Wet (The Water's Edge #1) (6 page)

After the movie let out, we meandered along the boardwalk that the north half of the island was known for. “So, Sadie, has lifeguarding always been your dream job?” he teased me, as we interrupted a group of seagulls picking at spilled popcorn, their loud caws berating us.

“Of course!” I said with fake enthusiasm. “And haven’t you always wanted to be a bartender at a frozen daiquiri bar?”

“What higher calling is there?” he agreed, before turning more serious. “No, really, what do you want to do here?” He seemed genuinely interested in my answer.

“Photography,” I said, a hint of wistfulness creeping into my voice. “It’s what I was doing back in Nashville. Wedding photography, mostly. But ever since that mess with Asshole, I’ve wanted to change my focus. Portraits maybe, or more commercial stuff.”

“Have you talked to Grady about maybe doing some work around the resort?” Grady was our manager and Rue’s friend who’d gotten me the job.

“No. I barely know the guy, and I already owe him for the lifeguarding job. I didn’t want to push my luck by asking for any other favors.”

“Nah, Grady’s cool. Actually, he was surfing with us that morning you met West too.”

I groaned. “Great.”

“Well, he doesn’t know it was you,” Theo assured me.

“Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”

“I’ll talk to him for you. I bet he can come up with something.”

“Theo, you don’t have to do that!” I protested.

“No biggie. Just leave it to me.”

I stopped walking and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a big hug. Maybe there were still some good guys left in the world. “Thank you,” I whispered, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Whistles and catcalls interrupted our embrace and had me pulling back in embarrassment. A group of guys were strolling up the boardwalk toward us. “Benedict!” one of them called out.

Theo grinned as the group approached. “Guys. What are y’all up to tonight?” Theo did one of those complicated guy handshakes, ending with a back slap, with a guy who had a blond faux hawk and pierced lip.

“Heading to the Wreck to hang out, shoot some pool,” the same guy said. “Who’s the chick?”

Theo’s arm snaked around my waist, pulling me to his side. “Trevor, this is Sadie. Sadie, these are the guys. Trevor, Dylan, Wyatt, and you’ve already met his brother, West.” Theo pointed to each in turn, but my attention was snagged when he said the last name.

West
. My eyes locked on his. He was wearing a baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, and it made him seem softer, less potent somehow. His jawline was scruffy, like he hadn’t shaved in a day or two, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel against my face. He stared at me, his expression a mix of confusion and surprise, and then his eyes dropped to my hip, where Theo’s hand rested. The muscle in his jaw clenched, his hands curling into loose fists at his side.

Wyatt whistled and gave Theo a high five. “Good job, man.” Wyatt looked like a more boyish version of West, but with longer, darker hair instead of West’s close-cropped style.

The other guys greeted me, but I didn’t really hear them. “Sadie,” West acknowledged with a dip of his chin, my name rumbling over his lips. It felt like a caress, like he had reached out and stroked me. I smiled back, the tip of my tongue sneaking out to wet my dry lips, and he seemed riveted by the small action. His eyes darkened, and then he swallowed and looked away.

“We’re headed to get some ice cream,” Theo said. “You guys want to join us?”

West glanced back at me, down to the hand on my hip, then back up. “No,” he said, sounding almost bored. “Besides, Grady’s meeting us soon. We’ll catch you later, Benedict.” He started to walk away, not waiting for the other guys. My face burned, and I felt guilty, like I had done something wrong, which was ridiculous, of course. I refused to turn and watch him leave, even though I swear my body could tell the difference as he moved farther away, my awareness of him lessening.

The others trailed after West, and Theo and I started walking again, his arm falling back to his side. “Benedict?” I questioned.

“My last name. I played pee-wee football with most of those guys. Well, not West and Grady, because they were older, but we went by our last names there. It kind of stuck for me.”

I hummed an acknowledgement, then returned to our previous conversation, refusing to let myself think about West. “So, Theo, if bartending isn’t the goal, what are you working toward?”

He shrugged. “I’m still trying to figure that out. I couldn’t afford college like those guys, so I’ve just been working and saving. I want to be my own boss someday, not have to answer to anyone but myself.”

I nodded. I could understand that. It was part of the appeal of photography. Setting your own schedule, working as hard as you wanted, knowing your success or failure depended only on you. I could definitely relate.

We walked farther, laughing at each other’s stupid jokes. We bought waffle cones and stood licking the melting gelato, watching the sunset over the water turn the sky a delicious shade of coral. I wished I had my camera. I snapped a quick photo with my phone, but it wasn’t the same.

Back at my house, we climbed the steps to my front door when my stomach twisted with anxiety. Would he try to kiss me? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. We stopped on the porch, and I dug my key out of my purse, letting it dangle from my hand. “Theo, I had a great time tonight,” I said.

He smiled and stepped a little closer, taking each of my hands in his. “Me too.” Staring into my eyes, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay, moment of truth.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips against me, moving them gently over mine. It was nice, but there was no spark.
Bummer.
We broke apart and stood there facing each other, holding hands, foreheads touching.

Theo whispered, “Wow. That really didn’t do anything for me. How ’bout you?”

I laughed in relief that we were on the same page. “You do have nice lips,” I offered as a consolation.

“And you have a nice ass, so why can’t this just work? Hold on a sec.”

He grabbed my butt and pulled our pelvises together and ground against me for a moment. I looked at him in confusion. He sighed and shook his head. “Nope. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re hot, and I’d lay you in a heartbeat if I didn’t have to see you at work and —”

I cut him off. “Friends?”

Theo nodded. “Definitely. See you at the gym Monday morning?”

I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “I’ll buy the doughnuts this time.”

He groaned. “No more doughnuts. I’ll take you to this little café I know. They have good omelets.”

“But I like doughnuts.”

“How ’bout this? I train you for free four times a week, and you buy breakfast. We’ll eat healthy three days a week and splurge for doughnuts on Wednesdays.”

I narrowed my eyes. “We’ll only train three times a week, and we’ll get doughnuts on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

Theo sighed then nodded in defeat.

“Ahhh.” I grinned. “A man after my own heart. We are going to get along just fine, Benedict.”

CHAPTER 4

I
blew my whistle at the rowdy preteen boys running around the pool having a water gun fight. “Walk! No running!” I hollered for the nineteenth time in the last hour. Their moms were either absent or oblivious after too many of Theo’s daiquiris, I wasn’t sure which. It’d been a Friday from hell. Fridays always sucked during the summer because all the weekenders were just arriving, and the kids were extra rambunctious from being cooped up in the car.

Around eleven, two guys thought it would be funny to pick me up and pretend to throw me in the pool, which had resulted in Theo vaulting over the bar and coming to my rescue, much to the delight of the teenage girls. And since lunch, this creepy older man had been pretending to read a book while ogling the same three teenage girls who had swooned over Theo, as they lounged on their chaises wearing only the skimpiest of bikinis. The man even offered to rub more sunscreen on them. Twice. Luckily, they were smart enough to decline, and the second time he offered, one complained to her mom, who reported him to management. Now, the creepy old guy had wandered down the beach path, probably searching for some other prepubescent body to fantasize over. Gross. Kendra was a saint and had spent the last twenty minutes patiently explaining to a woman that the pool used a salt system, and her baby would be perfectly safe from carcinogenic toxins if she got wet.

I eyed the tiki-hut wistfully, pulling my hat off long enough to swipe at the sweat beading on my forehead. A daiquiri sounded pretty good right about now.

Theo waved to catch my attention and pointed to his phone. I walked over to my beach bag for my cell and saw a text from him.

Theo: A bunch of us are going to the Wreck tonight. Wanna come?

Me: What’s the Wreck?

Theo: You haven’t been to the Wreck yet? It’s Wyatt’s bar. The ultimate hang spot. Super casual.

Me: Can I bring Rue?

Theo: A bar can never have too many hot girls.

Me: Pervert.

Theo: Just sayin’.

Me: We’ll meet you there. I’m sure Rue knows where it is. What time?

Theo: I’ll be there around 8, but whenever.

I tapped out a quick message to Rue, knowing her phone was always within reach.

Me: Want to go to the Wreck tonight?

Rue: I haven’t been there in ages. Sounds fun! What time?

Me: Theo said 8?

Rue: Ok. See you at home later!

This day might be redeemable, after all. Friends, alcohol, and more alcohol. Just a few more hours. Closing my eyes, I searched for a moment of Zen. I concentrated, breaking down the moment. The feel of the sun heating my skin competing with the cool breeze ruffling my ponytail. The smell of sunscreen, salt, and pheromones. The crash of the distant waves, barely audible over the ear-splitting screech only very small children are capable of making. A loud splash and the feel of water cascading over my ankles ruined the rest of my illusion. Rolling my shoulders, I opened my eyes to my headache-inducing reality.

With her hands fisted on her hips, Kendra was glaring at the boys making machine gun noises who had just made a pair of toddler princesses cry, so I tucked my phone away and slipped into the role of bad cop. I confiscated all the water guns, ignoring their protests. “I’ll take these, thank you. Next one who runs, gets it!” I threatened in a cheerful voice, keeping the biggest one in my hand. The kids looked pissed and went off to whine to their parents. Tough. The posted rules said no water guns. That meant — surprise — no water guns.

Six o’clock finally rolled around, and Kendra and I hung the
Swim At Your Own Risk
sign on the lifeguard stand and clocked out. As we walked to the employee lot, I mentioned the get together at the Wreck later, and she perked up. “The Wreck? The guys there are always a blast! I’ll see you there later.” She waved as she headed off to her champagne-colored Camry.

When I got home, Rue was already there, her hair wrapped in a towel from the shower. She was moving between the master bedroom that she occupied and the third bedroom, which basically functioned as our overflow closet. Her bedroom was on the other side of the cottage from my room and the spare bedroom, which shared a bathroom. It was a good thing we didn’t have a lot of visitors, since my bathroom was the only other one in the house except for Rue’s private one in the master suite. I kept it super clean; everything was tucked into the drawers below the sink. I didn’t like the idea of my toothbrush and other toiletries being exposed to everyone’s grimy hands.

She had three hangers of clothes in each hand and was looking at them, frowning at the colorful array of shiny, glittery, and sequined dresses. It looked like Nordstrom’s had puked an after-five rainbow in her bedroom.

“Those look pretty dressy. I thought Theo said the Wreck was laid back,” I said, wrinkling my nose at her choices.

“It is.” She pouted. “That’s the problem. I can never figure out how to get that casual look. I like dressing up. It’s not my fault I have good taste.”

I walked by her into the third bedroom and grabbed a pair of snake print shorts and tossed them to her, causing her to drop the hangers she was holding. “Find a black top and some shoes, and be done with it. Quit over thinking.” She looked at the shorts and twisted her lips in indecision before walking over to the rack of tops that were hers, organized first by color, then by sleeve length, then by fabric. She left the other clothes lying on the floor in the hall. I picked them up for her and draped them over the futon by the window. I never put them away correctly, and it made her crazy. “Whatever. Figure it out,” I said. “I’m hopping in the shower.”

I washed my hair and took the time to use an exfoliating body scrub to really get all the layers of sunscreen off my skin. It smelled like watermelon. So did my shampoo. It was knockoff store brand stuff, but whatever. It worked. My legs still felt pretty smooth from this morning, so I didn’t bother to shave again. It was only two weeks into May, but I already had a nice tan going. I smiled at my reflection as I wrapped my hair in a towel like Rue and padded to my room, letting the steam escape into the hall.

Rue plopped onto my bed, wearing the snake print shorts and a black lace strapless bra, her dark brown and pink hair now dry and hanging straight and glossy down her back. I eyed her dubiously. “I doubt it’s
that
casual, Rue.”

“Shut up.” She made a face and threw a lobster-embroidered pillow at me. My room was decorated with a nautical feel, like most of the cottage. A pale blue quilt covered my bed, punched up with brightly colored throw pillows, and a battered sea chest acted as a bench at the foot. The headboard was made of iron and painted white like the wicker dresser and nightstand, and a pair of weathered aqua oars crisscrossed over the bed. The bottom half of the walls were covered by white bead board, but the top half were painted a deep navy. Burlap curtains filtered the light coming in through the windows. The room looked like it belonged in an issue of Coastal Living magazine. I loved it.