by Nella Tyler
“Hey, girl, where’d you get the meat?”
“At the store.”
“Did you steal it?” I know that most “average” citizens wouldn’t believe this, but being homeless doesn’t mean you have no morals. Bennie has strict rules for belonging to our group and one of them is that the only time we steal is when we’re starving or in desperate need of medical care. He’s making a huge concession for me about the surfboard.
“No,” she said, offended. “I bought it.”
“With what money?” Phoebe is the only one of us who panhandles. It’s another safety measure, according to Bennie. If too many of us are out in the public eye, there’s a bigger chance we’ll draw unwanted attention.
“I was on the beach and there were a couple of surfers there. One of them gave me a twenty. Mikey and I bought lunch, and we have change for Bennie.” I looked around, but I didn’t see Mikey. I looked over and could see Bennie looking around, too. He’s our unofficial leader. Ace probably told him Mikey had the rest of the cash. We’re supposed to all share what we have, but Bennie doesn’t trust Mikey. His other main rule for joining the group is that no one uses. It gets too expensive and too dangerous for the rest of the crew. Bennie hasn’t said anything, but I’ve seen him with his eyes on Mikey a lot lately.
“Why did this guy give you twenty dollars, Hailey? He didn’t make you do something for it, did he?”
“No!” If I had a dollar for every time I’d been propositioned by some creep since my grandfather died and I hit the road, I’d own one of those mansions I could see from where I sat right now. I promised myself a long time ago that no matter how hungry I got, I’d never cross that line. Hailey went on to say, “I would never do anything like that. There were some young guys, rich little teenagers…they were bothering me and he was just being nice. He threatened to kick their asses if they didn’t back off and then he stuffed the money in my pocket before I took off. I didn’t even know it was there until I got back here.”
“Okay, good. I’m sorry, Hailey.”
“Don’t be sorry, Summer. Just know that no matter what happens, I ain’t no prostitute.”
“I know. Thanks for the hot dog!” I smiled at her, and she smiled back. She was coming around. That one almost reached her eyes.
I went back over to Ace and got my dog. We even had buns and ketchup! It was the best meal I’d had in a week. Last night we had seafood, but Ace had fished it from the dumpster behind one of the fancy seafood restaurants in town and it kind of tasted like coffee grinds. Every once in a while we snag a Garibaldi fish. It’s illegal to fish in the Cove, but they’re so abundant you can practically grab them right out of the water. We don’t do it often because they taste like shit, but sometimes beggars can’t be choosers.
“Ace, where’s Phoebe?”
“She hasn’t come back yet.” Phoebe panhandles at one of the busiest corners in La Jolla every morning. It’s a prime spot, but she’s had it since the old guy that used to cover it died three years ago. It’s an unwritten law on the streets that you don’t take someone else’s corner unless they get locked up or they die. Ace cut his dark eyes over to the side to make sure Bennie was out of earshot before saying, “Are you two going after the surfboard tonight?”
“Yeah, and it’s okay. I told Bennie.”
“Did he give you shit about it?”
“He’s not happy about it, but he’s not going to let me go alone. He’s going to help.”
“Yeah, Bennie’s not going to risk losing you, that’s for sure.”
I rolled my eyes. I hope one day Bennie realizes that I’m not his to lose. Ace is right, though, no matter how much Bennie disagrees with one of my plans, he won’t ever tell me no. I just hope we both know what we’re doing because as confident as I tried to sound when I went over my plan with him this morning, I’m as nervous as hell.
Chapter Two
DRAKE
“Hey, Kobe!”
“Spence, my man!” My buddy Kobe was born in the wrong decade. He’s only twenty-eight, but he talks and acts like he lived through Woodstock.
I wrapped hands with him and said, “I’m headed over to Land Lubber’s for some lunch, I’m starving. You want to come with?”
Kobe looked around at the empty store. “Hell, since my last customer was…what day is this?”
He also smokes a lot of weed. His memory is not so good. “It’s Tuesday.”
“Okay, then, my last customer was Friday so I guess it would be safe to close up for an hour.” I laughed and he said, “Go ahead and laugh it up, but just remember to put some change in my cup when you pass me on the street, man.”
“I’m sorry, is it that bad?” I had no idea what Kobe’s financial situation was. I guess the way I was raised made me kind of clueless about finances in particular. When I wanted something, I used the Amex card the old man gave me when I was twelve to buy it. He was recently spending a lot of time reminding me of that.
“Nah, not yet, man. I got a big settlement, you know, when that boat hit me in the head. Most of that money is still in the bank.”
“What the hell? You got hit by a boat?” This is what I love about Kobe – it was something new every day.
“Yeah, man, I told you about that…”
“No, Kobe, you didn’t. But come on, you can tell me at lunch. I’m seriously ready to chew off my own arm.” My friend Lance and I had been surfing all morning. I was trying to get ready for a competition in Laguna in a few weeks. I had been in the zone and I’d forgotten to eat. If Lance hadn’t had to quit and go to work, I’d probably still be out there. I waited for Kobe to lock up and we walked down Main Street towards Land Lubber’s. It’s a little hole in the wall restaurant facing the beach; they make the best damn burgers in the entire free world. We were about halfway there when I saw Kobe checking out the homeless girl that sits in the center of the island. It was the second time since I’d been home I’d seen him watching her. I guess she’s kind of cute, but the fact that she’s homeless and begging for money was a turn off to me. It was also hard to tell how old she was. “I’d be careful if I were you, horn dog… I doubt she’s legal.”
“I talked to her a few days ago,” he said with a stupid grin on his face. I worried about him sometimes. He had no idea that there were some people you just can’t let into your life, no matter how hot you think she is.
“So, what did she have to say?”
He tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and finally turned to watch where he was going. “She says she’s nineteen, which is perfectly legal, and her name is Phoebe.”
“Yeah, perfectly legal, she says. How much does she charge?”
“Dude, you’re so negative. She’s not a prostitute.”
“She sits on the corner and begs for money. I’ve been home almost a week now and she’s been wearing the same clothes every time I see her. You think she’s going to give up her only worthy commodity for free?”
“Fuck you, Spence. Don’t talk about her like that.”
I laughed. “Wow,” Kobe never got aggressive with me, or anyone for that matter. “You’ve got it bad for this girl. But, man, she’s homeless…even I’ve never been with a chick that doesn’t bathe regularly.”
“You don’t know if she bathes. She always smells like flowers to me. I don’t care if she lives in a house or a fucking tent, either. I like her. You’re too judgmental. You don’t even realize how good you have it.” We reached the restaurant, and I pulled open the door. My stomach rumbled as the smells of grilling beef assaulted my senses. I’d been all over the world and I’ve eaten in some damned fine restaurants, and I still crave these burgers.
“Maybe.” Kobe’s probably right about that much anyways since my father had been singing the same song lately. I guess I really don’t think about how good I have it because I don’t know anything else. That’s not really my fault, though. My parents have made my life easy – what was I supposed to do, turn it down? I think I’m still a decent pers
on at heart, though. As a matter of fact, when I saw those little assholes on the beach this morning picking on that little homeless girl, I didn’t hesitate to help her. I ran them off and gave her the cash I had in my pocket. I started to tell Kobe about that now, but then I decided that patting myself on the back for giving the girl twenty bucks would make me look and sound like an even bigger dick. Instead, I simply said, “I’ll work on it.”
We took our usual table by the window. After the waitress left with our orders, in an effort to take the heat off of me for being a rich asshole, I said, “Hey, maybe that surfing contest that Ruckus is putting on in a couple of weeks will bring in some business for you.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I picked up a bunch of flyers the other day. I’m gonna put them on the counter and out front and have a sale on all the stuff a beginner would need.” The contest was being put on by a local surfboard company. It’s only for beginners who have never competed and the first prize is ten grand. I think that’ll stir up a lot of wanna-be surfers that might buy a lot of gear they’ll never use again. Hopefully, there will be a lot of medics on standby.
We got our burgers and fries and while we ate, I said, “So, what’s this about a boat hitting you?”
“Oh yeah, man, I can’t believe I never told you. It was about nine years ago, I guess. I was living out of my Kombi back then, following the coastline from one end to the other. I’d been in San Diego for a few weeks and was thinking about pulling out that night, but I went in for one last midnight run before I did. I was paddling out to the break and these little bastards in daddy’s speedboat barreled past me. They had some girls on the boat, and I could tell they’d been drinking. They were in a part of the cove they weren’t even supposed to be. I remember thinking that last run wasn’t worth dealing with the little punks, so I turned around. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in the hospital. I was in a coma for a couple of weeks and there was an attorney at my bedside when I woke up. He sued their daddies and that’s where I got the money to open my place. I put the rest in the bank for hard times.”
I shook my head. That story explained so much. I met Kobe when I was seventeen. We’ve been friends for four years and this whole time, I thought his problems functioning in society were all related to how much weed he smoked. “Damn, Kobe! I can’t believe you never told me that.”
He grinned and I could barely see his white teeth through his gnarly black beard. He really needed a haircut and shave. “Maybe I did and you forgot.”
“Yeah, maybe that was it,” I let it go at that and we finished our lunch. Kobe let me pay like he always does. It’s how we’ve done things since we met, and I don’t mind. On our way back to his shop, we stopped in at Flanagan’s, a little Irish pub on main. We had a couple of beers and bullshitted with a few of the locals. I’d been in Hawaii for a competition for the past month and in Australia for a couple of months before that. I just came home for this Laguna competition and then I’ll be off to Bali. It was good to see everyone. It always seemed like nothing around here ever changed while I was gone. If my father has his way, Bali will be my last competition. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do about that yet, but I have some time. We’d been away from the surf shop for almost two hours when I pointed at the clock and told Kobe,
“Hey, maybe this is why you’re not making any money.” He laughed and gave me the finger, but we settled the tab and headed back to the shop. I saw him glance towards the homeless girl’s corner as we walked by. He looked disappointed that she was gone. I was hoping she’ll find a new spot and he’ll forget about her. Kobe’s the kind of guy that would be really easy to take advantage of. He unlocked the shop when we got there and suddenly, we heard the sound of a girl’s voice behind us,
“Hey, Kobe!” We turned at the same time. I saw Kobe’s homeless girl, but only for a second before my eyes landed on her… She was a tiny little thing with long blonde dreadlocks interspersed with braids and beads. I was shocked at myself for finding it so sexy, that was new for me. One of her small hands was twisting and twirling one of the braids and her dark green eyes were looking directly at my face. They are surrounded by dark, thick lashes, and the rest of her features are small and delicate. Her skin looks like sun-kissed silk without a stitch of make-up on it. She can’t be over five foot two, but she was wearing cut-off jeans and a tight blue t-shirt that showed off delicate womanly curves that begged to be caressed. She has colorful tattoos on both of her arms and at the shapely tops of both of her tan legs. I wanted to trace them with my tongue…
“Hey, Phoebe…and friend,” Kobe said. “Come on in.” I stood back to let Phoebe follow Kobe inside. Her little friend looked up at me again as she passed and I smiled. She didn’t smile back, but that didn’t stop the swell of my parts down south.
Once we were inside the shop, Phoebe and her friend followed Kobe up to the counter. “Kobe, this is my friend Summer.” Summer smiled then, and it was like finally having a piece of that perfect cake, with the icing on top. Fuck…she’s gorgeous.
“Hi, Kobe,” Summer said, sweetly. She glanced at me again and the smile fell off of her face.
“Hi, Summer, you’ve been in here before, right?”
“Yeah, a few times,” she said.
I wanted to talk to her so badly I said, “You surf?”
She turned towards me and looked me up and down. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but I liked her eyes on me. In a tone that said she wasn’t impressed, she said, “Yeah,”
“Sorry, man! Girls this is my friend Spence…Drake Spencer. Drake’s a world class surfer and we should all be honored to be in his presence.” I rolled my eyes at Kobe and noticed the cute little imp rolling hers, as well. She turned her back on me again. I smiled – this one would be a challenge if I decided I wanted to go for it. She doesn’t look homeless, so why the hell not? It had been a while since I’d met a challenge.
I went around behind the counter and perched on one of the stools Kobe kept there. He and Phoebe were making eyes at each other over the counter and Summer had started looking around the place. As she sifted through the racks of surf wear, it gave me a chance to look at her without her catching me staring. I was glad the bottom half of me was hidden behind the counter because my body was responding to this girl in a way it hadn’t responded to any woman in a very long time.
I have plenty of sex, but it’s usually a quick fuck at a party or on the beach. I’ve never had a girlfriend and I’ve never wanted one. I don’t take girls back to wherever I’m staying and I try not to go home with them, if there’s another choice. I don’t want to give them the chance to think we’re going to cuddle or talk. I’m satisfied with as many random hook-ups as I can get…usually. I suddenly found myself wanting to take this girl home with me and spend the rest of the day and night exploring that sweet, feminine little body.
She turned back towards us suddenly, and those green eyes settled back on my face long enough to send a rush of heat all the way to my toes. She wasn’t smiling at me, but she wasn’t scowling, either. I have no idea what she was thinking about me and surprisingly, that kind of turned me on, too. She looked from me over to her friend and Kobe and said,
“Is there a bathroom I can use?”
“Sure,” he said, “in the back.” He didn’t even look up as the little woman pushed herself through his hippie beads and into the back room that was filled with tens of thousands of dollars in surfing equipment. Phoebe was leaning towards him even more and she had her arms pressed into her sides so that her big boobs swelled up over the top of her tiny tank – she was going to be lucky if she didn’t end up with Kobe’s slobber on them. I got up without either of them even noticing and went towards the back to see what the cute little imp was up to.
Chapter Three
SUMMER
My body was shaking by the time I got to the back and it wasn’t because of the plan. I hadn’t been expecting to get blindsided by a hot surfer guy.
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br /> Jesus, my heart nearly stopped when he looked at me with those crystal blue eyes. He looked at me like he saw all of my secrets in that one glance. It was sexy and unnerving all at the same time. One look at him and you can tell he’s one of those surfers using daddy’s money to finance his lifestyle. I see a lot of those around here and I usually despise them at first sight, but this guy, there was something different about him. Either that or my hormones are just raging. He’s really, really hot. His dark hair is curly and looks like he’d spent the morning in the water. It has that “just drug my fingers through it” look and it made me want to put my own in it. He has to be, like, six foot three and he’s got on this dark gray, expensive-looking Australian t-shirt that says, “Insight” across the front of it. The muscles showing underneath it are enough to make any woman’s head spin. His board shorts are baggy, but there’s a nice pair of muscular legs coming out of them. He has a tribal tattoo around the bicep of his right arm and some kind of foreign writing down the back of his left calf. I shivered now just picturing them.
I gave my head a hard shake to clear out my perverse thoughts and glanced back towards the curtain. The thick set of blue and gray beads were all in place. There was no way anyone up front could see me. Bennie would be waiting out back by now, so it was now or never. I looked at the boards. There was a rack on the far wall that started with the smaller ones up front. I grabbed a red and yellow one and hauled it over to the door. I held my breath as I pushed it open because in spite of what I told Bennie, I really wasn’t sure if it had an alarm or not. When I saw Bennie’s anxious face outside, I was so relieved I almost kissed him. I handed him the board and as soon as he had it in his hands, his eyes went wide. He wasn’t looking at me any longer but at something over my shoulder. I felt the presence of the hunk before I turned around and saw those crystal blue eyes judging me.