Peace of Infinity

by Maegan Abel

  I heard laughter then. Multiple male voices. Awesome. Just…awesome.

  I threw the lock and tossed the blanket onto the counter. My jeans were folded nicely with my thong peeking out of the back pocket like a handkerchief in a suit jacket. Ugh. Assholes. My shoes were directly beside the display next to the sink. My best guess for how I ended up here was Gavin arrested me for my public drunkenness…or public nakedness.

  Or both.

  Shit.

  This would likely not go over well. Nor would it be easy to get out of. My poor, abused brain was already hating me today as I tried to figure out a plan.

  Nothing.

  As I reached for the jeans, the movement drew my eyes to the mirror and I let out a little squeak at my reflection. Note to self: getting drunk and going swimming in the ocean is not a good idea when you are wearing eye makeup. Between that and the frizzy mess my hair had become, I looked like I belonged in an eighties music video. Fitting, since that’s what I’d been singing. Watch out, Cyndi Lauper, you’ve got some new competition.

  “That’s just perfect,” I muttered, turning on the faucet in hopes of performing some sort of miracle.

  Once I finished with my face—there wasn’t much that could be done about the hair without a shower and a crap-ton of conditioner—I redressed as quickly as I could, scanning the room for some sort of escape. My only chance was a small window high over the toilet, almost to the ceiling. I leaned into the door, trying to hear if Gavin was standing on the other side before deciding to go for it. I wasn’t usually the type to attempt an escape, but then again, I wasn’t usually the type to end up spending the night in a jail cell either. In fact, I was never the type. There was a first time for everything and today proved that.

  Cautiously, I lifted one foot and then the other, balancing on either side of the seat as I stood and reached for the handle on the window. I pulled, but it didn’t budge, so I yanked harder. The small screech of metal made me cringe and pause, hoping it wasn’t as loud as I thought it was.

  After a moment of silence, I let out a breath and reached for the handle again.

  “Don’t bother. Even you can’t fit through there.” Gavin’s voice made me jump and I turned, expecting to find him in the doorway, but the door was still closed. I glanced once more at the window, debating, before hopping down from my perch. He was right. I had an ass I was proud of and it would never fit. Fuck. I’d been willing to climb out a window and run rather than face him again and now he knew it. Wouldn’t that just add fuel to his already raging fire?

  Grumbling, I yanked open the door and glared at him again. “Can I go now?”

  Remain obstinate.

  Pretend he had nothing on me and maybe he’d let me go.

  That was my new plan.

  It was a shit plan, but it was all I had.

  He stepped in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes immediately dropped. Holy hot damn. Those arms. I shook my head and looked back at his face, catching his smirk. “Well, that depends.”

  “On what?” I snapped, my normally short fuse cut in half by the hangover of the century and the fact that Gavin fucking Jericho was standing in front of me looking all kinds of perfect. But that wasn’t exactly true. His dark eyes looked tired, worn. It occurred to me he must’ve been up all night and I had no idea what time it was now.

  “If you let me give you a ride home.” He grinned at me in that way—that panty-melting, you-know-you-want-me-so-don’t-pretend-not-to, overconfident way.

  I was so not amused.

  I mirrored his position, crossing my arms over my chest and giving myself one last chance at defiance. I mean, of course I wanted him. Who wouldn’t? But he didn’t need to know that. “And if I’d rather walk?” I hedged, hoping to come across as indifferent.

  He shrugged, looking disinterested. “I’ll just follow along behind you.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m pretty sure you’ve seen enough of my ass to last you a while,” I said, passing him and heading for the front of the building. So much for indifferent. Apparently, I was back to pissed off.

  He beat me to the door and held it open as I stepped out into the sun, squinting. “I have a responsibility to make sure everyone here is safe.”

  I rolled my eyes at his horrible excuse. “Uh, it’s Hawk Bay. It’s probably the safest place in South Carolina. My house is, like, six blocks from here.”

  “Then it’ll be a short ride,” he responded, taking me by the elbow and leading me to the passenger side of the cruiser. I growled, but slid in, crossing my arms again and resolving to ignore him the entire drive.

  “You know, I love a challenge,” he said as he started the engine. “And, by the way, I’ll never see enough of that ass.”

  I ground my teeth, swallowing back a retort. The last thing I wanted was to give him anymore ammo. As he drove to the house my grandmother still owned, I started thinking about everything that had sent me out to the liquor store last night.

  Being an adult sucked sometimes. Being the one who had to be responsible when someone you loved died sucked too. I needed to find out what paperwork had to be done to change the title to Cara’s name now that grandma was gone. Two weeks didn’t seem like a long time to be without her, but I missed her more every day. I sighed, not realizing how sad the sound was as the pain of her loss sliced into me again. Then I remembered who was sitting beside me and looked over at him.

  Gavin Jericho represented everything I’d been afraid of all my life. I couldn’t let myself fall into this.

  I couldn’t.

  As he pulled up to the house, I tugged the keys from my pocket and didn’t look at him as I opened the car door, slipped out, and slammed it behind me.

  “I probably would’ve been safer with an axe murderer,” I muttered under my breath, jogging to the porch since I half expected him to follow me. I hurried, nearly fumbling the keys as my entire body shook.

  I hated this feeling.

  I remembered it vividly.

  Sixteen years and it hadn’t gone away.

  But now, after seeing him, after being near him, it felt even worse. Mainly because it didn’t feel all bad. It was calm mixing with fear, pain with a hint of excitement.

  It was fullness. Completeness.

  And absolute terror.

  That was exactly why I would’ve been safer with anyone else. Gavin was the danger in Hawk Bay, he just couldn’t see that, or he didn’t care—I wasn’t sure which yet. But I could see it. Fuck yes I could. I knew just how dangerous he could be and I had scars that proved it. Both on my body and my heart.

  With a growl of frustration, I finally got the door open, carefully avoiding a loving maul from my newly adopted pitbull, Stitch.

  I hated Hawk Bay.

  Cara was pissed and while I was honest about why a cop car was dropping me off after I’d been missing all night, she basically grounded me. I tried explaining she was my sister, not my mother, but when I got out of the shower, she’d left for work and my keys were missing. Because I hadn’t bothered to unpack yet, I had no idea where my spare set was and she wasn’t answering her phone.

  Since there was almost nothing to do here, I was convinced this was hell. The only place to find an actual crowd of people in this town was down near the boardwalk, which held memories I wasn’t sure I was ready to face again.

  Eventually, boredom won and I headed out, walking through the small town toward the beach. I’d lived in Hawk Bay as a child, but I’d done my best to forget everything I could about it. Unfortunately, the second I stepped onto the boardwalk, I realized it was all too familiar—and exactly how I remembered it.

  The weathered wooden planks were teeming with bodies given it was the beginning of tourist season. Beyond the railing, the wide stretch of beautiful sand led to water that glistened and undulated under the bright summer sun. The place was like a freaking post card, even down to the colorful umbrellas dotting the scene and the screams and laughter of children playi
ng in the shallow waves. Hawk Bay was paradise to those who knew about it.

  Except me.

  For me, a place was just that. Words like paradise and home meant little to me. All I needed to be happy was to stay busy, which usually meant I wanted to be around people. Not full time and not the same people, but being surrounded by a crowd was comforting to me.

  Right after graduation, Cara bailed from Portland. She said she never felt “at home” there like she did in Hawk Bay and couldn’t stay somewhere that didn’t feel right anymore. What I didn’t understand was her decision to return to bumfuck nowhere South Carolina. For me, this place was a quick stop and I’d move on once I spent some time with my sister. Maybe I’d go up the east coast somewhere. A big city like New York might do. The lights, towering buildings, constant movement…it was exactly what I needed. I’d never be bored there or have to figure out what to do. I’d just walk out my front door and there would be a world of possibilities. Maybe I was over-glamorizing it a tad, but still, I hoped maybe I’d be able to find that feeling of home Cara talked about.

  First things first, I needed to figure out what was going on with her.

  For the past year, every time I talked to her on the phone, she sounded less and less like the sister I knew and loved. She hadn’t returned to Portland at all when Grandma was sick and when she didn’t come for the funeral, I started to wonder about things.

  My sister falling in love wasn’t anything new. Hell, she’d been “in love” so many times in our lives, I’d made up a little song with the names of all the guys to tease her.

  This time was different.

  Something about this guy, Shawn, was changing Cara, and I had no idea what to think about that. My sister had always been a hopeless romantic, a little shy, but completely devoted to our family. She was chatty, smiled, and would do whatever she could to cheer up those around her. But that light I’d always known as Cara had dimmed.

  I planned to stay here for as long as it took to make sure she was safe, but after less than a week, I was already itching to leave.

  Taking a few steps onto the boardwalk, something similar to nostalgia spread over me. I expected horrible memories to resurface, memories that included getting knocked off my bike by a group of boys and ending up with a broken arm, but while those memories were there, I felt almost peaceful in the buzz of people.

  I wandered into the crowd, taking my time and checking out the small shops along the way, losing myself in the feeling. I stopped in front of Hawk Bay Diner, thinking about how many times I ate there when I was younger. I loved seafood, but even in Portland, it wasn’t the same. The place looked packed, just how I remembered it, and I smiled as I continued down the boardwalk. I paused outside a small window display, glancing at the chipping paint that read Briggs General Store. It was clear the shop had seen better days, but something made me want to check it out.

  Shoving inside, it felt cozy in a way that made me smile.

  “Welcome to Briggs Gen—” the voice cut off for a moment and I turned to find the source. “Welcome to Briggs General Store.” The guy, who I finally spotted, rose to his feet and I felt the sudden need to lift my jaw from the floor. He was wearing a dark-colored shirt, darker in some sections from sweat, and my eyes roamed a little before I looked up to his face, finding him blushing slightly. I almost felt bad for embarrassing him, but then he spoke again. “Are you looking for something in particular?” His tone wasn’t exactly flirting, but the line could’ve been considered a come-on with the way he’d caught me staring. Instead, he sounded amused.

  “I just wanted to check out the shop,” I said, glancing around. It was like stepping back in time. I remembered coming here as a child and the old man who ran it—who, in my memory, had to be in his eighties back then—would always give Cara and I a piece of candy from a jar by the register. My eyes slid that direction and I saw the jar was still there.

  “Well, feel free. My name is Dom if you need anything.” He smiled and headed toward the register. I followed him with my eyes for a moment before shaking it off and walking farther into the store.

  Almost nothing had changed, except in the section of shelves where Dom was working when I came in. The layout and even some of the beach related items looked exactly the same. I was running my finger over a kitschy coffee mug when I heard the door open again. It was loud, squeaking and scraping along the wooden floor in a way I hadn’t noticed when I’d opened it. I glanced around the end of the aisle as Dom greeted the new customer and all sense of happy that had flooded through me disappeared.

  “Are you stalking me or something?” I asked, ignoring Gavin’s grin as he and Dom both watched me walk toward the counter.

  “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re the one who came to my best friend’s store,” he said, and my eyes shifted to Dom.

  “Perfect,” I muttered, not meaning to say the word aloud. Dom laughed and I recognized the sound. My eyes narrowed on him as I tried to place it. It took a moment, but fuzzy memories of last night came once again. I’d woken up at some point, restless, and while I rolled over to try to get comfortable, I heard that laugh. He’d been at the station last night. I wanted to face-palm. How many hot guys could there be in Hawk Bay? Did they all witness my drunken amazingness? I decided to cover my embarrassment with irritation. “You called him when I came in? You could’ve at least warned me.”

  “I didn’t call him. He was already on his way over. It’s not all about you, Princess,” Dom replied and I stared him down, grinding my teeth as I started to feel the burn in my cheeks. I spun, heading toward the door. Escape. This was becoming a theme with me recently. I heard that same, now all too familiar chuckle and rolled my eyes once the two men were behind me. “See you around, Evie.”

  I ignored him and yanked open the door, shocked to see another hand on it as I felt a presence directly behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, Gavin’s smug face came into view. His eyes were showing his amusement and I glowered at him as he followed me out onto the boardwalk. “Now, you are stalking me. Shoo.”

  “Shoo?” Gavin lifted a brow at the term and I wanted to kick him in the shin. It was something my grandmother always used to say and I never realized I’d picked it up. “I’m not a dog. You really are full of yourself, aren’t you? How about I came by and was done with what I needed to do so I was ready to leave, then a beautiful woman held the door for me and it felt rude to decline the invite.”

  Had I held the door for him? Crap. He had grabbed it, I was sure, so wouldn’t that have been him holding it for me? I scowled, realizing I was letting him succeed with his plan to turn this around again.

  “Perfect. Have a nice day, Officer,” I said, using my fakest sweet tone. I turned, intentionally heading in the opposite direction from where we started.

  I didn’t look back, but I didn’t have to. He was following me. I had so many things I wanted to snap, but I didn’t. I held it together, refusing to acknowledge him as even a blip on my radar.

  I got to the end of the boardwalk and he jogged up beside me, grabbing my arm lightly to pull me to a stop. I sighed, showing just a hint of irritation. “Let me guess, you’re here to offer me a ride?”

  “Oh, I could give you a ride.” That glint in his eye was back, but before he could speak or try whatever scheme he had planned this time, another voice interrupted us.

  “Gavin?” a female voice said, and we both turned our heads toward her. She was sexy, a little older than Gavin, but still hot, and she had sultry eyes on him. “I thought that was you! How have you been?” She walked up, forcing him to release his hold on me as she engulfed him in a hug.

  He responded, but I didn’t hear the words. Instead, I used the distraction as my opportunity and slipped away.

  After the boardwalk ambush, I decided it was best to stay inside, so the next afternoon, I was curled up on the couch with Stitch sprawled in front of me. He was squishing me against the cushions, which I was quickly learning was his favorite place to
be, when the knock came. Stitch went batshit, snarling and barking as he launched himself across the room toward the sound. He was easily sixty pounds and a beautiful gray color, but that wasn’t the reason I adopted him. I’d gone to the shelter looking for a dog in hopes we would have some protection if something bad was happening with Shawn. Essentially, a dog that would eat his face if he tried anything. I was walking down the aisle and something made me stop at Stitch’s cage. He was on his feet, ears back, and the girl who worked for the shelter told me he wasn’t friendly. I stepped a little closer and squatted down, talking softly to him until he came to the front of the cage.

  Turned out, he just needed the right person. When I saw him, I knew he was my dog, and after just a few days, I was sure he felt it too.

  “Calm,” I said, a little nervous for the first time, but not letting it show. I knelt down and whistled until he turned and came a few steps toward me, letting me know he hadn’t completely lost it. Grabbing his collar—as if that would help—I opened the door.

  The knot that had been building over the last twenty-four hours disintegrated immediately when I met Gavin’s eyes. Still, I scowled and ran through several comments about his stalking before deciding it wasn’t worth it. “You.”

  His gaze shifted down to Stitch and back up, his expression guarded. “Me.”

  I rolled my eyes as I held tighter to the collar, afraid Stitch might actually eat him. And as much as I pretended not to, I wanted him in one piece. “Can I help you?”

  “You can.” He pursed his lips, looking to the side like he was thinking. Something about the softness of that move made my damn traitorous heart squeeze. His eyes skipped back to mine as he continued. “Go to dinner with me tonight.”

  I fought the urge to scream. “Joke’s over, Gavin. You saw me naked, but it’s not going to happen. I’d rather hump a porcupine.” I smirked, proud of my little insult, as I leaned over, rewrapping my hand under Stitch’s collar.