My face fell again. “I guess you’re right. I don’t know what you’re feeling, since to me it was, no it is, so much more than that. I have had relationships and crushes and this—” I pointed between us—“is so much more than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m aware I’m leaving, and I can’t stay, trust me. But make no mistake that when I leave, and you move on and try to find this, you won’t. The connection we have is special.”
She’d dropped her head and was playing with the hem of her shorts to distract herself, but I forced her chin back up to look at me.
“You can tell yourself whatever you need to, but it won’t change a thing. I truly believe in my heart that this is more. And one day, I’ll prove that to you.”
She smiled sadly at me and kissed my lips. She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. “So how much time do we have?”
“My plane leaves in forty-five minutes. They’ve already started boarding. They usually close the gate thirty minutes before take-off.”
Her face fell, and my heart broke a little more. I pulled her into my chest and breathed in her scent as I tried to commit it to memory.
We stayed there like that without another word, just being together until I heard them call my zone. My phone alerted me to a text. I pulled it out to respond to Dustin to let him know I would come at the last second and to go ahead without me.
When we heard the final boarding call, the dread washed over me. I didn’t want to say goodbye.
Easton walked me to security, but she wasn’t able to come through without a boarding pass. She turned to me. “I guess this is it.” Her eyes dropped to my chest, not able to look me in the eyes.
“Look at me.”
She glanced up, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
“This can’t be it. There’s no way in hell I can get on that plane and never see you again.”
I kissed her hard, pouring everything I had into that kiss, hoping that she’d sense the way I felt about her through that one action. I’d never had these types of feelings for someone. It was something romance books were written about, and I knew it was something exceptional—she was something exceptional. I wouldn’t let that get away; I’d make sure of it.
The line was starting to fill up at security, and I knew my time was up.
“Please don’t forget about me.” I felt like a pussy, but I had a feeling she was going to try once I was gone if for no other reason than to make the separation easier.
“I don’t think that would be possible if I tried.” She kissed me again. “Now go before I cry again.”
Everything in me told me to stay, but I needed to force myself to turn around. With great regret, I began to walk backward, not wanting to look away. Easton smiled through her tears, and I held back mine.
The moment I had to turn around and walk away, my chest constricted like I couldn’t breathe without her.
I was hoping that once I got off the plane and was back home that things would feel right again, but they didn’t. It felt like I was in a foreign country, not home at all.
The guys and I went our separate ways since my parents were picking me up to have dinner before I went back to school. Sitting in the back seat, I turned on my cell, and my phone alerted me to a voicemail from Easton.
My dad cleared his throat, and I looked up to find his smiling eyes looking at me in the rearview mirror. “So, how was your vacation?”
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to share, so I kept it simple. “Great, we had a good time.”
His brow furrowed. “Just great, eh? From the smile on your face, I would’ve said you’d met a girl while you were there.”
My jaw dropped. “How the f—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, young man.” My mom wasn’t big on cursing, but my dad didn’t care too much. Sometimes I forgot when my mom was around.
“Sorry, Mom. How did you know, Dad?” I watched the back of his head as he drove.
“I know that look anywhere. What was she like?”
“Amazing.” My voice was all dopey. “I can’t even begin to describe her to you.”
My mom turned in her seat with a sparkle in her eye. “Try.”
Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I gushed about Easton, leaving out the part where we slept together many times. My mom’s face lit up as I told her the stories about things we’d done from surfing to Sea-Doos and running at sunrise.
“She sounds like a great girl, sweetie.”
“She is, too bad I’ll probably never see her again.” The happiness I’d felt reliving the past week to my parents suddenly fell away at the realization that she was so far away.
“I’m sorry, son.” My dad’s gruff voice snapped me out of my pity party.
My mom reached back and took my hand. “Maybe you will. You never know; you never know.”
She was absolutely right. I’d told Easton the same thing back at the airport, and I’d meant it.
I needed to see her again no matter what. “I guess there’s always summer vacation.”
“There’s the spirit.” She rubbed my hand and then sat back in her seat.
When we arrived back at my parents’ house, I went straight for my bedroom to listen to Easton’s voicemail; I didn’t even sit down.
The sound of her voice immediately brightened my mood.
“Hey, I’m still sitting here in the airport, and you’ve been gone for over an hour. I feel like I need to say goodbye again before I leave here and turn my back for good. I’ve never felt the way I do about you, and it’s scary to think that’s all gone now, left the moment you walked away. I already miss you like crazy, and it’s just going to get worse. I wish you all the best, Tanner, and I hope that someday, you’ll find someone that makes you feel the way you made me feel this week.”
She took a deep breath, and a sob broke free. She took a minute before she continued, “I need to end this chapter before I leave this airport, and that means that I need to say goodbye for good. I don’t think we should have any contact so we don’t string each other along, knowing it can’t go anywhere. You’ll always have a special place in my heart, Tanner. I wish things could be different, but they aren’t. So goodbye.” I heard her start to cry before the message ended.
My knees gave out beneath me as my world crumbled.
Thirteen
Awesome Day My Ass
Two years later
Easton
I woke to the sound of my phone, and I rolled over to grab it quickly. “Hello?” My voice was barely a crusty whisper. I yawned loudly and heard a chuckle on the other end of the line.
“Sorry for interrupting your beauty sleep, princess, but you need to get your board. It’s bombin’ out there right now.”
I ripped the blankets off and jumped out of bed quickly, and in my haste, I stubbed my toe. “Motherfucker!” I looked up when I saw movement coming from the other side of the bed. Who the fuck?
“Come back to bed, Easton.” A deep voice grumbled from under the covers as a hand snaked out and tried to grab at my leg.
I recognized the tattoo on his forearm.
He was the guy from the bar last night. “Easton, is everything all right?” Spencer sounded concerned on the phone.
“Yeah, Spence, sorry; it’s fine.” I walked out into the hallway and headed toward Sadie’s room first. “Some guy is in my bed, and honestly, I can’t even remember his name. I didn’t even drink that much last night.”
Spencer snorted into the phone. “I always said you were just one of the guys.”
He was right on that front. I may look all girl on the outside, but I’ve been told on numerous occasions that I acted more like one of the guys.
“See you soon, Spence. I’m going to wake the others.” I hung up as I opened Rhian’s bedroom door and walked over to her bed to shake her arm slightly. “You coming to watch us rip up the waves?”
She rolled over and covered her head with the blanket.
“I’ll
take that as a no.”
She grunted in response. Seeing as Rhian wasn’t a surfer, I couldn’t blame her for staying in bed.
Next, I moved on to Sadie’s room. I switched on her light and jumped on top of her. “Bitch, get up. Spence just called and said it’s gun time. Let’s go.”
She pushed me off of her, and I flopped to the ground.
“You whore. What the fuck was that for?”
She yawned loudly. “Nothing. Why are you still in your panties and bra? Why aren’t you ready?”
I looked down and realized she was right. “Shit, I’m going. I’ve got to get that dude out of my bed, too.” I got up and started to walk out of the room.
“You mean Blaine? The guy from last night? Seriously, Easton, you don’t even remember his name? You need to stop bringing home strays. One could be an ax murderer.”
I walked out of the room, ignoring her last comment. I rarely brought a guy home that one of the five of us didn’t know.
Blaine was sitting up in bed when I walked in. He was hotter than I remembered. “Hey beautiful, why are you up this early? Come back to bed.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, dude, but you’ve got to go. I’m heading out.” I grabbed one of my suits that were hanging off my chair and started to change.
“Go? It’s five in the morning.”
I struggled with my tangled bathing suit. Fuck, I hated mornings. “It’s the perfect time for surfing.”
He dropped back onto the mattress and covered his head with the pillow. “I can’t believe you get up this early to surf. You must be crazy.”
I snatched a rash guard off the floor to put on. “You can’t stay here, and the guys are on their way. You don’t have to go home, but you need to get the fuck out.” I grabbed the pillow and smacked him in the head. “You’re welcome to come with us, but either way, your ass needs to get up.”
He reached up and grabbed me, swinging me onto the bed and underneath him, and leaned in for a kiss, but I dodged him.
“Listen, last night was great, but I don’t do this whole thing. I usually don’t bring guys back to my place just for this reason. I’m just not that girl.”
He pulled back slightly, looking into my eyes and scrunched up his face for a second. “It’s cool. I honestly wasn’t looking for anything more, just thought it was customary. You know, something girls wanted.” He shrugged. “But this is even better. Perfect. Whatever.”
I rolled my eyes. I could tell by his tone, he was not cool with what just went down, but I didn’t have time for this. I always said the same thing: no more guys back to the bungalow. It was just too awkward and gave them the wrong impression.
I smiled an utterly fake smile and clapped my hands together. “Great, now that we have that out of the way, can you let me up? I need to get my surf on.” I pushed on his chest lightly for him to snap out of whatever was whirling around in that pretty head of his.
He finally pushed up, got out of bed, and started quickly searching for his clothes. “I’m just going to take a leak if you don’t mind, then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Aw crap, now I felt a little twinge of guilt, but shit, I was positive I gave him the typical speech. This was exactly what I’d said: This is not the start of a relationship. I may want another round, but I don’t want anything more than just sex. Can you handle that? Because if you can’t, walk away now. I’d never had a guy walk away before. They all think with their dicks, so that wasn’t a surprise.
Five minutes later and Blaine was peeling out of the drive, clearly pissed, but I couldn’t give two shits about him. Sadie and I grabbed our boards off the makeshift rack on the side of the porch and took off down the path to the beach. We heard Spencer and Carson shout out after us, but there was no stopping the two of us until our feet hit the surf. Man, I loved the feeling of my toes squishing in the sand.
“Check out those mackin’ sets. What are you Bettys waiting for?” The guys ran past us into the water, wasting no time at all. Sadie followed behind, but I liked to take everything in for a bit before I set out on my board. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Today was going to be an awesome day.
"Easton, get your ass out here." The sound of Joe’s voice shouting from the front of the store caused me to jump; he was always so loud.
Ugh, he could be such a pain. "Coming, Joey." I smirked.
Walking out of the stock room of Boathouse, I spotted Joe standing there with his tatted arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping rapidly. He tried to look all tough and mad, but I wasn’t sure why he bothered. He’d always had a soft spot for me, and I knew it. I walked over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Girl, stop batting those lashes at me and don’t stare at me with those big, green eyes. You're lucky I love you. No one gets away with calling me Joey except you. It's Joe for fuck’s sake. You'd think after seven damn years, you’d get it right."
I hopped up onto the counter and swung my legs back and forth. "I just like Joey better." I shrugged and tried not to smile as I tied my pink hair up in a messy bun.
He huffed and glared at me. “You’re never going to learn, are ya?”
I shook my head as I tried to hide a smirk. “Why did you call me out here? I was working in the back, you know. You interrupted me in the middle of inventory.”
He moved aside, revealing a face I never thought I’d see again.
I blinked a couple of times before I was able to gather any words. “Tanner Fields, to what do I owe the pleasure?” My voice cracked, betraying my false confidence.
He looked down at his shuffling feet. Apparently, he’d suddenly fallen shy. My stomach did a twist, then flopped, and finally rolled over into a somersault. This boy was a fuckton of trouble for me, and I wasn’t having it—not again. He’d always made me feel shit I hadn’t before, and I didn’t like it one bit.
He cleared his throat and looked up before squaring his shoulders. “I actually just moved here. Got a job offer from Chem Central through my college professor—it was too good to pass up.” He shrugged like his words hadn’t just caused my world to flip on its axis. “I thought maybe since I didn’t know anyone here, I would come to see how you’ve been doing,” his voice shook as his words trailed off.
What in the actual fuck?
Fourteen
Welcoming Committee
Tanner
I hadn’t expected Easton to jump into my arms after all this time. I knew a surprise wasn’t the best idea, but I hadn’t been able to get her on the phone. I thought I would just pop in and say hi like it was no big deal, but I guess I was wrong.
The look of pure shock on her face when she saw me should’ve had me running for the door, but I couldn’t do it. The connection I’d felt with her two years ago couldn’t have been all just my imagination, could it?
"I'm sorry to bother you at work. I have a few days to settle in before I start my new job, and I was in the area. I see you were busy in the back, so I’ll let you get back to it." I turned to leave, but the sound of her footsteps halted me before I got too far.
"Give me two minutes, Joe; I'll be right back."
I turned and waved at Joe, and he nodded. Easton and I walked outside and took a seat on the bench out front.
She sighed loudly and then looked up at me. "Listen, I'm sorry I was such a bitch in there. But seriously, what the fuck? I haven’t seen you in over two years, and I'm a little shocked that you’re here. I never expected to see you again, let alone you show up out of the blue and announce you've moved here."
I took a moment to collect myself. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect coming out here. I took this job because it was a great opportunity, but I couldn’t lie; in the back of my mind, I’d hoped that something could come of it with Easton now that I would be here. I didn’t know what to say, she didn’t seem upset, but she was agitated and withdrawn.
"I am sorry, Easton. I thought it would be nice to say hey and see if you wanted to catch up. I didn't think much of
it. I would have called first, but every time I called your number, it goes to voicemail.”
Her face turned pink, and she opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.
“I could’ve called you at work, but I wasn’t sure you’d be here. I took a chance and stopped by. I can see how this was a bad idea. I have a lunch meeting in twenty minutes anyway, so I wasn’t planning to stay long." I stood up and straightened my dress shirt. "Maybe I'll see you around, Easton." I took a deep breath and ignored everything my body wanted to do and just walked away.
I’d had a few days to settle into my new place and a lot of time to do nothing. Tonight, I was going out for the first time since I had moved.
We walked into NRG, a night club a few towns over. I wasn’t at all in the mood for this, but I didn’t know anyone at work, so when they had insisted I come out, what choice did I have?
After being completely shut down by Easton the other day, I could use a few drinks to unwind and let loose.
There were three other guys with me tonight and two girls, and although both of them were attractive, I wasn’t at all interested in mixing business with pleasure, at least not so soon. But we all got up on the dance floor after downing a couple of drinks.
Jane was getting a little too close for comfort, but before I could say anything, I was distracted by the sight of Easton out of the corner of my eye. I stared at her like a complete stalker. When I finally snapped out of it and decided to turn around to walk away before she could see me, Rhian spotted me. She leaned into Easton to say something in her ear. Easton’s eyes snapped up and locked with mine. I couldn’t decipher the look in them. But when she saw Jane grinding on me, I could almost read a hint of jealousy, but she quickly covered it up.
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