by T. A. Foster
“I wouldn’t know. See you later, guys.” I flashed a smile and walked across the asphalt, relieved when I reached the sanctuary of room twenty-three.
Ok. This wasn’t terrible—just embarrassing. I peeked out of the corner curtain. Their truck was loaded with lumber; they would be here for a while. I couldn’t call Taylor. She was sound asleep at this hour. I needed to hash this out with another girl. Maybe if Pick was up this early, Marin would be too. I sent her a text.
You awake?
I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting to hear from my new friend.
Yep. Good morning.
Any chance you can go shopping?
When and where?
I smiled. Now and at Sandy’s
I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.
Thanks. See you soon. Room 23.
I walked over to the bathroom. I could at least brush my teeth and put on some makeup before facing the outside duo again. I had time to kill.
***
“So, you and Grey, really?” Marin’s arms were weighted down with sundresses.
“Yeah, really.” I knew I was blushing. I held up the strapless black dress in the mirror I had eyed on my first trip to the store. It was cute and I was glad Renee hadn’t sold out of my size.
“Now you girls just holler if you need anything. Anything.” Renee sat behind the counter with a cup of coffee. Marin informed me that the surf shop opened early every morning of spring break, eager to catch any break-of-dawn surfer customers.
My new friend pulled a purple sun hat from the wall. “I could tell the other night at the bonfire. You two had that look.”
“What look is that?” I pulled the dress away from my body.
“That we’re-going-to-devour-each-other look.” Marin laughed.
Shit. It was that obvious?
“I’ve known Grey for a long time. We went to high school together.”
I turned toward her. I felt a little pit of jealousy starting to form. “Oh. Were you a couple or something?” I was praying her answer was no.
“Grey and me? No. He’s friends with my older brother, so he used to come over to the house when they hung out. Eventually, our groups of friends merged into one big group. I guess I kind of see him like an older brother. A hot older brother.” She giggled.
I felt a huge weight lift. “Oh, good. I was worried for a second.”
“You must really like him.” Marin had switched from the purple hat to a purple pair of sunglasses.
“I don’t know what it is. But, yeah—he’s sort of amazing.”
We were bonding over shopping, a common girl practice, but I didn’t think I could share with Marin all of the little things Grey did that stole my breath. Like the way his eyes could change from stormy to sexy when he was trying to figure out how to fix something, or how he kissed the side of my neck and stirred the heat under my skin, or how he was so worried about me he followed me to Bongos. I covered my mouth, realizing I had sighed audibly.
“Yeah, you definitely have that look. Biggest crush I’ve seen in a while.”
“Crush?” Maybe Marin had just diagnosed me. Yes, this feeling had all the symptoms of a hot crush.
“Right, like you don’t know. You are not fooling me one bit. Grey’s a good guy. He’s just hard to get to know sometimes. He can be sort of stubborn.”
“Tell me about it.” I thought about how many tries it took for me to convince him to let me help with the financials and how he held off giving in to the attraction between us.
“He’s a total sweetheart. However, he’s dealing with a lot right now. I think he just takes everything so seriously. It’s like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. To be honest, I haven’t seen him smile much since his grandfather died. It hit him really hard.”
I ducked into the dressing room with the dresses I had pulled from the racks. I thought about a world where Grey didn’t smile. That was an utterly depressing thought.
“Marin, I did want to ask you something.” I paused with the first dress in my hands.
“Sure, what is it? I’m going to guess it is Grey related.”
“Connor said something the other night at the bonfire about Grey and his sister. Do you know what the status of that is? I mean, I’m just curious—nothing else.” I closed my eyes, nervous about what her response might be.
“Wow, you already heard about Laura?”
Ugh! I didn’t really want to know her name. “Was it serious between them?” I knew what I wanted Marin to tell me that it was a no-big-deal, whoops-we-shouldn’t-have-dated relationship.
“If you call living together serious, then yes.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. Grey had lived with someone? I took a deep breath to steady myself. I was being completely ridiculous. How could I be so jealous over someone I had just met and only slept with once—well, it was more than once, but only slept with over the course of one day?
“You ok in there, Eden? You got really quiet.”
I still held the dress in my hands and realized I needed to try it on. The zipper opened on the side, I stepped in and shimmied it over my hips. I pulled back the curtain and flattened the fabric on the strapless black dress.
“Oh, you are definitely buying that one. Whatever is going on with you and Grey, he is going to love that on you.” Marin raised her eyebrows. “Hottie.”
“Really?” The sex goddess confidence I had was waning slightly with the news of Grey’s cohabitation history.
“Really. And don’t worry about Laura. They’ve been over for six months.” She turned and started flipping through the hangers on the rack next to the dressing rooms.
“Six months? I guess that’s good.” I looked at my reflection over my shoulder. The tops of my shoulders were slightly bronzed. I touched the spot Grey had kissed.
“It is. They weren’t right for each other. She’s in med school anyway. They never saw each other. It got messy in the end.”
“Med school?” That sounded completely intimidating. There went my theory of her being some dingbat.
“He is twenty-seven. I’m not saying he’s too old for you, but he’s been around and he has some experience. The guy knows what he wants.” Marin held up a brown bikini. She could pull that off with the color of her olive skin and auburn hair.
Of course, he wasn’t a monk. He was older than I was, had already graduated from college, was in grad school, and was the hottest thing on this island. I was being silly to think there weren’t other girls before me. I just didn’t want to know much about it.
“You’re right. And I’m definitely getting the dress.” I tugged the curtain so I could try on one of the bikinis Renee had pulled out for me. “So, what’s the deal with you and Pick? You two are cute together.”
“Mindy and Tara give me such a hard time about him. I guess you saw that the other night. However, he’s so sweet and it’s fun. You know—it’s just easy. It feels right.”
“How long have you been together?” I clipped the black dress back on the hanger.
It sounded like Marin was counting on her fingers. “I guess almost four months. He was hanging out on the island a lot more at Christmas break, and we ended up staying up all night talking after a crayfish boil. Not that romantic, but it was sweet. I think I’ve always had a crush on him.”
“I like him. He’s fun and not bad on the eyes either.”
Marin laughed. “Yeah, that’s what caught my attention first. He can dance and fill out a pair of jeans. Ok, you about ready? I have to get back to the resort. I hate to leave you but reality calls.”
I was happy with the selections I had tried on. “Yep, I just need to check out.”
***
Marin dropped me off in front of room twenty-three. Pick and Connor’s truck was missing, and in its place were two piles of freshly cut lumber. I wondered what construction project Grey had planned for the lumber.
“Let me know if you want to go shopping again. I’ve got to get to work
before the other spring breakers wake up.” Marin laughed. “And have fun with Grey.”
“Thanks for going to Sandy’s with me, and for the Grey advice. It’s nice to have a friend here.”
“Anytime, Eden. See you later.” Marin waved as I hopped out of the truck. I was quickly learning that everyone in Texas preferred to drive a truck.
I watched as she turned on to Gulf Boulevard in the direction of the Island Sun Resort.
“Early morning shopping?” Grey stood behind me. My shoulders felt the tingle of his presence before I whipped around. How did he always appear like that?
“Yeah, I think I’ve given up on my luggage appearing this week.” I held up three bags. “The airlines haven’t returned my calls. I think it’s a lost cause.”
“Are you going to give me a private fashion show later?” His eyes were all mischief.
I stepped closer to him, reveling in the heat building between us. “Maybe.” I winked before ducking under his arm and into my room.
“I left a cup of coffee for you on the desk,” Grey called through the door. “See ya.”
“Thanks.” I hugged the bags against me.
I had been nervous about seeing him after the night we spent together. This was my first official fling and I didn’t know how we were supposed to act around each other. The whole point of a fling is not having to think about it, but there was no way I would stop thinking about the line Grey and I had crossed.
***
It had been at least six hours since Grey had dropped off coffee in my room. I had worked straight through lunch and my stomach was growling. I stretched my legs and reached my fingertips toward the ceiling, easing the cramp that had started to form in my right shoulder.
There were twenty-four rooms at the Palm Palace, and there were twenty-two pending reservations that all started this weekend. I had placed calls to all twenty-two of them and confirmed each one was planning on a three o’clock check-in Friday. Grey needed the reservations, but I wasn’t sure the Palm would be ready or that he could handle the onslaught of visitors.
The receipts had all been tallied, and I made a spreadsheet with the past two years’ expenses along with a projected forecast for the rest of this year. I was impressed that my applied business skills were coming in handy.
I heard the familiar ring of my phone, and smiled when I saw Taylor’s picture flash on the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey, girl, you haven’t called to give me the scoop,” Taylor shouted into the phone. It was doubtful she was alone. “Are you ok?”
“I know. I know. It’s just been so crazy here. How are things in Myrtle Beach?” I leaned back in the office chair, happy to have a break from the numbers.
“Awesome. There is a swim-up bar. You should see it.”
“Sounds cool.” I looked at the freshly printed spreadsheet. Taylor and I could not be having more opposite types of spring breaks.
“Ok, so are you going to tell me about the guy?”
I spotted Grey walking across the parking lot toward the office. “I can’t. He’s on his way in. I’ll call you later—promise.”
She sighed. “All right, but I want to know what’s going on with you. I miss you.”
“I miss you too. We can talk later when he’s not around. Ok?”
“Ok, but you better call.” Taylor sounded like she was pouting.
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I slid the phone in my back pocket as Grey entered the room. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to share my Grey story with Taylor. I told her absolutely everything, but my Carolina life seemed so far away right now. How could I explain Grey to her? In only five days, I felt like I had a whole new life, with new friends and a new hot and sexy someone.
I adjusted the new tank top I had bought this morning at Sandy’s, and brushed my bangs to the side. It would be nice to go to lunch together at Pete’s. I was willing to risk Mac’s nosey questions to have a few minutes with Grey. I realized how far out of my element I was with this fling as I flashed a smile and thought about how to ask him to lunch.
“Dammit,” he muttered. The doorknob had broken off in his hand.
“Too bad there’s not someone around here who could fix that,” I joked. I walked around the side of the desk to greet him with a kiss.
He threw the metal handle in a nearby trash can. “I have to run to the mainland for more supplies. I’ll be back later.” He brushed past me, grabbed a clipboard from behind my shoulder, and slammed the door behind him.
What just happened? I shook my head and fumbled with the doorknob to follow Grey. Something was bothering him—that I could tell. As annoyed as I was at the chilly exchange, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to figure out what was upsetting him. Maybe he just needed to talk about it. I chased him down the sidewalk. He was several paces ahead of me.
“You want me to go with you? I can ride with, help you load up the cart? Maybe we could grab lunch. I’m starving.” I smiled, trying to sort through his mood and find the guy who had flirted with me this morning about a sneak peek fashion show.
Grey didn’t slow down. He climbed into his truck and started the ignition. “No, I don’t have time to play around, Eden. Just go lie out or something.” He slammed the door, and I stared in disbelief as he careened the truck onto Gulf Boulevard.
“That little shit,” I uttered the words into the Padre breeze. I stormed into the office, banging the door behind me. My beautifully color-coordinated spreadsheets stared me in the face. I had just spent six hours organizing his numbers and making forecasts, and he treated me like that. He couldn’t spare thirty seconds to attempt basic manners? I shoved all of the reports into the top drawer of the desk and marched into the afternoon heat. I was done helping him today.
I didn’t want to lie out at the pool or on the beach, and I didn’t want Grey to treat me like some kind of child that had gotten underfoot. He didn’t see me that way last night—at least it didn’t feel like he did. All I felt when he looked at me and kissed me was that, without him, I would probably lose all ability to breathe in and breathe out. I just didn’t realize how true that was until I saw him spin out of the Palm’s parking lot. I was in deep—Texas-size deep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I couldn’t keep pacing in my room. This wasn’t good for me. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. Grey had been gone for hours. I didn’t really know where he had to go on the mainland and I wasn’t exactly sure where that was. It was over the bridge, but other than that, it was like a big geographic black hole.
I pulled open the drawer. Inside the bedside table was a yellowed writing tablet. I scribbled a note and crossed the parking lot to shove it under Grey’s door. Everything had happened so quickly with us that it never occurred to me to swap phone numbers. This must have been what my parents felt like when they met. They loved to tell me stories about dating in the age before email, cell phones, and social media. How did anyone ever meet up or know where the other person was? I folded the note in half and slipped the corner under his door before tapping the rest under the threshold.
If Grey made it back to the Palm before I did, at least he would know I was at Pete’s getting some dinner. I wasn’t sure why I bothered to tell him, but I wanted him to know I was worried—that it mattered, that he mattered.
A Jeep full of spring breakers passed before I crossed the street and trekked through Pete’s parking lot.
I pushed open the door to my new hangout. There was something comforting about the prospect of one of the bar’s cheeseburgers. I had skipped lunch altogether, but there was no way I was going to skip dinner too. Comfort food was exactly what I needed.
“Look who’s here.” Mac smiled sheepishly from behind the counter. He fidgeted with the towel over his shoulder. He seemed uncomfortable to see me, but I brushed it off, knowing I was hypersensitive at the moment.
“Hey, Mac. I could really go for a margarita and one of those burgers that are so good.” I
slid into the first open seat.
The cowboy next to me smiled. Unlike Bongos, I felt comfortable here. I knew I didn’t have to worry about slimeball jerks trying to paw at me. I definitely would not be going back to the club scene the rest of the week.
“Sure thing, Eden.” Mac looked over my shoulder. Something was off with the bartender. I was certain.
He typed in the order for my cheeseburger and reached for the tequila. I watched as he rimmed the glass with lime then a heavy dose of thick salt.
“Here you go. That burger will be right up.” There it was again. Mac was focused on something or someone behind me.
I took a full sip of the drink before spinning on the stool. The end of Pete’s was an open wall, completely exposed to the sound and marsh sprawling along the island’s west side. The sunset was blinding, but I squinted through the orange rays until my eyes landed on two figures at a far table. What in the hell? Was this really happening to me again? Clearly, I must be a magnet for guys who have no problem hopping from one girl to the next.
I picked up my margarita and began the painful walk to the patio tables. I sidestepped the waitress whose arms were loaded with beer mugs. I stopped in front of the table closest to the water. The one with arguable the prettiest and most romantic view on the entire island. Sunset lovers camped out all afternoon just to get that table.
“I thought you were out getting supplies.” I was trying not to let the contempt seep through my teeth, but holding back wasn’t my best trait. The patrons next to the table had turned their sun-setting gaze to me.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t see you come in.” Grey smiled.
He seemed more relaxed than the last time I had seen him, only last time he wasn’t sitting with a cute brunette, in a short dress and five-inch-heels.
“Oh, hey?” I pushed down the queasy feeling in my stomach. Was this the part of the fling where I was supposed to play it cool, like we didn’t actually know each other and hadn’t spent all night skin to skin? I didn’t think I could do it, especially not now with Grey sitting so close to someone else.
