by T. A. Foster
“Did you go to school or something to learn how to fix things?” I knew there were trade schools for specialties like plumbing and electrical.
He laughed. “No, not really. It’s more on-the-job training.”
“You definitely could stay busy there for a long time. There’s a lot broken.” I wanted to kick myself. “I mean, it’s great—my room is great. You’re an excellent handyman.” I might as well dig a hole in the sand and bury myself in it right now. Nothing I said was right.
“It’s mine.”
I almost choked on my lime drink. “‘Mine’ as in you own the Palm Palace?”
“Believe me, I wish I didn’t. I inherited it from my grandfather. He recently passed away and left me the place, but no money to run it. Not the best inheritance.” His gaze was fixed on the horizon.
“What about your parents? Can’t they help or don’t they want it?” The Palm Palace would be a huge undertaking for anyone. I understood if no one else in the family was interested in it.
“I don’t have parents—not anymore, at least. My grandfather raised me after they died in a car accident. I was in the second grade. I don’t remember much about it.” He tipped the cup back.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Stupid, stupid things kept coming out of my mouth. Maybe it was best if I just let him talk.
“The Palm Palace is the only thing I have left of any of them. However, the damn place is a money pit. It’s been closed for the past year, and trying to get it back to any kind of working condition is taking all the money I have and some I don’t. I should just give in and sell it. It’s not like my family’s around anymore to argue about it.”
His words made my heart ache. I had never lost anyone close to me. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to grow up without parents and then to lose the one person who raised you.
“Does that mean you have an offer or something?”
Grey stopped wading through the waves. “Yeah, I actually have three. I could start a bidding war. The Palm is sitting on prime beachfront property. I could sell it and make a fortune.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
It seemed like the answer to his problems was already in his hands. I wouldn’t want the Palm Palace either.
Grey shook his head. “Why am I even telling you any of this? I don’t know you. You don’t know me. I shouldn’t be dumping all of this on you. Dammit. Sorry. We’re supposed to be counting falling stars or something, right? I think I promised a sky show.”
He turned toward the ocean. There were a few boats dotting the horizon with blinking green lights.
I hadn’t intended to grab his arm, but I was afraid he would shift into a sour mood, and I didn’t want that to happen. I liked his fun and charming side.
“Grey, I’m glad you told me. That’s a lot to handle.” My hand rested on his forearm. I fought the urge to move it up the length of his bicep. It felt solid and taut.
“If you look right about there—” He pointed overhead. “—you’ll spot at least one shooting star tonight.”
“Maybe I can help you.” I wasn’t falling for his stargazing distraction. It seemed like he needed to open up to someone about the Palm, and maybe I was that person.
“Really? And what do you think you can do to help me, college girl?” He turned to face me. His eyes were dark like the night sky encasing us. I couldn’t read his mood.
I inhaled the salt air and felt my chest rise as Grey brushed off the loose grip I had on his arm. I had absolutely no idea what I could do to help, but what he was coping with was more than what one person should have to face alone.
“I-I don’t know. But I want to help.”
“You’re here on vacation. You should be having a good time, getting to know Texas, hanging out at the beach. I can handle the Palm.” His eyes lingered on my lips.
I could feel the energy building in the air between us as the waves lapped our ankles.
His hand grazed the side of my cheek and I stood still like a statue, taking in the roughness of his skin. He stepped closer so that his waist was pressed against me. I liked how my body seemed to align with his just standing here—touching and breathing.
“Can’t you think of a way for me to help?” I tipped forward, wanting to draw an answer from him.
The tips of his fingers trailed from my chin, along the line of my neck, and rested along the edge of my tank top. “I know something you could do.” His voice was husky.
I felt the weight of his hand on my chest and the fire building under my skin where his fingers played with the fabric. Before I knew what in the hell I was doing, I abandoned my red cup in the ocean as his arms encircled my waist and pulled me close until our bodies collided. My mouth parted for him, anxious to touch his lips and his tongue. He growled as I nipped his bottom lip. He tasted like the lime beer concoction and I eagerly drank in each kiss, wanting to know more of him this way. My hands ran the length of his back and locked around the firmness of his neck. I stroked his warm skin and twisted my hands in his hair. Things had gone from mysterious and flirty to blazing hot in only a few minutes, but I liked how I was getting lost in the blazing heat. The way his hands toyed with the skin under my shorts, brought breathy moans from my throat. I was losing control of my body.
Oh my God, what was I doing? I needed to regain control. I stopped before we ended up rolling on the beach like the scene in From Here to Eternity.
“Grey, I think we need to slow this down.” I exhaled in his ear, deep down wanting him to keep me pinned against his chest.
His breath was warm against my cheek, and I knew the second I felt his lips again I would give up any rational thinking. I dislodged from his hold and took a few steps backward to create some space between us. My body was on fire. I had never been kissed like that, and I was positive no one else could do what Grey had just done to me. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself when all I really wanted was for Grey to kiss me again.
“Shit. I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.” He hung his head and laughed. “I should get you back to the party. Marin’s going to start looking for you, or Connor will.” His voice was teasing, but Connor was the last person I wanted to think about right now.
He turned to take my hand. Just feeling his skin against mine stirred a feeling deep in my belly.
“You ok?” he asked.
I nodded. This was the second time tonight Grey had stolen my ability to speak, and I had a feeling this could be the beginning of a very silent week for me.
Marin greeted me at the edge of the bonfire. “There you are. I was worried you had been eaten by sharks or something.” Her cheeks were a rosy pink from the fire. “But now that I see you’re with Grey, I know you’re in good hands.” She winked at me.
I wasn’t sure what kind of scoop Marin could give me, but I was definitely going to grill her about my handyman-host-turned-motel-owner when I got some alone time with her.
“Carolina, come on over!” Pick and Connor were motioning toward me. “Maybe you can settle this argument we’re having over what song to play next.”
Grey dropped my hand. “You better go. You’re being paged.”
I couldn’t tell if he was moody Grey or sexually frustrated Grey, but I thought it was best to take a breather. My head was still spinning from that kiss.
“On my way,” I called to the boys.
***
It was close to 2 a.m. before the last smoldering embers of the bonfire were extinguished with several buckets of sand. Marin was wrapped around Pick, and the other locals had dispersed. I assured her I was ok to walk to my room.
I started the short walk back to the Palm Palace with my sandals dangling from my hand when I felt a strong hand glide around my waist. My body fired with tingling sensations the instant he touched me.
“Can I walk you home?”
I let Grey keep his hand clasped at my side. We walked in silence along the boardwalk to the edge of the motel. I was in unc
hartered territory. I wanted to invite Grey in, but I was sure that what happened between us on the beach was only a preview of what was to come. Even though every part of my body wanted more, I wasn’t sure tonight was the night. I needed a crystal ball to help me decide.
I made a rundown of the pros. If I slept with Grey tonight, it would surely be the hottest sex of my life. That was the only pro I needed to come up with. Next, my list of cons: I didn’t really know the guy, I just got out of a yearlong relationship, and I haven’t had sex in a while—what if I suck? I was concerned my con list kept growing. That was it—the cons won.
We stopped in front of my room. The emptiness of the Palm Palace parking lot made me feel like Grey and I weren’t just the only people at the motel, but also the only people on the island. I retrieved the palm tree from my pocket.
“Thanks for walking me back. I had fun.” My eyes shot to his.
Grey leaned his arm against the frame of the door. I felt my heart racing and the heated feeling in my belly. “Why don’t you invite me in?”
Willpower, Eden, be strong. He leaned down and brushed his lips on mine, taking his time to touch them fully. All I wanted to do was wrap my legs around him and let him carry me to the bed, but I untangled myself from his hold.
“I—uh—promised my mom I would call her. You know, nightly check-in.” It was an idiotic thing to say, but he had me tongue-tied in more ways than one.
He rocked back on his heels. “Oh, got it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. The fiery magic lingering between us evaporated. “Good night.” He turned and walked away.
I let myself into my room. Spring break just got turned upside down on its head. Shit.
CHAPTER FOUR
I didn’t want to hear it. Not one word. My rational, thoughtful self had emerged and I was regretting the make-out session on the beach with Grey. Even though I couldn’t argue with how hot the whole thing was or how incredible the kissing was. I needed backup. I called Taylor.
“Hello?” My best friend sounded like she was completely asleep. It was an hour later where she was, but I thought she’d be awake by lunchtime.
“Hey, it’s me. Can you talk?” I was anxious to sort through the hook up.
“Yep, yep. What’s going on? Is it Brett?”
“No.” I was annoyed she had even brought him up. It had only been a few days, but life with Brett already felt like it was months ago. “Someone else. I need your advice.”
That seemed to wake her instantly. “Someone else? What? Who? Tell me.” I imagined that she had just sat straight up in bed.
“I can’t even believe I’m talking about this. I mean, I’m supposed to be here for a soul-searching, get-back-on-track vacation. I shouldn’t even be talking about other guys.”
“Eden, come on, just tell me. You met someone? Is it like a fling? Because that would be perfect. You need a spring break fling.”
With all of the sparks, sparring, and kissing between Grey and me, I hadn’t thought about how to define what was actually going on. Maybe it could be a fling. This was exactly why I needed Taylor.
“It’s not a fling yet. I went to this local party last night and I was walking on the beach with Grey …”
“His name is Grey? Ok, that is already hot.”
It didn’t take much to get Taylor off topic. If I even tried to describe Grey’s eyes, I knew she would start swooning over the phone. “Anyway, we were talking and one thing led to another, and he kissed me on the beach. But when he walked me back to my room, he asked if he could come in and I said no.”
“What? You turned down a hot one-night stand? Are you going to see him again?” Her questions kept coming.
“Yes and yes, he kinda owns the place where I’m staying. It’s unavoidable.”
“Oh, this is just like one of those Maybelle Flannery books I read last summer when the girl ends up hooking up with a hot guy on vacation. I cannot believe this is happening. This is so awesome. What does he look like?”
“He’s cute. Well, better than cute. He’s tall and has these eyes and I don’t know what I’m doing. This is ridiculous.” I wished I could send Taylor a text picture of Grey right then. That would really have her going crazy.
“It’s not ridiculous. You deserve some attention from a hot guy after all the crap that Brett put you through. Stop analyzing it and have fun. You don’t have to marry the guy. It’s just spring break, Eden.”
“Right, it’s just spring break.” Taylor knew exactly what to say. “I’ll let you go back to sleep. Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”
“Call me back after you see him again. I want to hear more about this hottie. Bye, girl.”
“Bye.”
I looked around my motel room. I couldn’t stay in here all day and hide out from Grey. I threw a bottle of sunscreen into my beach bag and one of the towels he had brought yesterday. A day at the beach was in order and Taylor said it—I deserved this.
I twisted the key in the lock and pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. The sun was blaring.
“No, I understand, but if you could just give me until the end of the month—” I heard Grey’s voice. It sounded like he was near the ice machine. “I have reservations the rest of the month, if you would just let me keep the account open until then.”
He sounded like he was in the middle of a negotiation. It was unmistakably about the Palm. “Right, I know you have a business to run. I’m just asking as a favor—only until the end of the month.”
The call must not have turned out the way he wanted, because I heard the ice machine take the brunt of his anger.
I clutched the beach bag tightly to my shoulder and took the steps to the boardwalk two at a time. I didn’t want Grey to catch me eavesdropping on his business call. Things at the Palm must have been worse than I thought.
From the top of the peak, I could see South Padre beach spreading for miles in both directions. To my left was the spot of last night’s bonfire and to my right was the spring break party mecca. I walked straight ahead, shook out my towel, and stretched out under the Texas sun.
I tried to take deep, relaxing breaths and focus on the warmth of the sun’s rays, the waves pounding the shoreline, and the gulls circling overhead, but every time I heard a wave crash, I thought about that kiss and Grey’s hands on my body. Dammit, I sat up.
It was just a crush—a spring break crush. It was perfectly fine and normal to react to a hot guy, right? It didn’t escape me that only a week ago I was someone else’s girlfriend. I tried to remember if I ever thought of Brett this way or if I could even remember the first time he kissed me. It was probably in the basement of his fraternity house. After last night, all other kisses had been erased from my memory, and I seemed ok with it.
“Here you go! Party at Bongos tonight.”
A runner with a messenger bag slung over his bare chest ran past while shoving a flyer in my hand. I looked at the fluorescent green paper.
Spring Break 2014
Bongos knows how to party
Be there—everyone else will be
It wasn’t the most creative marketing I had seen, but it was sure to draw lots of spring breakers. Maybe that was what I needed. I should get away from the Palm Palace and hang out with other college students. I needed to integrate with the rest of the real spring break world. A distraction from Grey and those lips was in order.
There was a long list of performers. It was going to be one huge spring break concert. Luckily, whoever had designed the Bongos flyer had added a map at the bottom. Like Pete’s, it was on the sound side of the island and not too far from where I was staying. I smiled before tucking the party invite into my bag.
***
The green sundress would have to be ok for the Bongos party. It was the only dress I had, and I didn’t want to wear running shorts for my night out. I checked my reflection in the mirror. It hit my curves in all the right spots, and I thought about what Renee had said about how I looked in it. I wasn’t above a
ccepting a few free drinks tonight.
I grabbed my purse and the palm tree key chain, and jogged out of the door and straight into Grey.
“Oh, hey. Sorry. I was—” I looked at him. He was carrying a stepladder in one hand and his waist was wrapped in a tool belt.
“You in a hurry?” He set the ladder down against the wall.
“I thought I’d try the Bongos party tonight.”
I brushed my choppy bangs to the side. I don’t know why he always made me fidget so much. I never did this around Brett.
“Right. I thought you said you weren’t a party girl.” I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me again or offended I had caved to the stereotypical spring break parties.
“I’m not. I just wanted to see what the big deal is.”
I couldn’t tell him I needed a break from him. That would sound ludicrous.
He dropped the smile from his lips. “Well, be careful. It’s a big crowd and things get a little crazy down there.”
“So you’ve been before?” I tried to imagine Grey in a dance club.
“I’m not that old. Yeah, I’ve been before. It’s not really my scene. I like Pete’s.” He picked up the ladder.
I hesitated in the walkway, hoping for a sign of familiarity between us—a smile, a wink, anything. “Ok. See you around, I guess.”
I tucked the palm tree key into my purse and walked away from Grey. I liked Pete’s too. If he had asked me, I would have gladly ditched my Bongos plan to go have a drink with him at the bar, but he didn’t. Instead, he acted as if nothing happened last night. I guess nothing did. I turned him down at my door. Well, at least I knew what he was interested in. This called for another Taylor conversation, but after I got back from Bongos.
***
The bouncer at the door barely looked at my ID before shuttling me through the revolving turnstile that led into Bongos. I was wedged against the back wall by a crowd of people in line for drinks at the bar. Carefully, I edged along the wall, taking in my surroundings. There were cages dangling from the ceiling with bikini-clad girls dancing, a rapper I had never heard of performing on stage, and girls with beer logos strategically placed over their breasts handing out free drink samples. Everything was flashing and the bass was so loud that I couldn’t think. Bongos was all wrong for me. I knew it within my first two minutes inside the club. Why did I think this was a good idea?
