Break Me (The Summer Series)

by James, Harper

  Gemma reluctantly smirked at him. “Maybe you should say better things?”

  Once he had her facing him, he reached out and placed his hands on her thighs, turning her entire body to face him. She flushed at the intimate gesture. “I know you don’t trust me. I know we barely know each other. I know this is crazy since you clearly don’t live here, but I want to know more. You make me laugh. You’re beautiful, even if you don’t see it, and more than anything, there is just something there. Don’t you feel it too? Aren’t you curious?”

  And with that, he had addressed every one of her concerns and said everything she needed to hear. How did he always know? “So what do you want?” She forced herself to look in his eyes and not at the sand as she asked the question that suddenly held so much more meaning.

  “A chance, that’s all I can ask for, isn’t it? I just want you to let me try.” Gemma knew that he was attentive enough to understand that this was the perfect thing to ask for. This was the big question wasn’t it? Would she allow him a chance or would she wait for him to screw up, cheat, leave, whatever came first. “Please, Gem?” The look in his eyes, combined with the incredible sexy chest that kept distracting her, had her nodding her head.

  “One.” She cleared her throat. “One chance.” He smiled and then pulled her into a hug.

  “Perfect.” He stood and helped her to her feet, holding her hand a beat longer than necessary before letting go. “Go out with me today. I don’t have work again. I only work Sunday through Thursday nights and need something to do.”

  “Oh, so I’m just helping you pass the time?” She couldn’t believe she was flirting as she smiled up at him.

  “Something like that.” He started to lean down and she took a hasty step back. “I’m sorry.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “It’s me. I’m so sorry. It’s just that this is big. I need to take it slow.”

  “I get it. I knew that. I just lost my head for a minute, but I promise you set the pace from here on.” Then he used his finger and crossed his oh-so-sexy chest, and she knew she was screwed beyond comprehension.

  When they made it back to the group, all eyes were on them and then just as quickly looking around inconspicuously. She looked up at Abe and rolled her eyes as he chuckled. “It’s nice to know they care,” he whispered. As they started to walk again, his arm came in contact with hers, and he straightened his finger to brush along her hand. She had to concentrate on her steps to keep from going down.

  “Hey guys,” Emily yelled from the far side of the group, “we’re all going in. Come on.”

  Gemma watched as one after another the perfect girls around her started ripping off their shirts and the males around gawked obviously. Suddenly shy, she lowered her hands from the hem of her shirt and looked out to the water. “You know I’ve been trying to read for about a week now and haven’t had time because someone keeps sending me home. I think I’ll stay up here and take advantage of his distractions.”

  Abe reached out and pulled her back to his front, resting his hand on her hip. “If that’s what you want . . .” He lowered his mouth to her ear and instantly goose bumps erupted everywhere. “But I can’t lie; it’s killing me not to see what you have under there.”

  She turned her head in surprise, putting their mouths dangerously close. “Really?”

  “You have no idea.” He made sure she was looking him in the eyes before continuing. “Sexiest girl out here is hiding on the beach. I’m not the only guy who’s disappointed. I’m just the only one with a shot in hell to see more later.” He smirked at her and then kissed her cheek. “See you soon.”

  She finally let her legs do what they had been waiting to do since he brushed her hand, and fell to the sand. A shiver ran down her back. This was not her life. The sexy, confident, bachelor didn’t beg her for a chance. He didn’t fight for her. And yet, there she sat, completely turned on, watching him look back over his shoulder at her. She shook her head to herself as she stood and found her bag and pretended to read, trying not to make it obvious her eyes didn’t leave him for a second.

  ~~~

  “You about ready? He’ll be here any minute.” Kate stood behind Gemma while she looked in the mirror and tried to figure out what to do with her hair. He had said they were just going to grab some food near the water, so she knew putting too much effort in would be a waste. If there was any wind, it would instantly bring her hair crashing toward its death, and if it was hot, sweat would finish it off.

  “Yes.” She groaned. “I’m thinking about throwing it in a ponytail, is that just too lazy?”

  “Well, it doesn’t exactly scream ‘take me here and now, cowboy,’ but it isn’t the worst thing you could do.”

  “Really? ‘Here and now, cowboy?’” Gemma snorted and dropped her hair in frustration.

  “You know you want to ride that.” Kate laughed.

  “Oh, my gosh!” Gemma’s eyes went wide in the mirror. “Do you always have to be so graphic?”

  Kate rolled her eyes as she stepped up and swatted Gemma’s frustrated hands away. “Here, let me.” In no time, she put some sparkly headband in Gemma’s hair and twisted the back up and made her hair look better than it did for prom.

  “How the hell . . .? You know what? Never mind. Just be on standby if this thing goes past one night.”

  “You got it.” Just then they heard the doorbell, and both of their eyes shot wide. “Oh, crap. You didn’t tell him?”

  “It didn’t come up. Hurry.” Gemma pushed Kate out of the bathroom ahead of her. Their father hated doorbells. He said it was like a period for his brain. When he heard one, he usually bellowed from upstairs and came down to yell at whoever would be so thoughtless. They turned through their room and ran out the door and down the steps as fast as they could, but not fast enough.

  “Do you have any idea how long I have been trying to figure out that scene? Who rings a damn doorbell anymore?” He turned to yell up the stairs and noticed the girls. “Oh, Kate, I’m assuming this is for you?”

  “Um, actually, no, sir, I’m here to take Gemma out.” Abe interrupted awkwardly, still standing outside the door and clearly not interested in entering the house after their father’s warm welcome.

  “Oh, of course.” Michael had the decency to look embarrassed, but it wasn’t as if it was shocking that the mistake had been made. It just served to amplify the self-doubt Gemma had been struggling with all day.

  “It was nice to meet you, sir. Gem, you ready?” Abe held out his hand, gesturing for her to lead the way down the steps.

  “Bye, you two.” Kate giggled from the door. Their father was already gone and most likely back at his computer.

  “So, that’s the famous dad. I’m guessing he’s a writer?” Abe fidgeted as they made their way toward the water.

  “Good call. And he is my father, but we aren’t close if you were wondering. In fact, I pretty much can’t stand the man,” she admitted, looking down at the ground, suddenly overcome with embarrassment. She didn’t want Abe to think of her as some bitter girl who held on to someone else’s drama. She hated that he was making her look at herself through new eyes but couldn’t help but want to thank him nonetheless. Abe North was starting to get to her.

  “Oh, sorry. At least you and Kate get along.” He looked over and smiled when she started to laugh at him. “What?”

  “I think before this morning Kate and I may have had a total of thirty conversations. Until you, we pretty much had nothing to talk about or bond over.”

  “Didn’t seem that way today.” He shrugged, looking at her with those far-too-knowing eyes of his.

  “You’re right. We reached an understanding, and, I don’t know, it just kind of gets exhausting hating everyone, you know?” She laughed to herself. “Of course you don’t know. You’re the good guy, the one everyone likes.” She kicked a rock and thought for a minute, debating how much she wanted to say. What was it about this guy that had her so trusting? “My mother met my f
ather in college. A month later they found out she was pregnant. Surprise!” She threw her hands up and then smiled over at him. “They got married right away because”—she held up two fingers and made air quotes—“it was the right thing to do. Two months later he was gone and engaged to Kate’s mom, the annulment papers in the mail.” Abe didn’t speak, so she went on. “I guess for my mother’s sake and my own I have hated him all along. And, by association, his new wife and their perfect children. Then, last night I actually had a fun conversation with Kate. This morning I saw this new side of her and it just clicked. I don’t have to hate her. She didn’t do this. And I just . . . decided not to, I guess.”

  He reached over and grabbed her hand then. “I’m really sorry . . . about all of that. But I am glad you and Kate are getting along. I think that’s cool.” He shrugged.

  “It is what it is. I guess I have learned from it and all that.” She waved her hand dismissively. “So, what are we doing?”

  Understanding the subject change and wisely moving on, he kept her hand in his as he pulled her after him toward the public end of the beach. “I thought we’d start by hitting my favorite food truck and getting some of the best hot dogs you will ever eat in your life.” Her eyebrows went up at the idea and he just laughed. “I promise you’ll love them. Then I figured we would make our way back to your snooty end of the beach so we could have more privacy and try to get to know each other.”

  “That sounds nice.” She smiled to herself, glad that even though it would be more private there would still be others around, removing the opportunity for Abe to get any ideas about going too far. She was ready to take a chance, but she was still unsure if she trusted him beyond a dinner and some small talk.

  “This,” he said as he pulled her up to the glorified food truck, “is Hank, and these are the greatest hot dogs you will ever eat in your life.” A severely overweight and jolly man reached his hand out of the high window and shook hers. If Santa Claus trimmed his beard and wore greasy T-shirts, this would be him. His rosy cheeks, most likely from the contained heat of the truck and not the freezing cold of the North Pole, glowed against his pale white skin. She thought he might be the only person on this beach with skin less sun kissed than her own.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Hank.” She smiled as he winked at her. “So what exactly makes your hot dogs the best on the planet?”

  “I said ‘the best you’ll ever eat in your life,’ not the best on the planet. Don’t give him a bigger head than he already has.”

  “Now listen here, boy. These are the best damn dogs you’ll eat or miss out on and you know it.” He leaned toward Gemma conspiratorially. “The secret is to buy the cheapest sons-a-bitches you can find and then cover them with more toppings than the eater can decipher. Cheap dogs and expensive toppings. That’s the way to get ’em.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Gemma laughed. “What toppings do you recommend?”

  “Well, my girly, for you, I’m going to say you need to try the cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped, corn dog.” He smiled at the shocked look on her face. “I may wrap some fried onions around the dog as well. If you are going to spend the day with this fool, you’ll need to get something delicious to make it bearable.”

  Wide-eyed she just nodded as Abe requested the usual, a BLT dog. “How does he fit all the ingredients in that truck?”

  “You’d be shocked, but I’ve helped him out before on busy weekends, and it’s a well-oiled machine. I’ve never had anything here that wasn’t delicious.” A few minutes later, Hank was sending them on their way with their hot dogs and drinks. Gemma tried to ignore her weight insecurities as they walked down the beach. She knew she wasn’t what Abe saw everyday just from one trip on the beach with him. There was no way any of his friends or Kate would eat what she was about to consume. If they did, the next morning would just include an extra-long work out. Essentially, it sucked to be a woman, and now that she had found a guy worth impressing, Gemma’s eyes were more open to that fact than ever before.

  Once back on the private beach, they found a couple of beach chairs that were somewhat private and sat as far under the umbrella as possible. The sun would be going down soon, but that only made the glare behind them that much worse. “So,” Abe stretched out the word, “I know that you like to read, you like alone time, and you don’t like the sun. You also can’t handle your liquor and you have a jealous side. What else is there to know about Gemma Andrews?” He smirked at her before he took a bite of his hot dog.

  “Well, for one, I don’t hate the sun. I hate getting a sunburn. I actually love the sun. If it were possible to sleep on a hammock out here, I would in a heartbeat. And number two, I wasn’t jealous. I was annoyed. You had two girls throwing themselves at you, and they were just being pathetic. It wasn’t you I was frustrated with; it was them.”

  Abe laughed. “Sure, and just so you know—I was jealous that night too.”

  Gemma looked over at him, confused, while tucking her legs up under her on the lounge chair. “What? Why?”

  “Seriously?” He looked confused. “Don’t you remember that night? You had every single guy there fighting to fill up your cup as you emptied it. You didn’t even acknowledge me after you arrived, and I had to send Kate to get you before someone got any ideas about having a chance with you that night or any other.”

  Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. “I think you were seeing things. I didn’t know how the keg worked, so Jay was helping me, and I stood to the side saying nothing for most of the night.”

  “Gem”—he shook his head at her, chuckling to himself—“we guys love being the hero, especially when it involves filling up a cup with alcohol for a girl. The silent thing only made you more intriguing, and the fact that you don’t see how beautiful you are only makes every male around find you that much more attractive.”

  She hadn’t heard anything after he called her Gem but came in just in time to hear the word beautiful. She tried as hard as she could to hate that nickname and succeeded with almost any other individual, but coming from Abe, it just ran though her chest, covered her body, and made her ache for more. If she hadn’t been swooning before, this was definitely when it became an issue. It was no longer a matter of if, but when. She would give in to this guy. He would own her heart in every way, and he would break it into a million pieces as she stood by, unable to do a thing about it. “Oh” was all that came out.

  Later, after talking and laughing for hours, a yawning Abe helped Gemma to her feet. “Sorry that I’m so tired; it’s not a commentary on the company. It was an early morning on the water, and then I didn’t take my nap this afternoon as usual. I was a little amped up about tonight.”

  “I don’t know if I should be stuck on the nap you missed out on or the fact that you were excited about tonight.” She tapped her finger to her lower lip, enjoying the way his eyes darkened more than she should. “I think I’d prefer to focus on the fact that a grown man is taking naps.”

  “Hey.” He laughed. “It’s a necessity. If I don’t, it makes my night job a bit difficult.”

  “Speaking of which”—she nudged him—“now that we’ve come to an understanding, does that mean you’ll let me get back to my nightly beach naps? Or are you going to keep kicking me out?”

  “Well, I would love to let you sleep on my beach; however, I need the job, and if management found out, I would not only lose that job but I would also lose the one cleaning. I need every penny.” He put his hand on her lower back, helping her along the sand. “Let’s work out a new deal. Interested?”

  “Hmmm, okay.” She agreed without much hesitation.

  “Let’s say you wait to sneak out until two when I get off and I’ll let you read and sleep on the public beach all you want, all the while keeping an eye out for danger.”

  “You want to sleep with me?” she said before she thought it through.

  The look of shock on his face almost made the embarrassment bearable . . . almost. “Well, beside
you, I guess. I want you to be happy, and I’m starting to gather that sleeping outside and relaxing with a good book is what does that for you.”

  “You learn fast, Mr. North.”

  “I just pay attention when it comes to you; you’re worth the effort.” She looked up and was disappointed to see they were outside of her house. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Night?” she asked, shocking herself with how badly she wanted to see him before that.

  “Well, I clean houses in the morning as you know, and then I hurry home for a two or three hour nap. I usually have about four or five hours after that before I have to be on the beach to start sending people home. Maybe we could get dinner or just hang out tomorrow evening?”

  The fact that he was dissecting his schedule in order to spend the maximum amount of time with her wasn’t lost on either of them. She nodded her agreement, before giving him a small smile and turning to head in the house. Stopping, she looked over her shoulder, suddenly tempted to run back and at least hug him, and she was shocked at how much more she already wanted both physically and emotionally. “Night, Abe.”

  “Night, Gem.” He smiled.

  As she climbed the stairs to her room, she couldn’t help but smile. An entire night with him and there wasn’t a thing she could find wrong. He was sweet, considerate, hilarious, and, best of all, seemed to care about her and the things she did and said. She was getting close. It was only a matter of time before he owned her. Something about that terrified her while also exciting her in ways she didn’t know were possible.