Take Me To The Beach

by K. L. Grayson, Karina Halle, A. L. Jackson, Marni Mann, Monica Murphy, Devney Perry, Kristen Proby, Rachel Van Dyken

  Chapter 18

  Alex

  I’m shocked silent for a moment by Caroline’s question. Only because I’m not sure how to answer.

  The server chooses that moment to appear at our table, a tentative smile on her face. “Everything okay? Are you ready to order entrees? Or are the appetizers going to do it for you tonight?”

  “I’d like an entrée.” I look over at Caroline, who shrugs her answer. “My date will have the grilled chicken, and I’ll take the lobster.”

  “Very good.” The server makes a note of our order. “Care for more wine?”

  “Please,” Caroline answers before I can.

  Once the server is gone, I start talking.

  “Have you ever found yourself swept up into a situation that you weren’t sure how to get out of?” When Caroline nods, I explain further. “That’s how I felt about Tiffany. I met her, and we instantly clicked. We shared the same interests, she was always available, accompanying me to the various meetings and dinners that come with my job. She was just so damn agreeable. That should’ve been my first clue something was wrong.”

  Caroline offers a faint smile, but says nothing.

  “Turns out she agreed with everything I said or wanted to do because her only goal was to please me. To get me. She was husband hunting, and in her eyes, I was a good catch.”

  “You have to admit that you’re a pretty damn good catch.”

  Does she really mean that? By the look on her very expressive face, I’d say yes, but I don’t want to sound like an egotistical prick. Even in my own thoughts. “I look good on paper. In real life, I’m not that easy.”

  “Are you saying that just to be humble?” she asks, her gaze narrowed.

  I appreciate the way she doesn’t mince words. “Probably.”

  “Doing what you do, I’m sure being humble isn’t considered an asset.” Her eyes go wide and she covers her mouth with her fingers. “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you’re right. I have to sell not only my business, but I have to sell the family. I have to sell me. To investors, to clients, to guests. Our brand is all about trust,” I explain.

  “Are you too trusting of a person? Is that how Tiffany was able to weasel her way in?” Caroline asks, her eyes dancing with mischief. I’m sure over the weasel reference.

  But too trusting makes me sound weak, and I wouldn’t consider myself a weak person. Did Tiffany strike at the right time? Did she take advantage of me? Again, that makes me sound weak, and I don’t like it. “I wouldn’t call myself too trusting, but in that moment…I suppose I was,” I reluctantly admit.

  “I’m the complete opposite,” she tells me, her slender fingers playing with the delicate stem of her wineglass. Her nails are short, painted a pale pink. I remember grabbing her hand and pulling her to me when I was fourteen, how my heart was in my throat, my head feeling as if it would explode. I was so damn scared she would pull away. Laugh at me.

  Instead she came willingly. She trusted me then.

  Who made her distrust everyone now?

  “What do you mean?” I ask when she doesn’t say anything else.

  “I don’t trust anyone. You have to earn my trust before I give it.” She smiles, her hand dropping away from her glass to settle in her lap. “You have an advantage though.”

  “I do?” I’m surprised.

  “Yes.” She nods. “I knew you when we were kids, and you were always nice to me, Alex. Carter’s friends treated me like crap on the regular, but never you. You were always polite, always kind. Like you actually wanted to hang out with me.”

  “I did want to hang out with you,” I confess.

  She laughs, the tinkling sound filling me with…Christ, is that joy? I can’t remember the last time I felt such a pure emotion. “Knowing how big of a crush you had on me back then is pretty heady stuff.”

  “Still?”

  “Definitely. If I’d only known then, I would’ve totally worked it. We could’ve made out all summer long.” She’s grinning, her eyes sparkling, and she’s reminding me of the girl I knew years ago.

  That had been my plan. After we kissed that night, I’d tried my best to devise a hundred different ways for us to be together again. Alone. With nothing but time on our hands and our lips on each other’s.

  But I’d woken up the next morning to discover my parents wanted to talk to me. They’d made a decision. They were sending me to football camp for two weeks starting in two days, and I would be attending a new high school in the fall. I never saw Caroline Abbott or her brother—my best friend—again.

  Until a couple of weeks ago.

  “That would’ve made my summer much better,” I say wistfully.

  “Same.” She laughs. “Can you imagine? A summer of nothing but make out sessions? They probably would’ve been disastrous. We were so young.”

  “We would’ve figured it out,” I tell her with a sly smile.

  “I’m sure.” She’s smirking again. “You disappeared though. Carter would never admit it, but he was heartbroken. I was the angry one.”

  “You were angry I disappeared?” At the time, I wondered if anyone would actually care. That’s typical fourteen year old angsty boy for you.

  “Furious. On my brother’s behalf and mine. I couldn’t believe you’d kiss me like that and just…evaporate. Like you never even existed.” She snaps her fingers, considering me. “What happened?”

  “My parents made me to go to a two week summer camp—and gave me two days’ notice to get ready for it. They also made me go to a different high school,” I explain.

  “Why didn’t you call Carter? Or any of your friends?”

  “I didn’t think they’d care?” Her incredulous expression urges me on. “Look, I was fourteen, and depressed my parents were changing my life without asking. Not that they asked for my input on anything I did when I was a kid, but still. When I came back from camp, I realized none of my friends tried to call, no one looked for me, asked about me, nothing. I got pissed. I figured no one would miss me, so why bother talking to anyone from my old school? That’s why I never reached out.”

  I’m realizing when you’re fourteen, you’re pretty damn dramatic.

  “You kissed me like crazy, then never called me again. Did you think I forgot about you too?”

  My gaze meets hers. “Yes,” I say, my voice a little rough, which is ridiculous. We were kids and we kissed. No big deal.

  But why does this conversation, and my confessions, feel like such a big deal?

  “Boys are so stupid when they’re fourteen,” she mutters under her breath.

  “We’re kind of stupid now, if that’s any consolation,” I tell her.

  Caroline rolls her eyes. “That’s no consolation. At all.”

  The server reappears with our fresh bottle of wine, filling our glasses with what remained in the old bottle before leaving as quickly as she appeared.

  “I was—difficult when I was a kid,” I say as Caroline sips from her glass. I was stubborn. Opinionated. Drove my parents and sister crazy. I’d get to school though, and become quiet. I let others lead, while I observed.

  Learned.

  And when I started my freshman year at the new high school, I used all of those traits I observed throughout my middle school years and made them my own.

  I became a leader.

  “I always thought you were nice,” she says.

  “Sure I was. To you.”

  “Do you consider yourself difficult now?” She raises a delicate brow.

  “I can be rather…particular.” I need to choose my words carefully, so I don’t look like a complete asshole. “I like things to happen a certain way.”

  “So you like to be in control.”

  She gets me faster than I thought she would. Faster than Tiffany ever did, as well. “I do. In business and in my personal life. That’s why I haven’t had a serious girlfriend in years—until Tiffany.”

  “And we know how well th
at went.” A smile teases the corners of her lush lips. She has a pretty mouth. A pretty everything if I’m being truthful. She was cute when we were young, but now?

  She’s stunning. Beautiful. Yet it’s more than just her pretty face that I find attractive. She’s smart. Confident. Funny.

  I shouldn’t feel like this. I broke off my engagement only a few days ago, and I’m already attracted to Caroline. Though my problem is, I’ve always been attracted to Caroline. I’ve often wondered where she might be, what she might be doing. I even looked her up a couple of times over the years. I found her on Facebook through Carter, but her profile had strict privacy settings and I couldn’t see much. Her Instagram is private too. There’s not a lot about her on the Internet.

  She’s a mystery that I want to figure out.

  But would she see me again? Or does my relationship status make her wary? If she was the one who just broke off an engagement, and asked me to dinner after only a few days of ending it, I’d run. She’d be a non-negotiable.

  If Caroline was smart, she’d let me pay for her meal, have me drive her back home, thank me for a nice dinner, and never see me again.

  Chapter 19

  Caroline

  “I’m so grateful you’re all here.” I smile at the women at the table. My closest friends. “I really need your counsel.”

  It’s Sunday and once a month me and the gal pals get together for brunch. We’re at one of our favorite breakfast places, sitting outside on the patio since it’s a gorgeous spring morning, with barely a cloud in the sky. These monthly meet ups are a chance to drink champagne before noon without shame, eat lots of delicious food and pretend there are zero calories, plus we can catch up on gossip. The gossip is usually just about us and our lack of—or overabundance of—a love life.

  After my dinner date—yes, fine I can admit it was a date—with Alex Friday night, I knew I’d need to talk to my girls. Here today are Stella, Sarah, Amelia, who works at a fine jewelry store not far from where Sarah works, and Eleanor, who’s a hairstylist and cuts all of our hair for a discount. I would’ve invited Kelsey, but since I need serious advice about the man who happens to be her boss, I thought it best I wait and invite her to the next monthly brunch.

  “What’s going on?” Amelia asks before taking a sip of her mimosa. We all ordered a round, but I already finished mine.

  Yeah. I’m that twisted up over this.

  “I went on a date Friday night.” I pause for a moment, letting this bit of info sink in. It’s been a while since I’ve been on an actual date, and they all know this.

  “That’s great news,” Eleanor says, smiling. She’s a sunny blonde with a positive attitude that makes all of us look like a bunch of bitter Betty’s most of the time. I haven’t told her anything about Alex, and same with Amelia, so they’re coming into this completely clueless. “With who? Where did you meet him?”

  I decide to drop the truth bomb with a heavy hand. “He came in with his fiancée to order save the date cards and wedding invitations.” I look around for a server, anxiety clawing at my throat. I need more champagne.

  “Wait, what? He’s engaged?” Eleanor’s light blue eyes look like they’re about to pop out of her head. And she sounds positively outraged. Amelia’s just staring at me with her mouth hanging open.

  She’s the practical friend. The one who will caution you if you’re getting too crazy, and push you when you’re being too reserved. She’s very refined and quiet, probably because she spends so much time with wealthy people shopping for expensive jewelry.

  “He’s not engaged anymore.” The server makes his appearance, and I practically beg him for another round of mimosas. Once he’s gone, I say, “They broke it off.”

  “Because of you?” Eleanor rests a hand against her chest, as if her delicate sensibilities can’t handle all of this shocking news.

  “His fiancée was cheating on him.” I give Eleanor and Amelia a run down, keeping it brief since everyone else at the table already knows the story. I finish my tale with, “He was also the first boy I kissed.”

  “Wait, are you serious?” Now it’s Amelia’s turn to drain her mimosa, which is very unlike her. She’s not a big drinker. “This is insane. Straight out of a Netflix movie.”

  “That’s exactly what I told her,” Stella says. “Or like a Lifetime movie.”

  “Those are the best,” Sarah chimes in. “So trashy. I can waste an entire day watching cheesy Lifetime movies.”

  “Same.” Eleanor nods enthusiastically.

  “We’re getting off track.” I’d clap my hands to get their attention, but that’s such a bitch move. “Seriously, guys. I need help here. Should I keep seeing him?”

  “Is he interested in still seeing you?” Sarah asks.

  “He texted me yesterday, throughout the day. Asking me what I was doing, telling me what he was up to. Kept the conversation going even when I didn’t respond.” I thought he was going to ask me to do something together last night, but he didn’t. Maybe he was just playing it cool.

  Maybe he’s not interested…

  “He’s interested,” Stella says, like she can read my mind. “I’m guessing this is kind of awkward for him though. I mean, you are the one who caught his fiancée sucking face with someone else.”

  “Seriously, Stel? Sucking face?” Sarah starts to laugh, and the rest of us do too.

  I didn’t even catch them kissing exactly, but whatevs.

  “It’s super awkward for me too, for that very reason. Guys, I don’t know what to do.” Now I’m whining. I really hope our server returns with our drinks soon.

  “Tell me the story behind your first kiss with him,” Eleanor says. “I can’t get over that. So you already knew him?”

  I fill her in on that fun story too, and then I tell all of them what he said Friday night. If he hadn’t been sent away to camp, we could’ve spent the entire summer making out. “That probably would’ve been the best summer of my life,” I admit, fanning myself.

  “He’s so freaking gorgeous,” Stella adds.

  “And don’t forget wealthy,” says Sarah. “He’s vice president of the Worth Corporation.”

  “Well damn. He sounds promising,” Eleanor says.

  “But he just broke it off with his psycho ex, he’s a total workaholic who claims to have control issues, and…I don’t know.” I shake my head, sighing loudly. “I look at him and remember the boy he once was, and that just makes my heart happy. But is it enough? Yes, he’s good looking. Yes, he’s smart and ambitious and comes from money. And Stella’s right, he’s freaking gorgeous. Sexy.”

  They all get a dreamy look on their faces.

  “I just don’t know if he’s worth the trouble. The ex is a real concern. Coming into my work and threatening me, tossing stuff around, that’s not normal. What if she finds out Alex and I are seeing each other? Then she’ll really lose her shit.”

  The server is back with a fresh tray of mimosas, and we order our food. Once he’s gone, they’re ready to ask me questions. Stella’s first.

  “Isn’t Tiffany from West Hollywood?”

  I nod. “But I don’t think she’s gone back there. She’s been spotted around town.” Specifically by my co-worker Cassie, who texted me yesterday afternoon to let me know she saw Tiffany with another man—I’m assuming the mysterious Ed—at the beach in Carmel.

  I like to take walks at that specific beach at least a couple days a week. Now I’m going to have to avoid it like the plague. And that sucks.

  “Do you really like him?” Sarah asks. She’s our dreamer of the friend group. A little bit of a romantic, though she’d be horrified to hear herself described that way.

  “I think I do,” I say hesitantly. “I don’t know enough about him as an adult to answer that question fairly. But I’d like to know more.”

  “I say go for it.” Again it’s Stella, though her comment isn’t a surprise, considering she’s the bold, daring one of the group. She says what she wants, does wha
t she wants, and damn the consequences. So far, this attitude has worked out fairly decently for her. “You have nothing to lose. Keep seeing him, see if it goes anywhere.”

  “But what about Tiffany?” I wrinkle my nose, make a disgusted face because ugh, Tiffany. I do not want to deal with her. At all.

  “If she makes an appearance or keeps harassing you guys, then end it with him. Tiffany lingering around him and you all the time isn’t worth it, you know? She could ruin the relationship before it even starts,” Amelia explains. “And if that’s the case, then it wasn’t meant to be.”

  She makes it sound so very simple. And if I treat it right, it could be simple. Though I could see myself getting in over my head and falling for him quickly.

  I decide to reveal my biggest fear of all to them. “You don’t think I’m a rebound relationship for Alex?”

  “Maybe you are. Are you really going to let that hold you back?” Stella shrugs. “Maybe he’s curious to see what could happen between you two after all these years. I think you’re the one who got away in his eyes.”

  “You really think so?” I hadn’t thought of him in a while. When I was a teen, yes I would think about him a lot. Think about that night, how bold and unexpected his initiating the kiss was. How I wish I knew what happened to him.

  But time marches on, memories fade, and you push those sorts of things into the back of your brain. At least, that’s what I did.

  “Do you feel like he’s the one who got away?” Amelia asks.

  “Sort of…” I let my voice drift. At this very moment, I look at him like that, which is kind of ridiculous considering we didn’t have an actual relationship back then. I was twelve, almost thirteen for the love of God. What did I know about relationships? All I wanted to do was kiss his perfect lips.

  That’s kind of all I want to do now, too, is kiss those perfect lips. See if it’s just as good all these years later, as it was then. I probably built the moment up in my head to this idealized situation because we all want our first kiss to be a good one, right?