by Naomi Porter
Ocean Dreams Publishing
Minnesota
Copyright © 2021 by Naomi Porter
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www.naomiporter.com
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Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
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Lifeguard Leo/ Naomi Porter -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1-952423-16-1
Dedication
To all the readers who have fantasized about a sexy, bad boy neighbor. This one is for you!
XO,
Naomi
Lifeguard Leo
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Epilogue
1
Scarlett
THE FRIGID WATER in the Pacific Ocean numbed my emotions as I knew it would. I always froze my ass off, unlike in the Gulf of Mexico’s warm, soothing waters. Memories of vacations with my family in Florida tried to creep into my mind, but I cast them away. As much as I wanted to lose myself in something else, or escape from what today meant, I couldn’t.
And I hated it.
Santa Monica Beach was the first place Laney and I came to after Erin’s funeral. Our best friend had loved to surf and spent most of her available time catching waves. I felt her spirit as I bobbed up and down, licking the salty water off my lips. Or maybe I tasted the tears streaming down my face. I wasn’t sure which it was.
“I can’t believe she’s gone.” Laney sniffled.
I didn’t respond as I stared at my beautiful friend. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, her big brown eyes were sad, and her teeth chattered like mine.
Here today, gone tomorrow, played in my head like a broken record. When I was growing up, my mom used to say, When it’s your time to go, there’s no stopping it. Tomorrow isn’t promised.
My tears picked up and my heart seized in agony. Fucking drunk driver.
“We should do all the things she never got to do.”
I turned toward Laney and waited for her to continue.
“Erin would want us to experience life to the fullest. She wouldn’t want us crying over her.”
“It’s only been a week. Her funeral was just a couple of hours ago.”
“Still. She’d kick our asses for it if she could come back.”
“I would do anything to have her come back and beat the shit out of me.” I dunked my head back to wet my hair.
Laney snorted and went under the water. We were out far enough away from the shore to avoid the crowds and screaming little kids. With it being the middle of August, the beaches were packed. After Laney and I swam for a bit, we planned to go to the boardwalk and stuff our faces with fish and chips and clam chowder… Erin’s favorite. Then we’d ride the Ferris wheel and blow kisses up to our girl in heaven.
Jesus, my heart hurt.
I went under the water to submerge myself, wondering what it would be like to be dead. Was it like a candle’s flame suddenly going out? Was there really a heaven, like a pastor in my church back home used to talk about when I was a kid? Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped attending service after I graduated high school and went to college. Perhaps I should go back. It would please my mom and dad if I did. Every Sunday evening, when I called home, Mom would ask if I’d found a church yet. For the last six years, I’d been searching for a church and still hadn’t found one. She and I both knew I wasn’t looking.
When I moved from my hometown in Montana to Southern California for college, I wanted to make my own way, live my life the way I wanted without my strict Christian parents breathing down my neck. After getting my business degree—because they thought it was best—I never returned home. It was safe to assume we were a bit estranged after I moved away. It was also safe to assume I wasn’t working in a business capacity.
Nope, I taught dance during the day and was a server at Club Rendezvous in the evenings a few nights a week. Laney and I both worked there, while Erin was the breadwinner in our group as an accountant.
Dammit, we needed to get a new roommate. There was no way Laney and I could afford our townhouse on our own. I was sure we’d both pick up extra shifts at Club R. I didn’t like working there half as much as she did. For me, it was just a paycheck.
I shot up to the top of the water to tell Laney to post an ad. When our eyes connected, hers widened.
“Scar, look out!”
I was hit from behind and knocked forward into the water. My candle blew out. Everything went dark.
Suddenly my eyes flew open as I coughed. The sun was too bright, so I squinted, feeling the most fear I’d ever felt before. My heart raced and my body trembled. I was so cold.
“That’s it, get it all out,” a male voice said. He turned me on my side and rubbed my back, keeping another hand on my thigh. I caught a glimpse of one of those weird silver blanket things on me. But I still shivered.
“Don’t you ever scare the crap out of me again,” Laney cried, taking my hand. “I can’t lose both of my best friends.” She rubbed my hand between hers. Her eyes kept flicking to the person helping me.
I wanted to ask Laney what had happened, but I couldn’t stop coughing.
“Hey, give her a minute to catch her breath,” the man said from behind me in a stern voice. “Just focus on your breathing, Red. You’re going to be all right.” He continued rubbing my back, while his other gripped my thigh firmly. “When you’re ready, I’ll help you sit up.”
A crowd had formed around me on the beach. I could see the Ferris wheel off in the distance. Why was I lying on the sand? Then I remembered being in the water with Laney. I’d been underwater and popped up out of it like a fish. Laney had yelled for me to watch out, then I was hit in the back by something. Whatever it was, I never saw it coming.
But I was alive. My whole body shook at what the alternative could’ve been—death. Or was I shaking because I was cold? It didn’t really matter. The point was, I was alive to feel it all.
“It… it wasn’t my t… time… t… t…to go,” I stuttered as my teeth chattered.
“What’s that?” He leaned down, putting his face to mine. “What’d you say, Red?” He rubbed my thigh.
I couldn’t see his face from behind me, but something in his voice soothed me. If he looked half as sexy as he sounded, I would be mortified. I must have looked awful.
“It wasn’t… my time… to
die.”
“No, sweetheart, it wasn’t. Can you sit up for me? I need to check you over. You have a bruise on the back of your left shoulder from where the surfboard hit you. I want to check your head.”
“Who… are you? A doc… tor?”
He belly laughed. The pleasant sound turned my bones to noodles as it rumbled rhythmically through my body. “No, but my parents would have loved it if I was. I’m Leo, a lifeguard here at Santa Monica Beach.” He gently helped me sit up, supporting my body as I leaned against his broad, muscly chest. He was built like a brick wall.
I felt lightheaded, being in his arms. The beach wobbled and I closed my eyes. Instinctively I grabbed for something, someone. It wasn’t Laney’s hand I was holding anymore; it was the lifeguard’s.
“How do you feel?” His buttery-smooth voice poured over me.
“Like I’ve been run over… by a surfboard.” I lifted my head to finally see his face and nearly toppled over, but he held me firmly against him.
A smile stretched across his tan, handsome face. White, shiny teeth greeted me. “Yeah, that about sums it up. The dude feels like crap for plowing into you too. He didn’t see you until it was too late. Said you splashed out of the water like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. You’ve got hair just like hers.” His fingers touched the ends of my long, red hair. A shudder of something went through me.
I screwed up my face. “I hate that movie.”
He laughed again. “What? Why?”
“Kids teased me, calling me Ariel. They’d ask if I gave my voice to the Sea Witch so I could be a human.”
His blue, blue eyes sparkled like the ocean. “Kids suck.”
“Yeah.”
He cupped one side of my face in his hand and studied my eyes. “Tell me where you hurt.”
A sob oddly bubbled out of me as the magnitude of the situation hit me. I could have died. Drowned.
“Aw, babe.” Laney put her hand on my shoulder. “Come here.” She opened her arms to me.
“I got her.” He tugged me closer to his bare chest. I was surrounded by muscles and warmth. He smelled of the ocean and cucumbers. “Let it out, Red. Just let it out.”
And I did. I didn’t know this man, but something about him made me feel safe. Must have been due to my near-death experience.
When I calmed, I pulled back. “Thank you for saving my life. But I’m fine.” I looked for Laney. “We should go if we’re gonna… you know.” I jerked my head toward the Ferris wheel.
“What? Meet up with your boyfriends… or husbands?”
I slowly turned my head toward the lifeguard. What was his name again? His brow was furrowed, almost like he was disappointed or something. His blond, wavy hair was messy on the top of his head. I had the urge to run my fingers through it. Weird.
“No, we don’t have either. We just have things to do. Thanks again.” I went to stand up and wobbled a little. Mr. Lifeguard steadied me.
“What kind of things? My shift had just ended when your friend came screaming for help, with the dude carrying you to my tower.”
I blinked at him as a swell of butterflies woke in my stomach. He was holding my hand again. I really liked the feel of his thumb rubbing the top of it.
“Um, can I cut in here for a sec?” Laney took my hand out of his. “I just need a sec with her, okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Mr. Lifeguard let go of me.
“Are you really feeling up to hitting the boardwalk? Maybe we should go home. You were just plowed down by a surfer and could have… you know.” She flicked her brown eyes up to the sky.
My chest tightened. “I’m okay. We’ll just go slow. But I want to do this for Erin.”
“And what about him?” Her eyes cut to the masterpiece standing a few feet away.
“What about him?”
“I think he likes you.”
“Oh, please. He doesn’t.”
“You know who he is, don’t you?” Her lip curled and a mischievous glint sparked in her eyes.
“The lifeguard.”
“Yes. Duh. Seriously, he’s the one… Lifeguard Leo… The Lifeguard Leo who rescues women and then fucks them.”
I gaped. “No way,” I whisper-shouted.
“Yes, way. The hungry look in his eyes tells me you might be on the menu for dinner.” She hugged me and whispered. “Invite him to hang with us, then take him home. You can finally lose your V-card. Erin would want you to.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Maybe. But you could have died today. Do you want to go out as a virgin?”
Shit. Laney was right. Dying without ever having sex was pathetic. But give my V-card to someone like him? Yuck. Then again, he was easy on the eyes and uber-experienced, given his reputation.
“I’m sure he’ll make it good for you.”
“I can’t believe you’re telling me to have a one-night stand. What would my mother think?”
“Hey, Red?”
I turned toward Lifeguard Leo. “Hmm?”
“I’ll get my backpack. I’ll make it good for you.” He smirked, shaking his head.
“You heard us?” My face flushed.
“Yeah.” He winked.
Laney snickered. “Well, now you don’t need to decide.”
“I can’t sleep with him just to deflower me.”
“Why not? I’m sure he doesn’t care. From what I hear, the guy gets around.”
“Yeah, you’re not selling me on the idea of having sex with him.”
“Just look at him. Any woman would jump at the chance to be with him.”
“Then you do it.”
“Nope. I can tell he likes you. Must be the red hair. He keeps calling you Red. Besides, it’s not like you ever have to see him again.”
She had a point. I’d talked about wanting to get my first time over with for years. But I could never bring myself to let it happen. I was pretty picky about guys. My ideal man checklist was a mile long—probably unrealistic too, which would explain why I hadn’t found him yet.
Laney was right. I wouldn’t have to see Lifeguard Leo after today. And if I died tomorrow, it wouldn’t be as a virgin.
He appeared in a T-shirt and black Oakleys. “Ready?”
I pushed against his chest to back him away from Laney and whispered, “You’re not seriously going along with her crazy idea, are you?”
He shrugged, smiling. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
“So you are just like the rumors.” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
“The rumors?”
“Don’t act surprised… Lifeguard Leo. I’ve heard all about you and your many conquests.”
“That right?” His jaw ticked.
“Yup, Mr. Bad Boy in a sexy pair of trunks. You get around.”
“Lucky for you, I’m not easily offended. But you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” He took my hand. “Let’s go, Red. I’ll change your opinion of me before the day is over.”
“I hope you do.”
2
Leo
WHAT WAS I doing? Red wasn’t wrong about the rumors or her impression of me. I met a lot of women at work. But they weren’t my sole purpose for living or why I was a lifeguard. I loved being on the beach. If I couldn’t surf all day, I wanted to help people. Save them, like Red.
I’d helped many people over the years. Not one affected me the way Red had. When I saw her friend screaming for help and the guy carrying a limp body, I had snapped into action. At first, she was just a person who needed help. I didn’t see her.
Then she coughed and spewed water from her mouth. Her eyes flashed open, and the earth shifted beneath me. That was when I really saw her.
Long red hair.
Frightened green eyes.
Porcelain skin.
My heart had fluttered and my stomach twisted.
It was some crazy shit. So yeah, Red needed to know who I was and that I wasn’t entirely what all the rumors said I was—a manwhore.
I might like gett
ing dirty with women, but there was more to me than rocking sex. It was unfortunate most of them didn’t care to know the other side of me. But something told me Red was different.
I wanted to find out how different.
There was only one problem: she was a virgin. How was I supposed to have sex with a woman who wanted nothing more from me than to take her V-card when I wanted more?
“Are you hungry? I’d like to buy you an early dinner for saving my life.”
I studied the petite, curvy woman. She really did remind me of a mermaid with her wild, wavy red locks.
“I didn’t save you, Red. The other dude did.”
“Not true,” Red’s friend Laney cut in. “You pumped her stomach and gave her mouth-to-mouth.”
Red gaped. Her lips were the only thing I was hungry for. “You gave me mouth-to-mouth?”
“I did. It was a phenomenal first kiss. A bit one-sided, but I’ll give you a do-over. It’s the least I can do since you were unconscious.”
She playfully shoved me. “Stop it. You’re teasing me.” Her cheeks flamed red.
I was teasing her. I’d absentmindedly went through the motions with her. Sadly, I didn’t recall the feel of her lips when resuscitating her.
“I’m just screwing with you. I honestly don’t remember. I was in the zone, doing everything I could to make sure you were all right. But I would like a do-over.”
Laney giggled. “You’ll get one later.”
“Oh jeez.” Red rolled her eyes.
“Looking forward to it.”
“Both of you stop already.” She entered the restaurant and got in line. She didn’t bother asking what I wanted. I liked her assertiveness. “Three fish and chips, three bowls of chowder, and IPAs.”
I leaned down, my lips close to her ears, and whispered, “I’m allergic to seafood.”
She whirled on me, her green eyes wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I should have asked.” She turned back to the woman at the counter. “Can I change—”
I snaked my arm around her waist and tugged her into me. I sure liked touching her. “I was teasing you again.”
