The One Left Behind (The One Series)

by Lena Nicole

  “Don’t get upset if you don’t get the first wave. Sometimes it takes a couple times to be able to stand and ride it. If you don’t get it, no big deal, you can always get the next one.”

  I nod at him. “How many times did it take for you to get up?”

  “Two. I tried too big of a wave the first time. The second time I picked a smaller one and got up and got a feel for it. The next time I knew what to expect and it was easy sailing, or surfing I should say, from there. Don’t worry, you will do great. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He gives me a sexy grin and winks at me. My insides quiver slightly and I momentarily forget about my nerves. Then the fact that I’m about to surf hits me again, bringing me back to the here and now.

  I nod and bite the corner of my bottom lip. This is totally out of my comfort zone. I float in the ocean, not surf in it. This is one of those moments Pierce was talking about. It seemed like a good idea when we were on the beach and his hands were all over me, but now? Not so much. What the hell was I thinking? Pierce’s voice pulls me out of my silent freak out.

  “Okay, here comes a small one. Remember to paddle and how to balance your weight on the board. Ready?”

  No. “Yes.”

  “Okay, start paddling. Go, go!”

  I do as Pierce tells me and start paddling in the water. I remember him saying that I would know when it is time to stand because the water would be moving faster than my paddling speed. Suddenly, I recognize that moment and know it is time to stand up. I suck in a deep breath just in case I get pulled under water and hop up on my board. I make sure my feet are placed like I was instructed and keep myself low and centered on the board. And just like that, I am riding a wave and it feels ah-maze-ing! The salty wind is hitting me in the face as the water rushes below me. I feel so free and I don’t want this wave to ever end. In the background I can hear Pierce hollering and whistling at me. Because I’m floating on cloud nine right now and not thinking, I turn to look his way and down I go. I crash into the water in the most awkward way which disorients me for a millisecond. I swim my way back up to the top of the water and see Pierce swimming quickly toward me.

  Once he reaches me, I see the panic in his eyes. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

  I laugh and splash water in his face as he pulls me into his arms. I have a huge rush of adrenalin running through me and it feels great. “Are you kidding me? That was amazing! And I got it on my first try! I want to try it again!”

  Pierce shakes his head while chuckling and pulls me in for a kiss. “Okay, let’s go back out. You did great. I’m very impressed.”

  We spend the rest of the afternoon in the water. Pierce turns out to be an excellent surfer. He did some tricks that were quite impressive, but I won’t be trying anything like that ever. I am doing really well and only fall a couple times. I attribute it to beginner’s luck, but Pierce says it’s because I have such a great teacher. After a while, I hear my stomach growl and ask Pierce what time it is. He glances at his watch and says, “It’s five.”

  “I can’t believe we have been out here for five hours! Want to head back in?”

  “Sure. I have a dinner to cook anyway.”

  I look at him, place my hand over my heart, and flutter my eyelashes dramatically before saying, “So you’re charming, good looking, and you cook? You are living proof that the perfect man does exist.”

  We both laugh at my sarcasm. Not that I’ve seen a flaw yet, but I can’t let his ego get too big. He replies, “No, my mom just did a good job raising me.”

  I smile and say, “And modest. Come on, Charming, you have a dinner to cook.”

  When we get back to my deck, Pierce sets down our boards and we dry ourselves off with the towels laying on the chairs. I’m laying our towels out to dry before I go back inside. When I get back in, Pierce is pulling the vegetables out of the refrigerator and washing them off. I watch him for a moment and notice how comfortable he looks in the kitchen. For a second, I wonder if Colin ever cooked for me and if he was any good at it. I shove that thought to the back of my mind and redirect my attention to Pierce.

  “I noticed you had a bag of clothes with you. Would you like to take a shower? I can finish chopping those for you?” I say to him as I try really hard not to stare at his bare, chiseled chest.

  He puts down the knife and wipes his hands. “That would be great. If you want to go out to eat we can. I brought dress clothes. I just spent so much time with you out, I wanted to be able to have a meal alone without anyone interrupting us.”

  I am more than happy to spend some quiet time with him. I try to contain the goofy smile that threatens to show on my face. I manage to keep it a simple smile. “That sounds perfect. I’m actually exhausted from all that surfing today. Come on, I’ll show you to the shower.” My thoughts drift to images of water running down his body as steam fills the area around him. I feel my face heating up and look down to mask it, hoping he doesn’t notice and wonder why I’m blushing.

  “Thanks, it’ll be nice to wash the ocean off of me real quick. I’ll be out in a few.”

  I lay out a towel and run out of the bathroom before Pierce can undress. If I see him naked I will want him for dinner. I go to the kitchen and continue to chop up the vegetables. Not even five minutes later he is showered and dressed. I always thought it was unfair how women take hours to get ready and a guy can be ready in five minutes and look incredibly hot. I look Pierce over as he approaches me. He has on a pair of dark jeans and an olive green long sleeve shirt. He has the sleeves rolled up half way like he always does showing off his strong forearms. His hair is still damp from the water and little pieces stick to the sides of his face. I notice that he is barefoot as he walks over to me, and for some reason I find that the sexiest thing about him at the moment. Okay, I take that back. It’s hard to pick one distinct feature that beats out all the rest.

  He gently takes the knife out of my hand that is frozen in midair and places a kiss on my lips. “I’ll do the rest. Go ahead and take a relaxing shower.”

  After showering, I leave my wet hair down and apply minimal make up. I pull out a strapless, red maxi dress and make my way out to the kitchen.

  Pierce is just setting the dinner out on the table and it smells delicious. He made stir fry and it looks great. “It looks and smells incredible,” I say. Pierce pulls out my chair and gestures for me to sit. He pushes in the chair and kisses me on the cheek. I love how it seems he can’t keep his lips off of me.

  “Thank you. I hope you like it. You look beautiful tonight,” he says in a low tone close to my ear. I squirm a little in my chair.

  He pours me a glass of wine and we begin to eat. The conversation flows easily the whole night. I love talking to Pierce. We tell each other childhood stories and get to know more about each other. Pierce stands up to take our plates to the kitchen.

  “Nuh uh. You cooked, I’ll clean. Go sit down and relax,” I tell him. He looks like he’s about to argue with me but finally relents and strides over to the living room. When I’m done cleaning up, we grab another bottle of wine and head out to the back. We sit in the lounge chairs listening to the ocean. The moon is extra bright tonight and the clear sky makes the stars stand out in the black sky. We spend time talking and sneak in some kissing here and there. I can tell Pierce is getting just as tired as I am. We both drank a lot and I’m not about to have him drive home.

  I stand and say, “I’m getting tired. I think all that surfing wore me out.” I hold my hand up to my mouth to stifle my yawn. Pierce grabs the empty wine glass from my hand and follows me in.

  “I should probably head out. I can call a cab and come by in the morning to pick my car up if that’s okay.”

  “Oh, there’s no need for that. You can stay here.” I don’t know why I get nervous suggesting this to him. It’s like I’m afraid he’ll say no and reject my offer. Or maybe I’m afraid he’ll say yes. I’m not ready to take our relationship to the next level yet and I hope this doesn’t g
ive him that impression. Pierce tilts his head from side to side as if deciding if this is a good idea or not.

  “Okay, I’ll take the couch.”

  The couch? He’s joking right? I guess I don’t need to be worried about him getting the wrong impression after all. I should have known he’d be a gentleman.

  “You can stay in my bed. I know you’ll be a gentleman. There’s no need to sleep on the couch.”

  Pierce has a smirk on his face and he says, “It’s not me I’m worried about. I’ll agree as long as you know there will only be spooning, no forking “

  I laugh at his joke and smack him with the throw pillow that is sitting on my couch. He catches it and laughs with me.

  “Come on, Charming. Let’s get some sleep.” I grab his hand and lead him to my bedroom.

  I wash my face and change into a t-shirt and some shorts to sleep in. I usually sleep in a lot less clothing, but I don’t think that would be appropriate tonight. I come out and Pierce is under the covers in his boxers. I climb into bed and he wraps his body around me. As he is holding me, I can feel his chiseled chest against my back. I hold my breath in an attempt to control my erratic breathing. I know this is going to be a long night.

  “Goodnight,” Pierce whispers into my ear before kissing me behind my ear. My whole body immediately breaks out in gooseflesh and I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

  The next morning I wake up to an empty bed. I start to stretch and wince a little at how sore my body is. I can smell food coming from the kitchen and I make my way out there to meet Pierce. Instead, I’m greeted with a note on the counter.

  Got called into an emergency meeting about the NY expansion. You looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you. Breakfast is in the microwave. I’ll call you later

  <3 Charming

  I smile at the way he signed the note. I was half joking when I called him Charming, but now it just might stick. I head over to the microwave and can’t believe my eyes when I open it. He made me pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast. Taped to the plate is another note.

  I wanted to make sure you got what you liked, so I improvised. Coffee is made and juice is in the fridge. I enjoyed yesterday and especially last night. I can’t wait to see you again.

  Charming

  I open the cabinet to grab a coffee mug and there is another note. I just laugh as I tear it off and read it.

  I figured you would go for the coffee. :-) You might want to take a Motrin. Your arms are going to be a little sore.

  I grin and shake my head at this last note before digging into the food – which is delicious – and starting my day with a big ass smile on my face.

  TWO WEEKS HAVE gone by and I’m hearing less and less from Addison. Apparently, she’s spending a lot of her free time with Pierce, so she doesn’t have time for me. She told me on the beach that she wanted to get together. Yeah, right. I don’t see her calling or texting me to make plans.

  I can’t even describe the different emotions that are coursing through my body when I think about them together. The most prominent one right now is anger. Whenever I picture Pierce, I have a sudden urge to punch him in his perfect face. I want to tear him apart for moving in on Addison. I feel like he’s invading my territory and I have the need to protect it. I just don’t know how without pushing her further away. I keep telling myself that as long as I’m patient this will all work out. So far, that tactic isn’t working. I take a deep, calming breath to relax and hold back my resentment. I’m clinging on to her with everything I have it feels like, but I can still feel her slipping through my fingertips and running to another man. The feeling of losing her and not being with her is enough to make me not want to get out of bed in the mornings.

  My brain started exploring these emotions because I had heard that not only are Addison and Pierce hanging out together, but apparently they’re getting “physical” too. As in they are constantly kissing and touching each other. And let the depression and despair settle in as I remember our first kiss.

  I take her out to a really nice dinner. The place is super romantic and I knew she’d love it. There are white linen table cloths underneath a perfectly set table with elegant ceramic plates. In the center is a crystal vase with three red roses. The lighting is dim and intimate, and as her eyes widen slightly I can tell that she’s impressed.

  I pull her chair out for her to sit down and take the seat across from her. She looks so beautiful. She has on a black satin dress that comes to about her knees. It’s sleeveless and pretty form fitting with slight gathering of the material from under her bust line to about mid-thigh. There’s a thick, red sash wrapped around her tiny waist. She has on a pair of red, peep toe heels to match the sash and a simple clutch purse to finish off the look. She truly is a vision. She looks so elegant; I can’t stop staring.

  The food is excellent. I got the filet mignon wrapped in bacon, with asparagus and a garden salad. She had the lobster tail with butter sauce, baby red potatoes with herbs, and a Caesar salad with only lettuce and dressing. We also ordered a nice bottle of wine. As usual, the conversation is great too.

  “So,” I start off saying after the usual small talk has run its course, “we’ve covered the basics in getting to know each other. I was thinking we should talk about other things.” I look at her, waiting for a response.

  “Okay, that sounds good to me. What did you have in mind?”

  “Let me think.” I make a show of thinking as I tap my chin with my finger and look up at the ceiling. “I’ve got it! What’s your most embarrassing moment?”

  “Uh, no. We are not sharing that information. Well, let me correct that. I’m not sharing that information.” She’s shaking her head adamantly which just makes me want to loosen her up more since she’s putting up the challenge.

  “Oh, come on. I’ll even go first if you promise to share yours.”

  She thinks for a moment before she caves in and says, “Okay.” Then she stares at me expectantly.

  “Alright, I’m gonna have to think for a second. I came up with this on the fly, and there are so many stories to choose from. But I want to make sure I tell you the best one.” After running through all the dumb things I’ve done in my life, I settle on one story. I hope it makes her laugh, but there’s a possibility she’ll think I’m a complete tool. Oh well, here goes nothing.

  “I’ve got it. When I was about eight years old my parents took me and my sister to Sea World. Certain sections in the stands were labeled ‘soaker zones’ or something like that. During the show, these areas end up wet, and so do the people sitting in them. We weren’t sitting in one of those zones, which was fine with me. Until I noticed all the people that got wet got a free T-shirt. Well, I wanted a free T-shirt too. So, to make it look like I got wet, I purposely peed my pants and told my dad that I needed a T-shirt because the whales got me wet too.”

  Her shoulders shake from trying to hold in her laughter. Finally, she can’t suppress it anymore and cracks up. “Oh my God, that’s hilarious! Did you get a free shirt?”

  “Yeah, but only because I cried.”

  “That’s awesome.” She continues to giggle until I say, “Okay, your turn.”

  Her face drops, “Are you seriously going to make me tell you this? I really don’t want to.” She’s pouting and giving me these sad puppy dog eyes. This is probably the only time ever that I won’t cave to that look.

  “Yes, I’m serious. A deal is a deal.” I sit back and grin at her.

  She takes a deep breath and blows it out in a rush. “Okay, I don’t want to hear about this after tonight because I still don’t think I’ve gotten completely over it. When I was in the second grade, we would have library time. After the librarian read us a short story, she would call our names randomly to pick a card off the wall of activities. That day, my name was called toward the end, so all the cool stuff was taken. So my friend and I decided to go to the study area where they have cubicles for you to read quietly.

&
nbsp; “About halfway through, I needed to use the restroom. So I asked the librarian if I could go. She told me no. So I went back to my cubicle where my friend was waiting and I had to hold it until my teacher came to pick us up and take us back to class. Well, my friend is hilarious so we start joking around. She makes me laugh really hard. As I’m laughing, I start to pee. I can’t stop laughing, so I can’t stop peeing. Finally, the horror sets in and it’s not funny anymore. I tell my friend I just peed my pants. She, of course, laughs. I get up and I peed so much that there was a puddle left in the chair. I’m instantly upset and freaking out. I don’t want people to see, and my entire butt is wet.

  “Before we’re dismissed, we all have to come back to the center of the library to be accounted for before we’re released to the teacher. My friend and I make sure we get up last. I look at the carpet we were sitting on and there is a perfect butt imprint left from where I was sitting. I told my teacher and cried the whole way to the office.

  “Then, to make matters worse, the office called the wrong number on my contact sheet and couldn’t get in touch with my mom. So I had to wear these awful blue sweatpants the office gave me that were too small and the universal signal of ‘Look at me, I just peed my pants.’ It was awful.”

  Her cheeks are turning red just talking about it. She buries her face in her hands and I try really hard to hide my laughter, but I just can’t. That is the funniest, and most endearing story ever. I think I just fell completely in love with this girl. I start to laugh and she looks up and glares at me. “Oh, you poor thing. That mean librarian wouldn’t let you go to the bathroom. I hope she’s the one that had to clean up your pee.”

  She glares at me again before she starts to laugh too. “I never thought about the person that had to clean my mess. I didn’t tell anyone that I left a trail of urine in my wake.”

  I laugh until my stomach muscles are protesting, and she joins in too. “Looks like we have something in common; embarrassing pee stories,” I say as the laughter drags on.