by Sam Ayers
“Better.” Carter smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Evans. I hope your trip to New York is pleasant.”
“Oh, Carter. Yes, it is rather pleasant here, and we are returning this evening, dear, around 8PM,” Mrs. Evans said. “We were wondering if you would be kind enough to pick us up?”
“Of course, Mom,” Harley said quickly. “I’ll be there.”
“Oh no, Harley. Your car is too small for all of us.”
Noticing how Harley’s face fell, Carter patted her shoulder and said, “Mrs. Evans, Harley and I will be there this evening to pick you and Mr. Evans up. Please don’t worry about the car.”
“Thank you, Carter. We can’t wait to see you both,” Mrs. Evans said cheerfully. After saying their goodbyes, Carter noticed the frown on Harley’s face.
“Love that car, huh?” He winked and she pouted. Carter bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, taking her by surprise. Harley knew that she couldn’t avoid him forever, so she returned the kiss. When she stepped back, Connor was standing at the bottom of the stairs, dumbstruck. He quickly recovered and put on a fake smile before turning to go on.
Carter sighed when he saw his brother. “I’ll be in my study,” he muttered and walked away.
Connor had changed his clothes; he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and his aviator sunglasses were tucked into the V of his t-shirt’s neckline. Turning to Harley, he said, “I’m going to the beach now. Wanna come along?”
Harley nodded. “Sure, I’d love to.”
“Let’s go, then,” Connor said, walking out of the door. The beach was right behind their houses, so they took a small path that would get them there in ten minutes.
Suddenly, Harley grabbed his hand, making him turn around. “Look, Connor. That was nothing, what you saw before.”
Connor smiled and shook his head. “Harls, he’s your fiancé. You don’t have to explain it to me. It’s cool!”
Harley nodded. That was right; she wasn’t answerable to him, and it looked like he didn’t care any way. Sighing, she followed him.
“Connor!” They heard someone shout and turned around to see a guy running towards them.
“Liam!” Connor grinned. “Long time no see!”
Liam gave Connor a one-armed hug and grinned. “Dude, you ran away! And I haven’t seen you for 5 years!” He mock-punched Connor’s shoulder, and the boys started laughing. Liam stopped when he noticed Harley standing next to them. “Hey! Are you Con’s girlfriend?”
“Liam, meet Harley Evans, Carter’s fiancée,” Connor introduced them. “Harls, meet my buddy, Liam Hale.”
“Carter’s fiancée?” Liam asked in surprise. “He managed to get such a gorgeous woman with a stiff personality?”
They burst out laughing, and Harley joined them, too. “Nice to meet you, Liam. You live here?” she asked.
“Yes, I do. Not all of us run when we have the chance to,” Liam said, and Connor tackled him to the ground. Liam pushed him away and sat there, looking at Harley curiously. “Say, is your father Matthew Evans?”
“Yes, he is, why do you ask?” She looked at Connor, but he shrugged; he wasn’t sure what Liam was trying to ask.
“Con, doesn’t Creature work at Evans and Cox, that law firm?” Liam asked. Connor shrugged again, but Harley spoke, “That’s my dad’s firm. Who is Creature?”
Connor gave her a sheepish smile, “You won’t like this. We call Carter ‘Creature’. And Liam, I had no clue where he worked. We don’t talk.”
“Oh!” Harley managed to say.
“So Carter works for your dad?” Connor asked her, and she nodded. “That changes things,” he added and looked at Liam, who nodded discreetly.
“Taylor, let’s go surfing, dude! Been so long! I’ve an extra wetsuit and a board.” Liam grinned.
“Not gonna say no. Let’s go, mate!” Connor said. “You coming, Harls?”
“Err . . . no, I’ll just sit here.” Harley smiled.
Connor moved closer and whispered in her ears, “I don’t mind having an audience,” he said and placed a kiss on her cheek. Harley giggled when he ran away before she could push him. He blew her a kiss and started removing his t-shirt. Harley just couldn’t look away.
Connor put the wetsuit on and grabbed a board.
“So, what’s the deal between you and Creature’s fiancée?” Liam asked, as he finished zipping Connor’s suit.
“What do you mean?” Connor asked, confused. He rolled his shoulders and turned around to see Harley. She was sitting and smiling at him. When she waved at him, he returned her smile and waved back.
“That!” Liam said, mock-punching him again. “Jerk, you love her!”
Connor looked at Liam in shock. What did he just say? Love Harley? That’s impossible, Connor thought and shook his head. “Bro, she’s my brother’s fiancée, I don’t like her that way.”
“But you do like her,” Liam pointed out.
“Liam, I crave a love so deep, the ocean would be jealous.” Connor smiled. “I don’t want to ruin my brother’s life. Not by falling for Harley. She’s my friend and after the wedding, we won’t stay in touch. I need to make the ocean jealous, not the sea monster in it.”
“Creature will be jealous of you, Con,” Liam said quietly as he grabbed the surfboard and pulled Connor along.
Harley sat on the beach, resolutely trying not to stare at Connor, who was standing at the shore talking to Liam. Liam kept glancing at her every other minute, and Connor had turned to give her a long stare before turning back to Liam. She could almost be sure that the topic of their conversation was either her or Carter. She smiled as Connor waved to her while surfing, a gasp escaping her as he fell in the water the next second. She began to giggle as he swam towards the shore, her mouth drying as she saw his wet body emerge from the water. Bad Harley! You are engaged, for heaven’s sake! To his brother at that! Control yourself!
“Hey,” Connor called, plopping down on the sand near her.
“Had fun?” Harley asked, smiling lightly.
“Yup! Next time you are joining me.” Connor smiled and sat up. “Listen, there’s a party at Liam’s place the day after tomorrow. He’s celebrating my homecoming. Come along.”
Harley frowned and ran a hand through her hair, “Day after tomorrow?”
“Yeah, you have plans?”
“Dinner with Carter because we can’t go today, and he is busy tomorrow,” Harley said with an apologetic smile.
Connor nodded. “Well, see if you can make it. It would be fun.”
“I can’t promise, but I’ll try.” Harley nodded. Her phone rang just then, and she picked it up to see Carter calling her.
“It’s Carter,” she said to Connor. Pressing the answer button, she spoke, “Hi Carter. Yeah. No, I’m out with a friend. Oh, now? Alright, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Harley ended the call and got up. “I need to get going; Carter says he’s taking me out and then we will go pick my parents up after that.”
“Lunch plans or something?” Connor asked, standing up. He secretly wished that Harley would cancel all her plans and spend some time with him instead.
“Not sure, but looks like it. Sorry, Connor,” Harley said. “I’ll see you at dinner. Bye.” She waved and walked away.
Liam came running towards Connor, “Dude, where did she go?”
“Creature is taking her out for lunch.”
“Buddy, can I tell you something? You love her. It’s so simple. Win her! I know you can.”
Connor chuckled and shook his head. “I. Don’t. Love. Her. Okay?”
“Stop lying to yourself,” Liam said and shoved him lightly. In return, Connor jumped on him, tackling him to the ground again. A few minutes later, the boys ran back towards the water to surf again.
Harley had gone back home to see Carter waiting for her. She excused herself and quickly went to her own room to change. Carter was waiting patiently for her, and he was taking her to lunch as she had guessed, but he wouldn’t say
where. The ride was quiet, as they didn’t talk much. Ten minutes later he pulled into a driveway. Harley got out of the car and saw an enormous house in front of her.
“Where are we, Carter?” she asked, confused.
Carter grabbed her hand and smiled, slowly leading her towards the house. “This is our home,” he said, pulling out a key.
“Oh!” Harley managed to say as he opened the door. The house was beautifully furnished and decorated. Carter showed her the five rooms, his study and the kitchen, before taking her out to the deck that faced the beach.
“Now this is my favorite.” He smiled. “Imagine sitting here and watching the sunset.”
“Beautiful . . .” Harley whispered. This house was indeed beautiful, but this wasn’t home. What she imagined as her dream house wasn’t this big or luxurious. She was looking at the beach when Carter moved to stand in front of her.
“I hope you like this house,” he said, cupping her face. Carter slowly lowered his face and his lips had almost touched hers when she shouted, “Connor!”
Carter pulled away and looked at her in surprise. “What?”
Harley pointed towards the beach, where Connor and Liam stood talking to girls. Connor had removed the wetsuit and now he stood only in his shorts. He ran his hand through his wet hair and smirked at the girls.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Carter looked at his brother and shook his head. “Connor!” he shouted, attracting his brother’s attention.
Liam said something to Connor, and they grinned as they walked towards the house. “Hey Harley!” The boys called out, ignoring Carter, who was now glaring at them.
“What exactly are you two doing outside my house?”
Connor shrugged. “We were at the beach. And it sure doesn’t have your name written on it!”
Carter glared at him. “I don’t have time for your smart mouth, Connor.”
“Well, I don’t have time for you!” Connor shot back. “We were just standing there, having fun, and you called my name.”
“Come on, Carter. Grow up!” Liam snickered, and Connor gave him a high-five.
“Oh, you!” Carter frowned. “The last thing I want is Connor hanging out with you and completely ruining my wedding.”
“Hey!” Connor said, standing right in front of Carter. He pushed his brother back. “What the hell? He’s my friend! Another word and I’ll break your face. And I won’t regret it this time.”
“Get out!” Carter yelled. “Get out of my house!”
“Chill! We are leaving, sucker. Come on,” Liam said, pulling Connor back. “Bye, Harley.”
“Bye, guys,” she said quietly.
“Good riddance,” Carter said, walking into the house. Harley turned around, watching Connor walk away. He turned back to see her and gave her a small smile. Right now her heart was telling her to run away from Carter, but she knew that if you followed your heart, you couldn’t forget to take your brain with you. And Harley’s heart was already leading her in the wrong direction.
Connor looked at Harley as she turned around and went inside the house. This was so complicated.
“Your brother is such a jerk!” Liam muttered.
“I won’t disagree,” Connor said, walking towards the water.
“Listen, bring Harley along to the party. It’ll be fun.”
“Liam, dude, you are my best buddy. I’m sorry I didn’t meet you for years, and I promise I’ll try to visit you, and you can visit me. I know you want me to be happy, but this . . . isn’t right.” Connor sighed. “Harley is going to be my sister-in-law. You saw how rude Carter was! I can’t risk this for her! What if he starts holding a grudge against her for being my friend?”
Liam smiled. “That’s why you love her! You are protecting her!”
Connor sighed again. “Yes, I am. As a friend.”
“You are mad!”
Connor smirked. “There’s always some madness in love.”
Dear Airport, we meet again, Harley thought as she walked towards the terminal with Carter. But last time was great.
She smiled when she thought about Connor. He was so different and weird in a lot of ways. He had given her his phone that morning when he went to surf and his wallpaper made her laugh out loud. Don’t touch my phone, Muggle. She loved how even the most unusual things in his life made her smile. Something that Carter never did.
Harley looked at her fiancé as he kept looking ahead to see if her parents had arrived. No sir, she was looking for love in the wrong place.
“There they are.” Carter smiled as Harley’s parents walked towards them with huge grins on their faces. To her surprise, they hugged Carter first before turning toward her.
“Oh dear, what has happened to you?” Mrs. Evans exclaimed. “Did you put on weight? Will you fit in that dress of yours?”
“Mother!” Harley frowned.
“Mrs. Evans, your daughter is perfect in every way possible.” Carter touched the small of her back and smiled. “It’s not about how she looks. Her heart is so pure and that’s all that matters.”
And that’s when it hit her. Carter Taylor liked her, and she had absolutely no feelings for him. Harley gave him a small smile as they walked towards the parking lot. Yes, she was heading for disaster, alright!
Back at home, Connor was helping his dad clean the swimming pool when he heard a loud bark coming from the house. He turned around with a grin as Padfoot came running towards him. Padfoot dove at Connor, and they fell back into the pool. Connor came back up to see his pup paddling in front of him.
“Pads! You’re here!” he cried, hugging the pup. Mr. Taylor stood near the pool, grinning at his son. “Dad, look, Padfoot’s here!”
“Hi there, Padfoot,” Mr. Taylor said, taking the drenched pup from Connor’s hands. “Aren’t you the absolute cutest pup? My my, so friendly.”
Padfoot licked Mr. Taylor’s cheek and woofed. Once Connor was out of the water, Padfoot jumped at him again.
“Come on, Pads, time to change out of these wet clothes. Then I’ll show you around,” Connor said, placing a soft kiss on the pup’s temple.
He walked inside to see his uncle and his family waiting in the living room. Grinning, Connor walked towards them. “Hello everyone!”
Mrs. Taylor shrieked when she saw her son. “Connor Brayden Taylor, you are drenched! You will catch a cold! Go to your room now.”
“Mom, I’m not a kid!” Connor protested, still holding Padfoot in his arms. “Look, Pads is here. Say hi!”
“Aw! Is that him?” Mrs. Taylor asked. “Oh, so adorable,” she cooed. “But Connor Brayden, this doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you. Go to your room!”
“Honestly, Mom! I’m not a kid, but I will go to my room,” he grinned.
Once he said Hi to his uncle and aunt, he went upstairs followed by his two cousins.
“Dude, there’s a freaking beach right outside your home!” Connor’s seventeen-year-old cousin Ethan called after him.
“Yeah, you can surf here.” Connor grinned.
“Awesome!” Ethan gave him a high-five.
“Surfing is dangerous,” came a voice from behind them. Caleb, Ethan’s ten-year-old brother, adjusted his glasses and spoke, “There’s a good chance that you will drown, or you might get trapped on the reef; being separated from your board and not being able to swim in is highly dangerous. Also, you might get unconscious through a collision. And don’t forget the riptides! Those currents can take you to your watery grave in the blink of an eye. My advice would be to steer clear of surfing. Anything else you come up with will definitely be better than death by surfing, brother.”
“Oh, shut up, Caleb!” Ethan frowned, following Connor into his room.
“Cal! Seriously, surfing isn’t that bad.” Connor smiled, handing Padfoot to him with a towel. “Dry him.”
“Con!” a sweet voice came from the doorway. His five-year-old cousin Zoe walked in with a huge box of candy. She gave it to Connor and grinned.
&nbs
p; “Hey Buckaroo, is this for me?” Connor asked. He placed a small kiss on her forehead when she nodded. “I’m sure Caleb and Zoe would love the beach.”
Ethan snorted looking out of the window. “I can move here anytime. Anyways, where’s Creature?”
“Out with his fiancée.” Connor sighed. Ethan turned around to see a weird expression on his cousin’s face.
“Hey, you two,” he said to his siblings, “I heard aunt Mae made vanilla pudding. Why don’t you go eat some?”
“There are almost 147 calories in a four-ounce pudding, and you take three servings every time,” Caleb said. “Wonder why you aren’t fat. Always thinking about food.”
“Caleb Young, get out now before I kick your—”
Connor cut Ethan off by placing his hand over his mouth. “Hey! There’s a kid in this room,” he said, looking at Zoe, who was playing with Padfoot. “Zoe, Caleb, my mom makes amazing pudding, trust me! Go get some before Ethan and I come downstairs and eat everything.”
The younger cousins looked at the mischievous grin on his face and nodded before heading downstairs. Connor had changed his t-shirt and shorts and now he sat on his bed with Padfoot’s head resting on his lap.
“He missed you a lot,” Ethan said, looking at Padfoot.
“I missed him too.” Connor smiled. “So why did you chase those two out?”
“Because I need some answers. Is Carter being mean again?”
“Eth, he’s called Creature for a reason. He doesn’t want me here, and he has conveyed that message pretty clearly.”
Ethan shook his head, “No, that’s not it. Is it the fiancée?”
“Who? Harley? Nah, she’s a sweetheart, she doesn’t mind me here.” Connor smiled fondly.
“Damn, you are in love!” Ethan exclaimed. “Seriously, couldn’t you find any other girl? Creature’s fiancée?”
Connor frowned. “Ethan, I’m so NOT in love with her. We are just friends.”
“Yeah, Romeo. Keep saying that.” Ethan smirked, walking towards the door. “I’m starving. Let’s go eat something!”
