Finding Solace (52 page)

 
"Never."

 
"Then
go with that for me also. I will support you no matter what."

 
"Okay.
I will start. I promise."

 
"Good,
now I am ready for another drink!"

 
‘Luck
have
it’ the name of the boat that we wanted to go to next,
was across the water. Our row was not connected by boat at all. Do you know
what that means people?
The water, the nasty ass water.
I had been lucky enough to find boats with bathrooms on board and avoid the
water completely but my luck had run out. Ash held my hand and as we jumped, he
kind of pulled me to make sure I was going to do it. I swam faster than I ever
have in my life. If it had been declared a race from the beginning, I would
have rubbed it in Ash's face. He eventually reached the ladder and climbed
aboard. We walked hand in hand around the side and to the front where the party
was. The last thing I expected to see were my friends standing there. With all
of them accounted for, do you know what that means?
One
guess?
Heather got in the water too! The biggest
germaphobe
I know got in that nasty ass water. I had to find out how they got her to do
it. I pulled Ash with me over to them.

 
"How did
they get you to agree to come over here?"

 
"More
like, why did I dive in willingly?"

 
"Shut
up."

 
"They
were coming over here regardless and there is no way I'm letting Jason out of
my sight for the rest of his life."

 
"You’re
telling me you took on the shit water for love? That a girl!"

 
Ash started
to laugh and it was not long before Mike and Tony followed suit. Jason didn’t
even crack a smile. I glanced over to Heather and knew the reason Jason
wouldn’t laugh along instantly. I looked one more time at Jason and saw that he
was about to blow.

 
"Heather,
you have to believe me when I say I'm sorry. But I'm not going to walk around
all day looking and acting like a pussy. Get over it, please."

 
Well, at
least he said please. He was right in a way also. It wasn’t like anything
happened, Ash told me. I didn’t want to stick around to find out how this was
going to end. So I grabbed Ash and Mike and said, "Let’s do something
crazy."

 
Mike was all
over crazy behavior. So when he said, "Like what?" I was shocked.

 
"You
normally have the best ideas, what's wrong with you?"

 
"We
could go parasailing?" came from Tony as he walked up.

 
"Good
idea, Tony."

 
"You’re
not invited."

 
"What?
Why?"

 
"You
didn't include me when you and Mike
were wanting
to do
something crazy, so you’re not invited to my idea."

 
“Are we
five? Of course you are invited to anything I plan."

 
Ash walked
up behind me and wrapped me in his arms saying, "Unless it’s getting kinky
with me."

 
"Yes
Ash, unless that.”

 
"Come
on, Tony. I want to go. Wait, how are you getting there?"

 
He just
looked at me and I knew I had him.

 
"Oh,
how the mighty have fallen. Do you want to go now? We can grab everybody and
get out of here."

 
"Sounds good.”

 
Ash had
already gone to collect Mike, Jason, and Heather. I was so excited about
parasailing, not so much about having to get back in that water.

 
Bungee
jumping, putt-putt golf, go carts, we did it all. We decided to leave
parasailing and the wave runners for the next day. Every one of us was completely
exhausted by the time we got back. So, showers and sleep happened fast. The
next morning I got up before anyone else. I went to sit on the deck and checked
my Facebook page while I waited for everybody to wake up, so we could go get
breakfast. I have a love hate relationship with Facebook. Reconnecting with old
friends is great. Hearing that somebody hasn’t had a Twinkie in years, tried it
again and liked it, is what I hate about it. I was looking up one of my
favorite authors to see if the
Maddock
brothers
really are going to get their own book. Two friend requests and a message had
to be checked. I denied the requests because I never have a clue
who
half of them are. When I opened the message, I dropped
my phone. Not by accident. More like I don’t want this in my hands kind of
drop. I sat in that chair for at least ten minutes staring at it. Why now?
Eventually I reached down to pick it up. Luckily the screen had timed out. It
gave me a few more seconds to calm myself down. I did not even know he had a
Facebook page. I entered my password and opened it to confirm, Colt had
messaged me.

 
HEY THERE
BEAUTIFUL! JUST WANTED TO CHECK ON YOU AND SEE HOW YOU HAVE BEEN. I HOPE BY
LEAVING THE WAY I DID, I DIDN'T HURT YOU SO MUCH THAT SEEING THIS MESSAGE MAKES
YOU CRINGE. YOU ALWAYS DID DESERVE MORE THAN I COULD GIVE YOU.
ME
WALKING AWAY FROM YOU WAS A TESTAMENT TO THAT. I COULDN'T
STAY.
I COULDN'T NOT MOVE FORWARD.
I NEEDED TO PUT
THAT LIFE BEHIND ME AND TRY TO START OVER. STARTING OVER IN MY HEAD DIDN'T MEAN
WITHOUT YOU. I HAVE WANTED TO CALL, TEXT,
DRIVE
THERE
FOR GODS SAKE, JUST TO SEE YOU SMILE. I KNOW YOU’RE ASKING YOURSELF IN THAT
SMART ASS ATTITUDE, THEN WHY DIDN'T I? I DIDN'T BECAUSE I KNEW ABOUT ASH BEFORE
I LEFT. I KNOW YOU DESERVE SOMEONE THAT ISN'T AS FUCKED UP AS I AM. IT DOESN'T
MEAN I MISS YOU ANY LESS. I MISS OUR CUDDLE TIME AND TALKS LATE AT NIGHT. MOST
OF ALL I MISS THE SOUND OF YOUR LAUGH. I KNEW YOU NEEDED SOMEONE THAT COULD BE
THERE FOR YOU. NOT SOMEONE YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OF. DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND
THAT I HAVENT BEEN ASKING ABOUT YOU CONSTANTLY. MIKE HAS BEEN FILLING ME IN. NO
I'M NOT A STALKER.
JUST A GUY MISSING A GIRL THAT IS
IMPORTANT TO HIM.
I KNOW YOU’RE ON VACATION AND I'M SORRY IF I'M
INTERRUPTING, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD COME VISIT ME NEXT WEEKEND. IT
WOULD BE FUN. JUST PROMISE ME YOU WILL THINK ABOUT IT, OKAY? HOPE TO HEAR BACK
FROM YOU SOON.

 
COLT

 
What was
that? I know exactly what that was, I can’t kid myself. That was what I have
been waiting for. That was Colt coming back to me. I can't get ahead of myself
now, I won't. I needed to re-read the message ten times to decide how I felt
about it. So I did, ten times. He gave reasons why, which I needed. But he
never said he felt anything for me other than missing the friend that basically
just shared his bed. I know it was more than just that to me, but to him? I
doubt it. The thing that shocked me most was that he knew about Ash. At first,
I hated that he found out. After a second thought, I changed my mind. Ash was
never a secret. Never someone I felt I needed to hide. He was always the best
part of my day. If Colt knew about him and wanted me for
himself,
that
would have been all the reason he needed to act. To confess his
feelings to me and he didn’t. He ran away. Something in me wanted to respond to
him, but I wouldn’t. He deserved to suffer for a while like I did. I was still
holding my phone in my hand when I heard someone come outside.

 
"What
are you doing out here all by yourself?"

 
I turned to
see Mike taking a seat in the chair next to me.

 
"No one
was awake, and it’s just so pretty out here."

 
"I
agree on that one. Are you having fun?"

 
"I've
had a blast so far. Best road trip ever."

 
"Sadie,
I have been meaning to talk to you, but I never manage to see you alone."

 
"I
think I know what this is about."

 
"So, he
did contact you?"

 
"Yes,
late last night."

 
"Are
you okay?"

 
"I am.
Mike, I needed a lot of questions answered and he gave me those. As far as
going to visit him next weekend, there is no way."

 
"I
understand. I really do. You’re happy with Ash and he is a great guy. I just
thought you should know Colt didn't hurt you on purpose. He cares about you.
You know that, right?"

 
"I do.
But not enough.
That's what mattered."

 
"Sadie,
you didn't....."

 
"Hey
you guys, what are you doing out here?" Ash walked over and gave me a kiss
and then sat down in the chair on the other side of me. "It’s already
getting hot as piss and it’s only seven thirty in the morning. Good thing we
planned water activities today."

 
Mike looked
at me like he wished he would have had the time to finish. I was okay with
where we left off.

 
"I
can't wait to rent the wave runners. That is going to be so awesome." I
planned on racing every one of the guys and crushing them.

 
"Sadie,
you just want to race don't you? I can see it in your eyes already. Ash, do you
know you have the most competitive girl I have ever met?"

 
"Hope
you like losing, princess, because this man's taking you down."

 
The door
opened again and out walked Tony. He looked a little green.

 
"You
feeling all right there, champ?" I had to ask.

 
"Yeah,
just think I ate something bad yesterday."

 
Mike started
laughing and said, "I told you to stay away from her. She looked
nasty."

 
We all
started dying laughing. Tony walked right into that one. He did look off
though. My worst fear came to a head. His cancer can't be back, can it? God, I
hope not.

 
Tony looked
at me and as if he read my mind he said, "Sadie, stop worrying about that.
It’s just a bug or something. I will be fine."

 
"Why
wouldn't you be fine?" Jason and Heather came outside and caught the end
of the conversation.

 
"It’s
nothing, guys. I just have an upset stomach."

 
"Okay.
As long as you promise that's all it is. You better have learned from last time
how Mom and Dad get when you keep us all in the dark." Mike looked worried
now.

 
"I'm
definitely not doing that again, I promised you guys I wouldn't."

 
"Okay
everybody. If he says he's just a little sick, we need to trust him. Let’s
leave him alone now."

 
"Thank
you, Ash. See, at least somebody has my back."

 
"We all
do, Tony. But Ash wasn't there the first time around to even come close to
understanding. No offense, Ash." If Heather hadn’t added that last part I
might have gotten upset with her. It isn't his fault and he was only trying to
help.

 
"None taken.
You’re right, I wasn't."

 
"Alright
guys. Who wants to go rent some wave runners? Tony, do you think you’re up for
it?" Mike was eager to change the subject and I was grateful for it.

 
"I'm
down. Let’s go get something to eat first. It might make me feel better."

 
After we got
breakfast, we went by the same place I rented the boat from yesterday. The same
guy was there so it was easy to get all six that we wanted. No one needed
lessons this time and as soon as we were released, it was on. All six of us
were flying around each other and jumping waves that boats were creating. Mike
and Heather both fell off because they were being so reckless, but it was more
fun that way. Riding on the water, with the sun and the wind was so freeing. I
started to think about Colt again but then I would see Ash and it would all go
away. At one point I circled everyone and declared it time to start the race.
We laid down the map as far as the obstacles we had to complete before each
race was considered done. Three boat wakes, two 360's and back to the starting
point.

 
First up
were Mike and Ash. Winner holds their spot until they are beat was the rule. We
all counted down from five and then "Go!"

 
Mike went
straight for a large boat that put out waves like no other so far. He launched
in the air probably ten feet. Ash got his 360's out of the way and then went
after two boats running side by side knocking out two in one. Mike finished his
second and was spinning to get the 360's out of the way. Ash grabbed his last
boat while Mike went after his and then Ash was at the finish line. Mike came
in under a minute later.