Sweet Alibi (2 page)

“Actually,” I could hear the smile in Drew’s voice, “I’m seeing someone.”

“More than once?” I coughed on my drink.

“Yes, more than once. We’re pretty serious. And he’s amazing in bed.” She sighed wistfully.

“How long have you been sleeping with him?” I asked, rolling my eyes. Drew was famous for her unapologetic one-night stands.

“A few weeks.”

“Met him at the bar?”

“No,” Drew deadpanned. “He came into the office; he had a meeting with Dad. He’s sexy, Georgia, like
really
sexy. Big and tall and cut, and you should see how big
―
”

“Great, thanks. He sounds great.” I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “Back to the subject… Will you come? You, me, Silas. We’ll soak up the sun on the beach all summer.” 

I heard an audible exhale on the line.

“It won’t be complete without you.” I softened my voice.

“Well, there’s a bit of a minor detail I failed to mention…”

“What?” I asked.

“Gavin, he’s
―
”

“Who?” I scrunched my nose.

“The guy I’m seeing,” she said.

“Oh, right. Tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Right. So, Gavin is having a house built this summer and is a bit homeless right now until it’s finished, so…he’s been staying with me,” she said the last part in a rush.

“You’re living with him?!” 

“I couldn’t just leave him out in the cold,” she defended.

“Right, and I’m sure the fact that he has a big d
―
”

“It doesn’t hurt…unless I want it to…” she cracked.

“How old is he, Drew?” She had been known to date men far out of her age bracket and I wanted clarification before we went any further.

“Same as us
―
twenty-seven.”

“Surprise of surprises,” I mumbled.

“What?” Her irritated tone made it clear she’d heard me just fine.

“Nothing. So, you want Gavin to come too? Doesn’t he work?”

“From home. He’s an entrepreneur.”

“Aren’t they all?” I grunted.

“No, really. He does well with it if the house he’s building is any indication.”

“Ok, great. So Gavin can come too. I’ll put you in the room farthest from mine so I don’t have to hear your love romps all summer.”

“I don’t know about love romps, but the man can fuck like a
―
”

“Uh-huh. Great, Drew, thanks. It’s going to be a great summer, I can see it now.” My words dripped with sarcasm.

“It will. I’ll call you once I make some arrangements. When do you want me there?”

I hesitated before admitting, “Tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow?”

“I signed the papers today, got the key, and I’m headed there now. I’m a few hours away. Silas is meeting me there. Just come whenever you can.”

“Okay, G. I’ll call you later and let you know.”

“Great. I gotta go; I want to make it there before dark.” I looked at the sky and noticed how late it was getting.

“Okay.” Drew paused for a moment. “Are you okay, G? Really?” A few silent beats of my heart echoed in my ears.

“Yeah.”  A frown whispered around my lips.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I'm sure.” My cheeks lifted in a slow smile. 

“Okay. Can’t wait to see you,” her melodic voice soothed my anxiety.

“Me too.”

“I’ll call you.”

“Bye.” I pushed
end call
on my phone and stared at it for a few moments as I stood in the coffee shop’s parking lot. I knew I should call Kyle too, but he was not on my list of favorites right now.

A part of me felt guilty for making this monumental decision without him, but I’d been suffocating in D.C., so I couldn’t allow myself to have regrets. By the time I’d loaded the last box in the car, Kyle's anger about my spontaneous beach house purchase had cooled to a slow simmer. He’d kissed me and said he would visit when he could. I’d nodded with a smile. 

A piece of me held onto the hope that we'd get through this summer and be stronger than ever. We could buy a house in the 'burbs and live the dream we’d conjured when we were fifteen. Hopes were high. But just like a balloon pushed past its breaking point, hope is fragile. One lungful of air too many and the balloon bursts leaving ugly, shriveled fragments behind, impossible to piece back together. 

I hovered over Kyle's name on my contacts list and paused. The man I loved. The man who had always been there through thick and thin. The man I was leaving for the summer. It would be the first time we would be apart for such a long time but the thrill of following my dreams eclipsed any sadness I had.

 I exited the list and tossed my phone on the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel. 

These last few years I’d been the effect to Kyle’s cause, but this, this would be for me. 

* * *

“TOOK YOU LONG enough. How many potty breaks did you take?” My charming best friend leaned against his car door with a grin. He looked like a natural on the beach with flip-flops, cargos, and a bright green polo shirt. His bronzed skin and perfectly styled, sandy blond hair a clear indication that he took care to look good.

I took a few steps toward him and stopped, gazing up at the sprawling beach house. My eyes locked on the white shutters, the multiple decks, the wooden staircases, and weathered shingles
―
it took my breath away all over again. I closed my eyes and inhaled the salty sea breeze caressing my face and whirling my dark hair. The call of gulls that swooped overhead, a far cry from the sounds of the city that I’d just left.

“Earth to Georgia,” Silas called, throwing an empty Styrofoam coffee cup at my head.

“I stopped for coffee a while ago and called Drew.”

“How’s that hussy doing?” Silas mumbled as he pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat of his car.

“You can ask her tomorrow,” I grinned.

“What? Fuck!” Silas swore as he knocked his head on the doorframe of his car. I hadn’t told him that I was going to invite Drew.

“She’s bringing her new man candy.”

“Of course she is.” 

I laughed and faked a punch on his bicep before heading back to my car and getting my own bag. “Ready, sport?”

“Enough with the macho names,” he grumbled, in a sour mood no doubt because Drew would be up in his business for the rest of the summer.

“Fine, cupcake. Let’s go in,” I teased as he followed me up the first set of steps to the front door.

The beach house was built on wood pilings that elevated the first floor nearly twenty feet above the sand. The ground level on the beach was semi-enclosed and served as storage space. The house was less than a hundred yards off the water and surrounded by rolling dunes and swaying grass. When the realtor walked us through the house, she assured us that the water rarely made it up this far on the beach, but the house would be protected if it did. Hurricanes were another issue entirely and she’d suggested I have a hurricane safety inspection done to make sure the house could withstand hurricane-force winds. 

I unlocked the front door and we stepped into an open space that featured a spacious living room with French doors that looked out over another grand deck and the ocean. Water and waves dominated my vision. To the left was a large kitchen and to the right were the guest bath and a hallway leading to two bedrooms. Beyond the kitchen, another hallway led to three bedrooms and the stairway to the second floor. Each first-floor bedroom had an en suite bathroom, which made arrangements for this summer much more comfortable. Drew and I were certainly capable of logging time in the bathroom, but Silas was on a whole other level
―
he could spend hours in front of a mirror spiking his hair with half a dozen different products.

A large island divided the kitchen and living room, and the house was completely white walls and worn wood floors. The realtor had suggested I refinish the floors, but I adored their charm. Whoever had designed the house was inspired by the simple beauty of the beach. I had fallen in love at first sight.

Walking across the room, I threw open the French doors and felt the warm wind wash over my skin. I wanted these doors open the entire summer to let the ocean breeze waft in and keep the dust bunnies and stale air at bay. 

“I’m going to throw this stuff in my room.” Silas headed down a hallway.

“The corner room is mine, Silas,” I called after him. He shot me a dirty look. It was the largest room on this floor with the best views. “Advantage of being the owner,” I grinned. 

The house had two floors, but the three bedrooms on the second floor were in rough shape and I’d need to call a carpenter in to replace flooring and update the plumbing.

While the bedrooms on the main floor were livable, they could use a fresh coat of paint and some modern updates, just one of the summer jobs I’d roped Drew into helping me with. While Silas said he would help, I knew his version of help was more like overseeing while sipping a drink with a little umbrella in his hand. He was good for opinions though–he had plenty of those.

I continued to walk around the living room, opening all the windows before lifting the sheet off the ratty, old couch. There was some wicker furniture tucked in a corner that was in need of a paint job, but I liked it and planned on leaving it.

“I’m starving. Let’s order something.” Silas ambled back into the kitchen. “Stop working, we just got here.” 

“That’s why we’re here, Silas. Let’s get our stuff hauled in and then we’ll talk dinner.”

“Fine, Mom.” Silas always complained that I was too responsible, but on the flip side he was entirely too irresponsible, making us a perfect fit.

Later that night we sat on the couch eating pizza and drinking beer.

“I’m dying without TV, love.” Silas took another slice out of the box between us. I smiled at his pet name for me. He’d begun to call me that shortly after we met our freshmen year at Duke. I’d assumed he called everyone that, but I soon found out I was the only one who’d earned that affectionate epithet. It made me feel safe and protected, loved. Silas soon after became a part of me. He was there whenever the pain became too much to bear, listened with open ears, sat with me quietly when I needed silence, and started calling me “love,” something that had helped warm my frozen heart.

“I’ll work on it tomorrow, but you should know that I believe you have an entertainment addiction.” I crooked a grin at him.

“I fully admit to that. If there were a twelve-step program I’d be there.”

“I bet.” I rolled my eyes. “You okay with Drew being here this summer?”

“Do I have a choice?” He scowled through a bite of pizza.

“No. Maybe you could come to an understanding,” I trailed off.

“Doubtful. When will she be here exactly?” He traipsed to the kitchen and grabbed us both another beer. The boy was absolutely delectable. If he didn’t like other boys, I would, without a doubt, have been in trouble. I'd have fallen for his mischievous grin and sexy dimples, and he would have broken my naïve heart.

“Thanks.” I took the beer. “I talked to her earlier
―
she and
Gavin
will be here tomorrow afternoon.” I emphasized his name.

“Gavin, huh? Sounds like a tool.”

I shook my head at Silas. “Well, apparently he’s a hot tool, with a big tool.” Silas and I erupted into a fit of giggles.

“Can’t wait.” His brown eyes sparked with amusement. “Did you talk to Kyle?”

“Yeah.” I took another sip.

“And how is he?” Silas watched me with a thoughtful expression.

“He’s…okay.” 

“Still not happy about this summer’s arrangements?” Silas asked.

“Not particularly,” I picked the pepperoni off my pizza.

“Are you guys going to be okay?”

“Sure. He’ll get over it.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Silas continued to watch me. I was fast becoming uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

“He will. It’s just for the summer.”

“And what about next summer?”

“I don’t know, Silas. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m here and he’s there. That’s it. That’s what it is.” I jumped off the couch and headed for the kitchen to dispose of my paper plate. Kyle was an up and coming attorney in D.C. working seventy plus hours a week. That left me alone a lot. Or in recent months, Silas and I snuggled up on the couch instead, watching movies together long past our bedtime. 

“I didn’t mean to upset you, love.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and set his chin on my shoulder.

“I know. I just don’t want to talk about it. We’ll be fine. We’ve always been fine.” I plastered a half-hearted smile on my face. “I’m exhausted.”

“Okay.” Silas regarded me with somber eyes. “If you need anything, just holler. I'll come running like the valiant knight in shining armor that I am.”

“Brandishing your blow dryer?” I chortled.