by Emily Bruce
When they were kids, they practically lived at the beach in summer, on lazy days like this one. Violet and Sophie stumbled across a small cove, hidden behind some rocks away from the main beach. They had been so excited and Violet remembered it like it was yesterday. They spent many a summer playing in their secret spot, hiding from Blake and his mean friends or just living in their own little world. One summer they had the bright idea that because their place was so special, they would come down here and tell each other their secrets. Anything spoken in this spot was never to be repeated to anyone. As children, they had taken that oath seriously, and to this day they still used their secret place for the big things. And what Violet was about to tell Sophie definitely counted as a big secret that was never to be repeated!
The last secret told here was about six months ago, when Sophie needed some advice on Jamie. Apparently, he liked to be smacked on the butt and told he was a bad little boy when they had sex, something which Violet found hysterical and confirmed what she thought.
Jamie had mummy issues.
Sophie didn’t see the humor in it though and she was genuinely upset.
Violet smiled at the memory as she strode across the soft white sand. She trusted Sophie with her life, but she had always held back and never told her what had really happened between her and Blake.
Sophie fell into step with her as they walked along the beach, heading for their spot. The beach was still littered with people watching the sun start to set, kids were splashing in the clear shallow water and building sand castles. Violet loved this place and the soothing lull of the waves relaxed her as the pair made their way across the powdery sand. Their secret cove was hidden a fair walk along the beach. Violet and Sophie talked about mundane things like the weather and the local gossip as the sun started to set lower, which helped Violet relax and her butterflies to calm down. But her hands were now trembling because she was so worked up about having to tell Sophie about The Incident. At the same time, maybe it would be good to finally get it off her chest.
Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that.
Arriving at their spot, they squeezed behind the small gap between the rocks. The sound of children playing disappeared, from inside the little cove the only thing they could hear was the water lapping against the sand. It was like they were all alone in the world. Sophie and Violet both took a seat on the soft but cold white sand and looked up at the sunset. Pinks, blues, and oranges splashed across the cloudless sky.
“Doesn’t the sunset look stunning today?” Violet said, laying back and looking up.
“Okay, out with it, and don’t even think about giving me the runaround!” Sophie said, stretching out her legs and shooting her a look.
“Can I just have a minute to enjoy the sunset?” She sniped back.
“Quit stalling.” Sophie rolled her eyes.
“I’ve been dying to know this for the last 13 years, so hurry up and spit it out!” she added. Violet sat up, hugged her knees, and took a deep breath.
Jesus! Why in the hell was her life so embarrassing?
Okay, when I was 17, you know how I was in love with your brother?”
Sophie smiled. “It was rather obvious.”
I still am, but I’m never ever telling you that!
“I wasn’t the only one! All the girls at school liked him!” She said defensively.
“Chill, okay, I know that everyone around here thinks he is hot, I get it, but he’s my brother, and eww, he’s also the biggest ass-hat around. It creeps me out when people talk about how hot they think he is,” Sophie said, shuddering.
Violet could already feel her cheeks turning pink. Continuing, she took a deep breath and decided to start from the very start. “Well on your 17th birthday, I stayed over. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah, we thought we were so cool when we snuck into Dad’s bar and stole a whole bottle of champagne to celebrate!” Sophie said laughing.
“Yeah, and we drank it, then you went a little crazy and put on some music and we danced around to 90’s pop songs in your room, then you passed out on the bed?”
Sophie started to laugh. “I did do that! God, I was such a lightweight, are you sure this huge embarrassment wasn’t me?” Sophie asked, covering her face with her hands.
“If only it were just that,” Violet said flatly.
How had her life come to this?
“Keep going,” Sophie said, making a continue motion with her hand.
“Well, I was sobering up by the time you passed out, but I thought it would be a great time to go and tell your stupid brother that I loved him. For some deranged reason, I was convinced that he loved me back. Honestly, I have no idea why in the hell I even thought that!” Violet said, shaking her head.
“He did look at you weird.”
“Probably because I was a giant loser!”
“Vi stop putting yourself down, he’s a jerk! A good-looking jerk who everyone lets be a jerk because of his looks. Think about it, he’s 35 and he’s still living off his stupid face.”
Freaking sexiest face in Hollywood face!
“Anyway, back to my story. So, you fell asleep and I thought I had a chance with your brother. So, I raided your makeup. Put on way too much! Picked out my sluttiest clothes I had brought for the weekend.”
“Oh my god! What did you wear?” gasped Sophie.
Violet laughed.
She was not known for her wardrobe choices, she was always one season behind a trend. Sophie, on the other hand, always looked polished and runway ready, even in pajamas!
“I wore a white tank top, no bra. And a pair of your pink short shorts, because my Mom wouldn’t let me have any.”
“Oh my god! Vi, I remember them! They were pink toweling, weren’t they?”
“Yeah, that’s them. So, let me paint the picture for you, Sophie. There I am, my hair is out, I curled it with your curling iron. Wearing a tight white tank top, no bra, and some pink toweling short shorts, my makeup is over-the-top crazy, blush, thick eyeliner, the works. So, I sneak out of your room, I sneak down the hall to Blake’s room, I tap quietly on the door, but no one answers, so I open the door quietly and go in. But he wasn’t there, so I creep into his bedroom and look out the window. I thought he had gone to a party or something. But there he was down by the pool, in the spa. My stupid teenage self thought it was like destiny that he would be down there. So, I hurried quietly through the house and down the back stairs and out onto the pool patio.”
“This is killing me Vi, hurry up and get to the embarrassing part!” Sophie interrupted, slapping the damp sand next to her.
“I’m getting there! Jeez, Sophie, you’re so damned impatient sometimes! So, I could feel my heart hammering through my chest, I thought I was going to die. This was my moment and I summoned up all my courage and made my way outdoors toward the spa. He still hadn’t seen me. He had his eyes closed, and he was leaning his head against the wall. I crept closer, I had butterflies in my stomach, and there he was, the man of my teenage dreams, the hottest guy I’d ever seen. And I was going to tell him that I loved him.”
“I’m assuming it didn’t go as planned?” Sophie giggled.
“No, Sophie. It didn’t go as planned… As I crept closer, I could hear him moaning over the noise of the spa.”
“Moaning! Why was he moaning?”
“I assumed it was because the spa was so nice. I was close, Sophie, I was leaning right next to the spa, I could smell the chlorine and feel the odd splash of warm water on my feet. I took a deep breath, tried to ignore my hammering heart, closed my eyes, and I said… I said, Blake, I love you. I said it loud and clear and he opened his eyes and let out a strangled groan, his face contorted into a weird shape. At that moment, I thought all my dreams had come true, that he was going to tell me he loved me back.”
A tear fell down Violet's cheek and she stopped to wipe it.
“What happened next???” Sophie yelled.
The worst thing that could ever happ
en to a person!
“His eyes landed on me, shocked to see me there. Then Eden Greene popped up from in-between his legs, licking her lips and looking confused,” Violet said flatly. She felt her face instantly turn red. 13 years, 5 months, and 16 days had not reduced the embarrassment level.
“NO!!!” Sophie cried, putting her hands over her mouth in shock.
“Yes Sophie, I professed my love for your ass-hat brother as he came down the throat of Eden ‘Slutty’ Greene.”
“There is no way that actually happened,” Sophie said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Oh, it happened,” Violet said flatly.
She could still hear her heart ripping in two.
The smug look on Eden’s face, Blake looking anywhere but at her.
His dick bobbing there in the bubbling water...
Violet wanting to die right there on the Wilson’s outdoor patio...
“This is crazy! There is no way! Violet, how could you not tell me this?” Sophie said, slapping Violet’s arm hard.
“Ouch. Jeez, Sophie, I didn’t tell you because it was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in the history of my life ever!”
Sophie rolled her eyes.
“Just take the dramatics down ten notches, it’s not that bad. It’s kind of funny,” she said, trying not to giggle.
“Did you not hear the part where I profess my love for a guy while he blows down another girl’s throat? Like, at the exact moment, Sophie!” Violet cried.
“What happened next?” Sophie asked, giving Violet the side-eye.
“Then Eden Greene – what kind of stupid name is that anyway – said to Blake, and I quote, ‘Who’s the kid?’, knowing perfectly well who I was, and Blake started to laugh! Needless to say, I just turned and ran,” Violet said, shaking her head.
“That Eden Greene always was a bitch!” Sophie said fiercely.
“But you have to admit, it is kind of funny,” Sophie added as she started to giggle.
Violet huddled her arms around her legs closer, how in the hell was she going to face him again? She had made sure she hadn’t seen him since that day.
“Is this why you always avoid all my Mom’s parties and functions?” Sophie asked softly.
Violet nodded. There was no point trying to deny it now.
“You missed my 21st because of that?!” Sophie gasped, slapping the sand.
She nodded again. She hated that she had missed Sophie’s birthday parties.
“Well, you are going to have to move past this and deal with it, there is no way you are missing my wedding!” she added, crossing her arms and glaring at Violet.
“I’m not going to miss your wedding, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied, and she meant it.
“You better not or I will hunt you down!” Sophie said, nudging her with an elbow.
Taking a deep breath, she had to admit that it did feel good getting it off her chest. Maybe this wasn’t going to be too bad – she could just ignore Blake, it wasn’t like he was going to talk to her anyway. From what she could gather, he barely spoke to Sophie. So why would he want to talk to her?
“So, do you still like him?” Sophie asked as she got up and casually brushed the sand off her pants, unaware that her question hit Violet like a sledgehammer.
“Uh, no, definitely not...” Violet squeaked in a high voice as she got up.
Way to play it cool and not draw attention to yourself!!
Sophie shot her a look.
“You still like him???”
Shit!!!!
“NO! Hell No! Did you not just hear that story, Sophie! Of course I don’t like him,” Violet yelled, way too loud.
Sophie held her hands up in surrender.
“Okay! I get it, Vi, you don’t like him, not one little bit,” Sophie replied, sounding less than convinced.
Rein it in Violet! You can’t let anyone know…
Making their way back up the beach to the car park, Violet let out a sigh. Something told her that her quiet little life was going to get a lot more complicated.
Chapter 4
Blake
Moving day! Blake had never been so excited to move. This was definitely the right decision and he had gotten up this morning with an extra spring in his step and a smile on his face. No more grueling 4 am workouts, no more movie sets, no more teenage fans, hell, no more paparazzi!
Making his way to the kitchen, Blake smiled as he made his coffee. It was amazing how fast you could move house if you paid large sums of money. Yesterday he was packing his stuff, today he was flying home. Taking his piping hot coffee out to the pool area, Blake’s favorite place in the house, he watched the sun rise over the smoggy sky. The sun looked like a vast fiery orb, looming low on the horizon, something he was definitely not going to miss. The smog was terrible today, he couldn’t even make out Mulholland Drive. He wasn’t going to miss the LA traffic either.
Today was the first day of the rest of his life.
Blake sighed as he sipped his coffee, his mind wandering to the dream he had last night. The recurring dream was his favorite one, one that had haunted him for the last 13 years.
The one where 17-year-old Violet walked across his parents’ dimly lit pool and spa area wearing those hot-as-hell pink short shorts and a white top with no bra. Her perky little tits had bounced as she picked her way over the rough concrete that his parents had installed for safety around the pool area after Violet had slipped, fallen into the pool, and nearly drowned a few years before.
Her long blonde hair was hanging in curly waves down her back, her large emerald green eyes looked luminescent against the faint yellow lighting. She was wearing a scary amount of makeup, but he was still digging it. She had come close to the edge of the above-ground spa and told him she loved him loudly and boldly.
While he came.
Down the throat of Eden Greene.
God.
He hadn’t seen her since that day.
That day you still beat off to, like a total loser! And if you're completely honest, sometimes you have to picture that so you can come while banging some other girl.
Yeah, you have a major problem.
Since that fateful day long ago, Violet had always had an excuse as to why she couldn’t attend any of his mother’s parties, or Sophie’s for that matter. Violet missed Sophie’s 18th and 21st, and her 21st had been at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, somewhere Violet had always wanted to go.
Sophie had been heartbroken when she didn’t come and Blake had felt like a piece of shit because he knew he was the reason. It had been 13 years since he had seen Violet.
Thirteen long years.
He wished things could be different.
Part of the reason he took the modeling job was that him being in Encounter Bay was making her life harder. She was missing out on spending time with Sophie and he didn’t want her to be embarrassed around him so that people would notice. He knew that what had happened had left her deeply hurt and humiliated.
He should have gone after her and told her that he loved her back or at least talked to her about it and made it right. But he was 22 and he couldn’t profess his love for a 17-year-old. He kicked himself every day that he hadn’t at least tried to smooth the situation over with her.
He hoped she had forgotten…
In his dream, he always told her he loved her back, that there was no Eden Greene and no embarrassing scene.
Blake got up and took his coffee cup back inside. The removal guys would be here any minute and he needed to get them going so he could make his flight to Houston.
Strolling through the house, making sure he had everything packed that he needed to and that there were no valuables left out in the open, Blake made it to his bedroom, grabbed his suitcase, and wheeled the hulking thing to the front door. Only a couple more hours and he would be on his way to Encounter Bay, back where he belonged, close to his Violet.
His Violet… she had always been his, well in his
mind anyway, because there was just something about Violet Stone. Other women just didn’t do it for him the way she did. She was beautiful, stunning even, but then there was also her awkwardness and clumsiness. It was so damn hot. She was always the one to get hit in the head with a ball or get bitten by a crab on the beach.
Blake had spent most of his childhood teasing her and his sister. The things he used to do to them – put salt in their batch of cookies when they weren’t looking, sneak his rubber snake into Sophie’s room and put it in her bed.
This made Blake smile, because he had been such an asshole to them when they were growing up. It was probably why he and Sophie were no longer close.
But by moving back to Encounter Bay he hoped to change that, and he was going to reconnect with his family and friends.
Blake let the movers in and showed them what they needed to pack. All his things were going to a storage facility in Encounter Bay, he would buy a house later after he had a few weeks to relax. Blake watched on as the team of fifteen or so burly looking men and women shuffled into his home, greeted him, and listened to his instructions. Before long, his whole house was packed onto three moving trucks and headed for Encounter Bay. Blake walked around the empty mansion. The realtor was going to deal with the staging and selling. His big fancy house was now vacant and Blake thought he would feel sad about leaving, but he was only filled with anticipation for the future and seeing Violet again.
Maybe he wasn’t as happy as he thought here…
Blake’s front gate buzzed. His ride to the airport was here and he grabbed his suitcase and left his dazzlingly modern LA home for the last time with a smile on his face and hope in his heart.
His mother was picking him up from Houston. Knowing his luck, one of her famous parties would probably already be in full swing for his arrival home. He wondered if a certain someone was going to be there, with her haunting emerald eyes and pouty pink lips.
He felt his dick quiver with anticipation.
Chapter 5
Violet