Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) (6 page)

Near the end, she crashed into the water,
tumbled a second, and then came up sputtering. Sean was there to
help her up.

“Nice work, Marshall! You look great out
there!” Sean said, light infusing his eyes.

Krista smiled like a kid that got a gold
star. It meant a lot coming from him. He patted her on the back
like they were buds, and he headed back out to the water. With a
groan, Krista followed.

For the next couple of hours, they didn’t get
to talking again. Sean was a machine once he got going. He paddled
out, caught a wave, rode it, then paddled out again. Krista could
see where all his arm strength came from.

In contrast, she paddled out, sat on her
board for a while to catch her breath, caught a wave and fell as
many times as she made it, sat on the beach for a second, then
started paddling again. Toward the end, her arms were rubber and
she was exhausted. She got out beyond the waves, sat on her board,
and decided to give up.

Sean caught up with her—not that it was
hard—saw her immobility, and sat up on his board as well.

“What’s up?” he asked, not even winded.

“I’m tired. I give up.”

“You going to surrender to the sharks?”

“Yes, if they’ll have me.”

Sean smirked and looked around. The sun was
well up and more people lined the beach. It was still an ugly, cold
day. Krista missed the sparkle off the waves on the clear mornings
in L.A. It was the one part of her new life, besides her job, that
she loved. Except for the new life part, Krista said as much.

“You planning on staying down there?” Sean
asked evenly.

Krista shrugged, wanting to lay down. “I
guess. I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“How about your family?”

“They’re in Seattle. Seattle is a no fly
zone. So…”

“Have you heard from Jim at all?”

“About a year back he messaged me via
Twitter; I hadn’t closed the account with the old name. He sent
threatening messages every day until I closed the account—all
networking accounts, actually. He even got on LinkedIn. He’s
apparently visited my parents and a few of my college friends in
Seattle, and I heard he tried to find me in San Francisco, twice.
But after that he disappeared—my sister said she heard that he got
caught for stealing and went back to jail. That infraction is
strike three, so...”

Sean nodded.

“Hey,” Krista said louder than she intended.
“You’re selling your house?”

Sean looked out over the waves. “I am, yes.
Probably. I’m still not sure. I have a job offer.”

“Oh, wow. Doing what?”

“Well, it is still being determined,
actually. But hopefully I will have control of a region.”

“Sales?”

“Actually, I hope to get out of sales. But it
is all up for debate right now. The money is good. And the new
responsibility seems more up my alley. I will have more resources.
It’s the job offer I’ve been working toward.”

Suddenly Krista felt left behind. He was a
rising star, as always, and she was still earth bound. He had all
these prospects and a glamorous life, whereas she was alone in her
small two bedroom.

“That’s really great, Sean. I’m happy for
you. Are you moving locations?”

“I might be, yes. But again, it’s all up in
the air right now.”

“You won’t be as close to this frigid water.
What will become of you?”

“I’ll have to find a group of hippies to
include me in their drum circle.”

“Where are you moving?”

“That is also up for debate. Everything is in
the air right now.”

In other words, mind your own business,
Krista. This doesn’t concern you.

“Well, I’m going to head in.”

Sean was looking at her. It seemed like he
expected something from her. Either that or he was debating whether
to say something else. All she knew was that her heart hurt. She
needed a good cry and a dark room. Also a hot tub. She was
freezing!

Without saying anything else, and not wanting
to cry over him in front of him, she started paddling. She heard
her name, but it was too late, she was already reaching for the
next wave.

On the beach, she crawled up a ways, threw
her board down, and laid in the sand until Sean came in. He crashed
and burned on the wave he rode after Krista’s, so he wanted one
more wave. His belief was that he had to end each surf day on a
high note. It set up the day with positive energy, or some such
nonsense. All Krista knew was, she was not moving a muscle unless
it was to head back.

Finally, Sean called for her to get her lazy
ass up. She complied, but slowly. Stuff hurt.

Sean paused next to her. “You okay?”

“No. I am not a fan of this cursed beach. Not
only is it way too much work for a little enjoyment, but it is too
damn cold!”

“Does that mean you’re done surfing out
here?”

“Oh no. This beach isn’t going to beat me.
But I’m going to hate every minute of it.”

“Atta girl. Wanna do our routine?”

Krista got a jolt of pleasure that quickly
died as her body screamed. “No way. I want to go back to the hotel
and get in the Jacuzzi.”

“Hmmm.” Sean sounded like that idea was a big
ice cream sundae. Krista’s body jolted again, but he didn’t say
anything more.

At his house, he hosed Krista off and then
himself. Krista started to take off her wetsuit but got frustrated
almost immediately. It was wet, tight, clingy, and she was
freezing
. She put her arms out and said, “Help.”

Sean had his wetsuit half way off already. He
saw her position and smiled. “Yes ma’am. Give me a minute.”

He disappeared into his garage and came out
in his shorts. His body was slick and cut. A thousand memories went
through Krista’s head of the times she felt him and laid her body
on him. The pain shocked through her. She closed her eyes against
it, trying to block out the sight of him.

As the back of the suit was opened, Sean
hesitated. “Krista, I don’t think I can do this. I’ll get
Cassie.”

“Wait, what? Why? What happened?”

“I don’t know if your bathing suit survived
intact.”

“Oh. Can you just get me started and I’ll do
damage control?”

“I…” Krista heard a sigh somewhere behind
her. “Okay.”

The zipper was brought down the rest of the
way. She felt his fingers skim her bare skin, relishing the
feeling.

“Let’s go into the…house so you don’t flash
the whole neighborhood,” Sean said quietly.

Krista’s feet were burning they were so cold.
She wanted to be warm immediately. Surfing at that damn beach was
for ninjas only!

They made it into the surf room, which was
sandy and had drops of water from Sean’s change a minute ago. Once
again, Sean started to take off the suit, little by little, trying
not to touch her skin—trying to keep everything civilized and under
control.

He circled her, his face wary, probably
wishing the room was slightly bigger, and stood face-to-face with
her. He pulled down the top slowly, getting both arms out, inching
it down to her waist. In a daze, Krista saw his eyes feast on her
bare chest, hunger flashing. A hand came up, slowly, not under his
control, reaching for a breast. Krista’s nipples, already
constricted, tingled in anticipation, her body refusing to move to
stop him.

Suddenly he jerked, blinked, and ripped his
hand back down. “Damage control, Krista. Put your top on. Or
a
top on.” His voice was hoarse.

With a desire for which she couldn’t remember
its equal, she wanted the feel of him, skin on skin; wrapped up in
his body. She closed her eyes. A large part of her didn’t want to
do that to Chet. It was sleazy and not fair—something she abhorred
in others. Jim had cheated on her constantly, and she remembered
the pain of that. She did not want to do that to another. But
another part, one that worried her excessively, was more concerned
about not scaring Sean away. That part realized he was trying to do
the right thing, and policing himself when it should be her
policing him.

That part of her terrified her—because of the
woman she might nearly slip into being, and for how ardently she
wanted Sean, after all this time, from a place in her heart and
soul that she’d never accessed with Chet, or anyone else.

A doomsday cloud hanging over her head,
Krista fished in her wetsuit for her bikini top and hastily tied it
on. Everything covered up, she said, “Kay.”

Sean glanced back down, and kept going. Until
it turned out her bottoms went down with the ship.

“Nope,” Sean said tightly. He stood up and
walked out of the room.

Krista stood blinking and cold as he walked
away. She should be embarrassed. Normal people would be humiliated.
Instead, she was sad. The Sean she used to know wouldn’t have run
away. He would have made a funny quip, sneaked a peak, and let her
fix it. Then he would have finished up.

Krista fished out her bottoms and started to
wrestle the pants down. Cassie came in, saw her, and started
laughing. “Scared away the womanizer with some woman flesh,
huh?”

“It’s not like he hasn’t seen it before.”

“Yeah. He’s a bit squeamish in his old age.
Don’t let that put you off. Here—“ Cassie bent down and helped her
get the bottoms off. “The trick is patience. Yanking and pulling
just gets you aggravated. So anyway, where do you want to go
shopping?”

Krista’s teeth were chattering. “Cassie, I
love you, but I am freezing. Out of the way.”

Krista pushed past a laughing Cassie and ran
for her sweatshirt. Sean glanced up as she came into the living
room, and then headed for the kitchen.

“I made breakfast,” Cassie declared, coming
in behind her. “Cheerios or Corn Flakes?”

“I’m going to get going. Cassie, where can I
meet you?”

“Oh. Are you sure? Don’t worry about Sean—he
just has a million work things going on all the time. He’s no fun
anymore.”

“I can sympathize,” Krista said, thankful
that Cassie was trying to ease the blow. “But I want to shower and
check in with Tory before I run off to have fun.”

“You suck. Okay, let’s meet downtown. I’ll
call you.” They walked past the kitchen. Cassie pushed Sean out of
the way so she could get to the fridge.

“Sean, I’ll be back here tomorrow morning. Do
you want to surf with me?” Krista asked in a friendly tone as she
gathered her stuff.

Sean leaned against the counter and looked at
her with hostile eyes. “I can’t tomorrow. Sorry.”

Krista froze for a beat as she was picking up
her bag. She recovered quickly, hiding the sting behind a smile.
She shrugged, acting completely unconcerned. “No problem. Alright,
Cass, see you later.”

Krista didn’t hear Cassie’s response. She
walked out of the door as the tears came. She didn’t know Sean
anymore. He wasn’t the same man she’d left. He didn’t love the
world around him like he used to. He didn’t find humor in the
little things, or treat the world like a stage. It was like he just
dealt
with life now. He’d lost his spark. At least with
her.

~*~*~*~

Cassie waited for the door to close, then she
waited to get herself under control. Sean sank onto a barstool at
the counter in the kitchen, his shoulders hunched.

“So…you totally fucked that up,” Cassie said
as calmly as she could manage.

“Language,” Sean said without looking up.

“Are you
blind
Sean? She still likes
you! It’s
obvious!”

“As friends, Cass.”

“Sean…” Cassie gripped the counter to prevent
herself from saying something ugly. When she was mostly under
control again, she said, “I feel like I am in the middle of a
divorce.
Again
. Only this time I
want
the parents to
stay together, Sean. But Krista probably thinks I am trying to let
her down easy from you being a pile of shit to her! She probably
thinks…”

Sean stood up, anger flashing. His whole body
was taut, trying to keep the anger in check. Cassie, very rarely
ever seeing Sean angry around her, and only probably twice in her
life seeing him angry
at
her, fell silent.

“Cassie,” Sean said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t bring Krista up to me again. Is that clear? She has moved
on. She has found someone else. She has found a man that treats her
well and takes care of her. Let her be happy, and leave me alone.
If you are so desperate to match-make, work on your own life, and
leave mine alone.”

“But what if she were single?” Cassie asked
quickly, not wanting to see Sean mad, but less desirous to see him
in pain, which is what she’d been witnessing since Krista left the
first time.

Sean stopped on his way to his room, his back
still turned toward his sister. “If she was single—”

“
Is
single, I meant. If she dumps her
man.”

Sean turned to look at Cassie. “What, by
phone in the next couple days?
Right
.”

“Just—what if she sees you, decides she still
likes you, goes back, sees her man, realizes he’s not all that,
and—”

Sean turned and started to walk away
again.

“Sean!” Cassie yelled. “If she dumps her man,
will you try for her?”

Sean stopped again. Just to get his sister
off his back he said, “Sure, Cass. If she suddenly decides that the
man she has been with for the last year doesn’t live up to my
broken down, problem-riddled, high-maintenance, pathetic excuse of
a life, then yes, I will ask her out. Happy?”

“Yes,” Cassie exhaled. As Sean turned the
corner she yelled, “I will hold you to it!”

Chapter Five

Cassie and Krista did some shopping in the
late afternoon. They both bought way too much. Everything seemed to
fit and look great, though, so it was almost painful to put it
back. Cassie reasoned that Krista was so busy she never got to
spend her salary. Krista in turn reasoned that Cassie needed to
stop looking so frumpy. It obviously didn’t take much convincing
for either of them.