Porter (Dick Dynasty #1) (17 page)

He let out a huff of air telling me I had struck a nerve.

I could only hope that it was better than the one we had been toying with before.

“We used to be close,” he began, “The three of us were pretty much inseparable when we were kids. It wasn’t until Preston had been in the business for about a year that we really started growing apart. At first I blamed it on our schedules—we were all so damn busy all the time.”

I knew there was more coming, but I didn’t want to push it. I let him come to it in his own time. It took him a minute, but he finally continued.

“I think I was just in denial for a while. My relationship with Preston never changed. Sure, we didn’t see each other as often as we had before, but we still talked on the phone every day. We could still get together and just drink beer and play video games on the random off-day. But Parker had all but disappeared. When we talked on the phone, it was never for more than a few minutes at a time before he had to go. The few times we hung out together in person, he was always twitchy and seemed like he was ready to bolt for the door. I finally just stopped pressing and let him do his thing. I only saw him for family holidays and big events, like Preston’s release party. That went on for almost two years.”

He still wasn’t finished. I could see that he was trying to decide if the next words out of his mouth were words he wanted to share.

“I’m prying,” I figured I’d give him an easy out, “You have every right to tell me it’s none of my business, Porter.”

He made a sound deep in his throat but didn’t actually form any words. He stared straight ahead with his brow furrowed and his eyes focused on something in the distance.

Our drive continued in silence, nothing but the sounds of traffic and the low music drifting out of the speakers broke it.

“It was the day after Preston’s release party that it all finally came to a head.” His words were sudden and surprisingly loud in the quiet space. “Parker’s coke problem had gotten out of hand long before then, but we had all just learned to deal with it. Our dad had done the same thing and it never really caused any major problems, we all just stayed out of his way and everything was fine. I realize now that I had always known what was going on with him. I just didn’t know what to do to fix it. With our dad being gone, the responsibility of making sure the family remained copacetic fell on my shoulders. When my little brother started getting coked out of his head on a regular basis, it just made me feel like a complete failure. I started to blame myself for not being a better role model. I could see him spinning out of control, but the only thing I could do was stand by and watch. It was like being in a nightmare where an axe-wielding maniac is chasing you, but all you can do is walk. You can’t scream for help, you can’t run, you can’t even close your eyes against what’s coming. When everything blew up at Preston’s party, I knew we had hit rock bottom.”

He looked over at me with hard, gleaming eyes and a clenched jaw.

“Porter,” I put my hand over his on the console, doing my best to ignore the sizzling heat that rushed through me when our skin touched, “You can’t blame yourself for that. He’s an adult. He’s going to make his own decisions whether you think they’re right or not.”

He blew out a breath and made a conscious effort to relax his jaw.

“I know that,” he spat. He drew another breath and the next words were much softer, “Everyone, including Parker, has been telling me that lately. It’s not the fact that he chose that path that bothers me, Holly. It’s the fact that I watched him do it and didn’t even
try
to stop him. I buried my head in the sand and turned a blind eye on my little brother.”

Just before the 405 merged with Interstate 5, I took the exit onto Highway 133. It would take us through the mountains and drop us right into the center of Laguna Beach. We could decide what we were going to do from there since it was only a ten minute drive to Dana Point.

As the city gave way to the softer, lush landscape of the San Joaquin Hills, Porter finally began to relax again. I turned up the music a few notches and focused on enjoying the ride. The canyon was beautiful, the sky was clear, and I was in my most prized possession with one of the sexiest men on the planet. It was definitely a moment worth savoring.

As we dropped out of the canyon it felt like the whole world opened up before us. The deep blue of the Pacific stretched to the horizon where it met with the cloudless azure sky. The sun was high overhead and the golden sandy beaches stretched north and south for miles.

By the time we hit the Pacific Coast Highway, I was itching for a day in the sun and Porter was spouting off random information about the city.

“Look!” he pointed out his window at statue of a homeless-looking guy, “That’s The Waver! I remember coming here when I was a kid and it never failed,
every
day, rain or shine, he was out standing on that corner waving and smiling at the passers-by. He died a while back and it was kind of like a piece of my childhood went with him. I was happy to see them put that statue up.”

“He just stood there and waved all day?”

“Yep,” Porter smiled over at me, his entire face radiating his happiness, “Wouldn’t that be the life? Nothing to do, no obligations, your only appointment every day being to stand on the corner and make someone else’s world a little bit brighter?”

I thought about his words for a moment, “I don’t think I could do it. I mean, in theory it’s a wonderful idea, but think of the hardships that would come along with it. Never knowing where your next meal would come from, unsure of where you’d be sleeping at night—what would you do if you got sick? I doubt he had health insurance.”

Porter’s smile never faltered, “You worry too much, Holly Nash. Park right here!”

I pulled into the stall he pointed to and we got out of the car.

The crisp smell of a coastal southern California summer hit me like a physical force. Massive gardens filled with Birds of Paradise bloomed throughout the grassy strip between the street and the sand. The wonderfully sweet scent mixed perfectly with the gentle brine of ocean air and I drew a deep breath through my nose. I closed my eyes and let it wash over me for a moment while I enjoyed the warmth of the sun beating down on me.

I opened them just in time to see Porter’s back disappear into a board shop a few doors down.

I locked the car and darted after him, not wanting to get left behind and miss the adventures.

“Thirty-two C?” he asked as I entered the shop behind him. He held up a white and red bikini and raised an eyebrow. “This would look good on you.”

If I were honest with myself, it’s probably the one I would have picked, too.

“No way,” I moved to the rack and flicked through the bathing suits until I found the one that would’ve been my second choice, “I like this one better.”

“At least I was right about your cup size.” He snatched the bikini out of my hand and headed deeper into the store. I rolled my eyes and followed him.

He was rifling through the board shorts and quickly grabbed a black pair with hot pink pin stripes, “This’ll do.”

“I like this one more,” I pouted as I reached for the rack.

When I held up the tiny pair of grape smugglers he laughed out loud. A nearby employee gave us the stink eye before she went back to folding tee shirts.

“Fine,” he took the swimsuit from me, returned the board shorts, and headed to the counter without another word.

“Porter!” I laughed, “I was just kidding! The board shorts are fine!”

“No way!” he countered, “These are the ones you picked. I’m a people pleaser, Holly. You’ll learn this about me. This little Japanese sling shot makes you happy, so it’s what you’re stuck with.”

He dropped the two suits on the counter and distractedly pulled two pair of flip-flops off the rack next to the register.

“Oh!” he snapped his fingers, “Can’t forget sunglasses!”

He chose two pair at random from a nearby stand and added them to the pile.

“Is this everything for you today?” the teenager behind the counter asked.

“We’ll need some SPF 15 as well, please,” he turned to me, “Skin care is more important than people think.”

I just smiled and shook my head. I already knew that Porter Hale was a force to be reckoned with when he set his mind to something. Nothing I could say would get him to change his mind or let me at least pay for my own bathing suit.

While he was paying for his pile of treasures, I slipped away to one of the far walls and gathered up a few of my own.

He was just taking the receipt from the cashier when I returned and dumped my armful of stuff on the counter, “Go change,” I commanded as he stood there smiling at me like a kid in a candy store.

“You’re buying us sandcastle toys and boogie boards? Holly Nash, you surprise me.” He sauntered off toward the dressing rooms and I returned my attention to the task at hand.

“Is this everything for you today?” the girl repeated robotically.

“That should be it,” I confirmed with a smile.

“Your total comes to forty-five twenty-seven.”

I handed her my AmEx.

“You were right,” Porter’s voice behind me made me jump, “I like this one better.”

I turned to face him and my eyes must’ve bugged out of my head because he bent in half laughing at me. When he came up for air, his eyes were watering and his face was red.

“Oh my God, Holly!” he said through gasps of breath, “I wish you could see your face right now!”

I knew my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. My eyes were glued to the tiny strip of cloth slung across his hips. If the thing were any smaller his balls would’ve popped out of either side. There was
nothing
left to my imagination.

“How do you not have any tan lines?”

That’s all you can come up with? Idiot.

The questions must’ve surprised him, too, because his eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline.

“You’ve got Ryder Ruff in a Speedo standing in front of you and all you can think about is tan lines? You’re gonna be a tougher nut to bust than I thought!”

I could feel the flush creeping into my face again as the thought of him busting any kind of nut overtook my imagination and went on a brief, but intense joy ride with my sensibilities.

I knew he had done it on purpose the moment he flashed me that mischievous grin I had come to both adore and loathe.

“You, sir, are an asshole.”

I turned back around and quickly scrawled my signature across the receipt on the counter. I shoved my toys into his arms and took the bag of clothes from his hand before stomping off to the dressing room to change.

I opened the bag to retrieve my beachwear and grumbled to myself when his clothes were balled up on top. I dumped the entire contents on the floor and picked up the bikini my stubborn ass had picked.

“Boxer briefs,” I noted with a grin as I removed the tags from my top, “I’m surprised he doesn’t go commando for easy access.”

I changed quickly and neatly folded my work outfit before placing it in the bag. As I bent to scoop up his clothes, an idea struck me that had a wicked grin spreading across my face.

I fished my phone out of the bag then dumped his socks, jeans, and tee shirt back into it before scooping up his underwear by the waistband. I used the front-facing camera to snap a selfie with the coveted undergarment and fired it off to Becks and Mitch with the caption, “Look what I’ve got…”

I returned my phone to the bottom of the bag and left the dressing room to rejoin Porter.

“Let’s go dump this in the car and hit the sand!”

He had picked up two beach towels while I changed and nodded his agreement, “My sandcastle is gonna kick your sandcastle’s ass.”

The jab spurred my competitive streak and I shot back, “Game on.”

We deposited our clothes and phones in the trunk of my car and headed for the beach.

It was busy, but not crowded, so we didn’t have any problems finding a spot out of the way of the volleyball games and sunbathers close to the water. He dumped our toys, towels, and sunblock unceremoniously and took off like a bullet for the water.

The spray of sand kicked up by his bare feet quickly gave way to a spray of water as he splashed through the surf. I couldn’t help but laugh as he did the surfer run through the waves, lifting his knees as high as they’d go and kicking his legs out to the side.

He dived headfirst into an oncoming wave and disappeared beneath the surface. I shook my head as I tried to stifle my giggles and turned my attention to the pile at my feet. I’m not a water person, so joining his swim was absolutely out of the question. I shook off the towels and laid them out on top of the hot sand before crawling on top of the pink one and grabbing the sun block.

I had a tan to work on while my porn star date frolicked in the ocean. If he returned with some kind of device for me to float on, I might consider joining him. Until then, it was time to get brown.

Once I was sufficiently slathered, I pressed the cheap sunglasses onto my nose and laid back to enjoy the sun, the surf, and the fact that I wasn’t stuck in my office.

I’m not sure how long it took, but I eventually drifted off to sleep.

I dreamt of Porter.