AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without answering, Jack left the beach and entered his apartment, feeling more alone and miserable than ever.
* * *
The next morning, Jack limped down the pier at Half Moon Bay. Hopefully, his sore body would loosen up after diving. A glance in the mirror had confirmed his impressive black eye, but at least it hadn’t closed shut. And he had no regrets about that aspect of his situation, happy to wave Ocean Surf goodbye. He sipped the coffee he had bought on the way. It was just past seven, and he was early. By intention. Alex swam most mornings, then started work shortly after. Jack wanted to talk to him before Sara did.
This could be dicey...
As he neared the palapa, Alex was climbing up the ladder onto the pier, dressed only in board shorts. Jack swallowed at the sight of him. The dude was ripped. Sara had absently mentioned once that his near-fatal injury involved his hip, but Jack had never seen any sign of it. His only visible scar was the gunshot wound on his shoulder. Alex picked up a towel and started ruffling his hair. A fistfight with him is gonna end a lot worse than with Cameron... So make sure you avoid it.
Alex looked up, peeking through a fold in the towel, then lifted his face out of it. “What happened to you?”
“I had a little disagreement with the other divemaster at Ocean Surf yesterday.”
“Must have been some disagreement.”
Jack grinned, forcing himself not to flinch as his lip cracked. “You should see the other guy.”
Alex laughed and went back to rubbing his hair. “You’re here early.”
“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you.”
He tossed the towel on a wooden bench, inspecting Jack’s bruised face. “Am I going to need my rebreather for this? Or my gun?”
Jack laughed, hoping it didn’t sound nervous. “No, scouts honor. I didn’t sleep well and wanted to get this out of the way early.” He sat down on the bench and met Alex’s gaze. “Sara and I called it quits last night. We decided we’re better off as friends.”
Alex raised a brow. “You’re sure that black eye is from a divemaster?”
Jack couldn’t help a smile as he shook his head. “Yesterday wasn’t my best day.”
“Sounds like it.” Alex sat next to him. “Was this a mutual decision?”
And there’s the loaded question...
Jack stared at him steadily, refusing to back down. “It was my idea. Sara and I are pretty different. Maybe too different to be a couple.” God, I wish it was otherwise...
“Sara’s casual, and you’re not?”
Jack gazed at the mountains as the sun rose above them. Now that Alex wasn’t exploding in defense of his sister-in-law, he dropped his shoulders. “Something like that.”
“She ok?”
“I doubt I’m her favorite person right now, but Sara always lands on her feet.”
“You ok?”
Jack swiveled his head back, staring into those cool blue eyes. “I will be. This job is important to me. That’s why I’m here—I wanted you to hear this from me.”
Alex stared back, expressionless, his face completely unreadable. “Thanks for that... I guess. Just remember. Jobs are pretty easy to replace. Good relationships aren’t. But you’re a grown man. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” He stood and walked up the pier as Jack stared miserably at the rippling ocean.
That’s the problem. Right now, I feel like I don’t have a clue...
CHAPTER 29
The front door closed as Sara’s client left, leaving her alone in the large room. Soft music floated from the massage area where Selena worked, but the presence of nearby people didn’t ease Sara’s loneliness. In the days since they had ended their relationship, Sara had seen Jack several times and made a point of being polite. Anything to keep from acknowledging how shocked and hurt she was. And how embarrassed.
She hadn’t told a soul about the breakup, not even Hope, and had no idea if Jack had said anything. But it had to be obvious that their behavior toward each other had changed. As much as she’d tried avoiding Alex, she had caught him staring at her several times, like he was evaluating her. He knew. This wasn’t the first time she and a boyfriend had called it quits, but it was usually a mutual decision that involved relief on her part. This time she got dumped—there was no other word for it.
Her musings were interrupted when the front door opened and Hope walked in, wearing the same light-blue polo shirt as Sara. As usual, Cruz trotted at her side. “Hello. I’m working in the dive shop this morning, but there’s not much going on, so I thought I’d pop up here for a second.”
