I swallow hard and nod.
She straightens and turns me to face her. When she speaks, her voice is firm. “We need to make a pact, you and me. We need to make sure that we never allow anyone to split us up ever again.”
I squeeze my lips into a smile. “I don’t think that will be a problem now we’re older.”
“Just promise me,” she says, her tone all serious.
“Okay, I promise. We’ll never let anyone split us up ever again.”
She nods. “You’d better be right. I couldn’t bear it if I lost you again.”
Chapter 16
By the time Harriet and I arrive at the beach the sun is sinking into the ocean, its fiery rays lighting up the sky above the horizon.
Music blares out from a sound system over by a clump of rocks and two guys stand next to it shouting at each other as they try to be heard above the noise. Flames dance in fire rings while groups of people stand barefoot around them, balancing hotdogs and drinks as they chat and goof about. Harriet was right about the dress code. Some girls are in swimwear, some look like they’re going to a club while others are in shorts and hoodies.
I slip my sandals off and carry them by the straps as we walk past a fire ring with grills on. The smoky aroma coming from the sizzling ribs, burgers and hotdogs makes my mouth water.
“I go to college with that lot,” Harriet says, pointing just ahead. “Let’s go over and say hi.” I follow her to a group of guys, all the while looking out for Lois and Riley. And I can’t deny, I’m curious to see if Nate is here, too.
As soon as the group spot Harriet approaching, they stop their conversation and shout out greetings, clearly delighted to see her. Harriet takes it in turns hugging, kissing and high-fiving them. When she introduces me, everyone is friendly and red plastic cups are thrust into our hands. “Buds,” one of the guys informs us.
Their conversation starts up again, revolving around college and I stand on the periphery, half-listening while scanning the beach. My heart lifts when I finally spot Lois standing with a group of people next to a fire ring over by the rocks. I’m about to tell Harriet I’m going over to see her but one of her college buddies comes and stands in front of me.
“Hey there, Emily. I’m Scott.” He has wild, curly hair, a pierced nose and is wearing a t-shirt showing a zombie with outstretched arms and the caption, ‘Zombies just want hugs.’
I give him a friendly smile. “Hi, Scott.”
“So, you’re Harriet’s little sister….” He raises his arm and takes a long swig from his plastic cup.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“And you’re new to the area, right?”
I nod.
He turns his head to let out a beery burp and then pushes the back of his hand to his mouth. “So, what do you think of it here so far? Have you managed to take a good look around?”
“Not really. Apart from this beach, I haven’t done any sightseeing.” I smile apologetically. “I guess I’m still getting settled in.”
He chugs back the rest of his drink and crushes the plastic cup in his hand. “Well we can’t have that, can we? I’d be happy to take you out and show you around. There are some great places nearby I could show you....”
I’m only vaguely listening because something has caught my attention; I’ve spotted Nate. He’s wearing shorts and, like most of the guys here, nothing on his top half. The sun has just dipped below the horizon and the moonlight gives his skin a luminous quality.
He’s deep in conversation with a blonde girl in a turquoise bikini top and a beige mini-skirt. She’s leaning close to him with her back to me but when she turns to the side there’s no mistaking who it is; Sasha.
Of course it is.
Scott coughs and I realise I’ve been ignoring him. I turn back. “Sorry … I didn’t catch what you just said.”
He laughs. “I was saying I’d be happy to take you out and show you the sights around here. What do you think? Shall we set something up?”
I open and close my mouth, trying to think of an excuse. I’m relieved when Harriet turns round and throws an arm across Scott’s shoulders. “Hey, Scottie, I hope you’re not pestering Emily. She’s only just got here.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not pestering her. I’m just being friendly.”
“Good.” She turns her cup upside down, showing it’s empty. “Jay just knocked my drink over. How about you be a sweetie and get me a refill?”
He looks between me and Harriet and then nods obediently. “Yeah, sure. I could do with a refill, too.” He turns to me. “What about you, Emily? Shall I get you one?”
I raise my full cup, sloshing some of the liquid over the side. “No, I’m good, thanks.”
He nods and walks across to a picnic table. As he crouches down, the crack of his ass appears above his shorts. Harriet spots it the same time as me and winks. “Scott’s harmless,” she whispers. “He can be a bit persistent though.”
“Maybe now would be a good time to make my getaway.”
Her face drops. “Oh. Where will you go?”
“I’ve just seen Lois over there.” I point to the rocks. “I’m going to go and say hi.” Someone grabs Harriet’s attention so I raise my hand and throw her a quick wave. With my sandals looped through my fingers, I wrap my arms around my chest and hug myself as I trudge through the cool sand, side-stepping a couple of enthusiastic dancers along the way.
To get to Lois I have to walk past Nate. He glances up as I draw near so I give him a brief smile but I don’t break my stride. He turns back to face Sasha, but I feel his eyes following me.
When Lois spots me, she squeals, hurrying over on tiptoes with a little bounce in her step. She’s wearing an adorable sleeveless dress with a flower print. It seems odd to see her out of her regular uniform of black shirt, black trousers and black apron.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” she says, leaning in to give me a hug.
“I didn’t think I had a choice,” I say, letting her go and winking.
She laughs. “Actually, you didn’t.”
“I love your dress, Lois.” I reach out to touch the material. “You look really pretty.”
“Thanks,” she says, grinning. “I’m trying to catch a certain someone’s eye.”
I nudge her elbow. “Would that be Riley?”
Her finger flies up to her mouth and she looks behind her. “Shh, he’ll hear you.”
I follow her gaze and see Riley standing a few feet behind us. Luckily, he’s engrossed in a conversation with the guy next to him and doesn’t appear to have heard anything. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Lois.”
She laughs. “Don’t be. At least he might have got the message if he heard you.”
“So, have you got a plan for tonight?” I ask, dipping my voice. “Are you finally going to tell him how you feel?”
She frowns. “I honestly don’t think I can. Too much time has passed….”
“Lois, you have to at least try.”
“I know you’re right.” She turns to look at him briefly. “But I’m not making any promises. Can we not talk about it anymore?”
“Lois….”
“Look at you,” she says, cutting me off. “How gorgeous do you look tonight?”
I don’t see any point in pushing her further, so I go with her change of direction and look down at my outfit. “Thanks. I feel a bit overdressed.”
“No, silly. You look amazing….”
“Well, any good bits are down to Harriet. She helped me get ready.”
She shakes her head. “Some people can’t take a compliment, can they?” She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand. “Come here and say hi to everyone.” She pulls me over to the group she was just standing with.
Riley breaks off from his conversation, and wolf-whistles. “Wow, look at you, Em.”
I laugh, embarrassed.
Riley and Lois introduce me to the others in the group. A few of them I recognise from the café; Marco, an old school friend
of Nate and Riley’s, Pete and Mia who own the beach house next door to O’Shea’s, and three guys who come in regularly after they’ve been surfing. Conversations pick up again and I half-listen to one about a surfing competition further up the coast. I glance to my right just in time to see Sasha raise a hand and stroke the side of Nate’s face. He puts his hand on top of hers, holds it in place for a second and then gently pulls it away. It’s such a subtle move, I can’t tell whether he was encouraging her or brushing her off.
When I turn back, Lois flicks her eyebrows up. “She’s pretty much got him trapped, hasn’t she?”
I smile, trying to mask the stupid pang of jealousy I feel. “I think he’s okay. He doesn’t look like he’s trying to escape.”
“He should,” Riley says, joining in our conversation. “This is all part of her mating ritual. You watch ... any minute now she’ll lean forward and rub their noses together.”
Lois laughs.
“She will,” he says. “And then it will be too late for him.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How?”
“Because right after the nose-rubbing routine….” He’s warming to his theme now. “Nate will be so entranced he won’t know what’s happening. She’ll have her wicked way with him and then it’s too late. He’ll be doomed.”
“Oh, why is that?” I say, giggling.
“Because that’s when she’ll commit the black widow finale.”
“What kill him and then eat him?”
“Yup. Well, as good as….”
“Oh yeah,” Lois says. “That would totally be Sasha’s style.”
I can’t resist stealing another glance at Nate and Sasha. Her face is only inches away from his and judging by the serious expressions they’re both wearing, they’re having a pretty intense conversation.
“Have those two ever been an item?” I ask, trying to sound casual.
“Nate and Sasha?” Lois asks.
I nod.
“Why? You’re not jealous, are you, Em?”
“No. Of course not.” Despite the cool breeze, my cheeks feel hot. It’s probably because Lois and Riley are studying me so hard. God, I hope he hasn’t mentioned our awkward encounter on the beach to either of them.
“No, I don’t think there’s anything going on between them,” Riley says eventually. “Not how you mean, anyway.” He exchanges a look with Lois before turning to me. “When Nate wanted to buy the café, it was really rundown. He knew he’d have to spend loads of money on it if he wanted to make it a success, so he started searching around for investors. Sasha was a friend of a friend and as soon as she heard he was looking for funds, she got her rich daddy to stump up the cash and put forward the whole amount.”
“Oh, well, that was lucky.”.
“Lucky?” Riley pulls a face. “I wouldn’t call it that. She’s a pain in the ass. She swans around O’Shea’s like she owns the place. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
I smile. “Yeah, I did kind of get that impression.” I can’t pretend Riley’s contempt for Sasha doesn’t please me. I hope that doesn’t make me a bad person.
A Kings of Leon tune blasts out from the speakers and Lois raises her chin. “Yes! I love this. Who’s coming to dance?”
A couple of girls peel away from the group to join her and she reaches out to grab my hand. “Come on, Em.”
I shake my head, laughing. “Oh no. I don’t dance.”
“What?”
“Hurry up.” One of the girls grabs hold of Lois’ arm, sending most of her drink spilling onto the sand. “Before it finishes....”
“Em,” Lois mouths as she’s dragged off by the others towards a makeshift dance area. I just smile sweetly, and dig my toes into the cool sand.
Riley doesn’t take his eyes off Lois until he becomes aware of me watching him. Well that answers that question.
“What?” he says, frowning.
I grin. “Nothing.” I don’t think Lois needs to worry about being in the friend zone.
“Hey.”
I jump at the sound of Nate’s voice behind me. He’s holding a beer bottle in one hand and his top in the other
“You guys having fun?” He’s addressing the whole crowd stood around the fire ring.
There’s a shift among the group, as people alter their position, angling shoulders and heads towards Nate, like he’s gravity or something. Several of the guys move towards him and do that multi-step handshake thing which confuses the hell out of me. It makes me glad people don’t want to shake my hand.
I realise I’m staring at Nate and drag my focus away, twisting to see if Sasha is about to join us as well. I look from the point they were standing right over to the barbecue area and the patch of sand where Lois and the others are, but I can’t see her anywhere.
A few minutes later Nate finishes a conversation with Marco and Pete and comes to stand next to me and Riley.
“Hey, bro,” Riley says. “You and Sasha appeared to be getting on well.”
“What do you mean?” Nate asks, taking a swig of his beer.
“From where me and Em were standing it looked like you two were getting pretty cosy over there.”
Oh, fabulous! Thanks for including me in that statement, Riley.
Nate’s brow creases as his lips twist into a smile. “Looks can be deceiving then.”
“So, what was going on between you two?”
“Just talking about work….”
“Didn’t look like that from here.” Riley raises his bottle. “Come on, Nate. Tell us what you were really talking about.”
Nate narrows his eyes. “What’s got into you, Ry? I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, not here.”
Riley shrugs. “Well, if you’re not going to share any juicy details, I’m off to get food. Do you guys want anything?”
I shake my head. “Not for me, thanks.”
“I could do with a carnivore fix,” Nate says. “See if they’ve got any burgers or hotdogs left, will you?”
Riley nods and limps off to the barbecue area.
Goose bumps pop up on my skin so I wrap my arms around myself to try and warm up.
Nate turns towards me, blocking us off from the rest of the group. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show up tonight. I’m really glad you came.”
“Uh … yeah. Me too.” I keep my eyes down, watching the grains of sand push up between my toes.
In my peripheral vision, I see him flick out his t-shirt and then pull it over his head, tugging it down in one smooth movement. “Temperature’s dropped a bit; it’s the breeze coming off the ocean. Are you warm enough? I can pop over to the café and get you a blanket if you like?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
I feel him watch me for a long moment. “That’s your standard answer to everything, isn’t it?”
I look up. “Huh?”
“Any time anyone asks if you’re okay, or tries to do you a favour, you say ‘No, I’m fine,’ when clearly you’re not.”
I frown.
“I guess you don’t like accepting help from people.”
“I guess I never really thought about it.” My voice comes out snippy. “There are worse traits….”
“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I was just making an observation.”
I sigh. “I know. It’s okay….”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re fine?”
I look at him for a moment. Then I slide my foot back into my sandal. “I need to go and find my sister. She’ll think I’ve abandoned her.”
“No, Em, don’t go.” He reaches out and takes hold of my arm. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll stop being an ass.”
I hear a cough and look up to see Riley heading back towards us. I quickly snatch my arm from Nate.
“They’ve run out of burgers and hot dogs,” Riley says, offering Nate a small orange bag. “So I got you these, instead.”
Nate’s brow creases. “What are they?”
“Cheese balls.”
Nate pulls a face. “Riley, you know I hate cheese balls.” He rips open the bag, plucks two out of the packet and pops them in his mouth, stuffing them low in his cheeks. Then he turns back to Riley. “Hey....” His voice has gone low and hoarse. “What da madder wid you?” He slaps Riley on both cheeks. “Wadd did I do for you to treat me so disrespectfully?”
People around us laugh before launching into Godfather impressions of their own. While they’re busy, Nate turns and catches my eye. “I’m sorry,” he mouths.
I give a small nod to acknowledge his apology.
He steps closer and talks in a low voice so only I can hear. “Em, I was hoping you and I could have a chat about what happened the other day … on the beach. I think we need to clear the air.”
My stomach muscles tighten. I don’t want to have that conversation. I really don’t. But I know he’s right. If I want to carry on working at the café and get rid of the awkward atmosphere that’s descended over us, we need to do this.
“Sure,” I say, trying my best to sound casual.
His eyebrows press down. “I’m sorry if I misread the signs. I thought you felt the same as me….”
“You thought wrong,” I say, cutting him off. “I like working at O’Shea’s Place and I don’t want things to get complicated.”
He frowns. “I wasn’t planning on complicated….”
“Nate, hooking up with your boss for a one-night stand is always going to be complicated.”
He looks taken aback. “Who said anything about one night?”
Does he really think I’m that naive?
“Just call it a hunch.”
His eyes narrow and he shakes his head softly. “Em, I’m not interested in having a one-night stand with you.”
“It doesn’t matter what you want, Nate. I’m not looking for any kind of relationship with you, whether it’s for one night or something a bit longer….”
The Cold Hard Truth: A Gripping Novel About Secrets and Lies Page 11
