by A. m Madden
“That sounds fun.” Again, I became excited to explore without worrying about security tailing us.
“Girls, we’re going to check in,” Mrs. Gambera said.
“Okay. We want to see the beach,” Kim said to her mother.
“Have fun. We’ll have your luggage taken to your room.”
As her dad tipped the porter who handled our luggage, he reminded her, “And don’t forget dinner is at eight.”
“We know.” Kim hooked her arm through mine and led me toward the beach. “You’re going to love the hotel next to ours. I scoped it out online. There is a bar on the beach that has a section dedicated to anyone under twenty-one. Plus… the guys here are hot.”
I grinned at her, but her big blue eyes avoided mine. “And we care about that why?” The casual shrug I received meant she was serious. “Hey…” I stopped and tugged her arm. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” She glanced at the ocean we were walking toward, appearing lost in thought.
Stopping her from trying to continue walking, I prodded, “Kim.”
Her head twisted back and forth in a frustrated way, causing blonde locks to bounce around her shoulders. “He’s leaving, Liv. Why prolong the inevitable?” I hated the loss that had so clearly been written in her expression. Although neither she nor Chase had ever pledged eternal love, nor had she ever admitted it to me, I suspected my friend had fallen for her boyfriend. I also knew, although he didn’t show it like Shane did, that Chase did care about her. But it was hard to see that through his enthusiasm toward starting UCLA.
Despite all that, I tried to be encouraging. “Plenty keep relationships going when college starts.”
“Come on, Liv.” She smirked and raised her brows. “You and I both know that rarely works. Maybe for you and Shane, because you have been in love forever, but Chase and I don’t stand a chance.”
“It doesn’t mean you can’t try.” There were no other inspirational words I could offer, so I instead squeezed her closer before we resumed our walk.
“Once he steps foot in California, he’ll never look back. Sure, he uses the excuse he wants to be an actor as the reason he chose UCLA to begin with, but I’ll never know if that is just a convenient explanation.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened had Shane wanted to go to a school clear across the country. I knew my decision had influenced his, especially since he couldn’t care less about getting a degree. But if his parents hadn’t pushed him, or if he had chosen a path other than music, would I have followed him instead? Probably. Thing was, Chase never asked Kim to follow. It was hard not to take that as a sign that he needed space.
“A few months ago,” Kim continued, “I wanted to spend every moment with him this summer until the very end.” She paused as we reached the spot where the weathered wooden pathway met the beach. Kicking off our flip-flops, we walked some more before sitting on the warm, powdery sand. “But now… I can’t help thinking, What’s the point? We can’t be together just because neither of us wants to hurt the other. Maybe if I broke it off sooner than later, we could enjoy these next few weeks without that weight hanging over us.”
Selfishly, I hated that scenario. We were the four musketeers. Chase and Shane were in the same band. They planned to play often over the summer, and not having Kim in the audience with me would suck. Even weekends at Shane’s beach house wouldn’t be the same.
Regardless of all that, my friend needed my support. “I just want you to be happy, Kim.” If ending things with Chase was what she wanted, then I wouldn’t try to dissuade her in any way.
“I know. Maybe I’m meant to meet the love of my life, and being with Chase is stopping me.” As I picked up a small shell and dusted it off, a group of guys walking along the surf caught her attention. “I just hope that Mr. McHottie isn’t waiting for me on this island as we speak, because I’m not a cheater.”
“No, you’re not,” I scolded.
The corners of her lips quirked up. “But I am a girl who would give her phone number to a guy that might live in Massachusetts where I so happen to be headed in six weeks.”
“Stop it. You’re not here to meet any Mr. McHottie.” I pushed into her shoulder. “You’re here to spend quality time with your best friend.”
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes yet went on to say, “But… if we were at a café and a guy across the room took one look at me and went stone-still because my beauty stunned him stupid… even you have to admit that may be worth straying for.”
“I didn’t realize we stepped into a Hallmark movie.”
“It could happen,” she said with a shrug. “You never know.” Her gaze swept over the beachgoers scattered around us. “In fact, Mr. McHottie could be out there right now, waiting to make eye contact with me.”
My exasperated grown caused her to grin. “You should lay off the romance novels.”
“What I should’ve done was ended it with Chase yesterday.”
“Yeah… yeah. My mom always says hindsight is twenty-twenty.” The back pocket of my denim cutoffs chose that moment to buzz.
Kim heard it and said, “Answer it. It’s probably your Mr. McHottie.”
“Hey.”
“Hey, baby.” The way his deep voice rumbled through the line flipped on my Shane switch. I really had it bad for him. Going into this vacation, I truly felt this separation would be good for us. After only one day, I hated how much I missed him. I knew being so entwined with Shane wasn’t healthy, but I couldn’t quit him. “We just landed.”
I loved that he called me the moment he had. “Okay, good. We only got here a little while ago ourselves. Kim and I are on the beach.” Knowing that Shane, Harrison, and Joey bumped Chase up so he could sit with them and not alone in coach, I asked, “Was Chase excited on the flight?”
“Yep. He was in freakin’ heaven. The dude ate his weight in first-class food.” I giggled, picturing it perfectly. “Love that sound. I miss you.”
“I miss—”
“Wait, hold on, baby… what!” Shane hissed in a sharp whisper before I heard a muffled voice in the background. “Tell her yourself, man.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“Not you. Kim. He wants you to tell Kim we arrived.”
When my friend frowned beside me, I knew having the phone on the ear closest to her meant she heard Shane. “Let me go. We haven’t even seen our room yet. Call me later?”
“Okay. Love you, Liv.”
“Me too.”
“He can’t even call me himself,” she said the moment I tapped “End Call.”
Suddenly, Kim mimicked my move from earlier and pulled her cell from where it was tucked into her back pocket.
“Ah, see… he’s calling you,” I pointed out with a smile.
“Nope… he’s not.” She flipped the screen to reveal a text: We’re here. “I rest my case. You get a phone call, and I get a two-word text.” Shoving her phone back without responding, she then stood and dusted off her ass. “Let’s go unpack and get into our bikinis. I have boys to meet.”
An hour after hitting the beach, we walked over to where Kim claimed the action was. No sooner had we spread our towels on a patch of sand than her radar began scoping. She wasn’t kidding when she’d said she was ready to move on.
If he was about our age and hot, Kim checked him out.
If he stared back, Kim smiled.
And if he came over, Kim flirted… heavily.
Before I knew it, we had a circle of four guys around us, and I really wasn’t comfortable with it. Two of them seemed to have gotten the message that one of us, meaning me, had no interest in this meet and greet. It didn’t take long for them to leave two behind.
I introduced myself as Olivia, clueing my bestie in that I didn’t want to reveal my real name, just in case. They then introduced themselves to us, but I couldn’t even remember either of their names. The guy into Kim was something beginning with a ch, because I noted the
irony of it sounding like Chase.
Thank God, Kim kept her end of the conversation vague, even though we now knew all about Chip? Chance? Damn… he was a yapper.
“You girls want to take a swim?” Chandler asked. Maybe Charlie?
Kim eagerly met my eye, but something she saw in my raised brows had her saying, “We need to get ready for dinner. Parent requirement while we’re here.”
“That’s cool. My folks are the same way. Do you have your phone?” Kim nodded, pulling it from her beach bag. He waited for her to unlock her screen and took it from her hand, tapping something out before handing it back to her. “There… now I have your number too.”
Taking his friend’s lead, the blond who sat beside me began to ask, “Can I have—”
“No,” I instantly cut him off. “I have a boyfriend,” I added with a not-so-apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
The narrowing of his blue eyes coordinated well with his toothless smirk. “Gotcha. Well, have a nice dinner.” He got up and, without another word, walked away, leaving Chester where he still sat. Seriously? Did the dude think he had a shot with me after I ignored him the entire time?
Seeming a bit embarrassed by his friend’s attitude, Kim’s target stood and focused on her. “Well, hopefully I’ll catch you later. We’re all heading to Starfish tonight,” he admitted while I silently prayed that she wouldn’t commit to that plan.
Thank God, Kim gave him a noncommittal, “We’ll see,” and he waved before trotting over to where his friends were.
“What are you doing?”
“What?” she asked defensively. “I didn’t say I’d meet him.”
“Not that. Now he has your number.”
“So? He’s adorable and will be a sophomore at UMass. Who knows where this could lead? Besides, I wouldn’t doubt Chase is out there right now staring at anything in a skirt.”
“He’s not like that, Kim.” She was acting crazy. Plus, I had no desire to be a third wheel all week. “Whatever it is that has you believing it’s over before it’s over is messing you up.”
“I’ll tell you what is messing me up. We’ve barely spoken the last few days. As soon as he got that damn trip, it was ‘Kim who?’ And now that he graduated, he’s in UCLA mode, Liv. I’d rather be the one to end it on my terms.”
“Still… you may have decided to move on, but Chase doesn’t know that. Deep down I thought you were kidding about moving on this week, but now I’m not so sure. You just gave a stranger your real number. What do you think Chazz—”
“Chad.”
“That’s it! Chad,” I said, snapping my fingers, to which she rolled her eyes. “What do you think Chad wants to happen? He met a hot girl who he assumes is single while on vacation. You just made his week.” I nodded toward where the group was laughing while tossing a football around. When she glanced over as well, Chad waved with a huge smile. “That dude is a bit too eager.”
“Yeah, he definitely wants in my pants.”
“Ya think?”
She released a heavy sigh when the reality of the situation hit her. “Okay, you’re right. If he calls, I’ll tell him I have a boyfriend. God, I’m such a bitch.”
My arm went around her shoulders in a flash. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” Before I had a chance to argue further, she added, “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“The only reason I didn’t break up with Chase after prom was because I didn’t want to ruin our summer.”
“Oh, Kim.” Squeezing her against me, guilt simultaneously squeezed inside my chest. “You can’t worry about that.”
“But I do… and you have to admit that’s exactly what would happen.” While pulling away, she sighed. “We wanted this summer to be amazing. Chase and I breaking up would create a very awkward situation.” When I shook my head, her own head bobbed up and down in a frustrated nod. And when I opened my mouth to speak, she raised a hand. “Yes, it would, Liv. The easy thing would just be to ride out the summer and part ways next month.”
“Doing what you think is the easy thing is not necessarily the right thing.” Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed until I had her attention. “It doesn’t have to be awkward either. There’s no reason there needs to be animosity between you, or bitterness. You can still hang out as friends.”
“Until I see him chasing someone else…” And in that simple statement, along with the hurt in her eyes, I knew Kim loved Chase more than she was letting on. It all became crystal clear. She was trying to protect her own heart, and that made mine hurt for her. “Please don’t tell Shane.”
I hated when she made that request, but like always, I nodded and said, “I won’t.”
Chapter Eleven
Shane
I’d been to LA quite a few times, but never with my buddies. And although we were excited to be there, Chase had taken that excitement to a whole new level.
Shit, I knew that Southern California was a single guy’s wet dream. We weren’t single guys, though, and Chase seemed to have forgotten that the moment we stepped off the plane. There was a recklessness that I’d never seen in him before.
Further proof of his need to let loose came when he asked our driver to take the scenic beach route toward our hotel. “Did you see that beauty?” Chase asked no one in particular. Half his body hung out the SUV’s window as he gawked at a blonde in a skimpy bikini, walking her dog.
“Stop acting like an ass.”
He twisted to stare at me. “How am I acting like an ass?”
My eyes widened of their own accord. “Seriously? Let’s start with the drool dripping down your chin… and let’s end with your girlfriend, who you seemed to have forgotten about.”
“Let him be,” Joey said with a laugh while pointing his cell at Chase. “This will go viral.”
“You’re recording me?” Chase asked.
“Hell, yeah.”
The idiot considered that fact and then shrugged before shoving two fingers into his mouth to release a shrill whistle. “Hey, baby… what’s your name?”
“Hey, dickwad…” I smacked the back of his head.
“Ow.”
“Knock it the fuck off.”
“I’m not doing anything,” he whined defensively. “I’m just looking. No law against that.”
“No… but there is a law against throwing you out that window… and I’m dangerously close.”
“Is this how it’s going to be all weekend?” He raised the tinted glass while throwing me a dirty look. “You acting like a dad?”
“I agree with him,” Harrison said, putting his two cents in. “Just because you’re practically married doesn’t mean we are,” said the other moron with a girlfriend.
“And I plan to hook up with a Cali girl,” Joey said proudly. Of the four of us, he was the only one single. “It’s my one and only goal.”
These idiots. Fuck that. I had every intention of having a good time this weekend. Apparently, my idea of fun wasn’t on the same page as theirs.
“Whatever. Y’all can suck my dick. Do what you want.” Through with them, I shoved my earbuds into my ears and keyed up my favorite playlist, making it good and loud to ensure I tuned them all out. I could see them all laughing, but it worked when twenty minutes later we pulled up to the hotel and I hadn’t heard a word they’d said.
After we checked in, no sooner had I placed my bag on the luggage rack than Chase had already rummaged through his, pulled something out of it, and disappeared into the bathroom. I swear it wasn’t three minutes later that he appeared.
When my gaze took in his swimsuit, an old Devil’s Lair T-shirt, and flip-flops, he grinned. “I’m ready… just waiting on you.”
Groaning, I ducked into the bathroom to take a piss… and to escape his annoying self. Why did I have a feeling sharing a room with him this weekend would be his demise?
Thoughts of killing him only intensified when a short, hard knock sounded before I had a chance to pu
ll my cock out of my jeans. “Let’s go, man. I didn’t come out here to see the inside of a room.”
“You need to calm the fuck down,” I barked, swinging open the bathroom door. He had the nerve to frown at me. “What’s the rush?”
“We’re in fucking California. First, I want to eat a big-ass burger with the works at the pool, and then I want to scope out the chicks. Why is that such a crime?”
“It’s the head between your legs that will make it a crime. What the hell has gotten into you?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Are you planning on cheating?” The way his eyes shifted away from mine confirmed my suspicions. “Chase. You need to cut this shit out.” I took his silence as a sign of guilt. “I thought you were kidding. You’re truly looking to hook up with someone, aren’t you?”
His response: “Just meet us at the pool.” Before I could say anything else, he took off through the door, letting it slam shut behind him with a loud bang.
“What the fuck?” I stalked back into the bathroom to do what he had interrupted. Afterward, I kicked off my boots and lay on the bed, deciding that I wasn’t his babysitter. Yet, with that admission came the reality that if he were to do something stupid, then it would somehow fall on me with Kim.
Exhaustion hit as I called Alivia, and then all was forgotten when her sweet voice answered. “Hey.”
“Hey, baby. Whatcha doin’?”
“Just getting ready for dinner. Kim’s in the shower. Where are you?”
“In my room enjoying the silence.”
“Chase is bouncing off the walls?”
“Just a tad. I wish you were here. We’d be utilizing this great big bed I’m lying on alone.”
“That’s a mean thing to say when I’m thousands of miles away.”
I chuckled at the angry tone in her voice. “Missing me, are you?”
“Very much. Kim’s in a mood.”
“Why?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t because she missed Chase.
Alivia paused before saying, “Long story.” That was code for I was sworn to secrecy. “But she’s driving me crazy.”
