by Blair, E. K.
“Are you sure?”
I bite my lip to hide my anticipation, but I fail, revealing an approving smile. “Yeah.”
I close the door behind him and then head into the kitchen to put the food in the fridge.
“Is your roommate here?” he asks as he wanders into the living room.
“No, she practically lives at her sorority house at this point.”
I turn on a couple of lamps, and the two of us take a seat on the couch. He’s really close to me, and the butterflies multiply, causing my palms to sweat. Caleb shifts to face me, staring into my eyes with his hazel ones. My stomach is rankled with the best kind of unease. The kind you feel when you reach the peak of the rollercoaster right before the first drop. The kind that makes you feel each beat of your heart in every corner of your body. The kind you wish you could lose yourself in.
“I don’t think I told you how perfect you look tonight.”
His compliment sparks a flame that tingles through me, unveiling an eagerness to kiss him. I’m not one to make the first move—maybe it’s insecurity on my part, but I grow bashful, worried he can somehow read into my thoughts, and I become tongue-tied as I stare into his eyes.
He doesn’t let my timidity linger for too long before he brushes his hand along my cheek and slips it back into my hair, pulling me closer to him. My eyes fall shut when I’m a breath away from his lips touching mine, and then he gives me exactly what I want—he kisses me. It’s gentle, and I fall into it easily, kissing him back. A rush of elation stirs inside me, causing me to smile against his lips, and he feels it. He backs away, and when I open my eyes, he returns the smile, which offers me the comfort of knowing he feels the same way I do.
TRENT
“Kate, make yourself useful and help me out,” I holler from the living room. She and Ady have been wasting precious time gabbing while Ady finishes her packing.
“You can’t handle it on your own?” Kate pokes when she emerges from Ady’s bedroom.
“If you could’ve managed to pack your things in one bag, yeah, but you rolled up in here with all this shit,” I say, staring at her two suitcases, duffle bag, and big-ass purse. “A swimsuit and towel is all you need.”
She rolls her eyes. “Are you done?”
“Trent, be nice,” Ady comments as she walks out of her room.
The three of us lug all the baggage down to my SUV while Micah finishes a phone call. Once everything is loaded and Micah is in the passenger seat, the girls hop into the back and we head south to Key West for the week. When I originally invited Kate, she gave me some lame excuse as to why she couldn’t make it, but then Ady convinced her to come.
I haven’t seen much of Kate lately. She hasn’t been out surfing with us the past few times we’ve all gone, and when I texted to ask what was up, she told me that she was busy with school stuff. Apparently, school stuff is girl code for some dude she’s started seeing.
“How did the date go?” Ady asks in a hushed voice, clearly trying to keep the conversation private.
Good luck.
When I glance into the rearview mirror, I find Kate with an obnoxious smile of her face. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sweet he is—”
“Who?” I interrupt.
“No one.”
“You mean Caleb?” I ask, and when she shoots me a snide look, I add, “That dude’s a shubie.”
“No he isn’t,” Kate refutes, but it falls way too short.
He’s a total poser, coming to the beach in his name brand board shorts with his elite board, but the dude can barely hang a few seconds before getting axed by the waves he struggles to ride.
“He’s a paddlepuss, Kate.”
“You’re such an ass, you know that?”
Her feistiness causes me to laugh. “Just calling it like I see it.”
“So, because he isn’t as good as you or Micah, that makes him a poser?”
“You said it!”
“Whoa,” Micah says, piping in. “Trent’s nowhere near as good as I am, so don’t clump us together.”
“Dick,” I mutter with no hard feelings because it’s the truth. Micah has managed to score a legit sponsorship and is taking the sport to the next level, which I’m entirely supportive of, but I bust his chops anyway. Can’t let my boy get too big of an ego.
Everyone laughs as we fight the traffic.
“So, you let that dude take you on a date?” I ask. “Let me guess, he took you to some cheesy putt-putt place and then out to eat at an equally weak place like Applebee’s.”
Ady laughs, but Kate quirks an irritated brow before saying, “I would imagine those are the types of dates you take girls on, but not Caleb. That guy actually has class.”
“Fuck that! I don’t take girls out on dates.”
“Yeah, you just take them to bed,” she mutters as if she’s annoyed by that fact.
The thing is, I’m not the jerk she’s making me out to be. Never have I bagged a girl without ever being one hundred percent up front about my intentions. So, if they get all bent out of shape afterward, expecting more, that’s on them, not me. I’m not out to hurt people so I don’t understand why her tone insinuates otherwise.
“So,” Ady says, drawing Kate back in, “where did he take you?”
Kate gives me another glare through the mirror before telling Ady all about the dinner he took her to and their dwanky make out session on her couch.
“Can you believe this shit?” I say to Micah.
“Why does this kid bother you so much?”
“Are you serious, bruh? He’s a kook.”
“He is not a kook,” Kate interjects.
“He looks like he belongs in a fucking boy band!”
“Oh my god.” She sighs.
Micah busts out laughing this time, and Ady slaps his arm, saying, “You guys are so mean.”
Micah throws his hands up. “I didn’t say shit, that’s all Trent.”
“Pussy,” I accuse. “You know I’m telling the truth.”
“So, just because he isn’t like you guys, you label him a kook?” Kate says.
“I just don’t know what you see in him.”
“He’s polite,” she says, holding a thumb up, and then she continues counting all the things she likes about him on her fingers. “He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s hot—”
“I’m going to stop you right there.”
“And he’s an amazing kisser,” she adds, holding up her fifth and final finger before flipping me off. She then turns to Ady and hammers her point in. “Like amazing, amazing.”
“I think I might barp.”
“Barp?” she questions.
“You know when you burp and a little barf comes up with it?”
“Gross,” Ady whines through her laughter because, deep down, she gets me.
When we finally roll up to the hotel and check in, we head straight to the two-bedroom suite I booked for us. The girls squeal in excitement as they check the full kitchen, living room, and impressive view that overlooks the pool and white sandy beach.
They’re quick to claim their room, leaving Micah and me to toss our bags in the second room. The four of us waste no time throwing on our suits and making our way down to the pool to bake under the blazing sun.
After a while, the girls bail to go shopping on Duval while Micah and I stay behind.
“Dude,” he says as I’m just about to doze off. “What’s up with you giving Kate shit about Caleb?”
“The guy gives off weird vibes.”
Micah chuckles under his breath. “How so?”
“I don’t know. You ever just get a sense about someone?”
“You met him for all of five seconds.”
“Yeah, and in those five seconds he came off sketchy.”
“You’re full of shit, man.”
Shaking my head, I reach over, grab my drink, and guzzle it.
“I think you’ve caught feelings,” he says, and I nearly choke.
I pu
sh my sunglasses back on my head. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You’re like the little kid on the playground who throws rocks at the cute girl because he doesn’t know how to tell her that he likes her.”
I crack up because he couldn’t be more wrong. “Are you my therapist now?”
“Just trying to figure out why you’re constantly stirring shit with her.”
“I’m not throwing rocks. She’s a down chick and we’re friends. Period. And the shit stirring goes both ways, so you can suck my dick.” I flick my sunglasses down over my eyes and lie back on the lounger.
“Pull out the tampon and chill.”
“You’re disturbing my Zen, dude,” I say, and he finally fucking hears me loud and clear and stops pushing when there’s nothing to even push.
About a half hour later, I drive the point home when I score some chick’s number who’s vacationing from UNC.
“Ady will kick your ass if you nail that girl in our hotel room.”
“What are you guys, the boner barricade?”
Cranking the throttle, I fly across the water toward Kate, who’s hanging idle on her jet ski. She’s too focused with something on her life jacket to notice me as I close in on her. It’s only when I bust out laughing that she looks up, and it’s then when I take a sharp right and carve the ass of the jet ski in the water, sending a huge splash down on top of her.
“Asshole!” she hollers as I speed off, leaving her dripping wet.
I pass Ady, who’s going in the opposite direction, and catch up with Micah. The four of us spend the afternoon riding on the water, jumping wakes, and having fun. Yesterday, we all went scuba diving. It was a long ass day, so we decided to just hang low at the beach today.
After we return the jet skis, we walk over to our spot in the sand, spread out our towels, and chill. I pop in my earbuds and throw on one of my playlists to drown out the girls as they talk. It’s hot as hell, but there’s a nice breeze kicking off the shore. Folding my arms under my head as I lie on my stomach, I’m halfway to fading out when the ringing of my phone cuts into the song that’s currently playing. Peering over my sunglasses, I see it’s my mom calling.
Not wanting to put our conversation on blast, I hop up and answer while keeping my earbuds in. “Hey, Mom. You didn’t call to guilt trip me, did you?”
When I told her I wouldn’t be coming home for spring break, I got the typical, “I can’t believe you aren’t going to come home to see me.”
“I wish,” she says, and I can tell she’s crying.
“Is everything okay?” I walk up the beach and decide to head to the room so I can talk without so many people around. “What’s going on?”
“Richard was served the divorce papers today while I was out running errands, and when I got home, he was here.”
“What do you mean, he was there?”
Her voice rattles as she says, “When I walked in, he was sitting in the living room, waiting for me with the papers.”
“What did he say?”
“He was really mad, and we fought,” she tells me, her words shaking as they come out.
I use the keycard to unlock the door, and when I step inside the suite, I ask, “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. Everything escalated so quickly. I tried getting him to leave, but he refused.” She speaks frantically. “He got in my face and was yelling. I didn’t know what to do, so I called the police.”
“Damn.” I breathe heavily as I walk into my room and sit on the edge of the bed, feeling like a shit son for not going home this week. If I’d been there, things wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand. “What did the cops do?”
“They just made him leave.”
“Mom, you need to change the locks.”
“I know, I just—”
“No excuses,” I insist, growing upset at the mess this has turned into. “Garrett and I told you to do it weeks ago, but it still isn’t done.”
“I’m worried it’s only going to make him more furious.”
“It might, but at least he won’t be in the house. You need to get the locks changed.”
She takes a long pause. “What if I’m jumping the gun?”
“You aren’t. This guy ripped you off!”
“But we’re married,” she stresses, as if that makes any difference.
“Mom, you dated him for what . . . six months before you guys decided to get married? I mean, how much do you even know about this dude?”
“I don’t know,” she cries desperately, and it kills my heart to hear her so distraught.
“You can’t waver on this, Mom.”
“I’m just scared. I’d never seen him like that. It has me questioning what he’s capable of. I didn’t think we’d wind up like this.”
I love my mom, there’s no question about it, but she’s the type of woman who can’t be alone. She jumps from one dysfunctional relationship to another. Growing up, our front door was nothing more than a turnstile of men coming in and out of our lives.
“This marriage didn’t fail because of you. It failed because of him. You have to get the locks changed and change the alarm code too.” I pull the buds out of my ears, toss them onto the nightstand, and switch her to speakerphone. “What did he say to you?”
“That he loves me and that there is no way in hell he will ever sign the papers. He said that if I moved forward with the divorce that he would make my life a living hell.”
A bolt of anger shoots through me. “Have you told Garrett?”
“No.”
It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve always been the one she’s turned to, the one she dumps all her baggage on. For years, I’ve been carrying the weight of her troubles on my back, even though I’m entirely ill-equipped to handle any of it. But I’m her son, and even though Garrett is older than I am, I’ve been my mother’s main source of support since I was a little kid.
Leaning forward, I drop my head and fight the urge to start driving to Tampa. I hate that my mom is alone and dealing with this shit. There’s only so much I can do, which makes me feel as if I’m letting her down. Deeper than that is the fear of Richard’s erratic behavior and the possible danger it puts my mother in.
“Do you need me to come home?” I ask.
“No, I’ll be fine. I don’t want to ruin your trip; that isn’t why I called. I just thought you should know.”
“Look, we head back later this week. I don’t mind driving over for a day or two.”
“I feel bad.”
“Don’t. But just so you know, I’m going to call him.”
“No, Trent. Don’t get involved.”
“Too late.”
“Trent.”
“Mom, he’s threatening you, and you’re sitting back giving him the freedom to do it,” I berate, immediately feeling bad that I insinuated any of this was her fault because it isn’t. “I’m sorry. I’m not blaming you. That isn’t what I meant.”
“I know,” she mutters, and I can tell that she’s crying again. “I never thought in a million years that I’d be in this situation with him. You should’ve seen how angry he was.”
“Which is why I’m coming home.”
“You really don’t have—”
“I’ll be there this weekend.”
After a few more minutes, she promises to call about the locks and we hang up. To say I’m worried about her would be an understatement. I never expected Richard to act this way any more than she did. When my mother introduced Richard to my brother and me, I was surprised how easily he fit into our family. I thought this guy would be the lasting one. But they never last, which is why I refuse to commit myself to anyone, because, in the end, nothing ever lasts, and people always wind up getting hurt. I’m smart enough to avoid that rabbit hole filled with disaster.
When I step out of my room, I find Kate in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” My words come out accusingly, which startles her.
“Grab
bing drinks,” she says timidly as she slowly places a couple of waters into her beach bag. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, why?” I ask, not wanting to talk about anything she might have overheard.
“Who were you on the phone with?”
“No one,” I tell her. “Let’s get back down to the beach.”
She stares at me for a moment. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Act as if nothing is wrong when clearly something is.”
“I’m not like you,” I condescend. “I don’t need to go around gabbing about my problems.”
She narrows her eyes at my tone. “I’m not asking you to go around and gab. I just thought, as a friend, you might want to unload whatever it is that’s going on. And don’t say that there’s nothing going on because this isn’t the first time I’ve heard you upset.”
“I’m not upset.” I’m annoyed. When I grab the beach bag for her, she pulls it away from me. “What the fuck?”
“Okay, maybe upset was the wrong word, but, clearly, you’re angry.”
“Yeah, with you.” I drop my hand from the bag. “Are you always this nosy?”
“I’m not trying to be nosy. I’m just . . .”
Her words drop off, and even though I should leave them where they fall, I don’t. For some reason, I pick them back up. “You’re just what?”
She takes a moment before she responds. “I guess I’m just concerned about whatever it is you’re dealing with.”
It’s strange to have someone meddling in my business. Sure, I have a large circle of friends, but those guys aren’t the type to give a shit about personal drama. I don’t get deep enough with anyone to even have to worry about that happening. Aside from my brother, Micah is the only person who knows about my family situation, and even at that, he only knows the bare minimum.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” she questions as she walks around the counter to where I’m standing.
“I do talk to you.”
“You know what I mean.” She sits on the barstool that’s next to me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Do I have a choice?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Why do you keep people at a distance?”
I want to make a wisecrack to lighten the mood, but there’s a sincerity in her eyes that’s telling me not to blow her off with my bullshit. Kate isn’t like most girls who tend to have an agenda behind their actions. She’s a straight shooter, and since I’m stuck in this suite with her for the rest of the week, I don’t need to be purposely pissing her off, so I give her a sliver of what she’s asking and respond, “People can’t disappoint you if you don’t let them in.”
