Page 133 of My All American Girl

56

DEAN

The next day stretched on forever. I lounged by the pool at my hotel, trying to keep my mind occupied as I waited for Sarah’s time with her father to wrap up. The sun was warm on my skin as I lay shirtless poolside. The blue water was inviting, but I couldn’t fully relax. I kept checking my phone, hoping for an update from Sarah.

I wasn’t used to doing nothing and I had jack shit on my agenda for the moment. I supposed I could look for a place to live or a job, but I didn’t know where I was going to land just yet. I didn’t have reports to file or tapes of flights to watch. I didn’t have lectures to write.

Nothing.

It was making me a little stir crazy. Even during the last couple of weeks, I had to think about my future and then there was the packing. There was the bar. Now, reality was sinking it. I was clinging to my proverbial life raft to keep from drifting out to sea. I expected there to be moments like this. Moments when I panicked a bit.

Jude warned me I would have these moments. He was right. I just had to remind myself why I did what I did and what it meant for my future. Once I got settled, it would be okay. I had plenty of money in the bank. I could take some time and figure out my next steps.

A shadow fell across my lower body. I looked up to see a beautiful woman wearing a very tiny bikini standing over me. I looked at her, confused and curious. “Hello,” I said.

“Hello.” She smiled. “You look lonely.”

“I do?” I asked with a small laugh.

She sat down in the lounge chair next to mine. “You do. And from where I’m sitting, that should be a crime.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d been hit on. “Lucky for both of us, I won’t be alone for long. My girlfriend will be here soon.”

Her smile got bigger. “Are you just trying to get me to go away?”

“No, my girlfriend will actually be here soon,” I replied again.

Her eyes moved over my body before she looked at me again. “Alright, I can take a hint. But if you decide you are single, I’m in room two twelve. I am very single.”

“Good to know,” I said.

She got up and sauntered away. I didn’t even go for another look. There was only one woman I wanted to see. Only one woman that I wanted to be with. I closed my eyes once again, soaking in the sun. A slight breeze brushed across me, cooling me down just a little.

Finally, my phone buzzed. I grabbed it like a lifeline. Sarah’s name flashed on the screen. “Hey,” I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Are you free?” Her voice was light, and I could hear the smile in it.

“Absolutely. Want to join me by the pool?”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

I put my phone down and grinned. I couldn’t wait to see her. I had spent all morning waiting for her call. I didn’t call her because I didn’t want to interrupt her time with her father. They needed to reconnect and repair the relationship that had been damaged by the two of us getting together. Sarah loved, admired, and respected her father. She would not ever be truly happy if she didn’t have his approval. I got it. I understood it. I did not want to be the one that got in the way of that important relationship.

True to her word, thirty minutes later, Sarah found me waiting for her by the pool. “Damn, are you trying to attract every woman between the ages of eighteen to eighty?”

I opened my eyes and looked up at her smiling down at me with one hand on her hip. She was wearing a bathing suit and denim shorts, her ponytail threaded through a ball cap. She looked as stunning as ever, but there was something different about her today. She had a pep in her step, and her smile was bigger than I’d ever seen it.

“Hey, you,” I said and sat up. “You look hot.”

“I’m not sure I like you lying out in nothing but a pair of shorts,” she pouted. “You’re too sexy for your own good.”

I laughed and got to my feet to give her a quick kiss. “But I’ve only got eyes for you.”

She glanced around the pool. “Funny, because I see a lot of eyes on you. Look at you just sitting out here being eye candy.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Liar.” She laughed.