Delia Bay

by Lauren Cooper

  “Fine. If and when you stop sulking, you can come have a coffee in the shop” she blindsides me again with her smart mouth, her words snapping me back to reality and making me stare straight into those sea-blue eyes, she raises an eyebrow in my direction before getting to her feet. As she bends her legs to right herself she gives me a full-frontal show of her perfect round ass in those tiny denim shorts forcing every cognitive thought out of my brain and into my bleeding ears for a split second. The lace cardigan thingy she has on today looks gorgeous on her tanned arms. My feet itched in my boots to go after her, to follow her into her shop but I keep my ass glued to the floor. Besides I need to make as much cash as I can to grab that motorbike, so I can stay as far away from her as is possible.

  Maybe moving here wasn’t the best idea, but I couldn’t leave the cabin now. Could you ever go from something that beautiful back to the shit-hole of an apartment I had in the city? Didn’t think so.

  I shake the torturous feeling of Luna off of me, the mere idea that she’s only a few feet away from is distracting enough as it is. I pick up Aurora, stroking my fingers down the wood of the body before I strum the strings quietly.

  Every time I play her it stings, as if I was holding a dozen stems of rose thorns rather than a beautiful instrument. I inhale deeply, smelling the mix of guitar strings and the ocean, faint remnants of flowers lingering around me, but I ignore them even as they tackle themselves into my tiny nose-hairs and bury themselves there for what feels like the rest of eternity before getting myself into the zone and I continue playing for the afternoon.

  Playing & Fading

  I WAS TRYING TO BE nice. I was already second guessing my idea of forcing him to be my friend, he was so ass-holish. I didn’t even attempt to bring last night up through fear of him ripping my head off. I knew it was him the second I heard the strumming of the guitar but I daren’t believe it and get my hopes up that he would instantly start talking to me now just because we’d fucked. Reid was different. That wasn’t a bad thing, no, but rather something refreshing? I thought by offering him a drink it would break the ice, but apparently not. At least next time I know to bring beer and not my favorite organic lemonade.

  “You can shoot off Rach” I yell into the stock room, sticking the kettle on as I walk by the small kitchen out back. I couldn’t tell what it was with Reid, especially now that we’d already slept together. Was it him? His bad-boy attitude that I’d never had the pleasure of experiencing before? The pain behind his eyes that had me wanting to wrap him in bubble wrap for the foreseeable future until he grew stronger?

  “You sure?” Rach sticks her head around the doorframe, sending me crashing back down to making my tea and out of the wonderland of Reid I’d happily made myself in my head.

  “Yep, it’s pretty quiet and I know you have that date tonight” I waggle my eyebrows in her direction. This morning after I’d come back from my surf she’d filled me in on Magic Dick because she still won’t tell me his name. Luckily for me she hadn’t paid any attention to the fact that I was clearly a little chirpier this morning. I wasn’t about to go shouting from the rooftops that I’d fucked Reid last night, not that I was embarrassed or anything, but you could almost guarantee that the word would reach the town elders and my Mama would string me up for pouncing on the new boy so quickly.

  “You’re the best boss ever” she chirps before wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “I know. But I want all the details tomorrow!” I slap her arm before she moves away and sighs heavily.

  “Fine” she huffs over her shoulder.

  “Good. Have fun. Be safe!” I call after her just before the shop door swings closed. Not that I’m one to talk, it hadn’t slipped my notice last night that neither Reid nor I seemed overly bothered about any forms of contraceptive, lucky for the both of us I was on the pill, but that didn’t stop me from preaching to Rach. I’d racked my brain a thousand times about who this mystery guy could be, but I’d come up empty. Delia was small so the off chance that it was an outsider was slim given that no one had reported anything. Instead of dwelling on my best friends’ sex life and that of my own I concentrated as best I could on keeping Moonbeam up to my highest of standards. The shop isn’t huge, but it’s a lot bigger than some of the stores on the front. I wanted it to be spacious and open but not too open like some of those new modern places you see nowadays. The wood flooring meant it was easy to clean and the plain walls had left ample room for me to decorate with artificial flowers and hanging baskets. It was different, and it stood out from the rest of the touristy shops here in Delia. I didn’t sell magnets and souvenirs or those high-end handbags that cost more than my mortgage. Moonbeam was au-natural, just like Delia, the stock I carried was from locals, handmade and unique. As I made my way back onto the shop floor, the light shining through the all glass front window dims significantly. At a glance the grey clouds from this morning have reached land and small droplets of rain begin to fall against the glass.

  “Yuck” I grimace, cradling my mug of green tea between my palms and turning back to the register. I don’t mind the rain when I can be out in it, but if I’m stuck indoors when the glorious drops of water hit the sea then I’m usually miserable. The lace top I’ve been working on is strewn across to the top of the unit, thread and pins scattered along side of it. I’d dyed a separate piece this morning once I came in and it was finally ready to wash and use.... hopefully. I’d never used this dye before, but I didn’t have the heart to tell Trent when he’d showed me it. Besides I was always looking for alternatives to creating things for the shop and if this didn’t work then I’d just try again.

  Much to my amazement, the stunning blue I’d picked up yesterday looked gorgeous on Lace, it was going to be made into additional accents for the otherwise flowy white top. I’d just have to stitch them carefully together to give the piece a pop of color you’d never find anywhere else on the bay.

  I stuck the lace in the washing machine out back, something I’d insisted on having here because of the amount of clothes I’ve started making, before I sat down in the middle of the floor with my mug of tea and my fabric. My phone started to buzz on the counter above me, and I, being too lazy to move spent a good few seconds trying to reach it from the floor.

  “Hello?” I ask, having not glanced at the caller ID.

  “Hey sweet cheeks. You free tonight for your favorite man?” Sheriff Brayden Corby’s sex voice rings down the line, the tingle between my legs igniting but not as much as it usually would. Maybe it had something to do with the other man between my sheets last night.

  “Hey Brayden. Missing me, are you?” I play along.

  “Always miss you” he drawls, his thick southern accent coming straight down the line.

  “You’re sweet” I chuckle, twiddling the fabric drawn across my lap.

  “But, I can’t. There’s sorta....”

  “Someone else?” he asks, and I just know the smug bastard has a smile on his beautiful face.

  “Yeah” I sigh. Is Reid someone else? Am I making a mountain out of nothing like I usually do?

  “I’m not going to lie and pretend like I’m not devastated” he says making me laugh. “But, I’m happy for you. Just gimme a call if you ever need me” his smoke riddled voice that usually had my stomach doing somersaults only makes me laugh today.

  “Big headed Bastard” I tut, shaking my head for good measure.

  “I’ll see ya ’round sweet cheeks” he declares before hanging up.

  The rain started to hammer down on the window, making a stunning sound as background noise for me to work quietly on finishing this piece. That’s what I loved so much about Delia, the town, the bay, the people. Everyone was comfortable, nothing was awkward, or if it was it never lasted long enough for anyone to care. I knew I wouldn’t have any new customers in whilst the rain was pouring, you could almost guarantee it drove them away. Besides, the majority of Delia knew by now if I wasn’t on the floor of the shop stitching s
omething or other then I was out on the waves.

  I don’t know how long I was sat there but by the time I’d finished stitching the last of the blue lacy flowers and placed them delicately onto the top, it was starting to get dark. I flicked the fairy lights in the window on, giving the room a warming glow against the rain that had died down outside. Pulling the front door open, the need to feel the sticky, humid air against my skin too strong to ignore, I stick my head out briefly to see how busy the street is, wondering if I should give up for the day and just head home. The beautiful notes of a guitar assault my ears and my eyes flick briefly down the street, looking towards the beach, and to where Reid is still sat playing his guitar in the rain.

  “You took the most precious thing of all with you the day you died. How much longer can I survive without you?”

  The lump that appeared the first time I’d heard him sing forms in my throat, his words laced with pain cut right through me, each word stringing itself around my heart and tying itself too tightly. A million questions run around my head as I watch this beautiful, broken man with the inked fingers playing his guitar as if his next breath depended on it. The rain soaking him to the bones and making him shiver instantly made my feet move, heading towards the hollow man on the street and hoping he’d take just my offer of a coffee and nothing more right now.

  “Reid!” I call loudly over the drops of rain and crashes of waves, wrapping my arms around myself against the cold wind blowing its way up from the promenade, the rain thrashing its way through my too-thin cardigan and reminding me of the harsh Delia Winters.

  “What are you doing?” I stop next to him and his eyes find mine, only he isn’t there. I can tell, his music has taken him someplace else and he’s not yet realized that’s he sat out in the rain. My heart shatters at the possibility of him being in so much pain, who left him? How did they die? It’s been hammering it down for well over an hour and he’s been sat out in it, basking in his own pain and getting drenched by memories.

  “Come on” I wrap my hand around his thick bicep, feeling the thick muscle contract as I help him to his feet. I close his guitar case and carry it back to the shop. By the time I close the door and flip the sign over to read closed Reid seems to be here with me, his eyes wide with terror and his hands shaking from the cold.

  “I’ll put the kettle on” I smile softly, placing his guitar case down on the floor before going to the kitchen.

  When I come back with two steaming mugs of coffee, I hand one to Reid who has sat himself down on the floor again, his back against the register. I grab one of the thousands of blankets we have here and unfold it before offering it to him. As he drapes it softly over his shoulders I notice the guitar case is open now with the instrument safely tucked inside, there’s a handful of notes in there too.

  “You did pretty well today” I nod in the guitar’s direction as I take a seat next to him.

  “Not too bad” he shrugs, taking a sip of the scalding coffee.

  “Do you want some dry clothes?” I look him up and down, it’s definitely not the time to tell him how much I’m coming to love seeing him soaked from head to toe, the way the fabric of his clothes clings to his every bump and curve. His T-shirt hugged every ridge of muscles down his torso whilst his damp denim jacket hid his shoulders. The same shoulders I’d clung onto last night as he fucked me into the floor, I’m almost certain if I stripped him bare right now my fingernail marks would still be there. A flush travelled across my skin at the memory of how he felt inside me, the way he’d given me no mercy until I was coming like a mad woman all over him. It was raw, unadulterated sex and I was craving more of it. More of him.

  “Nah” he shrugs, leaning his head back against the counter as if it was too heavy for his shoulders.

  “Why’d you sit out there in the rain like that?” I ask quietly, the rain staring to pour again, hammering against the glass as a rumble of thunder sounds above.

  “I didn’t realize it was raining” he mumbles, his beautiful voice breaking and sending splinters into my already wounded heart.

  “Reid” I say quietly, shuffling closer to him. “Please talk to me” I reach out and grab one of his hands in mine, holding it and feeling the coldness of his skin. I half expect him to yank his hand back, but I tighten my fingers ever so slightly, keeping hold of him in any way I can. I wait patiently for what feels like an eternity, his leafy green eyes stare straight ahead, moving slightly back and forth as if he’s remembering something. For a second I think he isn’t going to tell me anything, half expecting him to turn around and tell the blonde bimbo to mind her own. God knows I’d probably do the same thing. Instead he surprises the hell out of me when he swallows and stares me straight in the eye, the shock goes straight to my belly and a million fireflies light up.

  “How are you supposed to live when you have nothing to live for?”

  I frown at his question, but something inside me hurts. It fucking kills actually. The sharp pain has me sucking in air before I gather up the courage to answer him.

  “I don’t know” I swallow. “Everyone has something, though don’t they?” I ask quietly.

  “I don’t” he deadpans, his green eyes turning darker, scarier.

  “Don’t you have friends or family? Back in Bancroft or something?” I take a sip of my coffee, treading carefully with my words so as not to scare him off.

  “Nope. They’re all dead. They all left me to deal with this shit on my own”

  I can’t help the small gasp of shock that leaves my lips.

  “They’re all... dead?” I scrunch my brows and ask as delicately as I can.

  “My parents. Aurora. The baby. I haven’t spoken to any of my friends in nearly ten years” he shakes his head from side to side softly, his eyes boring into my wood floor so hard I’m slightly afraid he’ll set them alight as he takes a drink of coffee.

  My mind gets stuck on the baby part of his sentence. Horrifying images fly into my head and I have to cover my mouth through fear of vomiting. It’s bad enough when someone tells you about losing their parents, the two constants in your life that are suddenly gone, but a baby?

  “The.... The baby?” I squeeze his hand tighter in mine, loving how he hasn’t yanked it away from me yet and is finally confiding in me.

  “Aurora was pregnant” his lips move but his eyes don’t.

  “Aurora was your girlfriend?” I push, needing him to know that he can talk to me and hoping that he’ll give me just enough so that I can help him. I don’t care who you are, you could be as secluded as big foot, but you’d still need a friend.

  “Yeah” his eyes grow wider for a second as he nods his head slowly. That beautiful inky black hair falls down his forehead, the longer strands on top almost reaching his eyes.

  “I’m so sorry Reid” I try not to sound so sympathetic because I’ve already worked out that Reid isn’t the emotional type so giving him pity would fall on deaf ears.

  “That’s who you sing about in your songs?” I ask, forgoing the obvious question about how they all died. I’m sure he’s had to answer that question more times than he can count, right now I need him to trust me.

  “Yeah. I feel closer to her when I play”

  “That’s lovely” I smile genuinely, my heart melting a little at his sincerity.

  I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain this man has been through. I don’t even want to imagine it. Losing the person, you love is one thing, but losing that person who was also carrying your baby is beyond imagining. Couple that with your parents and it’s just...unimaginable. I don’t know what I’d do without Mama, she’s like the rock that holds everything together. Well, mainly me. She’s the one I call when I need advice, or if I fuck up a recipe she knows just how to fix it, or if I just need her to be there for whatever reason, she is.

  “Aurora is a beautiful name” I smile around my mug, sipping at the last remnants of my caffeine.

  “She was beautiful” he smiles a little, the corner
s of his mouth tipping up ever so slightly.

  “The other day, when you said you weren’t running, was that the truth?”

  Reid rakes a hand through his hair, the long strands atop his head curling slightly from being wet. He sighs heavily before downing the last of his drink and placing the cup on the counter above him.

  “I’ve said too much. I better get going” he stands, his shoes slightly squelching on the wood floor. I come to my feet, the words I so badly want to say are at the tip of my tongue, but I refrain from saying them. I clearly pushed too hard and scared him, the last thing I want to do now is make it worse.

  “Okay, I’ll see you around” I smile sweetly. The look of confusion crosses Reid’s face but its brief, as if he was expecting me to argue with him too.

  “Thanks for the coffee” he tips his head in thanks and grabs his guitar case after shutting it tightly. Handing me the damp blanket, I take it from him noting how he pulls his hand away quickly to stop himself from touching me before he shakes his head ever so slightly that if I hadn’t been looking I would have missed it.

  “See ya” I smile and shut the door behind him, twisting the lock and watching him run down towards the promenade, his boots splashing in every puddle he hits and sending more water up his already wet jeans. Turning around I lean back against the door, my head hitting the plane of glass. I sigh wistfully only to be assaulted by the scent of Reid filling the room around me. That all male, ruggedly sexy smell makes my pussy clench with memories of how he felt last night. Jesus could the man fuck.

  I so badly wanted to ask him the thousands of questions he left hanging in the air, his blunt replies left so many unanswered, but I knew he would shut himself off from me if I did.

  My mind wanders back to high school, to a girl at school, Bethenny lost her parents when she was around fifteen. I remembered the hushed whispers in the hallways, the sly glances here and there at the poor girl a few years younger than us. None of us really knew what to do back them, Delia was small, but she’d moved away to live with her aunt someplace, so we never really got the chance to talk about it. We didn’t hear anything about her for several years later, it was in the local paper about how she’d killed herself when her aunt had died and left her on her own. The guilt I’d felt then about not doing more had upset me for months, how was I supposed to know that she would so something so final when we hadn’t spoken in years? Maybe that was the reason I was so drawn to Reid, he had that same look in his eyes that Beth had. Lost.