15 Shades Of Pink (21 page)
After nearly swiping the guardrail in his rush to pull into the parking lot, he ran to her door. He knocked, but there was no answer. The shade on her front window was open, so he peeked in. His stomach lurched. The place was empty. She was gone.
Impossibly, it was an even worse feeling than seeing a guy on Kimberly’s doorstop. He walked in circles, uncertain what to do. Where had she gone? He pulled out his cell to call her, but she didn’t answer.
Damn it!
At least he had a place to stay. He drove to his grandmother’s house and kept trying to call her, but no answer. He sat at the kitchen table and stared out the back window wondering if he’d just seriously screwed up his life for no good reason.
***
Making the trip twice in one day wasn’t her idea of fun. But she had to find him. Damn her lousy cell phone battery for conking out. What would he think when he discovered she wasn’t at her place? Would he turn right around and come back to Philly? Or maybe he hadn’t come for her. Maybe it had to do with his grandmother’s house. Maybe when he dumped her, he’d really meant it.
She swore to herself and wondered what she’d do next. When she finally got back to Springfield, she knew there was only one place he could be. She pulled into his grandmother’s driveway at eight o’clock and took her first deep breath in hours. His car was there; he was home.
Poor Hijinx was meowing in the back seat. She freed him from his carrier and scooped him up in her arms. Her fingers trembled as she stroked his fur. What if Drake hadn’t come back for her? What if this all had been a huge mistake?
She rang the doorbell and was relieved to hear footsteps coming down the stairs. When Drake opened the door, his face was pale and taut. Then he saw her. He pulled her into a hug while Hijinx meowed loudly. “You’re really here?” She heard herself crying. “What happened? Why did you move?”
He led her into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
Hijinx jumped from her arms and disappeared into the dining room. Drake kissed her before she could explain. “I don’t care where you went. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
She laughed away her tears, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I was in Philly.”
“What?”
She nodded. “I was miserable without you, so I broke my lease and came to be with you. It doesn’t matter where I work.” She shook her head and looked up at him. “I should have called. But I thought it was just better to get in the car and do it, before common sense intervened.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “But why are you here? School starts in a week.”
He kissed her forehead. “I missed you like crazy. I pulled out of school. I can go again some other time; it doesn’t matter. But you do.”
She hugged him tightly, smelling his familiar scent, relishing the warmth of him against her cheek. “I’m glad we’ve got that all sorted out. But what now? I broke my lease. We’ve got nowhere to stay.”
He picked her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. “I think Grandma would tell me true love is more important than culinary school.”
She swallowed hard and stared at him.
Love?
He must’ve sense her doubt, because he nodded, climbing the stairs with her in his arms. “It’s true. I love you. And I dumped you once. I won’t be doing that again.”
She laughed and leaned against his shoulder. “Good. I won’t let you. But what happens when someone buys the house? What will we do?”
He set her down in front of his bedroom. “Let me talk to my family. Living here with you would be a crazy dream come true.”
Two weeks later, Rachel was dragging Drake to McGinty’s to prove to Lindsey that her boyfriend was a real, living, breathing guy.
They approached the bar, and Drake gave her a nudge. “Check out the bartender’s shirt.”
She looked over and laughed at the phrase on his shirt. It read: ‘I’m taken.’
Drake kissed her. “I’m getting one of those for you so you don’t have to fight off the men looking to dance with you next time you’re out alone.”
They settled on a pair of barstools, and saw Lindsey and her boyfriend walking through the door with Luke in tow.
She thinks I’m bluffing!
Lindsey saw her, and her eyes widened. She rushed over and kissed Rachel’s cheek, then whispered, “He’s hot! Is this for real?”
Rachel nodded. They made their introductions and told the crazy story of how they both moved out and missed each other at first, but found each other in the end.
Poor Luke was busy scanning the bar for new prospects.
“So now that we’re homeless, we’re planning to buy the house Drake’s grandmother owned,” Rachel said.
Drake squeezed her shoulders. “My realtor wasn’t that disappointed when we took it off the market. She thought I belonged there all along. Her fiancé is even going to fix the roof at a nice discount.”
The group chatted for a while, and Rachel was certain she’d finally convinced Lindsey this was the real deal so she could send Luke packing for greener pastures. From the way he was staring at the dance floor, it appeared he already had someone in mind.
Rachel felt a tap on her shoulder. “I guess Mildred’s love crystals worked.”
“Brianna!” She hugged her friend and introduced her to the group.
“I wondered how many other people hooked up after the wedding. Mildred wanted to spread the love, so she had the table seating and decorations set up with a feng shui love flair.”
Rachel winced. “I didn’t take the crystals.”
“Really?” She looked disappointed, then shrugged. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter how you find love, as long as you find it.”
“Very true. And you never know when you’re going to find it.”
“Hey, we found it when we promised each other we wouldn’t,” Drake said.
Brianna smiled. “I was at a wedding once, and the bride and groom were stepbrother and stepsister.”
Rachel laughed. “Now that’s a small world.”
Luke gestured to a tall blond woman dancing in the crowd. “I think I found my very own happy ending right there.” He pointed to the dance floor. “The hot girl, right there.”
A dark-haired girl fishing a cherry out of her Coke spun around on her stool with wide eyes. “Are you Australian?”
“Yes, why?”
“You don’t by any chance have a yacht, do you?”
He raised his chin. “Not yet. But my father does.”
A devious smile unfurled on her face. “Let me introduce you to her.” She hopped off the stool and pointed to the blonde. “I’m the hot girl’s friend.”
Rachel raised her glass. “To love, wherever and however it finds you.”
Beach Flirts!
5 Romantic Short Stories
By
Lisa Scott
Copyright © 2011 Lisa Scott Macdonough
Table of Contents
She’s trying to forget the fiancé who cancelled their wedding…
until she sees her ex on the beach
.
Ex On The Beach
By Lisa Scott
The Insanity Tour…Save Me From My Trip...Vacation S.O.S?
Heather Parker thought of suitable names for her summer vacation—had it been a reality show, instead of her real, ridiculous, life. It’d been five years since her family took a trip together, and now there were two new spouses, five new children, and more suffocating parental enthusiasm than ever, in one way-too-small rental house.
She squeezed closer to her sister so they could all fit into the family photo her father insisted they take. She hung off the end of the group like a stray comma, an afterthought—a mistake. As the youngest child in the bunch, she often wondered if she was. Who knew how responsible her parents had been with birth control back in the 80’s? Did they even have the pill back then?
Or did they use
… She wrinkled her nose.
Dad must’ve seen the look of horror flicker across her face at
that
thought. “Heather, smile! This is the start of a new tradition. The first annual Parker family reunion.” He spread his arms wide. “It’s a beautiful day on the Cape, everyone’s here—we need to capture the moment.”
But, everyone’s
not
here
. She should be standing next to her husband, Nick. Only, he’d broken off the engagement a month before the wedding last summer. Not for another woman. No, it was much worse than that. It was something entirely humiliating and gossip-worthy that would only happen in her world. She swallowed back the pain. Again.
Her father hurried to join the group before the camera timer went off. “Say Gouda!”
“Gouda,” she mumbled through her fake smile. She looked around at her four brothers and sisters flashing big, happy grins. And why wouldn’t they be smiling? They were all married with good jobs, beautiful homes, and three of them had kids already. She felt like the disappointment of the family, living single, with nary a cat in her dumpy apartment. She figured her parents planned this whole darned trip to distract her from the fact that she should be celebrating her one-year wedding anniversary this week; like a trip to the beach with so many happy, married people would make her forget. It was like taking someone with a peanut allergy on the Planter’s factory tour.
The group broke up after the camera snapped a few shots. Her father collected his gear and turned his attention to the big cardboard box on the back deck of their rental. “Kids, this is a two-in-one trip—a super-fun family vacation and a great marketing opportunity for my latest invention.”
Someone groaned and Mom flashed her knock-it-off-or-get-knocked-off look. Not that she’d ever laid a hand on one of them, but the threats always seemed real enough, despite her one-hundred-ten pound frame, dimples, and tidy, blond bob. Then she turned on the great, big, Mommy-says-have-fun-or-else smile. “Children, you’re going to love this.”
Dad nodded. “Once the world gets a look at this, we’ll have our very own beach house. We won’t need a rental. This,” he announced, “is going to change everything.” And with great flourish, he pulled something out and held it up over his head for all of them to see. “This is the Port-A-Party hat.”
Any remaining grumbles turned to giggles as they stared at the bright orange ball cap equipped with drink holders, clips, loops, pockets, and zippers, emblazoned with “Parker Family Reunion” in front.
Heather bit her lip, glad for a moment that Nick wasn’t next to her.
Her sister, Tina, took a deep breath. She was Dad’s biggest cheerleader, but even she seemed to be struggling with this one. “What is this, exactly?”
He held up a finger. “I’m glad you asked. This hat lets you take the party with you. Let me demonstrate. Two drink holders and straws. You want a beer and a soda? We’ve got room in the Port-A-Party.” He tucked two cans into the holders next to the brim and slid the hat onto his head. He sipped from the straw dangling by his mouth.
Tina sniffed. “That’s really nice, Dad.”
“But that’s not all.” He was using his TV pitchman voice, and it was just so hard not to break out into unstoppable laughter; that was catchier in the Parker household than the flu.
Her mother stepped forward with a tray of goodies and Dad grabbed a snack-sized bag of chips. “What’s a party without munchies? Just attach them to these handy clips.”
Mom hung a tiny bag of Lay’s over Dad’s ear and a bag of pretzels on the other side.
“And we can’t forget cleanup,” he said. “There’s room for napkins, hand sanitizer, mini-condiments, or whatever you’d like to tuck in the pockets along the side.”
Mom added more items onto the hat. A tiny jar of mustard glinted in the sun near the back of Dad’s head.
“We’ve got loops for bigger things, too.” He turned around to show off the back of the hat.
Mom tucked in a package of plastic silverware, then slid in a travel-sized bottle of sunscreen and bug spray. “Ta-da!” she said, stepping aside with a majestic swirl of her arm. “The Port-A-Party! Perfect for a day at the beach, concerts, sporting events—you name it!”
Heather’s sister, Sherry, blinked. “This is even better than your gum-on-a-rope necklace.”
“And the doorbell answering machine,” Heather said.
“Perfect when someone stops by, but you’ve stepped out,” the kids said in unison. Nick had thought that was genius, and convinced his father to invest in the prototype. Both families had been pleased with the profits. Just one more thing that bonded the families before their breakup.
But not all of Dad’s inventions caught on. This one could go either way.
Her brother coughed, undoubtedly covering a laugh. “You should sell a lot of those walking around the beach this week, Dad.”