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After Lana and her mom pack up to leave, I look out over the beach.
No Sally.
Back to my normal routine.
Her absence shouldn’t affect me this much, but it does. I still can’t get her face from last night out of my head. She looked sick to her stomach. I was just as sick when I looked at Simon’s house. Maybe I shouldn’t be mad that she refused to answer my questions. Her brother was messed up, and I’m glad we saved him from something worse, but here I am, still mad.
I’m not even sure I can go back there without feeling the same nausea as last night. The whole experience sobered me up to the point that I barely got any sleep. I should head back to the shack and sleep before my shift at Water's Edge.
But I want to see Sally.
Almost like magic, I look in the direction of Simon’s and my house and see the one girl I’ve been thinking about all morning. Sally stands, looking out of place, with a huge hoodie covering her body to the point that it looks like she’s swimming in it.
My head immediately wonders if the hoodie belonged to an ex-boyfriend.
But that doesn’t matter right now. She’s here, and that’s all that matters. I just want to talk to her. I have so many questions about why she’s staying at his house or her plans with it. Sally’s dark hazel eyes look up and down my body, stopping on my chest which just so happens to be flexing. It does that sometimes.
“Sally—”
“There you are!” a cheerful voice cuts me off as a pair of arms wrap around my forearm and presses into my side. “You’ve barely talked to me this summer!”
My eyes tear away from Sally’s and connect with ocean-blue eyes, peering up at me with a signature smirk. Jade presses her boobs further into my arm. Frustration furrows my brow, and I send a silent curse toward the universe. Out of everything, why did this have to happen?
“I’ve missed having you around, and the country club is so boring without you lifeguarding. Why did you stop?” Jade coos softly with heated eyes. “We used to always sneak off.”
I search the beach again, hoping Sally is still there, but I find the spot empty. Frick.
My body pulls from Jade’s grip as I make my way toward the shack. I need to get changed if I’m going to talk to her. Actually, on second thought, walking over there shirtless might be to my advantage. I know she found me attractive, and I sure as heck found her hot.
“Ollie? You can’t keep ignoring me and expecting me to chase you.” Jade cuts off my route. “I’m not someone that chases people, Moore.”
“I’m sorry.” I run my hands through my hair and look back toward our houses, completely ignoring Jade again.
“It’s that girl from the party again. I saw her watching you for a bit before I came to say hi.” She pouts, crossing her arms across her chest. “Figure out what you want, Moore. You know where to find me.”
She marches off down the beach, and without a second glance, I march toward the shack.
After a quick shower, I get dressed for my shift at the bar. All I want to do is skip and go over to see Sally, but that’s not really an option. I can’t really afford that many days off. Sure, I work a few jobs as a handyman, but it’s not reliable, just a way to make some extra cash and help the people who need it.
Grabbing my Commander’s keys, I make it to my porch before a mop of dirty-blond hair and tired eyes stop me in my tracks. Jaxon stands on the porch, almost looking lost. His jaw is clenched, and there’s a fresh layer of scruff covering his face.
While I’ve always been clean-shaven, Jaxon takes on a more rugged appearance, fitting that of a lion. He’s protective in nature, but most days, he’s the funny guy looking to make everyone smile. I’ve never seen him look like he’s literally wandering around, waiting for prey.
Did he spend all night at Sally's? I guess he and Ella were making out at the party, but then he carried Leon the whole way home. Jaxon has always been protective of the people he cares about. There’s also the fact that his home life isn’t great. We both have that in common. It’s part of the reason we always agreed to have each other’s backs.
“Hey, man,” I say, closing and locking the door.
Jaxon looks at me like he just realized I am here. Something flashes in his eyes before he shakes it away. His eyes focus on my Water's Edge uniform and work shorts.
“You going to work?” His casual expression is back in full force. “Do you think I could pick up a shift today?”
“Probably.” I nod slowly. “You know how slammed we are most nights. John might hate you, but he won’t say no to a little bit of help.”
“Let's get going. I’ll drive.” Jaxon turns on his heel and marches over to his faded-blue pickup truck. “Also, John loves me. He just doesn’t know it yet. No one can turn down the Jennings charm.”
As we pile into the truck, I ask, “Did you spend the night? What happened?” What did Sally do when she went in? That’s what I really want to ask.
Jaxon doesn’t look at me as he reverses out of my gravel driveway and onto the dirt road. “Yeah, but Ella kicked me out in the morning. She's all over the place. You know, like, one minute she’s hot, and then she’s trying to freeze me out.”
