Whirlwind (34 page)

Linda nudged me, breaking me out of my stupor. “Remember Mike’s black eye? Dave gave it to him after getting punched in the jaw. They both had big plans for you. Chase and Mitch had a heck of a time breaking up the fight.”

Plans? For me?
“No one ever said anything to me—before or after that. I really had no idea,” I said. The breeze came up and blew my hair across my face. I caught it and tucked it behind my ear.

Linda chuckled. “Like I said, you need to give yourself more credit. What I really don’t understand is why you never asked any of
them
out. Any of those guys would be a great catch.” She turned back toward the ocean and let some of her water splash across her neck.

“I hate to burst your bubble, but I did ask one out. He turned me down,” I said, enjoying the gape I got in return.

She recovered quickly and shook her head, brushing off my statement as impossible. “You got turned down? I don’t believe it. Who’d you ask out?”

“Mitch,” I said, realizing too late I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

“
He
turned you down?” Her eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. “When was this?”

“Oh, I don’t know…a couple years ago maybe? At Wednesday coffee.”

Every Wednesday morning during rodeo season, the team met at Starbucks for morning coffee and to shoot the bull, so to speak. As an unofficial member, I was invited. Some days the guys filled the shop, other times only a couple showed up. Only once had Mitch and I been the only two there—our one and only “date.”

Somehow we’d gotten onto the topic of my love life, and why I didn’t have a boyfriend. “Why don’t you ask more guys out?” Mitch had asked.

“Like I need more rejection in my life,” I’d snapped back.

“Mel, you shouldn’t quit before you try. Lots of guys would jump at the chance to go out with you.”

“Right.” I took a sip of coffee while he huffed. There was only one guy I’d ever thought about asking out, and he was sitting in front of me. “Fine. How about you, then? There’s a new Bond movie out. We could catch the nine o’clock.”

The words were hardly out of my mouth before I regretted saying them. He froze, and I tried to play off my request as a joke. “Or maybe we could catch the matinee on Saturday, if it’s past your bedtime.”

The shock on his face dissolved into an apologetic frown, and I knew what was coming.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he started, sliding his coffee cup between us, “But…”

Did you really think he’d say yes?
I stared at the table, wounded, embarrassed, and sure I’d just ruined our friendship. “I understand. I’m sorry I—”

That’s when Mitch had put a rough finger under my chin and forced me to look at him. “No, Melissa, don’t be sorry. It’s just that you’re more like my little sister. I couldn’t. But you’ll find the right guy eventually.” He’d then slid his boot out from under the table and wiggled it. “And he won’t be wearing shit kickers, either.”

“Besides,” I said, running my finger in the sand and avoiding Linda’s stare, “he’d already seen the movie. It wasn’t a big deal.” I wasn’t about to let Linda—or Mitch, for that matter—know exactly how much his rejection had hurt.

“He said he thought of you as his little sister?” Linda asked.

“Yup.”

“Maybe you will be, someday,” she quipped, earning a swat on the leg. “So back to Jason—how do you feel about him exactly?”

The water bottle in my hands was now covered in condensation, and I collected the droplets with my finger. “I don’t know. Physically, he’s…fantastic. And I wish I could describe how I feel when I’m with him…it’s not like anything I’ve ever experienced with a man before. I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not. He seems to accept everything about me, no matter how bizarre. It’s very…refreshing.”

A huge grin stretched across Linda’s face. “There’s a name for that feeling, you know.”

The smile I discovered on my own lips vanished and became a scowl. “Names don’t mean anything. He leaves Friday, and I won’t ever see him again.” The crushing emptiness returned, and I struggled for a breath.

“
Hmph
. You can try to deny it, Melissa, but it’s written all over your face. You’re in love.” She held her hand up, refusing to hear any more argument from me. “And the way Jason looks at you, I’m pretty sure he feels the same way. Aren’t you even going to
try
to hang on to that?” she scolded.

“In love? After three days?” I snorted.
Is it that obvious?

“Why not? It didn’t take much longer than that for me and Chase. ’Course we didn’t jump into the sack hours after we first met,” she teased.

“Your loss,” I said, gloating.

She giggled. “I still have trouble believing you did that. Just another piece of evidence that points to Jason being someone very special. You’d better not let him walk out of your life.”

Reality slapped me across the face yet again. “I don’t have a choice. His life is halfway across the country, and mine is here. All we have is today.”

“I’m guessing Jason won’t let you go that easily,” she said in her annoying know-it-all tone.

I tried to brush her comment away with a sweep of my hand, but one phrase wouldn’t leave me.
You’re in love.
I knew she was right, but it didn’t matter. Friday was only three days away.

I decided it was time to change the subject. “So, Linda, now that you’ve got the ring, when’s the wedding?” I asked.

She sighed and admired her new piece of jewelry. “Not soon enough. That’s for sure. It’ll be next summer, after we both graduate.”

“Have you decided where you’re going to get married?” Linda’s mom lived in
Fremont
, not far from my mom, but her dad lived in
Texas
.

“Actually, we were thinking about
Hawaii
. Just a small ceremony with close friends and family on the beach at sunset,” she said, almost like she was asking my permission.

“That sounds beautiful, Linda.”

“Would you come if we did that?” She looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Of course.” By then I’d have the money from my internship to cover the cost. I wondered if she’d invite Jason.
Don’t be ridiculous
.

Linda bounced in her seat. “That’s great, Melissa. It wouldn’t be any fun getting married if my maid of honor couldn’t be there.”

“Me? You want me to be your maid of honor? What about Beth or—”

She cut me off with a wave. “No, I want you. You’ve always been there for me, like a…
sister
,” she giggled. “Will you? Please?” A preschooler couldn’t
beg
any more effectively.

“Wow, Linda. I’m just so surprised. Thank you! I’d be happy to do it.” I gave her hand a squeeze. “What is it I have to do exactly?” I asked timidly.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be easy. I’m so happy you’ll be there!” Her eyes lit up. “Then you can catch my bouquet, and we can start planning
your
wedding,” she chirped.

Before I could argue, Jason and Chase emerged from the crowd at the water’s edge, grinning from ear to ear.

“That was great,” Jason said. Breathing heavily, he stood his board up in the sand and unzipped his wetsuit.

“Catch any big ones?” I asked. He peeled the neoprene down to his waist, exposing his fantastic chest. At the sight of his wet, bare
pecs
I stopped listening, instead wondering what he did to stay in shape. My eyes wandered over his rippled six-pack…
hundreds of crunches?
The fantasy improved as my gaze rested on his broad shoulders and well-defined deltoids.
Oh, he could be a swimmer.
I imagined Jason in a tight, tiny Speedo, racing toward me, muscles bunching and straining, water dripping…

“Well, Melissa?” Jason asked, leaning down so all I could see were his eyes. Tiny laugh lines creased their corners, and I knew I’d been caught.

“What? Here,” I said, flustered. I tossed him a towel, and he snorted.

“Thanks, but Chase asked if you wanted a hot dog. We’re going up to the car to change and get some lunch.” He slowly dragged the towel across his chest, his lips curving into an uneven smile that told me he knew precisely why I hadn’t heard the question.

Blushing, I shrugged. I might be guilty, but he
was
magnificent. “Sure. Hurry back.”

He bent down and kissed me with cold, salty lips before picking up his board and following Chase.

“Yup, you two are in love,” Linda teased when the guys were out of earshot.

I sighed. I knew there was no point in arguing with her anymore. Loving Jason didn’t change anything; I knew that too.

The guys weren’t gone long. When they returned, they were wearing long, baggy swimming trunks and sunglasses. In their hands were boxes of hot dogs and French fries. Jason’s shirt dangled from his back pocket, so I happily continued my ogling as we ate.

The afternoon progressed slowly, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The weather stayed warm, but occasionally a cool wind blew in from the ocean—a reminder the fog was never too far way. For most of the afternoon we continued our lazy lounging in the sun, enjoying the freedom summer brought. Linda and Chase accepted Jason without question; it was as if he’d been a part of the group all along. Linda still looked at me curiously every once in a while, giving me a knowing smile when I caught her. I rolled my eyes or stuck my tongue out in response, repeating what had become an annoying tune in my head.
Friday. It all ends Friday.

Our fun ended just before sunset when Jason received a call from Detective Clark. He listened intently, saying very little, and thanked the detective before hanging up. While he was on the phone, I brought Linda and Chase up to speed on the Ron situation and what had happened this morning.

“He was at your mom’s house?” Chase asked, stunned.

I nodded. The fear this morning’s call had triggered tried to make a comeback, but a reassuring hug from Linda helped keep it bottled. “That’s probably the police telling us they’ve caught him,” she said.

“That’d be great.” My hopes were short lived once I saw Jason’s ashen face.

He closed his phone slowly. “The police have identified the prints on your driver’s license. They belong to Ronald Hancock, an auto mechanic from
San Fernando
. They confirmed it was his car spotted in front of your mom’s house this morning, Melissa, but it was last seen headed north, toward
San Francisco
.”

“What else?” I asked. Nothing Jason had said explained his pale features.

“They’ve connected him to another murder—a month ago, not far from where he works. A teenager.”

Jason looked at me and swallowed, like he was about to be sick. “He did the same disgusting things to her as he did to his other victims…including the wedding hostess.”