Seaside Kisses

by Stacy Claflin

  "Yet so much hasn't," Rafael said.

  "Isn't that the truth?" Brayden asked. "So, how do you know so much about Amara?"

  Rafael had to be careful with his wording. He'd done a good job so far of keeping Brayden from asking any questions about his love life, and if he had an inkling for the feelings Rafael was trying to ignore toward Amara, he would want to know more.

  "She runs her parents' candy shop," Rafael said, fighting to sound natural. Why was it so hard?

  "Oh, right. It's just down the way from your new store."

  "Yeah. We ran into each other the other day and caught up." To say the least.

  Five

  "What was that all about?" Janelle asked, giving Amara a curious glance.

  Amara's heart still pounded after seeing Rafael. On one hand, she was horrified that he regretted kissing her. On the other, she couldn't stop thinking about the kiss itself. She relived it in her mind over and over. His soft lips. The light scruff of his cheeks. The rugged smell of his cologne.

  "Amara?" Janelle asked.

  "What?" Amara blinked, trying to bring herself back to the present.

  "Oh, don't give me that. You nearly jumped out of your skin when you saw the two Hunter brothers."

  "You're imagining things." Amara hadn't even been able to look at Rafael, so she had no idea how he responded to her. Did he regret the kiss so much he never wanted to see her again?

  "Wait a minute," Janelle said, stopping. She grabbed Amara's arm, forcing her to stop, also. "You used to have that huge crush on Rafael. Is he the mystery man?"

  Amara turned away, her face burning. "His new shop is near mine. That's all."

  "And that's why you're blushing?" Janelle's eyes lit up.

  "It's like I told you last night, there's nothing to talk about." Amara tried to think of something else to talk about.

  "Your old love is back in town." Janelle sighed dramatically. "No wonder you're so skittish. You'd better hurry."

  Amara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

  "Those Hunter brothers have been arriving in town and getting snatched up. One's married, and two are engaged. That only leaves two—and Rafael's one of them."

  "How do you keep up on all that?" Amara asked.

  Janelle rolled her eyes. "Everyone's talking about them, sweetie. How do you not hear it?"

  She shrugged. Though she'd changed, she was still invisible, and no one wanted to share gossip with her—except Janelle. Funny how some things managed to stay the same after so many years. At their ten-year reunion, everyone had stayed in their old cliques. It didn't matter if people had left town for the entire decade or not. It was like the only things that had changed were the hairstyles and clothes.

  "You know how it goes," Amara said. "Nobody sees me any differently than when we were kids." And that was why Rafael regretted kissing her.

  "Rafael doesn't see you as you were," Janelle said.

  "Shut up," Amara said harsher than she meant.

  Janelle didn't seem to notice. "I'm serious. Did you see the way he looked at you?"

  "He didn't look at me any special way." Or had he? Amara had been trying too hard not to look at him.

  Janelle nodded. "He was surprised to see you. Brayden clearly didn't recognize you, but Rafael was flustered." She gave Amara a hopeful expression.

  "He's probably just sick of seeing me," Amara said. "We keep running into each other. But it doesn't matter. Let's just get to the movie before we miss it."

  "I want to talk more about Rafael."

  Amara narrowed her eyes. "I don't."

  "Okay, okay," Janelle said. "Maybe after the movie and popcorn, you'll feel chattier."

  "Don't count on it." Amara thought about apologizing—she wasn't usually so defensive—but she really didn't want to talk about Rafael. It was like Janelle had said—he would probably get taken, anyway. And not by her. By someone who was sophisticated and had never lived life as a nerd.

  Amara could hardly pay attention to the movie when they got to the theater. She kept thinking about Rafael—and it didn't help that they'd chosen a romantic comedy. Part of her still couldn't believe that he'd kissed her. All her life, she'd dreamed of the moment, and it had actually happened.

  After the movie was over, and they stepped out into the bright outside light, Janelle smiled at Amara. "I adore a good love story, don't you?"

  Amara tried to scowl at her friend, but couldn't quite get her face to cooperate. "I know what you're doing. I'm not in the mood to talk."

  "Want to go back to my place and have a pillow fight?" Janelle asked. "Play MASH? Make prank calls?"

  Amara couldn't help laughing. "I'd love to have another sleepover, but I really need to get online and take care of my other business."

  "You have all day tomorrow," Janelle said. "Come on. When was the last time we had a girls' weekend?"

  "Now it's a weekend?" Amara asked.

  "If we make it one. What do you say?" Janelle begged Amara with her eyes.

  "How can I say no to that?"

  "Perfect." Janelle pulled her phone out and slid her finger around the screen. "I'm ordering pizza. It should be delivered just as we get there. How's that for timing?"

  They made their way back to Janelle's car, which was a twenty minute walk from where they stood, and sure enough, the pizza delivery guy pulled up to the house just as they did.

  Amara tried to pay, but the kid wouldn't take it.

  "It was paid online," he said.

  Amara gave her friend an exasperated look. "Why haven't you let me pay for anything all weekend?"

  "You brought the magazines and ice cream." She unlocked the front door and they went inside. Amara put the pizza on the table and got out everything they needed.

  Janelle got out a bottle of red wine and glasses from the cupboard. She brought them to the table.

  "Wine and pizza?" Amara asked, unsure of the combination.

  "Why not?" Janelle asked.

  Amara shrugged. "Sure." She didn't drink often, and one glass wouldn't hurt. And it wouldn't help her to talk more openly about Rafael, if that was what Janelle was going for.

  Janelle filled the glasses nearly to the top.

  Amara shook her head. "You do know these are meant to be filled about halfway, right?" Amara asked.

  "I don't care." Janelle ate some pizza and then drank about half her glass.

  Amara watched her as they spoke, noticing she refilled twice. "Are you okay?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

  "Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" Janelle asked, her words slurring together slightly.

  "Just asking." Amara reached for the bottle. "I think I'll just put this away. We've had enough."

  "You mean me," Janelle said. It wasn't a question.

  "I had plenty, too." Amara forced the cork back in and put the bottle back in the kitchen. She sat back down. "Sure you're okay?"

  "Fine. It's just a little wine."

  "Have some more pizza." Amara pulled a piece and put it on Janelle's plate.

  "Thanks." Janelle sighed. "Did I tell you the kids said Kyle has a girlfriend?"

  Now it made sense. Janelle's sudden interest in a girls' night. Wanting to focus on Amara's love life. The wine. Last night, she'd eaten nearly a carton of ice cream on her own. Her ex was moving on, not just moving out.

  "When did they mention that?" Amara asked, careful to keep her voice even. She didn't want to further upset Janelle.

  "Oh, a couple days ago. I was helping them pack for the weekend. Rex just let it slip out like it was no big deal." Janelle let out a long, slow breath. Her eyes shone with tears. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I knew this was coming. In fact, I was pretty sure there was probably someone else when he left."

  Amara nodded. "I can see that."

  "But now… actually finding out that it's true brings it to a whole new level." A tear fell to Janelle's face.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were dealing with this."

&nbs
p; Janelle wiped the tear away. "I hoped that focusing on something else would help, but it didn't. I was so happy to hear something was going your way in that department."

  Amara got up, grabbed a box of tissues, and gave her friend a hug. "You wanna talk about it?"

  Janelle pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes. "No. Yes. I don't know."

  "I can't pretend to know how you feel, but I can listen. I'm here for you." Amara rose and helped her friend over to the couch, glad Janelle didn't try to reach for the wine glass. "Do you need anything else? A blanket? Water?"

  Janelle didn't answer, but she shook, so Amara grabbed a blanket decorated with cartoon characters from the love seat and covered her. Then she went over to the stereo and put on some soft music before sitting down.

  "Talk. I'm all ears." Amara patted Janelle's arm.

  "What's to talk about? He has a girlfriend. She's probably the reason he left me. Kyle said it was because I didn't pay enough attention to him."

  "If he wanted attention, he could have asked," Amara said. "Don't take the blame. He's the one who left his wife and ripped apart his family."

  Janelle looked at her, her eyes shining again. "I thought we were going to grow old together, you know? Be there together to send the kids to proms." Her voice cracked. "Cheer them on at sports together. Now we'll not only be apart, but she will probably be there for all that. How am I going to survive it?"

  "Have you seen her at any of the kids' games?" Amara asked.

  Janelle shook her head, dabbing her eyes. "But now that they know her, it's bound to be soon. How am I going to handle it? What am I supposed to do?"

  Amara took a deep breath. She was way out of her territory, having been sheltered in Kittle Falls where almost no one divorced. It had been quite the scandal when Kyle left Janelle.

  She took Janelle's hand. "We'll get it through it together, okay? If you're worried about going to the games and seeing them, or even just him, I'll be right there. If I have to rearrange my schedule with Alex at the shop, I will. He'll understand."

  Janelle shook more, and then leaned against Amara.

  "You'll get through this. The Janelle I know is the strongest person I've ever met."

  "I don't want to be strong. I just want everything back the way it was."

  Amara's heart broke for her friend. She looked around the room trying to think of something brilliant to say, but she had a feeling that just being there was the best she could really do. There was nothing anyone could say to make the situation better. She noticed pictures of them as a happy family and couple still sitting out where they always had.

  Then she had an idea. "You know what you need?"

  Janelle sat up, shaking her head. "What?"

  "New memories. Fun times with your kids to replace the old photos sitting around here. If you spend all your time looking at those, it's no wonder you're miserable. It's time to look ahead to the good times waiting to be had."

  "There aren't any. Not without Kyle." Janelle frowned.

  "I think this calls for an intervention."

  Janelle's eyes widened. "I'm not sure I like where this is going. Amara?"

  "Yeah, it's exactly what you need—for your own good. Everything is the same in here. It's no wonder you feel like there's a giant hole in your life. It's time to turn this into Janelle's place."

  Amara got up and gathered all the pictures with Kyle and put them in a pile, face down.

  Worry covered Janelle's face.

  "Now it's time to rearrange this living room. You always complained about the setup because of how Kyle insisted everything look. Time for your living room to stop feeling like a man cave, and open it up into a warm, welcoming place—just like you. The first thing we need to do is move this couch. Are you going to help, or do I have to move it with you sitting there?"

  Janelle moaned. "I thought you were going to join my pity party."

  "Nope. This is a rearranging party now." Amara grabbed one end of the couch and pulled until it reached the wall. She had to move a shelf out the way. "This thing is ugly anyway. I know you'll be glad to get it out of here."

  Amara went back to the other end of the couch and pushed, but it resisted since Janelle still sat there.

  "This would go a lot faster with some help."

  Janelle got up, and then the two of them rearranged the entire living room, avoiding Janelle's cat who kept getting underfoot. Amara was surprised at how little Janelle fought her.

  "You have to admit, this is a good start," Amara said, breathing heavily. "It looks like a whole new room—an improved one. Do you want anything from the ugly shelf?"

  Janelle glanced at it and shrugged.

  "Don't you think the TV would look better out of the corner and on the wall? You would have so much more room, too. Want to help me move it?"

  "You know how to mount it on the wall?" Janelle asked.

  "You'd better believe it," Amara said. "Living on my own, I've learned to do pretty much everything for myself."

  It took some prompting, but Janelle helped Amara rearrange everything else in the room after the TV was set up on the wall. Before long, Janelle had taken over and was telling Amara where to put things.

  After they were done, they'd collected a large pile in the middle of the room.

  "I'll take this stuff out to the garage," Amara said. "You can decide later what to do with it. Sell it, donate it, whatever you feel like."

  Janelle looked around. "I could sure use the money to get it painted."

  "Garage sale?" Amara asked.

  "Not this time of year."

  "Then online. You'll get more for it, anyway."

  Janelle smiled, finally looking hopeful. Amara felt good knowing she'd helped.

  Six

  Rafael sank into his parents' couch. It was the same one he remembered from high school. How many conversations had the couch been privy to? He had a feeling it would have a great many stories to tell if it could speak.

  He remembered his first heartbreak. After returning home from the date where he'd been dumped, he'd thrown himself on the couch, buried his face into a throw pillow, and refused to talk about it.

  Cruz sat next to him. "Kind of weird, huh?"

  "What's that?" Rafael asked.

  "Everyone else is either married or engaged."

  "And Mom's not exactly subtle with her hints," Rafael said.

  "Nope. But I'm going to hold my ground. What about you?" Cruz leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

  "Me, too. I just want to focus on getting my store off the ground. The last thing I need is a distraction." Except that he already had one. And if he had any hopes of anything working out between them, he'd probably screwed that up. But it was probably a good thing he'd blown it with Amara. He truly didn't need a relationship.

  "Exactly. I don't need no distractions." Cruz sat up and scratched one of the tattoos on his arm.

  "New tat?" Rafael asked.

  "Dragon." Cruz extended his arm. "It's going to take a few times to complete. It's going to wrap around like this," Cruz turned his arm around, sliding his finger along clear skin, "and then its tail is going to wrap around its neck."

  "Cool. You going to color that one, too?"

  "Not sure, yo." Cruz scratched the new ink again. "I think this one might look better black and white."

  Rafael nodded. "I can see that."

  Cruz leaned back and ran his hands through his hair. "Gotta keep from scratching," he muttered. He turned to Rafael. "So, want to be my first customer when I open shop?"

  "I don't want any tattoos."

  "Dude, tats are in right now," Cruz said. "You like being at the top of fashion, and I'm tellin' you, get one. It doesn't have to be huge."

  "What would I get?" Rafael asked, not intending to consider the suggestion.

  Cruz sat up. "You'd think about it, man?"

  "Just asking what you think I should get. My credit card's staying in my wallet." Rafael laughed nervously at his br
other's eagerness.

  "Anything you want. I'd like to see all of us with matching Mom tats. Couldn't you see her face?"

  Rafael could, and she wasn't smiling. "You know she hates those things, right?"

  "They're growing on her," Cruz said. "She's actually been asking me about some of them lately."

  "She likes to show an interest in our lives."

  "Yeah, but she doesn't have tears in her eyes when she looks at them now."

  Rafael shook his head. "That's your measure of success?"

  "It's improvement. So, back to your tat."

  "I never said I was going to get one."

  "But you'd consider it."

  "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this conversation?" Rafael asked.

  "Oh, I know," Cruz said, looking like he had a stroke of brilliance.

  "What?" Rafael groaned.

  Cruz's eyes lit up. "Dude! That's it."

  "What?" Rafael demanded.

  "A thorny rose. The rose for your impeccable fashion sense, the thorns to show how tough you are. It's perfect, bro."

  Rafael raised an eyebrow.

  "If a flower is too girly, then we can add some blood dripping down the thorns. Oh! It's perfect." Cruz jumped up, looking around. He ran into the kitchen.

  "What are you looking for?" his mom's voice drifted in from the other room.

  "A pad of paper," Cruz said.

  Rafael heard a drawer slide open. "Here."

  "Thanks, Mom."

  Cruz reappeared, holding a pad of paper and a pencil.

  "What are you doing?" Rafael asked, not sure he wanted the answer.

  "Drawing your tat."

  "I didn't say—"

  "Quiet. I need to concentrate." Cruz scribbled furiously, erasing every so often.

  Curious, Rafael tried to peek, but the artist kept moving farther away.

  Jake and Brayden came into the room, both glancing at Cruz and Rafael.

  "Don't ask," Rafael said.

  Jake shrugged. "Okay. We're going to hit the hoop. You guys want to join us? Zachary's already outside."

  "What are the girls doing?" Rafael asked.

  "You have to ask?" Jake asked.