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Here’s a SNEAK PEEK into my new novella Just For The Summer!
“Hurry your butts up! I want to get down to the beach,” Tamara, one of my sorority sisters, yells before slamming the passenger side door. She stomps up the wooden stairs to the deck of the beach house we’re renting for the next month, with her suitcase in one hand and her makeup bag in the other.
We just drove over seven hours from Athens, where we all attend the University of Georgia together. What should’ve been a five hour drive turned into seven thanks to a car full of girls who all had to stop a million times to pee and get iced coffees—hence all the peeing!
Tamara, Nikki, and Becca are my sorority sisters, and have been my best friends since freshman year. We’re four of the most different girls you’ll ever meet, and somehow, our quirkiness drew us to one another, and now we’re inseparable.
“Thank God that storm coming in changed course; now we can spend the rest of the day on the beach. My ass is numb from sitting in that damn car. I need to frolic around on the beach and look for some hotties to party with tonight,” Becca says as she sets her suitcases on the ground beside the SUV.
She packed her entire room, I think. I just grabbed bikinis, shorts, tanks, sundresses, and a few pairs of jeans and hoodies for windy nights. She has an entire suitcase just for stilettos! Who wears heels at the beach? The only heels I packed are some wedged sandals. I plan on living in flip-flops or being barefooted the entire month.
We’ve saved up for this trip since we got back from Daytona in April. We’re renting this beach house for just the four of us. I have a feeling that the summer of 2010 is going to be the best summer of our lives. Becca and I are the only single ones here. Tamara and Nikki are both very much in love with their meathead boyfriends, and have been complaining about being away from them. The guys are in a fraternity together, and they all took a trip to Cancun.
I told them before they graduate, settle down, and start popping out mini football players they need to have a real girls-only getaway. We’re only nineteen, for crying out loud. We’re too young to be tied down to boys. I dumped my loser boyfriend four months ago. While we were all in Daytona together for spring break, the asshole slept with some chick he met at a wet t-shirt contest one of the local dive bars held.
I learned quickly college boys only care about one thing, and that is sex. They may claim to love you and have eyes for only one girl, but let’s be honest—is it really logical to believe a twenty-year-old college guy is going to be monogamous?
All my friends rallied around me and helped calm me down. When I walked into my hotel room Evan and I were sharing with Tamara and her boyfriend Reggie and found Evan having sex with the bottle blonde from the bar, I flipped. I felt as if I was a football player running full-force at the scumbag and the skank he was with.
The look of shock on his face was priceless. He jumped up, wrapping the comforter around himself as he tried to come up with an excuse or reason he was cheating on me with a chick he only knew for about an hour. I didn’t want to hear it. I stomped up to him and smacked him straight across his lying, cheating face. Then, I turned to the girl who was just banging my boyfriend and told her I hoped she enjoyed his pencil dick, because he was all hers now.
I was fuming as Tamara, Becca, and Nikki dragged me out of the room. Every inch of me was screaming to claw his eyes out. Looking back, I’m glad they pulled me out of that hotel room, because more than likely, I would’ve ended up sitting in jail for assault.
We changed rooms, of course, because who wants to sleep in the bed their boyfriend had just fucked some slut in? Then we spent the remainder of spring break partying it up and having the best week of our lives. Being two years away from legally buying my own drinks means nothing when you’re a girl. Guys are more than willing to buy you drinks, whether they are twenty-one and up, or just have a really convincing fake ID.
I don’t think I’ve bought myself a drink the last four months we’ve been going out. Nikki’s brother loaded up my car with beer, a few bottles of Malibu Rum—my personal favorite, because I can make a million different drinks with it—and a few bottles of Grey Goose Vodka.
This summer is going to be nothing but fun in the sun!
As soon as we finish unloading the car, I’m making myself a drink and going to tan on the beach. I love having the beach right at our doorstep. By the time we head back to Athens, I’m going to be rocking the best beach tan, which should last well into fall.
“Is that everything?” Nikki asks, slamming the back passenger door.
“The only thing left is the boxes of alcohol.” I drape my beach tote over my shoulder, grab my two suitcases, and wheel them towards the house, with Nikki not far behind me.
The second we step into the beach house, the energy is explosive. Tamara already has the stereo on in the living room blasting Ke$ha’s Blah Blah Blah and all the windows open, letting the salty sea breeze blow into the house. We found a rental with three bedrooms—two with full size beds, and one with two twin beds. We decided on the car ride over that Becca would get one of the rooms by herself, because she is the world’s biggest slob. That girl…I don’t think she’s used a closet in her whole life. Her entire wardrobe is always on the floor.
Tamara and Nikki offered to take the twin beds and give me the other private room, since my parents paid the deposit on the beach house for us. No one in their right mind would rent out their gorgeous beach house to four nineteen-year-olds, so Mom and Dad set it up for us.
“You girlies hurry up and get your swimsuits on. I’ll run down to the car and grab the alcohol so we can officially kick off our summer vacation!” Becca shouts over the music, flashing us all a devilish grin before pushing open the screen door and hurrying down to my car.
Her father gave her a credit card for ‘emergencies’, and for Becca, that would equal bail money. She has been known to get a little too drunk at campus parties and lose her clothes. She’s been in trouble with the campus police more than a dozen times over the last two years.
In record time, all of us are changed and back in the kitchen, playing bartender as we get to work mixing our drinks. With a red solo cup in one hand, and a beach tote and folding chair in the other, we trudge down towards the water.
It’s gorgeous out today, with a little cloud coverage, so the sun isn’t continuously beating down on us. There’s a warm, salty breeze rolling off of the water that instantly helps me relax. There’s just something about the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves rolling up to the shore that just sets a peaceful calm over me.
We all open up our lawn chairs and plop down in them just at the shoreline so we can dip our toes in the water and sip on our cocktails. I’m drinking a Malibu Bay Breeze; it’s one of my absolute favorite drinks. Anything with pineapple in it, I’ll drink. I added blended ice instead of cubed, which is perfect for a hot and humid day like today.
Luckily for us, the beach is semi-private where our place is, with only people who live here or are renting a beach house allowed to use it. It’s way unlike when we stayed in Daytona at a condo on the main beach, where a thousand bodies crammed together on the sand.
We spend the entire afternoon down by the water soaking up the sun and enjoying doing absolutely nothing after being trapped in a car for seven very long hours. Only after our stomachs begin to rumble do we pull ourselves away. It’s almost six-thirty at night, so we decide to head up to the house, shower, and go out somewhere for dinner.
Four girls getting ready is not a speedy process. After almost an hour and a half, we’re finally dressed and ready to explore Myrtle Beach.
Ju
st as we’re making our way down the tall deck stairs that lead down to the driveway, we spot a group of guys climbing out of a speedboat that is now parked at a dock in front of the house next door.
“Damn. Why am I not single?” I hear Nikki mumble as we all gawk at the three guys, who are wearing nothing but board shorts and flip-flops. They all have sunglasses on and beers inside koozies in their hands as they make their way up the beach towards the two-story house to the right of ours.
I glance at their driveway and notice a yellow Suzuki crotch rocket and two other vehicles, a jacked up red Silverado, and a black Mustang convertible.
“Well, we’re single and definitely ready to mingle, right, Ashlynn?” Becca hints, elbowing me and giving me a cheeky grin. I just shake my head and let out a soft chuckle.
They are definitely easy on the eyes. All three of them are very nicely toned and tan. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re all around our age. The idea of partying with them makes this summer getaway look even better.
“They’re all hot. Do you think they had some type of interview process, ‘Only good-looking dudes allowed in this bromance’? I definitely wouldn’t kick any of them out of my bed,” I say, laughing as I press the button on my keys, unlocking the doors of my Explorer.
Just as we get about halfway down the stairs, the group of guys, who are laughing at something tall, tanned, and extremely good-looking just said, spot us four dorks staring at them. I think we all need a bib to catch the drool that’s dribbling down our chins right now.
They all flash us mega-watt smiles that sparkle in the slowly setting sunlight. This time of year, it stays daylight out until almost nine-thirty at night, so we have one more hour until the sky turns dark and the board walk of Myrtle Beach lights up.
We all squeal and scurry down the stairs to my car just as the guys raise their hands and give us a small wave. “Welcome to Myrtle Beach, ladies!” the guy with shorter dark hair shouts across to us. The other two just wave and keep smiling. Just that alone has short circuited our brains.
Waving back at them, we quickly climb into my car, and I waste no time starting it up.
“Holy shit, they are hot!” Tamara says, staring straight ahead at the area the guys were just standing before they disappeared into their house. It’s as if she believes if she keeps staring, they’ll magically reappear. Just as the thought pops into my head—BAM!—out comes all three sun-kissed Greek gods onto the large wraparound deck with platters in their hands as they head over to a grill.
“Hurry up and start moving the damn car, Ashlynn, before they think we’re weirdoes sitting in a car just staring at them,” Nikki snaps at me from the back seat.
I shift the car into reverse to back out of our driveway, but before I can move my foot off of the brake, my eyes lock with the gorgeous man with ocean blue eyes and dirty blonde hair standing at the grill. The color of his eyes pop against his tanned skin, and for a moment, I get lost in them before Tamara slaps me on the arm and brings me out of my trance.
“Ashlynn, start driving before I end up settling for cannibalism. I’m freaking starving!”
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I was sitting at the island in our kitchen while I nursed my cup of coffee. The ringing of my cell phone sent vibrations through the countertop and the cup I held in my hands, bringing me out of my grief over my deteriorating marriage. The name across the screen flashed indicating my best friend was trying to reach me.
“Hey, Kell,” I said as I answered the call.
“Ashley, tell me you do not have to work tonight,” she said with excitement in her voice. My dear friend was always a bustling ray of bountiful sunshine. Just talking to her alone would always lift my spirits. She got me; understood me. Most importantly, she was the polar opposite of me. Where she was animated, outgoing, and perky, I was shy, quiet, and tranquil.
“No, actually I am off tonight. I was hoping to have dinner with Jared so that we could talk. Why?”
“Trinity and I were both given exclusive invitations from the PR firm to attend the opening of The Celtic Knot. We get to bring a guest, and I wanted you to come with me,” she said. I could feel her bouncing in her seat through the phone. No doubt she was vibrating like a nervous Chihuahua with excitement.
Kelly went to work at Pinnacle PR after graduating from college. She worked at the diner all the way up to that point. I was so proud of her success and her career, but at the same time I was jealous of the fact that she got to have one. The Celtic Knot was a highly exclusive private membership only club, opening in Chicago that was a client of Kelly’s at the PR firm. It had been ranted and raved about for several months. The only way to get into the club was through invitation only and members were said to be handpicked by the owner personally.
“I’m not sure, Kelly. Jared and I have a lot to talk about. I in fact want to work on getting our marriage back on track.”
“Are you guys still not getting along?” Kelly asked inquisitively. I let out a rush of air that seemed to constantly be trapped inside of me. Not getting along would actually involve having a conversation, even a heated one.
“It’s complicated, Kelly. He has been working a lot. Weekends, evenings. I feel like we have grown apart. When we do actually talk, all we do is fight,” I say wearily.
“Ashley, I love you more than anything. I have watched that man ignore you, trample all over you and allow you to give up your dreams so that he can pursue his. You deserve better, sweets. You deserve the hot, sweaty monkey sex too.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. Kelly was always up for hot, sweaty monkey sex. The girl had a kinky side that would make even the biggest non-prude blush.
“I have to try, Kell. I have to give it my all before I can decide if it was even worth the fight.”
“I understand Sweets, I surely do. If your plans change, give me a call. I will save the ticket for you. I love you.”
“Love you too, Kell.”
“I’m sorry Ashley, what the hell do you want me to say? I have a client case that is going to court tomorrow, and we have to fine tooth every detail,” Jared’s voice boomed through the phone. The sound of his voice exhibited annoyance and irritation. He never used to be like that with me. Was it the stress of the job? If only he would talk to me, I could try to make it better.
“I was hoping we could sit down and...talk,” I said meekly. I cannot believe that he was seriously going to blow me off, again, for work. It was like the firm had become his mistress, like I had lost my loving husband to his own career.
“I don’t have time for this, Ash. I have to go,” he said right before I heard the long, depressing dial tone of him hanging up on me. I sat the phone down and caught my head in my hands. I rubbed at my temples to try and alleviate some of the tension I was feeling. I decided that I was not going to let him get off that easy. If he wasn’t going to come to me, then I would just have to go to him. I picked my phone back up and dialed the number for Jared’s favorite Chinese restaurant. After placing my order, I hurried down the hall to our bedroom. I combed through the closet to reach a dress from the back. Jared always said he loved it when I wore this red wrap dress with the low plunging neckline.
After slipping on the dress, I quickly made my way toward the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and was aghast at the image portraying back at me. My green eyes looked lifeless and my long, blonde hair was stringy and limp. I tipped my head over and ran my fingers through my hair to try and give it some body. When that didn’t help, I pulled it back and pinned it up in a cute side bun just behind my left ear, leaving a few tendrils loose to frame my face. I curled my lashes and added a thick coat of mascara before finishing off my look with some red tinted lip gloss. I did not normally wear a lot of makeup, and lately I hadn’t put forth any effort to spice up my appearance. I hoped that Jared would appreciate m
y efforts.
After slipping on my black patent leather heels, I spritzed on my favorite perfume and grabbed my purse to head out the door. The whole drive over to Jared’s office I had a nervous feeling. I hoped that he saw my gesture as a peace offering and was happy to see me.
Once I got to Kettleman and Lawson, I felt my nerves start to heighten. What if he got angry at me for showing up unannounced? I nervously pressed the button for Jared’s floor as the elevators closed. I could still turn around and go home, but then things would still be unsettled between us. This deep, dark place I had been in the last few months had to stop. I had to make an effort to get us back on track again.
The elevator doors pinged signaling my arrival. I tentatively stepped out of the elevator with Chinese food in hand. My breathing quickened as I made my way down the hall to Jared’s office and noticed that all the other offices were dark, and I had not yet approached anyone else in the office. Strange.
I finally approached Jared’s office and saw that the door was shut, but light was peering at me through the bottom of the door. I thought that I heard muffled voices and some shuffling of papers. I timidly lifted my hand to softly knock on the door. When I did not get an answer, I placed my hand on the doorknob and pushed it opened.
“Jared I hope you are hungry…”
I never got to finish my sentence. My heart lodged in my throat and I stopped breathing. The Chinese food crashed to the floor sending the contents spilling out into the expensive hardwood floors of the office. My stomach rolled and I felt bile start to rise up into my throat. There in front of me was my husband, who was balls deep inside of his secretary who was sprawled out on his desk.
“Ashley,” Jared whispered in complete shock. I could not explain the emotions I felt in that exact moment as I saw my husband with his cock buried deep inside of another woman who was not his wife. I did not want to give him or her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. Placing my hand on the door handle, I pulled the door closed as I turned around to walk out.
Wasted Love Page 24