by Terra Kelly
Her Lifeguard
Man Card Book Four
Terra Kelly
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Join TK’s Newsletter!
About the Author
Also by Terra Kelly
Books by T.M. Kelly
Acknowledgments
Synopsis
It was time to enjoy the beach. Soak up the sun, and check paddle boarding off my bucket list.
Falling off the paddle board and getting rescued by a hot lifeguard was not part of my plan.
Who needs a bucket list when you can have your own personal lifeguard.
Well, he wasn’t mine to keep. Yet.
The man card series is a collection of short stories that are full of steamy romance. You're guaranteed that perfect happy ending and a cupboard full of sweets from all the cravings.
One
Gabby
“How many is that now?” Nova reached her hand forward and tried to stop me before I took another bite of a blueberry white chocolate donut. “Gabs, what’s wrong? You only eat this many donuts when something is stressing you out.”
I took another bite and dropped my head in my hands. “Are you sure you want to hear my depressing shit?” Nova was happy now, she didn’t need to hear my bullshit. I glanced up and noticed there was one more donut taunting me.
Just as I reached my hand forward to snatch it up; Nova slapped her hand over mine. “Talk, woman.”
I groaned and felt a little too excited that my finger was resting on the edge of the donut. Nova didn’t move her hand away, so I had to carefully pinch my fingers together and pry off a piece from the edge. “I need to find a new job.”
Nova’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you lost your job?”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I’m just unhappy. You know, sitting in an office cubicle is not fulfilling.” My fingers continued to inch forward to grab the last of the donut. “Look at what you’ve done. Your dream was to own a small bakery and look at what you’ve achieved.”
“I found a coffee shop passion, too.” Nova winked at me.
“Yeah, that’s my problem.” I rested the side of my head in one hand. “My current job has too many women and not enough single men in the building.”
“Leave. Run away quickly.” Nova laughed and wrapped her hand around my wrist and tried to prevent me from eating the last of the donut. “What do you want to do?” She gripped my wrist tighter as my hand moved closer to my mouth, but my determination to stuff the donut in my pie-hole was much stronger and I managed to get the piece in my mouth. I smiled because it was like we were arm wrestling in mid-air.
What did I want to do? That was a loaded question. The ocean was calling my name lately but for some damn reason I opted to move to a city three hours from the coast. When I was in high school I worked as a lifeguard for my part-time job. I didn’t want to be a lifeguard today, but I wanted a position that put me by the water.
“Are there any jobs that allow me to sit on the beach and enjoy the pretty drinks with umbrellas?” I was joking of course but that’s what I wanted at the moment.
Nova handed me a few of the leftover crumbs. “Sweetie, you’re screwed. Eat these.”
“You suck.” I snatched it out of her hands and stuffed the tiny pieces in my mouth.
“Can you take some time off?”
“I do have two weeks of vacation.”
“Then what are you waiting for, lady?”
I reached forward and grabbed Nova’s forearms. “Come with me.”
She pulled away. “Gabs, I can’t. My partnership with Zander is so new. He doesn’t know my donut recipes and his daughter is only available a couple times a week. Emma loves making donuts with me,” she gushed. My shoulders slumped forward. She held her index finger up and pointed at me. “No, don’t try to make me feel guilty.”
“It was worth a shot.” I burst out laughing. “I was only joking. Hey,” I reached for my phone sitting on the table and started scrolling through my messages. “Ally sent me a text this morning about wanting to get away.”
“Your good friend from Columbia, South Carolina?”
“The one and only. She has one more semester of school left. She cannot wait to graduate.” I pulled up Ally’s name in my contacts. “You sure you don’t want to come?” I had my finger on the green button.
“I’m sure.” Nova walked over to the cabinet to grab a mug. “I mean, I would love to go, but not this time.”
“Next time.” I pushed my mug closer to Nova as she poured herself some coffee. “How are you and Zander doing?” I watched as she started to flash a big smile and at the same moment let out a loud sigh. “That good, eh?”
“Better than good.” She continued to have this happy as fuck look on her face as she took a sip of her coffee. “Really good.”
“And that’s all I need to know.” I held my hand up to stop her before she started to share all their new sex positions they were trying out. “I’m really happy for you.” And I was, but something needed to change in the men department for me, and soon.
I felt a wee bit jealous to see my friend that in love. It had been months since I last went on a date. My shit job had me too busy worrying about spreadsheets and not enough time was devoted to people of the opposite sex.
Maybe Nova was on to something and I did need to go on a vacation. My mind wandered to images of the ocean. “I’m doing it. Fuck it.” I hit the green button to call, Ally. “If I have to listen to another meeting about stats I may shoot myself.”
“Do it. I bet Ally will be all in.” Nova sat down beside me. “From what you shared about her, she sounds like the perfect distraction you need right now.”
“More than perfect.” I nodded and waited as the phone rang. “You’re my first choice, but she’s the perfect second choice.”
“I’m sloppy seconds,” I heard in my ear. “Is that what you just said?”
Nova was next to my ear listening. “She did.” I pushed her away.
“No,” I was trying not to laugh but my friends were making that difficult. “You were the first name that popped in my mind.”
“You’re horrible at lying,” Ally said. “Gabs, holy shit, it’s been what, two months since we last talked?”
“You’re always in some class or running off with your better friends’ Julia and Rylee.” I teased her and took a big sip of my coffee. “What are you doing for the next seven days?”
“Going with you somewhere, apparently.”
“Really?” I was prepared for her to tell me she was too busy. “You’ll join me on a road trip?”
“If this road trip involves a beach? Fuck yeah,” Ally yelled.
Her excitement caused me to laugh. I was growing tired of my life and lack of men in my orbit. Heading to the beach with someone who would make me laugh often was exactly what I needed. “Then pack up and get your ass up here, girlie.”
Two
Leslie
“No, I can’t watch your kids, Ma’am.” I held my hands up and stepped away from the woman. She was holding two kids by the hood of their jackets while they tried to walk away. “You need to have control of your kids while you’re on the beach.”
“Whatever,” she huffed and actually rolled her eyes. “I just
need to go buy them some lunch at that food truck over there.” Then she pointed to the only fucking food truck in the area. Did she really think I didn’t know it was there?
“Good luck with that. Now excuse me while I go watch everyone on the beach right now.” It was one of those days. This woman thought she was the only person here and everyone would stop what they were doing to help her. “Ma’am,” I nodded and walked up the ramp to the lifeguard station. I heard her say asshole under her breath from behind me. Instead of feeding into her ignorance, I kept walking up the ramp.
“If that is an indication of how the day is going to be, can I go home now?” I said to Andrea, the lifeguard I was relieving for the day.
“She’s been bothering me all morning,” she said and handed me the rescue can. “She’s all yours.”
“Thanks. I appreciate your support,” I teased. She patted my arm as she walked by me. Andrea wasn’t much for bullshit.
This was the first of my five day stretch. I was thankful to be working, because my life was the very definition of boring when I was at home. You would think standing at the top of a lifeguard station would draw the attention of single women. Instead, I watched all day long as women would approach men on the beach or they would join in a volleyball game. When they would pass by me all I would get is a sassy smile with a wave.
I moved to Wilmington and started working as a lifeguard on Carolina beach almost six months ago. After all these months, I needed to find someone or my blue balls were going to become a chronic issue.
“Hey,” Andrea yelled from the bottom of the ramp. “Join us for drinks after your shift ends.”
By us, that meant Andrea and her boyfriend. “I need to take care of a few things but thank you.” Being a third-wheel was my very definition of hell.
“What, did you take up knitting this time?” She rolled her eyes and started to walk away. “You need to get laid,” she said from over her shoulder.
“I have too many knitting projects to finish.” I laughed and walked over to sit down on the folding chair.
It was a quiet day; there were less than a hundred people scattered around my specific area of the beach. To pass the time I started to let my eyes wander trying to find the perfect woman I would like to fuck. It was a daily game I played. On a good day I had about ten worthy contenders. They didn’t know they could get their minds blown with amazing sex.
“Hey, Les,” Johnny walked up the ramp and sat down beside me. “Any takers today?” He was my good friend and also spent way too much time in the sun.
“For what?” I tried to play dumb.
“Fuck you.” He shoved at my arm. “I’m not stupid. I know you’re looking for all the hot babes on the beach.”
I met Johnny when I first started the job. Little did I know the guy had no life, no job, and was desperate for attention. “Just the top ten.” My eyes had locked onto two women about twenty yards away. The one woman had on a big brimmed red sunhat. Her body was turned so she was facing me. Every time she laughed her head would fall back and my dick would stir.
“It looks like you have your eyes on the prize.” Johnny took it upon himself to grab the binoculars hanging on a hook behind me. “Let me see if I can figure out the lucky lady.”
“Let me see those.” I snatched them out of his hands. “Don’t you have better things to do then sit here bothering me?”
“This is my job today.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Figuring out who Leslie Irving plans to fuck.”
“Get out of here.” I stood up and grabbed under his arm to pull him up and shove him down the ramp. “You’re distracting me. What did my boss tell you the last time you were loitering up here?”
“If I remember correctly, she said I should apply if I planned to spend this much time on the lifeguard station.” He stumbled down the ramp. “Which I still need to do.”
“Go.” I demanded and made my way back up to sit down. There was a brunette in a large red hat that I needed to investigate. “The applications are sitting on the desk in the office,” I yelled to Johnny as he passed by the women that had my attention. “That fucker better not stop and talk to them,” I mumbled to myself. He didn’t. Instead he stood behind them and did some childish kissing face. The fucker had just lost his man card smack dab in the center of Carolina beach.
Three
Gabby
“Where is everyone today?” I pulled my hat down further over my eyes and crossed my legs in front of me. “It’s amazing out.”
“Working.” Ally adjusted her towel and brushed some sand off the corner. “You know, like normal people.”
We had just spent three hours driving from Charlotte over to Wilmington. Thankfully the trip was easy because all I could think about was sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun. “We should rent a paddle board.”
“And why would I do that?” Ally said and lay down on the now pristine towel.
“Um, to enjoy the water up close and personal.” My eyes were locked on this guy walking by. He sent off a ton of creepy vibes. I was silently wishing he didn’t stop and try to chat us up. “What, you plan to lay here in this spot all week?”
“Well, I’ll move over there maybe tomorrow.” She lifted her hand and pointed to the right of us. “Then maybe over there the next day.” Ally was now pointing to left.
“You have to go in the water at some point.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly.
“We’ll see. I may need a different swimsuit if I make it to the water.”
She was wearing a strapless bikini top with a thong bottom. “Afraid the very little amount of fabric currently on your body will have a sudden malfunction?”
“Suck it.” She held up her middle finger and dropped her forehead down to the towel. “If you noticed, I don’t have those shitty tan lines.”
I looked down at my bikini. There were a few extra square inches of fabric that covered me. The one that caught my eye at the store had a high-waisted bottom and covered the little pooch that was really called my stomach perfectly. “Sure. Whatever you say, sweetie.” I patted her arm and glanced behind me. The creepy guy was walking away. Thank fuck.
This week was supposed to be about cleansing my mind. Not sweating the small stuff. If I wanted to rent a damn paddle board and embarrass myself then no one could stop me. Well, falling off the fucking thing could put a wrench in my plans.
“Can you reach my phone?” Ally lazily said with her eyes still closed.
I grabbed the device and plopped it down beside her before standing up. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see a guy about a paddle board.” I glanced around and found exactly what I was looking for by the pier we passed when we first entered the beach. “You sure you don’t want to join me?”
“Give me fifteen minutes,” she said and blew me a kiss.
Ally and I were high school classmates. We had been friends for so long I basically considered her my sister. She knew everything about me and vice versa. When I found out she would be heading to Columbia, South Carolina for college, I felt upset at first. My emotions were purely selfish of course. I didn’t want my best friend to leave. We did stay in contact. Plus, we both gained new friends in the process. Julia and Rylee were an amazing support system for Ally, and of course Nova provided love through her many baked treats.
“You’re missing out.” I blew a kiss back.
“We’ll see.” I could hear her say as I walked away.
This week was going to be perfect. Well, if I managed to avoid any accidents it would be good. My track record was a little shaky. Which was why I needed to find a hot guy to teach me how to use a paddle board. Finding the perfect guy was going to be a challenge.
“Good afternoon,” a young guy said as he stepped around the counter.
“Hey.” I nodded and walked over to the bright green and blue paddle board. “I’m curious, do you have to buy it?” I rubbed my hand over the smooth sur
face. “Or can we rent them?” The small hut had a mix of items to purchase. It was set in a location where if you realized you forgot something the hut would have exactly what you needed. I glanced around the small space but didn’t see a sign about renting any items.
“We don’t rent anything here.” He stepped closer to me. “They’re not hard to figure out though.” He rubbed his hand over the paddle board. “Stand up and use the paddle.” He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s as easy as that.”
“So when I fall and break my neck will you still think they’re easy to use?” I was joking of course. Maybe.
“Since that’s impossible, I stand by my first statement.” He walked back over to the counter and stepped closer to the cash register. “You save two hundred dollars by buying the paddle board today.”
Save. Was the guy on drugs. “How the hell do you figure I would be saving money by buying it?”
“We have a sale today. It’s only costs $599.00.”
“And I’m saving by spending that amount?”
“You’re saving two hundred and you get to keep the board for future beach trips.”
This guy was good. “But I only want to rent it.”
“Sorry, we don’t rent items here.” He shrugged and started organizing a stack of sunglasses.
The excitement over a paddle board was slowly waning. The guy was feeding a line of bullshit about savings and I quickly realized laying on a towel felt safer. “Right, okay. Well, thank you for your time.”
