Page 56 of Coastal Rewind

It wasn’t super uncommon for women to approach me at bars, usually looking for an autograph for their boyfriend or to ask for my number. I was happy to sign whatever they wanted, but I wasn’t in the habit of spreading my number around. My trust in one single wrong person and that number would end up on some Reddit or Facebook fan page—again.

“Well, actually, my friend over there is getting married and we had a proposition for you.”

“She want an autograph for her fiancé?”

“Not exactly. You see, you’re on her hall pass list and she was hoping maybe you wanted to come back to our hotel for a little fun.”

I nearly choked on my beer as her words processed in my head. For god fucking sake.

“Uh, as much fun as that sounds, I’m seeing someone.”

“Oh, we didn’t realize you had a girlfriend.” She looked horrified as she dropped her head and scurried back to her friends.

Zane and Tucker fell over laughing as Mack just shook his head. Nolan eyed me with a knowing look and a crooked smile.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said, taking a sip from the glass bottle in his hand. “You just look lighter than I’ve seen you in a really long time.”

I hadn’t felt this light in longer than he could even imagine.

twenty-four

Ryleigh

Something I learned in the last two days was that summer camps were no fucking joke. Every day, MJ had a list of specific gear and what nut-free snacks he was responsible for bringing. He needed two separate water bottles, and different shoes for every sport. I barely even knew six years old had different shoes for all the sports.

Like, seriously, they were six.

MJ burst out of the car and went running up to a little boy with bright red hair and glasses. The two high fived and went sprinting into the arena that housed the six-week sports camp he started this week.

The woman who was standing with the red-haired little boy called after him that he forgot his lunch box but the two were already gone.

I walked up to her and extended my hand. “Hi, I’m Ryleigh. The other little heathen’s nanny.”

She sighed but shook it. “I’m Amber. That was my son, Theo.”

“This camp is pretty intense for six-year-olds, isn’t it?”

She laughed. “Oh my god, yes. My husband insisted on it. What happened to touching grass and making macaroni necklaces?”

“Yes! Exactly.” I smiled. Something about Amber’s energy was familiar to me. I took a deep breath and did something that I hadn’t tried since temporarily moving to LA. “You doing anything right now? I would kill for another coffee.”

She smiled sweetly at me. “A coffee sounds absolutely perfect. Let me just drop this inside and then I can meet you at the place across the street in ten?”

“Perfect.” I turned and walked back to the car. I’d learned through traveling that making friends was a survival skill. I’d become pretty good at it and I’d been told that I had a calming energy people were drawn to.

I walked through the coffee shop doors and ordered at the counter before snagging an open table. I spotted Amber a few minutes later and waved. She walked up to order her own drink. After she paid the barista, she approached the table.

“Who knew camp drop off could be more stressful than school?” She blew out a breath and dropped her head into her hands.

“What happened to kids just being kids?”

“They’re no longer allowed to be.” She chuckled before leaning back and bringing her coffee to her lips. “So, you’re Saxley’s new nanny?”

I nodded. “Yeah, since April.”

“MJ’s a great kid. Theo’s always going on and on about him.”