I pushed. I wanted her to tell me what was so important at home that she couldn’t be a normal college girl. Didn’t they go out on Saturday?
“Doesn’t all this driving bother you? It’s six hours each way?” she stammered. It was as if she were grasping for ways to keep me away.
“You’re worth it,” I fired back. What the hell was wrong with me? I never begged girls like this. I never had to. Why was I trying so hard? Because I was telling the truth. She was worth it. “It’s supposed to be nice weather. Warm for a change. We could do something outside,” I suggested.
“Sounds nice,” she murmured before restating her previous argument. “I can’t.”
“Can I talk to your mom?” I teased. “I’ll convince her. Moms love me.” I snickered as she laughed on the other end.
“No,” she giggled.
“Why? I bet I could convince her to let you come see me for the weekend,” I was pushing too hard and I knew it, but hell…Spring Break was the week after. What college kid didn’t go to the beach for Spring Break. “Come home with Em. We’ll have fun.”
“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I doubt I can get away after last night.”
“Will you at least try?” I begged. “I’ll make it worth your while.” I silently wished I was having this conversation in person. It was hard to turn on the charm over the phone. If she were standing in front of me, I could give her the sad eyes and pouty lips. It always worked on my mom.
“Fine. I’ll try, and I’ll tell Em what she says. Happy?” she grumbled.
“Very. If you were standing here I’d show you how much,” my voice darkened and I hoped that it wasn’t too much to scare her away.
“Bye, Aaron,” she teased right before the line went dead.
“I guess by the look on your face I know who that was,” Emma laughed as we climbed out of the car. We’d just gotten back to Shakers and we were going to follow her to the local IHop for breakfast.
“Un huh,” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “So, I need a favor,” I leaned against Brock’s car and crossed my ankles.
“What’s that,” she peered up at me.
“I need you to convince Mel to come with you next weekend,” I tried to keep the optimism out of my tone. I didn’t want her to know how desperate I was for this. If I could get her there, I could show her the real me. I’d show her my apartment. We’d walk on the beach. I’d take her to a party, and prove I could do this. I could ignore the other women.
“Oh, that’s not much,” Emma rolled her eyes. “Do you know how hard I worked to get her to come see me last summer? I spent weeks talking about it.”
“That’s why I’m asking you. I know you can talk her into it,” I sighed.
“I’ll try,” she blew out a breath, “but I can’t promise you anything.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” I yanked open the door to the front seat and started to climb in. “Now let’s go. I’m starving.”
Melinda
“Why am I doing this again?” I glanced over my shoulder at where Emma was grinning at me.
“Because you like him,” she sing-songed, “and you like hanging out with me.”
“Are you going to be around, though? Last summer you spent all your time with Brock,” I shoved another bikini in my bag. It wasn’t warm enough to swim yet, but we could still lay out on the beach.
“I already apologized for that. I’ll be a better friend this time. Besides,” she grinned, "you’ll be busy with Aaron.”
“Maybe,” I mumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she tipped her head to the side and stared at me.
“It means how do I know he’s gonna be different? What if some bikini bimbo comes along? What if he realizes I’m not worth the trouble? I’m just…” I paused as I blinked up at the ceiling.
“Scared?” Emma filled in. “Why? What happened that’s got you running from guys?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered. “You didn’t tell me about Jordan. I don’t want to talk about this.”
“Fine,” Emma nodded. “You about ready? It’s gonna be dark by the time we get there if we don’t leave soon.”
“I’m ready,” I zipped my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I fired off a quick text thanking my mom again for letting me go, and reminding her that she could call me if she needed to.
The drive from Eastman to Wilmington was boring at best. I didn’t know how Brock made it so many times. I guess when you’re in love you do stupid stuff. When we finally started approaching the coast though, all my worries started melting away. Emma and I rolled down the windows despite the slight chill. The salty air smelled so good. The sun
was setting over the ocean and as the highway turned into the small coastal roads, I relaxed further.
“I can’t believe this is where you grew up,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes and imagined myself floating in the ocean.
“I used to think it was no big deal until I went away for school. It gets harder to leave every time I come back,” Emma sighed.
“Are you and Brock gonna live here?” I rolled my head toward her.
“Probably. We haven’t really talked about it, but this is where his house is and his job. It wouldn’t make sense to go somewhere else,” she shrugged as she made the final turn onto her parents’ street.
“I guess living at the beach is where your heart is too,” I smiled as I thought about it. Her entire family was here. It was a perk that Brock was here too.
When Emma parked in her parents’ drive, she shook her head. “I swear I thought he had more sense,” she growled.
“What?” I looked around but didn’t see anything.
“That door right there,” she pointed to the storage closet under the house. “It’s usually locked. The fact that it’s open tells me Ryan and Jess are probably in there.” We climbed out of the car and I watched as Emma stormed over to the open door and banged on the side of the shed. “You better be more careful. Next time it could be Mom!” Em shouted.
“You need to mind your own business,” came a male voice. The next thing I knew, Ryan came out adjusting the drawstring on his suit, but the girl with him wasn’t the same one from last summer.
“Who are you?” she squeaked.
“Hi
s sister. Who are you?” Emma glared at her.
“Brinley,” she squeaked again. “We go to school together.”
“Mind your own business,” Ryan snapped as he grabbed Brinley’s hand and began dragging her toward the dunes.
Emma turned and stormed back to the car. “I swear he’s not my brother,” she growled. “I’m gonna be an aunt if he doesn’t watch it.”
“What happened to the other girl?” I reached in for my bag.
“Who knows. I don’t have time for his shit. Let’s go put our stuff in my room and call the guys. Maybe we can head to the pier and grab dinner.”
“Won’t your parents want us to be here?” I followed her up the stairs to the back door.
“They’re out. If they were here that never would have happened,” she motioned for where Ryan had been.
“Oh,” I nodded in understanding.
After tossing our things in Emma’s old bedroom, she fired off a text to Brock letting him know we got in and asking about meeting up for dinner. She’d suggested the pier, but Brock asked about having a bonfire on the beach. Emma lived on a private stretch, and we could have it right in front of her house. We agreed, and now we were grabbing blankets and piling wood into a beach cart.
“You’re sure your parents won’t care?” I tossed another piece of wood onto the pile.
“That’s what all this is for,” Emma shrugged. “Dad never has fires, but he’s always stacking wood in this pile. I might as well use some.”
“Good point,” I laughed. We dragged the beach cart over the dunes, and picked a spot to set up. Emma spread out the blankets while I attempted to make a fire pit. There were remnants from an old one, so we decided to use it. Brock and Aaron showed up right as we were lighting it.
“Need some help?” Aaron called. I turned just in time to see him flash a smile. He was wearing a pair of boardshorts and a hoodie. His hair was cut short again, and I couldn’t help but stare. Brock chuckled from beside him as he surveyed our setup.
“I think we did ok,” Emma placed her fists on her hips.
“For a girl,” Aaron smirked as Emma glared.
“Watch it. You owe me,” her eyes darted in my direction and if I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t have caught it.
“Fine, fine, fine,” Aaron rolled his eyes. “You’re awesome, Cous.”
“What’s for dinner?” I quickly changed the subject.
“Tequila,” Aaron held a bottle up and grinned like a proud little boy.
“Very funny,” I narrowed my eyes on him. “I mean food.”
“Tequila isn’t food?” he stared at the bottle and squinted his eyes like he could change what it said if he stared long enough. “Huh. Who knew?”
“Can you act normal tonight? Please?” Emma sighed as she grabbed a bag from Brock. “This is more like it,” she smacked her lips as she started pulling burgers and fries from the bag. “Ooh and stuff for s’mores too.”
“Only the best for you, baby,” Brock swung his arms around her shoulders.
“Ugh! Gag me please,” Aaron lowered himself onto the blanket. “I can’t take any more of you two.”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as I sat down beside him. “Hey, I hear it every day. At least you don’t live with him,” I pointed my thumb in Brock’s direction.
“True,” Aaron nodded as he grabbed a burger. “Let’s eat.”
We watched the sunset over the ocean as we munched on our dinner before Aaron turned to me. “Wanna go for a walk?”
“Right now?” I glanced around. It was dark. If we moved too far away from the fire it would be cold, and we’d be hidden by the night.
“Yeah. I thought we could talk,” he shrugged. “Get to know each other better. I wanna explain some things to you.”
“Things?” I repeated.
“About my family,” he leaned in and mumbled the words right next to my ear.
“Ok,” I nodded.
He stood and held his hand out to help me up. “We’ll be back in a bit,” I called out to Brock, who was currently locked in a kiss with Emma. They waved us off, I’m sure happy for the privacy as Aaron began to lead me down the beach.
When we were sufficiently far enough away, Aaron began talking again. “Avery’s not my mom,” he took a deep breath. “My real mom’s name was Sarah, and she never really wanted me.”
“You don’t have to tell me this,” I squeezed his hand. I could tell by the way his voice was shaking that it was hard for him to talk about.
“Yes, I do. You see…” he took another deep breath, “I’ve never had a very good opinion of women. I haven’t treated them right because my mom let men treat her like she was worthless, and she never protected me from them either. I like you, and I’m trying to do better for you, but you need to know why I’m like this.” He stopped walking and stepped in front of me to face me. “I know I’ll fuck up again at some point; just know that I’m really trying,” he pleaded before leaning down and pressing a light kiss to my lips. “Don’t give up on me.”
“We all have a past, Aaron. It’s what we do to change the future that matters. Trust me, I know,” I murmured.
If he only knew what I was hiding from him, we might actually work but after hearing this I knew we could never have the future that I wanted. I’d just have to enjoy him while I could and make sure I didn’t lose my heart in the process.
Chapter 9
Melinda
“Morning, Sunshine,” his whisper sounded right beside my ear, and the scruff on his chin tickled.
“Five more minutes,” I mumbled as I rolled over and felt a hard body beside me.
“Ok, but you might get sunburned,” he chuckled, causing my eyes to blink open. I’d forgotten that I’d fallen asleep on the beach last night. The embers from the fire were all burned out, and the remnants from our dinner sat scattered in front of me.
“Where are Emma and Brock?” I looked over at where the other blanket had been laid out, and the sand was empty.
“They went in last night. You were asleep. You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you,” he nuzzled my neck, causing me to sigh.
“You stayed out here all night with me?” I looked back over my shoulder to see him grinning like a fool.
“I told you. You’re worth it,” he shrugged. “Wanna get breakfast?” he slowly sat up and shifted to face me. I glanced around as I tried to decide what to do. I wanted to jump up and shout ‘yes’, but I didn’t want to desert Em. “She’s probably doing the same thing with Brock. You can text her. Please?” he pouted.
“Fine,” I groaned as I stretched. It had been a long time since I’d slept that well.
“I’ll go toss this up by the pool. Hang here for a sec,” he balled up the blanket we’d been lying on and jogged toward Emma’s house. When he returned he held out his hand to me, “Come on.”
We walked along side-by-side for at least ten minutes before I noticed that we were coming up on a public section of the beach. “Where are we going?” I smiled as I saw two small children building a sandcastle.
“Breakfast,” he grinned as he turned and began heading over the dunes.
“I know that, but where?” I looked for his Jeep as we passed a public lot, but he kept walking.
“Here,” he turned and began to head toward a tan apartment building.
“I don’t see any place to eat,” I started to pull away, but he refused to let me go.
“Would you just stop, and trust me?” he sighed exasperatedly as we paused in front of a door on the ground floor. Aaron fished in his pocket until he produced a key that he slipped into the lock. When the door gave way, he ushered me inside. “Female onsite!” he shouted as he led us inside.
“What was that all about?” I glanced around. The apartment was nice. It was decorated in a tan and navy color scheme. Nautical relics were placed sporadically around the typical male space. There was a large sectional that faced one of the biggest TVs I’ve ever seen. T
here was a slider that faced the ocean, and vertical blinds providing shade. The kitchen shared a space with the living room, and was filled with all sorts of gadgets. A juicer was on the counter, and a counter top grill beside it. The place was cluttered, but clean for a guy’s hangout. A dark hallway was off to the side, and I’m assuming it led to the bedrooms.
“Sometimes the guys will walk out here for coffee in what they sleep in,” Aaron grinned.
“Ok,” I frowned. I didn’t understand what the big deal was.
“I sleep naked,” his brows bounced as he waited for me to catch on.
As if someone had thrown hot water on me, I felt my face heat. I coughed as my eyes went wide. “I see.”
“Maybe you will if you’re good,” he grinned as he waltzed into the kitchen. “Do you like eggs?” He opened the fridge as if he hadn’t just propositioned me and began pulling items out and placing them on the counter.
“I thought we were going to breakfast,” I slowly lowered myself onto a chair at the bar opposite him.
“I asked if you wanted breakfast. I didn’t say anything about going out. I thought this would be nice,” he shrugged as he started pulling pans out.
“You cook?” I smiled as I fidgeted on my seat.
“I do a lot of things you don’t know about,” he turned on a burner before dumping the contents for what looked like pancakes into a bowl. “Coffee?” he turned on the coffee pot and began pulling mugs and plates out of the cabinet.
“That would be great. Thank you,” I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling any wider. I couldn’t look eager, but I’d never had anyone other than my mom cook for me before. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“My dad taught me. It was just us until I was four, and then Avery liked to burn stuff so Dad did a lot of the cooking. When I got older he let me help,” he cracked a few eggs and began beating them. It was then that I heard footsteps coming down the hall.
“Why the fuck are you up so early?” the male voice growled as a guy came into view.
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