Soaked (The Water's Edge #2) (21 page)

“What’s that noise?”

The beeping was louder now, harsh and grating. I rolled my eyes, then snagged his chin and tugged until he was looking at me again. “I don’t know. What I’m trying to say—”

“Is that yo—”

Noooooo.

My eyes flew open, my
own
hand buried in my wet panties, fingers slick with arousal.

But it was.

It was, indeed.

My fucking alarm destroyed the best dream I’d had in weeks.

I buried my head in my pillow and screamed my frustration. A pillow that smelled only of watermelon shampoo.

The clock made a satisfying crunch as it shattered in pieces against the far wall, found guilty of the crime of simply doing its job.

I TURNED INTO
the parking lot of the Wreck and checked the display on the dash of my Wrangler. Just a few minutes before three. Made it with time to spare. After setting the brake, I ran my hands over my hair. The unruly strands refused to lay sleek against my scalp no matter how many products I used, the humidity once again winning the battle of the frizz. When Hailey had texted me earlier in the day and asked me to meet her here this afternoon, promising the bar West owned with Wyatt would be empty except for a few diehard regulars, I’d been hesitant to reply at first. I didn’t want my first run-in with her brother to be in a public place if I could help it.

Hailey: He won’t be here. He’s in St. Augustine for two more days in a big tournament, if that’s what you’re worried about.

Me: That hadn’t even occurred to me.

Hailey: Suuuuuuure, it didn’t. You have no excuse. I’ll see you later today.

No doubt, she was rolling her eyes as she saw right through my feeble denial. But here I was, unsure exactly why West’s little sister had summoned me. I checked the small mirror on the visor one last time, just in case this was a trick and he really was waiting inside.

West was sneaky.

I wouldn’t put it past him to use his sister to arrange a surprise meeting. Although, his boat had been missing from the marina yesterday, lending some credence to the fishing tournament story.

I sighed, knowing the only way to discover who was waiting in the bar was to just go into the ramshackle building and find out. I’d missed the ambience of the place in the weeks I’d been gone. The casual hominess of the picnic table seating, the Coleman coolers of peanuts and the children’s sand buckets to scoop them out with, the graffiti on every flat surface, and the dollar bills covered with Sharpie-scrawled pick-up lines pinned around the bar itself. It was the type of place you could relax and just be yourself.

I tugged on my loose navy tank top and fingered the frayed edge of my cutoff shorts as I picked my way over the crushed oyster shells that covered the parking lot. Pausing outside the weathered door, I took a deep breath, well aware that my pulse had picked up its pace simply because I was at a place I associated with West.

Straightening my spine, I pulled open the heavy door and slipped inside, my eyes needing a minute to adjust to the dim interior after the harsh glare of the Lowcountry sun. Peanut shells crunched under my flip flops as I wove past the tables to the bar, where I spotted Hailey cutting up fruit behind the counter for the Wreck’s signature grog. With her sandy hair pulled back in a simple French braid and no makeup on her face to hide her freckles, she looked far too young to be manning a bar, let alone be the mother of a precocious two-year-old son.

Hailey smiled a silent greeting and pushed a cutting board, paring knife, and a bag of apples across the bar to me, making me grin as I remembered the last time we cut up fruit together, when I’d worked to pay off the shot I’d downed before realizing I didn’t have any money with me. Fishing a Granny Smith out of the bag, I began to methodically dice it, wondering what this whole meeting was about.

“How was your trip?” She shot me a huge smile as she sliced grapes in half. “I’ve missed you!”

I hesitated, hope bubbling up inside me. Was it possible she hadn’t heard of my internet porn fiasco?

“I mean . . .” She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively through the air, still holding the knife. “ . . . besides that fucked up stuff your ex did.”

I deflated. Of course, she’d heard about it.

Everyone
knew, apparently.

I opened my mouth then closed it again, unsure what to say. Certain parts of my tropical adventure didn’t need to be shared—with anyone. “The island was beautiful. I even went paddle-boarding a few times, if you can believe it. And the photos I took there were some of my best work yet, but I don’t know if any of that matters. I haven’t talked to Grady yet . . . I’m not sure if he still plans on using them. I doubt it.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“My name . . .” I scowled. “Asher did a pretty good job of screwing me over.” Hailey froze in the act of chopping, and I mentally replayed what I just said. “Oh, God. Not like that. That’s not what I meant.” I buried my face in my hands, unable to meet her eyes.

When she giggled, I peeked through my fingers at her. “Sorry. But that word choice was priceless.”

I attacked the apple in front of me a little harder than was necessary. “It’s just . . . I was starting to find myself again, ya know? And then he swooped back in and destroyed me. For a second time. Who the hell does stuff like that?”

“Assholes,” she said solemnly. “Assholes who don’t deserve to ever call themselves men.”

I nodded and we worked in silence for a few minutes, with me ignoring the questioning looks she kept shooting my way. Finally, I dropped my knife and threw my arms up in the air. “What is it? You obviously brought me here to talk about something. Let’s talk.”

Pushing her wooden cutting board aside, she leaned over the bar, resting on her elbows and propping her chin on her hands. Her face lit up with excitement, and her eyes shone with unbridled curiosity. “Is it true? Did West really show up and kick that guy’s ass? I know he went up there, but he won’t talk about what happened. At least, not with me.”

My jaw fell open in shock. “
That’s
what you want to talk about?”

“One of the things.” She shrugged, looking sheepish. “I’m just trying to picture West riding up there to rescue you, all knight-in-shining-armor style.”

I narrowed my eyes. “While I’m not denying that he did give that piece of scum the beat down he deserved, let the record show that I had the situation firmly under control before he arrived.”

Hailey dropped her arms to the bar and her eyes widened. “
You
were kicking his ass?”

I tipped my head to one side then the other, then smiled with satisfaction at the memory. “Even better. I had him arrested. Let’s just say I wanted to give him the gift that would keep on giving, the same way he did to me with those videos.”

She stared at me, frozen as she absorbed my words. “I think you’re my hero,” she finally managed.

I threw back my head and laughed, a loud, genuine belly laugh. “That’s a girl’s secret weapon—the one men never seem to expect. Revenge.”

With the ice broken between us, I turned the conversation back in her direction, and she caught me up on the antics of Cody. Ever since I’d pulled him from the bottom of her grandma’s pool earlier in the summer, I’d felt a bond with the adorable red-headed two-year-old. Hailey had me in stitches over an incident where he wanted to help feed his Jack Russell, Edison, and kept refilling the bowl every time the dog emptied it. Only, Cody was feeding the dog Froot Loops. By the time Hailey discovered what had happened, the box was empty . . . and Edison puked all afternoon. Which she also didn’t realize until she found Cody covered in dog vomit. Rainbow-colored dog vomit.

She glared at me as I covered my mouth to hide my mirth. “I have a childproof cover over the pantry door handle now.”

A tear slipped down my cheek and I hopped up from the barstool. “Oh God, I gotta pee. I’ll be right back.”

I hurried past picnic tables and dodged my way around the games on the side, air hockey, foosball, and pool tables. Three guys were shooting pool and gave me a passing glance as I rushed by. I pushed open the door marked Ladies and slid into the first stall, barely making it in time before my bladder released. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the walls in confusion.

Last time I’d been in here, scrawled messages—declarations of love, snarky comments about unfaithful guys, and, most memorably, a life-sized drawing of West’s erection—had covered the painted walls. But now, they were blank. Just a fresh coat of warm turquoise paint.

Finishing my business, I ducked my head into the other empty stalls.

No writing. Anywhere.

I washed my hands, mulling it over. I wasn’t exactly heartbroken to have all the scribblings of the West Montgomery Fan Club gone. It’d always made me uneasy to see how many girls lusted over West—or claimed to know him intimately.

Pensive, I paid more attention as I returned to the bar. The graffiti out here still covered the walls, but all the picnic tables had a new coat of whitewash. The old markings still showed through, they were just faded now. Newer doodles darkened the surfaces here and there, but it had all been toned down a notch while still maintaining the same casual, lived-in atmosphere.

Hailey eyes sparkled as she watched me look around, a knowing smirk pulling on her lips. “You finally noticed, huh?”

I scrunched my eyebrows together. “West and Wyatt made some changes?”

She paused a beat, watching me. “West did. Wyatt went along with it.”

“But . . . why?”

She raised her eyebrows at me pointedly and plucked another strawberry from the pile to slice. When the silence stretched, she sighed, putting the knife down on the cutting board. “You,” she said simply.

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s—” She waved her hand toward the bar. “—a sign. He wanted the crap all those chicks throw his way gone. But more than that, he wanted to show he wasn’t available. Maybe they got the message, maybe they didn’t. But, mostly, he did it out of respect for you. To show you he was serious.”

Unable to meet her intent gaze, I carefully sliced the rest of the apple into precise, equal pieces.

I’ve tried to show you.
West’s words echoed in my mind.

“Did he tell you that?” I didn’t look at her as I asked the question. My focus stayed on my task, as if her answer didn’t matter.

As if my heart wasn’t slamming against the cage of my ribs, threatening to escape.

When she didn’t answer, I finally stole a quick glance at her. She was smiling softly at me.

“He didn’t have to.”

Hot tears burned the back of my eyes, and I bit my lip.

“Have you talked to him yet?” She pitched her voice low, hesitant with her question.

I shook my head, and swallowed the lump in my throat. I hadn’t expected this. It was just paint, but it felt so much bigger.

The wisest person I know, my sister, told me actions speak louder than words.

“Did you tell him to do it? Was this remodeling your idea?”

“No, Sadie. This was all West. I might have suggested that he needed to up his game where you’re concerned, but that’s it.”

I nodded, relieved, and slid the apple chunks over to her. Without a word, she handed me four mangoes. We worked in silence for long minutes, the only sounds the clink of the pool balls and the steady
thwap
of our knives on the cutting boards. She was waiting me out, letting me turn all this new information over.

“You knew,” I said. Two of the mangoes were done and I was halfway through the third. “You knew and that’s why you wanted me to meet you here today. So I’d see this.”

She looked offended. “Can’t a girl just miss her friend? And want some help chopping up all this damn fruit? You did such a good job with it last time, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

I snorted. “Riiiiiight.”

Her face twisted as she worked to hide her smirk, until she lost the battle and it broke free. “Maybe I just thought you needed a little nudge.”

“Real subtle, Hailey.”

She shrugged, unconcerned. “If you guys would just open your eyes and see what the rest of us do when you look at each other, I wouldn’t have to scheme. It’s so damn obvious.”

“It’s just . . . it’s just not always that simple.” I sighed, frustrated. “And I haven’t even been able to find your brother to talk to him.”

She made a face at me. “You lose your phone again?”

“No, I didn’t
lose my phone again,
” I mocked her, my aggravation making my voice rise a little at the end. “But some conversations deserve more than a just a phone call.”

She dipped her head in reluctant agreement. “He’ll be back in town Saturday night, the same night as the gala.” She looked at me meaningfully, as if daring me to come up with another excuse. “You are still going to the gala, aren’t you? I already told Cody you’d be there. He’s excited to see you again. Grandma is too.”

My heart melted a little at the thought of seeing Cody again. And her grandmother was pure gold. A true Southern lady, proper when necessary, steely when needed, and blinded by love when it came to her own family. I adored her too.