Oceans Apart 3
Page 9
“Earth to Ginny!” The sound of Kari’s voice startled me and I swiftly sat up in bed, reaching for the wet wipes I kept in my drawer. Kari knocked loudly on the door and I remembered I’d locked it. I stood and walked over to the door to let her in. She swept past me and raised an eyebrow at the wet wipe I had clutched between my fingers.
“Really Gin? It’s like eleven in the morning.”
“Hey, it’s ten o’clock somewhere,” I huffed, and threw the wipe in my trash basket before turning to sit back in bed. Kari sat gingerly on the edge. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, just thinking that you need to get out of the house.”
I sighed. Kari hadn’t given up on trying to get me out and about, but I just wasn’t feeling it. “Care Bear, I’m really not in the mood.”
“You’re never in the mood Gin, that’s why we’re going. You need to get out again and start being yourself. Sitting here pining away is not good for you.”
“I know, I just—“
“No! I’m serious Ginny. We are going out. Now. Get up, get shaved and get your sexiest bathing suit on. We’re going to the beach to strut our stuff.” Kari stood up and threw her hip out in a sexy pose. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“You know it takes longer than a week to show change when exercising,” I remarked with a shake of my head. I stood up and moved toward my bathroom.
“Meh, don’t care. Get that ass into your suit and let’s get a move on!”
When I was left alone, I stared at myself in the mirror. Kari was right. My skin was paler than usual and my eyes were dull. My hair was in the same bun I’d put it in two days ago and my nail polish was chipped and peeling. Overall, I wasn’t a pretty picture. I resolved then and there to do better. Sure Tristan was gone, but maybe that meant there was someone out there who was a better match for me.
I showered, making sure I shaved all of the overgrown areas and conditioned my hair for shine. I had to admit the warm water streaming down my body made me feel a lot better and by the time I’d put my bathing suit on, Kari was back in my room going through my jewelry.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked, sarcastically.
“No, no, I’ll find them. I know you have it somew—ah ha!” Kari turned around and my breathing slammed to a halt. She held the earrings that Tristan had given me and I found myself getting angry for the first time.
“Why do you do this to me, Care Bear? I was okay, trying to not think about him,” I hissed. She looked shocked and quickly shuffled over to me, holding my arms.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Gin. I just want you to feel better. I’m not trying to make you think about him at all, just…” She paused, her eyes glancing around, unsure. It was strange to see Kari unsure about anything. “Gin, how do you expect to find Mr. Right when you’re holed up in here acting like a baby?”
I pulled out of her grasp, folding in on myself as if it would stop my feelings from escaping. “Why are you asking me that? You know how I feel about Tristan. And I’m not wearing earrings to the beach. Tristan gave me those.” I was furious. I grabbed them out of her hands and put them back in the drawer.
“Kari, I love him,” I whispered. All of the Skype sessions, the awkward encounters, the blazingly hot sex could be summed up with that one sentence. It seemed to be enough for Kari. she gave me a smile and I flashed one back at her.
“Good. Let’s go.”
I felt strangely liberated after my confession to Kari. It was as if holding back my feelings had been slowly strangling me from the inside, and now that it was out I could breathe again. I was still sad that I’d apparently messed things up with Tristan, but it was now more of a dull ache rather than a sharp stabbing pain. I knew it would take me a long, long time to get over him, but I would take each day as it came. Maybe focusing on my career would help in more ways than one.
The beach was crowded with the usual wannabe model types, hoping to be scouted, but we went to our usual, quiet place. I remembered the first day Tristan and I were here, drinking wine out of a solo cup and splashing around in the water. It seemed like so long ago. Was that the day I truly fell in love? I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head, he was gone now and I had to get back to me.
One thing I was grateful for were his compliments and positive reinforcement of how beautiful he thought I was. I had no problem taking off my sundress before plopping onto my towel. Kari opened up the cooler and poured the wine. “It’s such a beautiful day, Gin. I’m glad you’re here.”
I noticed she was glancing around every few minutes.
“Looking for someone?” I asked.
“Of course not. Why would you think I’m looking for someone?” she stammered. Her coy response peaked my interest.
“Kaaaari, don’t tell me you are trying to set me up again! I told you I’m not ready yet.”
“No! I’m not! I prom—”
“She’s looking for me.”
My throat tightened up and I could barely breathe. I didn’t want to turn around for fear that it was all some sort of bad dream. My eyes welled with tears and I glanced over at Kari, dabbing them on a beach towel. She nodded her head, looking behind me and had a gentle smile on her face. I took a deep breath and then turned to look behind me.
“Tristan.”
End Of Book 3
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my lovely readers again for your support, y’all rock! Without you, there would be no reason for me to keep writing these books. You’re all wonderful and I so appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.
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About The Author
Amanda Heartley is a writer of sinfully sexy romance books. She was born and raised in Oklahoma and subsequently transplanted into the hustle and bustle of life in Southern California. She's a country girl at heart with an insatiable weakness for sexy men and feisty women. Her first erotic series was published in July 2013.
At home, she plays Mom, chef, ninja, taxi, and nurse hanging out with her four wonderful children and three loveable mutts.
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 Amanda Heartley
Published By: Sexcessica
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