Dirty: The Complete Series (Secret Baby Romance Love Story) (84 page)

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I met my mother for breakfast the next
morning at a café near my father’s office in the business district. She’d
arranged for me to meet her there because she was hoping my father would join
us. I could have told her he wasn’t going to show up, but since they’ve been
married for over thirty years, you would think no one would have to tell her.

“So, mother of mine, what’s on your mind?”

“What do you mean? I just wanted to have
breakfast with my handsome son.”

I grinned. “I know you love me, Mom, and I
know I’m handsome.” I winked and she rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “I also
know that tone you get in your voice when you have something on your mind and
it was there when you, let’s just say, requested my presence at breakfast.”

“Well as long as we’re on the subject, I’d
like to go on the record here as saying I shouldn’t have to call and
practically beg my son to come and see me, especially considering the fact that
he’s only been in the country a total of four weeks out of the past year.”

“You’re right.” Mom was an expert at
making me feel guilty. I guess it’s a mom thing. “I’m sorry for not making more
time for you.”

“And, Chrissy…and your father.” I love my
sister, but we are as alike as night and day…or at least I hope we are. Chrissy
is like Paris Hilton on steroids. She thinks the world should bow down at her
feet. Anything she’s ever wanted, she’s gotten. She’s twenty-five years old,
and my father still doesn’t dare say no to her for fear of the fit to come. She
no longer has full-blown tantrums, thank God, but she will find a way to make
him pay. One good thing about her being the way she is was that it gave them
less time and energy to turn me into the spoiled monster she'd become.

“Chrissy and Dad are hard to get an
appointment with themselves,” I said.

She rolled her pretty blue eyes at me.
“Your sister stays busy it’s true, but I know she’d love to spend an afternoon or
evening catching up with her brother. And, you know how hard your father works.
It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love us.”

I didn’t want to argue with her. I really
just wanted to know what she wanted so that I could try to say no and end up
doing it anyways. I could never say no to her. “Okay, Mom, I’ll try and get in
touch with both of them and spend some time with them while I’m in town.”

She smiled. My mother is beautiful with
her long black hair and topaz blue eyes, but I recognized that smile as her
evil one. She’s plotting something. The next words out of her mouth told me
what it was, “I’m putting on a Gala next Friday night to introduce some new
local artists…”

I groaned. “You know I hate those things,
Mom.”

“Let me finish,” she said. I sat quietly
and tried not to grimace as she filled me in on her plan. “This Gala is very
important because Spencer Exports is offering a full scholarship to the Art
Institute of California to one of the artists. That means a lot of press and
that means I need my entire family there.”

“Can I go now?”

“Don’t be smart. What is there for you to
say?”

“I hate those things, Mom.”

“I’ll expect you there, Drake. It will be
at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in the ballroom at seven p.m. next Friday
night.”

I knew arguing with her was futile, so
instead, I asked, “Can I bring a date?”

CHAPTER
SEVEN

SUMMER

“So, tell me what you already know about
surfing.” Drake had showed up twenty minutes late. I didn’t think he was coming
and that hurt a lot more than I wanted it to. When he did show up, I had to
bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling like an idiot. I don’t know
who I am anymore.

“I happen to know a lot. I was trained by
a professional surfer.”

He might have smirked, but I wasn’t sure,
so I let that one go. “Who?”

“Just take my word for it, nosy. He won a
lot more competitions than you did.”

He did smirk. I was torn between being in
complete lust with this guy and aching to kick him in the balls. “Well, I hate
to tell you this, but since he didn’t show you how to stand up on your board,
he did you a hell of a disservice.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I know that he
didn’t know he was talking about my grandfather, but it still pissed me off.
“Do you know who Wayne French was?”

I could see in his eyes that he did. He
got that look of hero worship that every surfer did when they heard his name.
“Of course. He was one of the greatest. He… No way! You are not telling me that
Wayne French taught you how to surf? Please, don’t tell me he taught you how to
crouch on your board like you’re playing a game of limbo.”

I gave him an even dirtier look. “He
taught me how to surf. Unfortunately, I was just a kid and he died before he
finished teaching me…” Damn it! Now I had a damned lump in my throat. Shit! I
was not going to cry in front of this guy.

“How did you know Wayne French?”

“Never mind. Teach me.”

I didn’t think he believed I did know
Wayne French. I wondered if he’d believe he was my grandfather and that he
raised me. “Okay,” he smirked again. “I saw you paddle out and pop up, but then
your feet got all screwed up and when you stood up, or tried to, your stance
was all off. You’ll never ride a big wave if you’re not balanced on your board.
You have to get those feet planted right off the bat and then you can maintain
your balance as the wave takes you up and brings you back down.”

 
“Okay, so let’s try it.”

“No, not on the water. Lay the board down
here.”

“On the beach?”

“Yeah, right here,” he pointed at a spot
near his feet. I pulled the board out of the stand where it was stuck and
dropped it in front of him…barely missing his toes. I smiled my sweetest smile
and said,

“Oops, that was close.”

He shook his head at me and said, “Lay
down on your belly.”

I was glad I still had my shorts on. I
know I let him see me naked already…and a lot more, but somehow since it was
dark and we were in the water, I was sure I looked a lot better last night. I
lay down on my stomach and waited. When he didn’t say anything for a long time
I looked up at him. He was staring at my ass. “Do you mind, perv?”

He grinned, “I don’t mind at all…very
nice.” I started to push up as he laughed. “I’m sorry. Come on, I’ll be
serious.” I glared at him and dropped back down in push-up position. “Okay, now
pop-up for me, Summer.”

I pushed up with my arms and bent my
knees. I brought my legs up underneath me and did it all in one quick motion
the way I remember Grandpa showing me. “Not bad. Stand up for a minute.” I
stood and he took hold of my shoulders and spun me so I was facing the ocean
and away from him. I could feel his chest and stomach against my back and when
he spoke, his warm breath tickled my ear. “Close your eyes.”

“If
this is some kind of perv trick…”

I felt his body shake as he chuckled. If
this was a perv trick, I was falling for it hook, line, and sinker. “It’s not a
trick. Pay attention.” Easy for him to say, he didn’t have a surf god breathing
on his neck. He still had his hands on my arms, too. I wasn’t sure how much of
this I’d be able to take and still stick to my guns about no sex. Now that we
were having skin to skin contact, I wondered why I’d make up such a stupid rule.
I closed my eyes and felt him move his fingers against my upper arms, brushing
the skin softly with his rough fingertips.

“Now walk.” I had no idea what he was
doing, but I walked. He kept his big hands on my arms and he walked with me. I
took about ten steps and he said, “Okay, stop.” I did and stood there with my
eyes still closed. I was beginning to have a fantasy where his full lips
brushed up against mine and that was all it took for me to break my own rule
when he said, “Open your eyes.” I opened them. He let go of my arms and stepped
around in front of me. “You’re right footed.”

“Yeah,” I almost made a sarcastic comment
about how brilliant he was. I decided against it and instead, I said, “I’m
right-handed, too. What does that have to do with anything?”

“When Wayne was teaching you…” I could
tell he was trying hard to believe that. I guess I appreciated his effort. “Did
he talk to you about your dominant foot?”

“Yeah,
a lot actually because he was…oh shit!”

He
grinned. I think he finally believed that I did know Wayne. “He was
goofy-footed.”

“Yeah, he was left-handed, too. He did
tell me to land on the ball of my dominant foot First, but in my head I was
trying to picture him doing it.”

“You jumped up with your left foot
dominant. When you stood up, it put you off balance.”

I
grinned. “Problem solved then, thanks, teach.”

“Oh, we’re not even close to finished.
Back to the board.” I curled my lip and went back over to the board. I thought
he was going to make me lay back down on my belly, but instead, he said, “We’re
going to practice the pop-up again.” For the next hour, I heard the word again
a lot. He had me pop-up and stand over and over and over. I kept forgetting my
feet and getting them tangled up. I was getting frustrated with myself, but he was
patient. He was also very hands-on, and each time he touched me to adjust my
foot or my leg or when he put his hands on my waist to adjust my stance,
another piece of me melted inside. Jesus, I’m a hormonal mess.

After what felt like the one hundredth
pop-up, he said, “You’re getting it, good.” He looked at the expensive watch on
his arm and said, “How about we get some lunch and come back and try it on
water afterwards?” Lunch sounded great. I had missed whatever Ace had scratched
together for breakfast this morning because I left so early. I had to make up a
story to keep Bennie from following me. I told him it was the anniversary of
Grandpa’s death and I wanted to go to church and say a prayer for him. I know…a
lie about church and prayer can’t be good. It was the one place I could think
of that he’d give me some privacy, though. He was suspicious and in a really
foul mood when I got back last night. I didn’t want to have to referee a fight
I was sure Bennie would lose. But I also didn’t have any money and I wasn’t
going to just go with Drake and expect him to pay… “My treat,” he said,
interrupting my thoughts. He was either reading my mind or just remembered I
was flat-assed broke.

“Okay, I could eat.” What the hell was I
doing?

He grinned at me. That’s exactly what I
was doing – letting my hormones lead me around by the nose. “Great! Come on, we
can leave our stuff in this little cave over here.” We carried the boards and
his little canvas bag over to the cave. It was a lot smaller than the one I live
in, but my mind was always planning for the next time we get run off. “You
ready?” Drake was looking at me funny and I realized I’d actually been scoping
the place out.

“Um, yeah, I’m ready.” We hiked up the
cliff and walked the mile and a half to downtown without much conversation. He
took me to a little fish and chips place on the beach. It wasn’t much more than
a kiosk, but they had tables out front. I’d had their food before – leftovers,
of course. It’s not bad. We both ordered the fish basket and a coke and when we
sat down with it he said,

“So, tell me how you knew Wayne French.”

I had just taken a bite of my fish. I made
him wait until I chewed it up and took a drink of my Coke before I said, “He
was my grandfather.” I watched his face expecting to see disbelief, but
instead, I realized that he was studying my features. I actually look a lot
like Grandpa, and I think he just realized it.

He smiled suddenly and said, “Well, I’ll
be damned. Wayne French’s granddaughter. Damn! He’s my hero.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his
enthusiasm. “He was mine, too. He raised me until I was fourteen, and then he
died.”

“Yeah, I was in Bali when I heard. I was
sick over it. What happened to him?”

“The doctor said he had a blood clot or
something that went to his lungs. He was in the hospital before that because he
had pneumonia. He never realized how old he’d gotten. He just kept trying to do
the same things he did when he was twenty.”

“So, who did you live with after he died?
Were your parents still around?” I thought about whether or not I wanted to
answer that question. In the past four and a half years, Bennie was the only
living person who knew my whole story. I wasn’t comfortable enough yet with
Drake, so I gave him the abridged version.

“My mother died when I was three, and I
never knew my father. Grandpa was touring at the time, but when he got back, he
took me and for the next eleven years, I went where he did.”

“That’s amazing. I can barely keep track
of myself when I’m on the road. How did he manage it? Did you have a nanny?”

I laughed. His mindset is so different
from the people I usually hang around with. “No. I’m not sure how much you
really know about my grandpa, but he was an old hippie. He was born poor and
raised poor and even after he started winning all of those competitions, he
lived like a poor man. He wouldn’t have thought of hiring a nanny. We got by.”