Jade scowled. “O…kay.”
“As if Prue would go anywhere near her.” Summer laughed, scoffing. “Seriously?”
“She says she has, so…?”
“I’m calling absolute bullshit on that story.”
“I mean, Prue’s been here a while.” Jade shifted closer to Summer. “And as I learned last night…owns a strip club. First of all, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about it, and secondly, Prue looks like she could have any woman she wants.”
“All the more reason for me to believe that Ruth’s story is complete shit.”
“Maybe, I don’t know.”
“I do,” Summer said, leaving little room for argument. “And what was that with the maroon hoodie? Does she think I give a toss who she pretends she’s been with?”
“Summer, calm down.”
“Is she bringing those drinks or what?” Summer stood up, training her eyes on the bar. “She’s probably chatting up anyone who’ll listen to her.”
“What’s your problem?”
“My problem? I didn’t have one until she came over.” Summer returned to her seat, taking her phone from her bag. “And I didn’t tell you about the club because I knew you would want to go there.”
“Uh, you don’t?” Jade’s eyebrow rose. “Are you even a lesbian?”
“Pretty sure I am. I just don’t need to be a part of the world that exploits women…” Okay, that came out completely wrong. Summer really didn’t want to get into this.
“But you’re happy to be in a relationship with a woman who does? Something about that doesn’t seem quite right, Summer.”
“It’s not what you think.” Summer shook her head. “And I’m not getting into it with you. Just forget about the club. It doesn’t exist.”
“Except it does.” Jade wiggled her eyebrows, her smile growing wider. “Come on. You know you want to go there.”
“I’ve been there.”
“What? When?” Jade made herself more comfortable, moving closer to Summer as though she had the world’s biggest secret about to slip off her tongue. “I want to know everything.”
“In the day, you pervert. I’ve been there in the day. You know, when it’s not open…”
“How exciting.” Jade sighed. “So, Prue?”
Summer groaned. “What about her?”
“Why does she own a club? She must strip, surely.” Jade’s smirk only made Summer wince. “Come to think of it, she looks kinda stripper-ish.”
Summer’s mouth fell open. How dare Jade say that.
Jade shrugged. “Sorry, but she does…”
“She doesn’t strip!” Summer clenched her jaw. “And she owns it because she wants to own it.”
Standing, Summer shifted out of the booth and headed in the direction of the bathroom. The longer Jade went on about Prue and the club, the less likely it was that Summer would keep her composure. Why did people think they had a right to know every aspect of someone’s life? And why had Ruth said the stuff she had before? She loved the club but not the owner. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Summer shook her head, sighing heavily as she weaved through the crowd. Glancing back, she caught Jade watching her, a confused look on her face. She can be as confused as she likes—Prue’s personal life is not my story to tell.
“About before.” Jade cleared her throat. “Summer, I—”
“No.” Summer stopped Jade from going any further. They’d moved on to another bar, sitting out at the edge of the beach. Summer needed five minutes before they got into another fight. “Not yet.”
“Um…”
“Just give me a minute to enjoy this view and this drink before you get into whatever it is, okay?”
“Fine, yeah.”
Summer noted the deep, heavy breath from Jade, but she didn’t have the energy in this moment to deal with her. Summer had flown off the handle once again back at the bar, so now she needed to calm down. For reasons unknown, whenever they were together lately…it ended with a row. This wasn’t the friendship they usually had, as Summer would usually keep quiet to prevent a blow up, but she wasn’t quite feeling that lifestyle with her best friend anymore. Now, Summer wanted this to plan out how she wanted it to.
“Okay.” Summer pinched the bridge of her nose. “What did you want to say?”
“I didn’t mean to upset you before. At the bar.”
“You didn’t.” Summer shrugged.
“You got up and walked away from me. I know I did.” Jade sipped her glass of wine. “Look, coming here so soon was a mistake. It’s been fight after fight with you, and I don’t want it to be like that. I don’t ever want to fall out with you.”
“I think you’re right.” Summer nodded, agreeing on something with Jade for the first time in a while. “It was too soon for you to come out.”
“O-Oh.”
“Not because I don’t want you here, but because I was only just getting to know Prue.” Summer held up a hand when Jade’s mouth moved. “When you called me to tell me you were flying back out, I panicked. For the two weeks leading up to your arrival, I wondered if it was a good idea.”
“Why didn’t you just call me and tell me you didn’t want me to come back out yet.”
“Because that would have gone down like a lead balloon, we both know that.” Summer gave Jade a questioning look. “I needed this time to settle with Prue, but then I thought…what’s the worst that could happen? You’re my best friend. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”
“Right.” Jade smiled.
“But then you did hurt me. You said the most awful things I ever could have heard about my relationship with Prue, and it hurt.”
“I’ve said I’m sorry.” Jade’s voice broke. “You know I didn’t mean it.”
“To an extent, you did. You couldn’t have possibly said those things if it wasn’t how you felt in some way.”
“I’m just worried, Summer. I don’t want you to call me in six months and tell me it’s fallen apart and you’re heartbroken.”
“I wasn’t planning to do that.”
“You know what I mean.” Jade sighed. “Prue is a businesswoman. A gorgeous one at that. As much as I like her and wish you both the best, I’m still allowed to worry. I’m still allowed to tell you how I feel.”
“Not if it hurts me or Prue.” Summer side-glanced at her best friend. “I love you, you know I do, but you have to let me figure this out for myself. I don’t need you to come to my rescue. I just need you to cheer me on from the side, even when you don’t agree. It’s what I’ve spent my time doing all these years for you.”
“I know.” Jade lowered her eyes. “I am really sorry.”
“What was that back at the bar before? With Ruth?”
“I didn’t know she was going to say anything like that to you.” Jade held up her hands, her eyes seemingly honest. “I just told her you were dating the owner of the best hotel in Tías and she said she knew Prue. That’s all I know, I swear.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me your plans, Summer.” Jade pulled her feet up, resting them against the small wall in front of them.
“My plans?” Summer frowned. “Like, with Prue?”
“Just…your plans.” Jade smiled. “What will you be doing here?”
“Same as back in the UK. Photography.” Summer’s eyes scanned the ocean. “I do want to go one further though.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I want to open a gallery.” Summer could picture it now. Sitting in her tiny gallery, watching life go by outside. Sun all year round and Prue by her side. “I can’t say it’ll take off here, but I’ll keep my online store.”
“It’ll take off.” Jade nodded. “I know it will.”
“Hope so.”
“Have you told Prue about these plans?”
“Yeah. She thinks it’s a great idea.” Summer had no idea what the future held, but she would work in a bar every day if it meant she went home to Prue each night. “I think she’s jus
t being hopeful like me, though.”
“Nah. That woman knows exactly what she wants. I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at you, Summer.”
“That doesn’t mean my gallery will be a success.”
“With a woman like Prue by your side, it will be.” Jade smiled. “Do you really think she would see you fail?”
“No, she wouldn’t.” Summer closed her eyes, momentarily dreaming of her girlfriend. “But I’m still not getting my hopes up. I may not even find a place I like. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, I know that, but it would be nice.”
“And I know that you’ll get exactly that. Just…don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you need Prue’s opinion, I think she would like to be involved.”
“She seems supportive,” Summer agreed. “It’s like she’s hanging on my every word at times.”
“Because she’s in love with you.” Jade rolled her eyes. “You can keep telling me that she’s not and you’re not, but I’m on the outside looking in… I see it.”
“Not possible.” Summer rolled her eyes. “We’ve been together for what? A month.”
“Some people just click, Summer. Prue is who you were supposed to meet…whether I’m worried or not.”
“But do I have your blessing?” Summer didn’t need it, per se, but it would go a long way.
“Of course you do.” Jade squeezed her hand. “It may have only been a month since you got together, but the weeks before that must have been hard for you both.”
“Incredibly hard.” Summer hated thinking about the time she almost left. “But maybe that’s why it feels so good now. Because she didn’t give up. All I’ve ever wanted is someone who was interested enough to pursue a relationship with me. Bryony didn’t. I did all the leg work on that one.”
“Prue pursued you because she saw how beautiful you are,” Jade said. “And I know I keep contradicting myself but give me some time.”
“For what?”
“To see her sweep my best friend off her feet…never to return to the UK again.”
Summer sighed lightly. “Honestly… I think she already has.”
“I know.” Jade perked up. “I. Just. Know.”
“Is this your people-reading skills talking again?”
“No. This is your best friend talking.” Jade winked. “Now, why don’t we get back and watch a film since it’s my last night here…”
“You don’t want to go to another bar?”
“Not really, no.” Jade left the cash next to their bill, emptying her wine glass of its contents. “I’m going to miss you, so I want to spend my last night eating whatever we want and talking crap about people back home.”
“Some things will never change…”
Prue yawned, locking the gate and moving up the darkened path towards the villa. It was quiet, possibly too quiet, but Summer was home—she’d called earlier when she and Jade arrived back from their evening out. As she rounded the corner, the villa was in darkness, the annexe too. Almost three in the morning, Prue didn’t have the energy to go looking for them, so she slid her key into the patio door and pushed it to one side. Noticing a pizza box on the table with a bowl beside it, Prue approached it, picking up the note attached to the box first. Summer’s beautiful handwriting graced the paper.
In case you had that occasional craving for greasy pepperoni pizza. X
Prue’s heart melted. Just that simple note had made her entire night. Turning her attention to the bowl beside it, she found a chicken salad.
But I know this is more your thing, so I made it for you before I went to bed. X
Okay, this had Prue’s heart leaping out of her chest. Summer, her sweet Summer, had prepared a salad for her to eat when she arrived home from working at the club. It probably seemed ridiculous and nothing to the average person, but to Prue…it meant the absolute world. And more. Her only hope now was that Summer would be sleeping in bed, waiting for her. It wouldn’t be so bad if Summer had chosen to stay in the annexe with Jade, but Prue was really hoping that wouldn’t be the outcome.
Wrapping the salad Summer had prepared for her, Prue placed it in the refrigerator, opting to enjoy it for lunch tomorrow instead. Right now, she needed to sleep. She also needed to get her heels off, her feet aching for the last six hours or so. Approaching the bedroom door, Prue quietly turned the handle, opening it to find Summer’s face illuminated by the dim light shining through from the kitchen. Okay, I could sit here and watch that vision all night. Prue smiled, her entire body relaxing as she closed the door and rounded the foot of the bed. Stripping off her clothes, she crept into the en suite and quickly brushed her teeth. She could shower in the morning.
Turning out the bathroom light, Prue climbed into bed beside Summer, snuggling up to her and wrapping her arms around a slim waist. Slim, but soft and warm.
“Mm, you’re back.” Summer shifted back, resting her ass against Prue’s thighs. “I missed you tonight.”
“I missed you too.” Prue leaned over, kissing Summer’s neck. “Don’t leave too early in the morning. I want to sleep in with you.”
“Already a plan,” Summer mumbled, her hands coming to rest over Prue’s. “Goodnight, babe.”
“Night, beautiful.”
Summer traced her finger along the outline of Prue’s lips. Soft, sensual…full. Smiling when Prue groaned, one eye opening, Summer shifted closer and wrapped her up in a warm embrace. They’d remained moulded to one another from the moment Prue climbed into bed last night, only disconnecting when Summer woke up for a glass of water. Now, they had the early morning to just hold one another.
“Good morning, beautiful.” Prue squeezed Summer tight, not wanting the sun to wake her just yet. “Can we stay like this until midday?”
“If that’s what you want, yes.”
“Mm, it’s what I’d always want…if work wasn’t a thing.”
“Well, I’m good here as long as you are.”
“You don’t usually wake me up…is everything okay?” Prue asked, aware that this wasn’t Summer’s usual time to rise.
“Ruth.” Summer cleared her throat. “Who is she?”
“Ruth?” Prue repeated the name. “You’ll have to be more specific…”
“I don’t know. Works at a bar on the strip. Kinda grungy looking…tats.”
“Ah, Ruth.” Prue laughed.
“So, you do know her?” Summer asked, sighing. “I was talking to her last night.”
“And let me guess…she talked all kinds of crap about me?” Prue’s eyebrow rose as she turned onto her back. “What did she say this time?”
“Not a lot. I didn’t give her the opportunity to. I kinda knew she had a grudge of some kind.”
“I’m the one who should have a grudge.” Prue scoffed. “She used to work at the club.”
“Yeah, she said.” Summer’s fingertips ghosted up and down Prue’s bare arm. “Said she loved the club but hated you.”
“Oh, I’m devastated.” Prue rolled her eyes. “She hates me because I caught her with her hand in the cash register.”
“Ah, okay.” Summer laughed. “So, her trying to make me jealous was for nothing…?”
“Jealous?” Prue frowned, turning back to face her girlfriend. “Why would you ever be jealous of someone like her?”
“I wasn’t…not really. She asked me to ask you if you still had her hoodie.”
“I don’t have anything that belongs to her.” Prue shook her head. “Everything she left at the club was thrown out the back door when she was.”
“She was sort of trying to hint at you two sleeping together.”
“Nope. Not in a million years.” Prue’s fingers laced with Summer’s beneath the thin sheet covering them. “Ruth was one of my best bartenders. She was the one who revamped the cocktail list. Two years into her working at the club, I noticed my takings were down. The club was packed out most nights, but we were taking significantly less than usual.”
“How much did she take?�
�
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Prue sighed. “I don’t know how long it had been going on for, but it was definitely a couple of hundred a night.”
“Wow.”
“If she was struggling, she could have come to me. I’d have helped her out.”
“And did she? Once you’d caught her?”
“No,” Prue said. “She couldn’t have been struggling. She used to come in wearing the best clothes…those tattoos couldn’t have been cheap.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“So, I kicked her out. Told her never to come back again.”
“You never contacted the police?” Summer’s brow knitted. “She got away with it?” Summer didn’t know why she was continuing this conversation. Prue clearly didn’t want to involve them, and Summer had the answers she needed. The woman Jade had been sleeping with…hadn’t been in Prue’s bed. That was all she needed to know.
“The police around here have better things to do than investigate a strip club staff theft, baby.” Prue snuggled closer to her girlfriend. “It wasn’t the end of the world.”
“Still…”
“Now that I’ve put your mind at ease…is there any chance of a real wake up?” Prue disappeared beneath the sheet, forcing Summer onto her back. “If I’m not doing yoga this morning, I need to get my work-out in elsewhere.”
“Mm…” Summer took her bottom lip between her teeth, the sensation of Prue’s breath on her lower stomach causing her centre to pulse. “Be my guest…”
21
The sound of waves crashed around Summer, the sun setting in the distance over the ocean. Three months on since she kissed Prue, life felt good. Her skin, too. That bronzed tan she had as she settled into Tías had only darkened, deepened, giving her that healthy glow. Her blonde hair was lighter than it had ever been, but isn’t that what everyone craved? A healthy look all year round? It was hard not to appreciate the weather and the sun. After all, it was early November and in the mid-twenties most days. Jade had spent the last two months calling to complain about the British weather, but Summer struggled to care. Life with Prue around made it hard to care about most things. Prue. Summer smiled. Her girlfriend had been missing all day, claiming she had important work to take care of. The problem was…she wouldn’t tell Summer what that work was. It wasn’t often that Prue was secretive about her business, but she had been today.
The Heat of Summer Page 21
