“Okay… great.”
The light started blinking and I answered the first one. “You’re on the air.”
“Hey, Jimmy. I’m Callie. I fit your description. No one realizes how shy I really am.”
“Great.” He barely talked to her. Okay, I needed to hold off on answering calls if he didn’t get the format. “I’m actually really interested in someone else right now.”
“Oh yeah?” I tried to keep things moving. The show was going so well, I wasn’t going to let him ruin it.
“Yeah, but she’s with someone else.”
“That seems to always happen.” Jade took over. “I always seem to fall for the guys with girlfriends. I never act on it, of course—but it’s seriously annoying.”
“Tell me about it.” Ava joined in. “It’s worse when the guy pretends he’s single until you’re completely hooked and then the bomb drops.”
“This girl was upfront. I still want her though.” His eyes were back on me, and I had a feeling I knew the girl he was talking about. Ugh.
I wasn’t going to let him make it any more awkward. “Why not try to find someone else? If she’s unavailable, you’re just wasting your time. Should we take another caller?”
“I’m young. I have plenty of time to waste.”
I shot a look to Kyle. This seemed like something he could fix.
He mouthed, “Music.” Oh yeah, perfect.
“All right. Let’s hear some Pearberry unplugged.”
The band got going, and I tried to ignore the way Jimmy watched me as he played his tambourine. I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it. I tried to stifle it, but I couldn’t. I caught Jade’s eye and she laughed too.
Kyle threw us a dirty look, so we did our best to stop. Luckily, we’d composed ourselves by the end of the performance.
Jade nodded for me to continue. “Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. We loved having you.”
“We loved being here.” AJ smiled. “And anyone who wants to hear more, check us out online to listen to our debut EP.”
“You can also check them out on the station website as well. And don’t forget they’re opening for Real Bay on Wednesday night at the Draft. Hope to see some of you there. For now, here’s some Airbus.” Jade put on a song and turned off her mic. I did the same.
“That was a lot of fun.” Ava hopped off her stool. “Such a fun way of interviewing a group.”
“It seemed to go over well with Maddox, so we decided to make it a thing.” I was giddy. Despite Jimmy’s weirdness, it had been a seriously fun time again.
Chapter Eighteen
I’d never wished time away more in my entire life. The road trip visit had helped, but I was ready to see him again—especially considering my period was long gone. Chase was getting in to Savannah on Saturday afternoon, and I could barely wait. By Friday night, I was counting down the hours, so I was thrilled when my roommates decided we needed a girl’s night out.
I dressed up, excited to have an excuse to wear something a little bit nicer for a change. I was generally a dress kind of girl, but when you spend the majority of your nights at home, it’s hard to rationalize changing out of your jeans.
“Someone’s looking hot.” Juliet grinned.
“Same to both of you. Watch out, Charleston.”
Mallory laughed. “Well, since we’re all officially unavailable now, that’s okay.”
“Are we definitely going to Club Tango?” I put on some lip gloss.
Juliet slipped on her strappy sandals. She wore sandals nearly year round. “Yes. I’m not pushing my luck at Ion’s again. They are cracking down on IDs.”
I tossed the lip gloss in my favorite go-to black purse. “I don’t care where we go as long as we can dance. We haven’t been out in so long.”
“I know. We have to start making this a monthly event at least.” Mallory slipped into her black three inch pumps. I was wearing an identical pair in red. As much as I wanted a girl’s night, part of me wished Chase was around to see me. I shrugged off the thought. I could dress up another night for him.
“You both ready?” I asked, itching to get out.
“Absolutely.” Juliet headed to the door and we both followed.
We slipped into a cab so we didn’t need to worry about a designated driver, and ten minutes later we were pulling up outside the club. We waited in a small line before showing our IDs to the bouncer. No matter how many times my ID worked, I always worried.
“What do you guys want to drink?” I asked. “I’ll buy the first round.” Even though I was nervous about getting carded, I liked to get my turn over with.
“I want one of those pink love potion drinks again.” Mallory glanced at the bar.
“Sounds perfect.” I turned to Juliet. “What about you?”
“Same.”
I waited while the bartender served a few people, but then she finally turned to me. “Three Love Potions.”
“I’ll get those for her.” A guy moved in close to me.
“That’s okay. I’ve got them.”
“My pleasure. I’m guessing all three aren’t for you?” he asked.
“No. I’m here with friends.” You never want a creepy guy to think you’re alone.
“I’m here with friends too. Maybe we can all hang out?”
“No, thanks. We’re here for a girl’s night.”
“Aren’t girl’s nights really just cover for you to go out and meet men?” The guy had to be in his late twenties. He probably assumed I was at least twenty-one, but he had to know I was younger.
“Not for us.” I turned toward the bar, hoping he’d lose interest.
As soon as the bartender returned, I slipped my cash on the bar.
He put a hand next to mine. “I said I’d get them.”
“And I said no thank you.” I handed the money to the bartender and scooped up all three drinks without worrying about the change.
“What’s the problem? Can’t handle a guy buying you drinks?” He inched in closer, blocking me from my friends view.
“I’m really not interested.” I tried to inch around him, but holding three drinks made it difficult.
“At least let me help you with those.”
“No, thanks. I’d just like it if you’d get out of my way.”
“How old are you?” He leaned in close enough that I could feel his breath on my face, but an alarm went off. This guy wasn’t really hitting on me.
Oh my god. This was it. The end of my life. The guy was probably a cop. “I’m twenty-two.” I quickly replied with the age from my fake.
“Twenty-two?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
I tried to control my breathing. Getting nervous wasn’t going to help my cause. But if I got a Drinking Under Age notation, I was toast. Toast. My parents would kill me.
“What about your friends, are they twenty-one?”
“Of course.”
“Is there a problem here?” A deep and familiar voice asked as an equally familiar arm snaked around my waist.
“I thought you were here for a girl’s night?” the guy asked.
“That’s what she thought. Her friends set her up. I’ve been missing my girl, here.” Aaron’s hand moved down my back. I froze.
“How old is your girl?”
Please don’t screw me over I begged silently. Aaron knew I said twenty-two. He’s the one who helped me get the ID.
“Twenty-two.” He rubbed my back. “Turning twenty-three soon.”
The guy stepped away. Was he going to ask for my ID?
“Be careful. You might make her spill those drinks.” The guy, who I was now 100% positive was a cop, walked away.
I tried to move away from Aaron, but he stopped me. “Hey, nice save, huh?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I hoped he realized that helping me out didn’t change anything.
“Where are your roommates? At least I assume that’s who you�
�re with.” He gazed down at the drinks. If I’d been holding beers, he’d have probably been interrogating me.
“They were over there. Now I lost them.”
“I’ll help you find them.”
“Is Reed here?” For one horrible second, I wondered if he’d been telling the truth and my friends had set me up. There was no way. Just no way.
“Nope. I’m here with Ryan.”
“Oh. Nice.”
“Let me help you.” He pulled two drinks from me before I could respond. His eyes raked over me. “You look so hot in halter dresses.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Hearing him say that reminded me of the many times he’d untied a halter dress I was wearing. The thought of it made my stomach turn.
“But you look even better underneath.”
“Aaron. Please.” I looked away. Mallory and Juliet couldn’t be that far.
“What?”
“Give me the drinks. I’m going to find my friends.”
“You do know who that guy was, right? If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d be getting written up or brought downtown. Is that really what you want?”
“I already said thank you.”
“Do you want me to get him back over here? Ask him to study your ID?”
“Don’t mess with me.”
“No, don’t mess with me. I told you that you needed me. I just proved my point.”
“I would have been fine.”
“Really? You didn’t look fine.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Aaron?” Juliet and Mallory appeared on either side. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I had backup.
“I was merely talking with Cara and demonstrating why she needed me.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I didn’t bother with a sip of my drink before setting it aside. Considering my close call, I preferred not to have any alcohol in my system.
“Good idea.” Mallory linked her arm with mine.
“I should have just let you get busted.” His eyes narrowed. “Maybe then you’d have realized how dumb you can be. I told you I’m not waiting around forever. The clock is ticking.”
“I’ve moved on already.” I knew as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I’d made a mistake.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. We’re leaving.”
“No.” Aaron set aside the other drinks on the table with mine. “Tell me, Cara. Who’d you move on with?”
“It’s none of your business.”
He crossed his arms, accentuating how huge his biceps were. What had once seemed attractive now seemed frightening. “I already know it’s some idiot musician.”
But I refused to let him scare me. “You don’t know anything.”
“He’s going to get bored with you. He’s going to get bored, and toss you to the side.”
“That’s not true,” Juliet jumped in. “And you know it.”
“He’s playing with you. He’s getting his kicks out of dating a girl like you, but he’s going to move on.” Aaron’s words were cruel and selected specifically to hurt me. How had I never seen this side of him while we were together? Maybe I hadn’t wanted to see it. What I thought of as protective was actually controlling.
“You don’t even know him.” Mallory seethed.
“You got pissed at me for messing around a few times. You don’t think he’s doing the same thing? If you don’t, you’re even dumber than I thought.” Aaron practically snarled.
Without thinking, I swung my hand at him, smacking him across the face.
He touched his cheek, and I started walking away, pulling my friends with me.
“You bitch.”
I didn’t turn around. I’d either done something really smart or really stupid, but either way, it felt good. I’d stood up for myself this time. I didn’t let someone else do it for me.
“I’m done waiting, okay? I’m done. This is it, I’m not asking again. I’m not rescuing you again,” he called from behind me.
I turned around. “Good. I don’t need you to rescue me.”
I turned back around, and we walked out.
Mallory looked partially in shock. “Wow. You just slapped Aaron.”
“And it felt good. I don’t feel scared. I don’t even feel angry. I just feel good.”
“I’m really sorry about this. I wish I’d know he was coming.” Juliet put an arm around me.
“It’s not your fault. I actually think it’s good. Maybe that was the closure I needed.”
“Are you going to tell Chase?” Mallory asked as we slipped into the back of a cab.
“Yes.” Keeping this kind of thing from Chase would just blowup in my face. As much as I didn’t want to make him worry, I needed to be open. “I’m sorry the girl’s night didn’t work out.”
“It’s not your fault.”
When the cab pulled up along the curb at the house, Juliet paid, and we all hopped out. “So, what happened? What did he mean by rescue you?”
“I was being questioned by an undercover cop. Aaron vouched for me.”
“Wow. Are they cracking down even harder?”
“I don’t know, but I’m retiring the fake for a while.”
“We all should.” Mallory punched in the code to the house. “It’s too early to turn in though. What should we do?”
“Is Reed working tonight?” I asked Juliet.
“Yeah, why? It’s a girl’s night.”
“Yeah, it’s also one of those nights I wouldn’t mind a guy around for. Let’s go to Al’s. Think Colton would walk us?”
“Sure. He was just hanging out at the house tonight.”
“I never would have pictured that Colt would have gotten so into Kappa. I guess moving in as a freshman helps.”
She shrugged. “I know, it surprised me too, but he still spends time with his other friends a lot.”
Colton showed up a few minutes later. “How you doing, Cara?”
“I’m doing really well.” I was. Despite the rough night, I was feeling better than I had in ages.
“Aaron showed up tonight though,” Mallory said softly, but the anger in her words came right through.
“Oh. That sucks. He’s been keeping his distance usually though, right?” Colton watched me worriedly. I had to give it to my friends, they both picked caring boyfriends.
“This was the first time I’d run into him since the incident.” Incident. It sounded so clinical, but it was the only way I could describe what happened without using some less than appropriate words.
“Did he bother you?”
“In a way, but I took care of it. I think he’s going to leave me alone now.” He didn’t want the Cara who would slap him in the face and take care of herself. He wanted someone dependent, and that wasn’t me anymore.
“All right. Just let me know if I can do anything else.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. It felt so good to be independent. It felt equally good to know I’d be with Chase in less than twenty-four hours.
Chapter Nineteen
Showing up at a festival by myself in a place I’d never been wasn’t something I was particularly excited to do, so I was more than happy when Jade and Kyle agreed to go with me.
My friends were more excited about the music than I was, but my single-minded determination to see Chase more than made up for it. I was relieved that Kyle agreed to drive to Savannah, because I was pretty positive I would have struggled to stay within my usual rule of five miles over the speed limit.
Kyle parked in a large field, and we got out. We left our bags in the car before heading over to where the crowds were congregating.
I’d never been to a festival before, so I didn’t know what to think. I was just relieved the weather had warmed up. I’m not a fan of the cold.
“Wow, it’s crowded.” I tried to stay close to my friends. All I needed was to get separated from them.
“You should see the really big festivals. This one has a great line up, but it’s kind of off season.” Jade tie
d up her long hair.
“Oh. I think this is plenty big for my first time.”
“I won’t make the dirty comment I want to make.” Kyle grinned.
“Please don’t.”
Music poured from the main stage, and I tried to identify the folk-style tune. After a few minutes I gave up. It was definitely not someone I’d heard of.
“Where are you supposed to meet Chase exactly?” Jade asked, glancing around the crowd.
“He said to call when I got here.” I glanced down at my phone. “I’ve called twice already.”
“Hmm, well. I guess we might as well go watch whoever’s performing while we wait then,” Kyle suggested. He had this uncanny ability to take charge when the moment demanded it. He wasn’t pushy as much as he was just the leader type.
“Good idea.” Jade took my arm, and we walked into the crowd.
We listened to the couple on the stage. They had to be a couple. The way the two members of the duet were looking at each other only came from one thing—intimacy.
I love folk music because of the lyrics. A folk song is generally a story set to music, so I could relate to it. I could sink my teeth into it so to speak.
The duet, appropriately called the Love Doves, finished their set and left the stage. I checked my phone and saw a missed call. How had I missed it? I went to listen to the message, but my phone said unable to connect. Perfect. No signal.
“That might complicate things,” Kyle said calmly. “But we’ll find them. Don’t they play at nine tonight anyway?”
“Are you suggesting we just hang out and wait?” I hit send a few more times on my phone, but it was no use.
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” Kyle put an arm around my shoulder. “Think of this as an eye-opening learning experience. You do work on a radio show now.”
I laughed. “Fair enough.”
The next act was another folk group. I liked them, but not as much as Love Doves. I decided it was a good sign that I was starting to distinguish between what groups I liked and didn’t like within a genre. Kyle was right. I did work on a radio show now, and it would be helpful to actually know the music we were talking about.
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach Page 16
