by DD Sparxx
“You don’t have to leave yet,” I said walking over to her.
She turned and shook her head, “We both knew what I came here for and now that it’s done I really should get going.”
I nodded back at her. I was glad she wasn’t clingy. I smiled at her, “I have to ask. Do you always carry a tube of lube in your purse?”
“Only when I’m heading out and hoping for the night to end with some hot anal sex,” she winked at me. She leaned forward kissing me on the cheek. “Bye, Ford. Thanks for an amazing night. I can show myself out.”
“Bye, Poppy,” I said watching her walk out the door.
I turned out the lights, wandered back to the bed and climbed into the sheets. Sleep quickly overtook me.
6
Ella
I sang along to my iPhone, as I pulled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head, and examined my reflection in the mirror, turning my head from side to side. Satisfied that it was all up and off my skin, I grabbed the sunscreen out of my beach bag and squirted some into my palm. After rubbing my hands together, I proceeded to smooth it over my skin, making sure to get every inch of me. The coconut scent wafted up to my nose and made me smile.
I loved the beach. Literally. Loved. Everything. About. It.
The minute my toes hit the sand, adrenaline always rushed through me. And the waves. There was nothing more calming than listening to them crashing on the shoreline. My favorite place to be in the world was on a beach, on a sunny day, listening to the waves, with a good book in my hand, music playing softly in the background. Singing and reading both were two of my favorite ways to unwind. Combine all of the above, and I was in my own, personal, heaven-on-earth.
I reached for my bikini and tied it on, making sure to line up my already existing tan lines. I had been here for two days and had enjoyed every second by soaking up the sun. I was always cautious when applying sunscreen though, because I was a huge baby when it came to getting scorched. Luckily, I tanned easily, and as long as I remembered to continually reapply at regular intervals, I stayed burn free. I tugged on my cover-up, slipped on my flip-flops, and looked through my beach bag one last time.
Ginormous beach towel, check. Extra, small towel, check. Books, check. Sunscreen, check. Portable speaker, check. iPhone, check. Lip balm with SPF, check. Bottles of water, check. Snacks, check. Id and credit card, check. What was I forgetting? I quickly looked around the small bungalow. My sunglasses were on the kitchen table and the keys to the bungalow were there as well. It would have sucked to have locked myself out in the excitement to get to the sand. I grabbed the keys, stuffed them in the bag, and shoved my glasses on my face. I locked up and headed for the beach. It was beautiful, mid 70’s for temperatures, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The place I rented was about a five-minute walk away. I admired all the homes as I passed by. Coronado Island was my favorite, close-to-home, getaway.
I saw the sand up ahead and sped up so I could get there faster. As soon as I got there I pulled off my flip-flops, hooked them over my fingers, and sighed audibly as I stepped into the sand.
“Heaven,” I whispered to myself.
Almost, anyways. The water was so blue. I watched captivated as the waves crashed on the shore, giving the water a blue fading into white, frothy effect. I wandered closer to set up my station for the day. The public restrooms were close and I could see the Hotel Del from my location. If my snacks weren’t enough, I’d hit up one of the little restaurants that was located nearby.
I spread out my towel and secured the edges with my flip-flops, beach bag, and a couple of my books. I brought three with me for that specific reason; two to help hold down corners when the winds kicked up, and one to actually read. The first had been a mystery and I was now halfway through my second one, a BDSM romance. It was good, all about an underground, secret sex-club. Nothing I would be comfortable doing in real life, but that was the fun of books; fantasy, escape from reality, a whole new world where the characters’ real life problems weren’t your problems.
I set up my music and grabbed my small towel to use as a pillow. Book in hand, I leaned back onto the pillow and I sighed again, “Officially, heaven.”
This was my happy place.
Like I said before, Coronado Island was one of my all-time favorite places to go. I didn’t mind going alone; in fact, I enjoyed it. This way, I didn’t have to worry about doing what anyone else wanted to do. I could relax and do whatever I wanted to do, with whatever mood struck me. This trip had been just what I needed to regroup and regain my focus on life.
I had been selling real estate for about five years now. I started out with a small company and loved it. I still got big clients, but this way I didn’t have the higher overhead costs that most of the bigger real estate brokerages charged. I was great in sales, always had been, but I remembered a time when I wasn’t so sure what I wanted to do with my life, other than being a wife and mom someday.
After making some difficult decisions, and going through a lot of heartache, I decided to try my hand at real estate. Getting my license was the easy part, although the testing was horrendous. Finding a company I liked, and finding clientele, was what was hard. Now that I had been doing it for a while though, it was becoming easier and much more rewarding. I had a lot of client referrals, an amazing team that worked under me, and when I wanted to take some time off I had all the faith in the world that they could handle it without me. And I always had my cell phone just in case they couldn’t.
About an hour into my reading the music cut out and my sister’s ringtone started to play. It was Lucy’s special tone, so I knew who was calling without even looking.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Hey, yourself! You busy?”
“Extremely,” I paused for effect. “I am lounging on the beach, reading a book,” I teased.
“I am so jelly! Where are you? Coronado again?” I could hear her yearning to be here with me through the phone.
That’s the great thing about me and my sister; we each know how the other operates.
“You know it! Oh, Luce, I rented the cutest little bungalow only a few-minute walk from the beach. Every time I come here I want to purchase property. I could make so much money renting it out when I wasn’t using it. Then I look at the housing market prices and think I’ve still got a ways to go before I can buy an investment property here. The prices are insane!”
“Even still, it’s a nice dream to have for someday. And I don’t doubt that you’ll be able to make your dream a reality when that someday comes.” She waited a beat before she continued. “So?”
“So, what?” I asked, bringing my fingers to my mouth. I knew what she was asking. Every spring for the last seven years I was in a funk. Thankfully, she was with me for the first one, but for each of the last six she checked on me with more frequency than during the rest of the year.
“Ella, you know what,” she sighed exasperatedly. “How are you doing? I know it’s been a long time, but I know you. I know how you get every year around now.”
“I’m fine, Luce. I’m putting myself out there more. Sadie and I meet new guys all the time.” And none of them are what I’m looking for, I shook my head at the thought.
“None of which are what you are looking for. I know you. Anyways, I’m not just talking about meeting guys. I’m talking about you just being happy.”
“Right this second, I am extremely happy. I have the sun, the sand, the sea, a book and my sister on the phone. What else could I possibly need?”
“Ok, if you say so. So, any hotties out surfing or roaming the beach today?” My sister, ever the horn-dog.
“To be honest, I haven’t even noticed. I was really wrapped up in my new book.” I scrunched my forehead and looked around. “There are a few surfers out there, but I couldn’t tell you if any of them are hotties or not. Actually, there aren’t too many people here today. Which is surprising since it’s a Sunday. I feel like I have almost the whole area to myself.”
“Boo. How boring is that?” I could hear the disdain in her voice.
“It’s not boring at all,” I laughed. “I enjoy my own company and when I’m reading other people are a distraction,” I hinted.
“Well you know I’m not a huge reader. I’d rather watch the people. What made you decide to head out to the island this weekend?” She was so damn perceptive.
“Work’s been really busy and I just needed a few days to unwind. And, for the record, you know I like to watch the people too,” I hedged.
“Quit stalling. Out with it,” she plodded.
“Out with what?” I countered.
“You do realize it’s me you’re talking to. I know you. Spill.” Man, she was relentless.
“Ok, ok. I went on a date with this guy I met-”
“A-ha! I knew it,” she laughed.
“It’s not funny!” I exclaimed back at her, chuckling.
“I’ll be the judge of that. Proceed.”
“I met him at Starbucks. He literally bumped into me, knocking a binder that had loose papers in it out of my hands. Thankfully, we were both waiting for our orders so no hot fluids were spilled. He helped me pick everything up off the floor and apologized profusely. He was sweet and cute. He joined me for coffee and we got to know each other a little bit. His name was Adam, he worked at a hospital, single, no kids. Before he left, he ended up asking me out. I figured, what the heck did I have to lose. He seemed nice enough, and normal.” Normal was key, I thought to myself.
“And?”
“So, we went to dinner and a movie. I met him at the Starbucks and rode with him from there.”
“Smart move. Don’t let some stranger know where you live.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. He did everything right, complimented me, kissed the back of my hand, opened the car door for me. Immediately after that is when things went downhill.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, when he started up the car he had death metal playing, at high volume. He turned it down, but my ears were already ringing from the sound. Next, he took me to a vegan restaurant. You know how much I detest tofu. Then, when we got to the theater, he didn’t even ask me which movie I wanted to see. And he chose this really creepy horror movie that, in my opinion, should have never made it to theaters. The worst part is, he loved it. Once it ended, he kept raving about the crappy special effects.” I closed my eyes at the offending memory.
“Poor Adam. Sounds like he had three strikes against him before the night even ended.” She actually sounded upset for him.
“I wasn’t trying to be judgmental. I tried to recapture what I thought was a decent connection from the coffee shop that morning. When we got back to my car he was telling me that he had such a great time. I decided maybe I was being too hard on him. I mean he didn’t know me well enough to know what I liked, or disliked, as the case may be. He walked me to my car and opened my door for me.”
“He certainly sounds like a gentleman,” she cut in.
“He was. Until I turned around to tell him goodnight and he shoved his tongue down my throat.”
I could hear my sister laughing. “No, he didn’t,” she gasped trying to take in a breath.
“Oh, yes, he did. He squeezed my ass, too. The worst part is he didn’t even notice that I didn’t kiss him back or that I pushed him away. He gave me this huge smile after and asked for my phone number. Saying we should definitely do this again.”
“What’d you do?” She asked, the disbelief obvious in her voice.
“I gave him the wrong phone number and got the hell out of there,” I laughed. “Thankfully, it’s not my usual Starbucks. That would’ve really pissed me off.”
She was laughing hard now and I couldn’t help but join her. When I finally caught my breath, I was smiling again.
“I do kind of feel bad for him though,” she said.
“C’mon, death metal when you’re picking up a date? Who does that? And he made me eat tofu. Tofu, did you hear me? Yuck! You know how much I love my meat. I could never give it up. Not ever. Then it was topped off with horror movie, followed by horror kiss goodnight. Ugh. No, thank you.” I cringed to myself.
“I could kind of get the horror movie. Scary movie, you need a man to protect you, so you snuggle closer, and all that jazz.”
“Don’t care. I’m taking a hard pass. On all of it. Adam was definitely not the one for me. No meat,” I mumbled as I shook my head.
“I hear ya. You know I’m big on meat too. I love me some meat.” Then we both dissolved into a fit of laughter. “So, after the date from hell you decided to leave town? You just there for the weekend?”
“You know me so well. I leave tomorrow night. I love coming this time of year anyways, but he was extra incentive to escape and have a little me time to remind myself why I don’t need a man to make me happy. And so far, it’s working.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. I’m glad to hear you’re doing ok. Call me after you get back to Phoenix?”
“I will,” I assured her.
“Thanks for the laugh. I needed it today.”
“Everything ok there?” Shit, I was too wrapped up in my own disdainful memories that I didn’t even get a chance to see how she was doing.
“Yeah, just working a lot. I get so tired of dealing with the all these insurance companies. But I won’t bitch. Working from home is such a blessing and it allows me to have the flex in my day that I want. So, all things considered, I know I’ve got it good. Miss you though.”
“I miss you too. You should come visit soon. Or you could consider moving. I do know an amazing Realtor that could help you find a place. Just sayin’…” I trailed off.
“I know you do. Maybe someday.”
I could hear it in her voice; I had finally started to wear her down.
“That’s not a no. I’ll take it for now. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The music started back up as soon as the phone disconnected. I picked up my book and started to read again, allowing myself to get sucked into the dark fantasy.
When I finished my book, I grabbed my phone to leave a review for the author on Amazon. It was super hot and I was really impressed with the story line and her writing. I made sure to leave her a five-star review, then I tossed my phone off to the side again. I had paused my reading earlier to flip and reapply my sunscreen a few times, but I could tell it was time to do it again.
I followed the same procedure I had already gone through repeatedly over the course of the past few hours. The sun had moved across the sky and I adjusted my position to match it. My tan was a deep, golden brown and I shifted my bikini across the lines to make sure none of the fairer skin was exposed.
The mystery I had left to read was calling my name, so I swapped it out with the one I had just finished and dug in.
After a while, the sun began to set and I decided to pack it all in for the night; I didn’t want to walk back to my rental in the dark. I stopped at Yummy Sushi on the way and grabbed some sushi to go, then headed back to my bungalow to eat it.
Once I was done and everything was cleaned up, I stripped down and turned on the shower. Only one more day here in paradise, I thought. I made a mental note to remember to check in for my flight before bed.
I admired my dark tan lines in the mirror while I waited for the temperature to adjust. As soon as it did, I stepped under the spray and washed the beach off of me. Once I was satisfied I was thoroughly clean, I dried off and applied my after-sun lotion, then climbed into bed. Sleeping naked was the only way to go as far as I was concerned. I grabbed my phone and checked in for my flight, then reached for my book.
After only about three pages I felt my eyes grow heavy and I caught myself reading the same paragraph a few times over. I rolled over, set the book on the nightstand and turned off the light. I decided I didn’t want to fight it, and I let sleep have its way with me.
7
Jax
I was on the treadmill when Ford ambled in looking much more present than he had last night. Already breaking a sweat, I slowed my pace as he climbed onto the treadmill next to me to warm up.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” I smiled at him. “Did you sleep well last night?” I asked wiggling my eyebrows at him.
“In fact, I did,” he smiled.
“Did that have anything to do with the fact that you took home that pink-haired girl from the club?” I asked pointedly. No need to beat around the bush, Ford was my boy.
“Yeah, it does actually. Let me tell you, she was definitely unique, and I don’t mean because of her hair color either. She came across as all shy and kind of quiet at first, but she was anything but.” He shook his head, with a smirk.
“How so?”
“Let’s just say we were sharing shots at the bar, and suddenly she was asking to come home with me. The next thing I knew we were in my hotel room, and in the time it took for me to take off my shoes, open the mini-bar and turn back around, she had already stripped down to her thong and had a tube of lube in her hand,” he laughed.
“No way! Sounds like you hit the jackpot.” Now, I was shaking my head in disbelief.
Lowering his voice, he leaned toward me and said, “Dude, you have no idea. Have you ever had a woman you’ve only just met, want you to stick it in her ass the first time the two of you have ever hooked up, let alone had sex? It was surreal! I tore that shit up! And the cool thing was, she knew before we even left the bar that last night was all we’d ever have. She called it a sexorcism. No small talk involved. And literally, immediately after, she got up, got dressed, thanked me, and left! I almost felt used myself!” he snorted.
“I’m tempted to tell you I’m jealous, but I may have found my go-to booty call for Vegas last night.”