One Simple Step (Journey Series) (5 page)

If Teddy had a clone, this guy was it. Yeah, he didn’t look exactly like his twin; his hair wasn’t a shaggy blond mess like Teddy’s, but he had sort of the whole rocker look going on with his ripped jeans, tight black band t-shirt, and both arms covered in sleeves of tattoos.

No, what really reminded me of Teddy was the cocky ego that I could sense before he even talked, like he had picked me as his prey and knew he would win his prize. Well, I guess I was going to have to squash that little dream. “You look like you could use another drink. Mind if I buy you one?”

“Actually I do,” I replied, shifting back around in my seat to face the bar. He slid into the empty seat next to me, clearly ignoring my subtle “get lost” tactic.

“Aw, c’mon. Can you at least give a guy a chance?” He signaled to the bartender who placed another drink in front of me. “What’s your name, pretty girl?”

I snorted before taking another drink, and continued to ignore him, but he didn’t seem to get the hint because he kept inching closer to me, invading my personal space. “Al-right, you must be one of those quiet ones. I like the quiet ones, they’re normally the wildest.” His lips were right next to my ear as he whispered the last part. I finally turned towards him, his brown eyes glittering with amusement.

“Or maybe you’re just annoying as hell, and I really don’t want to talk to you. Ever think of that?” I popped a cherry in my mouth, hoping he would just go away, but instead he let out a low laugh.

“Feisty too, huh? I think I like you, blondie. Think maybe you wanna get out of here? I know this little place downtown that has some good music, actually I play there some—”

I turned towards him quickly, putting my best bitch face on. I hadn’t really used it much before, but now I was getting a lot of use out of it. “Ugh, hell no. If I wasn’t clear enough before, I definitely will be now. There is no way this is happening.”

I waved my hand at him, and thankfully, this time he stood up, looking a bit dejected, and shuffled back towards the table that he had come from. I hated to squash anyone like that, but at the mention of him possibly being a musician of any sort, I couldn’t consider even talking to him. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, and never, ever, wearing it again.

“Sorry about that, he’s not used to girls telling him no.” I turned when I heard a deep voice, and another guy slid in next to me. I took in his appearance, that being totally opposite of my former seatmate.

His outfit of fitted black pants and a crisp light blue dress shirt that was rolled at the elbows, screamed some kind of professional businessman, but the one tattoo that was peeking out gave him just a little bit of an edge. His dark hair was artfully styled like he actually took the time to do it that way in the morning, but the scruff on his face looked like he just didn’t care, even though I actually found it pretty sexy.

And those eyes…they matched his shirt perfectly. That shade of blue was almost electrifying, piercing in the way that he looked at me so simply, but there was something in his eyes, too, that mirrored mine, like he had experienced some kind of hurt, as well. “It’s alright, I wasn’t trying to be a bitch. I’m just not really in the mood to be hit on. I’m not looking to date…or whatever he was looking for.”

He smirked at that last part, flashing me a set of dimples that were sexy as hell, both of us knowing exactly what he had been looking for. “Yeah, well, Danny really is a good guy, he can just be a little of an ass sometimes. I’m Nick Bennett, by the way.” He stuck out an oversized hand, making mine feel so tiny in comparison.

“Ally Sam—” No, that name was never coming out of my mouth again. That Ally is history. Time to go back to the real Ally, the one that I failed to realize had slowly been disappearing. “Ally James, nice to meet you.”

“Ally James,” he repeated, my name rolling off of his tongue, in that deep, gravelly voice of his. I liked how it sounded, and it felt good to have a little piece of my old self back. “Well, I promise I’m not looking for the same thing Danny was looking for.”

I looked at him sideways and he gave me a smirk, almost reading my mind even though I had no clue why I was thinking it. “Not that I wouldn’t be hitting on you. If I had to pick one girl in this bar...” His eyes landed on my face again, and he stared straight at me while his tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip. “It would definitely be you.”

Chapter 6

Ally

I hadn’t really planned on talking to anyone besides Remy when she insisted on dragging me to Clammy’s, which apparently was the place to go around here. But Nick was different, and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get to know him just because I was in a bad place in my life. We could be friends; I had plenty of guy friends over the years. Friends, yup, totally friends.

We talked for what felt like hours, getting to know each other. After a while, Remy got bored, and after reassuring me several times that she wanted me to stay and have fun, she headed for home, giving me a wide, know-it all smile before she left.

I wasn’t complaining, because for the first time in almost two weeks, I hadn’t thought about Teddy and that whole situation one time. So when Nick suggested we take a walk on the beach that ran right along the front of Clammy’s, I didn’t even hesitate.

He said goodbye to his friends who were looking at him the same way Remy was looking at me. They all seemed like they knew what was going on, when really it was just nice to talk to someone. Someone who didn’t know me, someone who didn’t know anything about my situation. We both mentioned that we had just gone through breakups, but we also both skirted around that whole topic, which was fine with me.

We both rolled up the bottom of our pants, kicking our shoes off and leaving them in a pile near the end of the walkway that led right onto the beach. I breathed in the salty fresh air, relishing the calming effect it seemed to have on me ever since I had arrived in Gulfport. Nick inched closer, hands shoved in his pockets, as we walked near the edge, the water just trickling against our toes.

“So, you just moved here—”

“Just visiting,” I interrupted, stopping to pick up a shell that caught my eye. Nick held out his hand, and I watched as he bent down to clean it for me. “I’m not really sure where I’ll end up. I’m just trying to figure things out.”

“Yeah, I guess I can understand that.” He pulled his hand through his dark hair, something that I had noticed all night. There was no way he spent hours in the mirror perfecting that look, which made it even sexier. “I’ve lived here my whole life though, and I’ve never really gotten the urge to leave. I’ll probably end up being a lifer.” He sucked in his bottom lip, the expression on his face looking as if he was ashamed of that or something.

“If I had to pick one place to be a lifer at, it would totally be here. The water, the sand, even this town…it just has such a great atmosphere, a real small town charm. You don’t find that at many places right on the beach. Who would want to leave here?”

He muttered something before plopping down in the sand and resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re right. I can remember when I was younger, and wondering why in the hell anyone would want to live anywhere else. All the tourists come here for a week of vacation, and then have to go back to reality. Who in their right mind likes snow?”

I giggled as he reached out a hand and pulled me down into the sand with him so I was wedged between his knees. “It’s really not that bad. In fact, it can be fun most of the time as long as you avoid driving a car anywhere. Snowball fights, building snow men, hot chocolate with those tiny little marshmallows to warm you up once you come inside.”

“Really? When was the last time you did any of that? When you were like ten?” I turned around to see him smirking at me.

I tapped my finger to my chin, really not even having to think about it. I could remember the day like it was yesterday. “About a year ago. It was practically a blizzard out when I woke up that morning. The snow was fresh and hadn’t become a slushy mess yet. So, I bundled up and got out there as soon as I could. I think I built the biggest snowman ever and then made snow angels all over the yard. The neighbors probably thought I was a little insane being out there all by myself.”

“Hmm…I think you might be. I’m not sure if that sounds fun, but I’ll take your word for it,” he teased. I felt his arms slowly snake around my waist, pulling me closer against his chest. We sat there in silence looking out at the dark water, the warmth of his body engulfing me and feeling so comforting. All I could hear was the sound of the waves crashing, and the steady rhythm of his breath right near my ear.

I felt him shift behind me when he pulled one arm free and glanced at his wrist, letting out a groan. “I hate to have to do this, but I really need to get home. My boss will kick my ass if I’m late tomorrow.”

“Ah, the responsibilities of being an adult.” I jumped to my feet, brushing the sand off as I stood up. “I should probably be heading back anyway before Remy starts getting any ideas. I’m sure she’s already come up with a few.”

“Well, I’m at least going to make sure you make it back alright. Which way are you?”

”It’s not a big deal, Nick. Remy’s place is right on the beach, up that way.” I pointed in the opposite direction of Clammy’s.

We drove here, but we could’ve easily walked. It felt weird having a guy worry about me. I had always been so independent. Teddy never really worried about what I was doing, which was probably why I ended up by myself so much.

“I think I can handle walking you home. I’ll come back for my bike later.” I raised a brow at him at the mention of a bike, which I assumed meant a motorcycle. Nick definitely didn’t look like a biker. If I had to attach a stereotype to him, I’d say he was more of a sexy businessman with a little bit of an edge. The kind that you’d want to boss you around—you know, if you were into that kind of thing.

“Okay, I guess if you insist.”

Nick

I was kissing this girl before I even knew what in the hell I was doing.

It was like there was this magnet between us, and I fought against it the whole time I walked her back to the apartment complex where she was staying. Then, she had to go and peek up at me with that lost look in her eyes, and I couldn’t help myself. I just wanted to kiss her until she forgot whatever in the hell had made her so sad.

Where Kara was a little rough around the edges, and always wanting to be in control, Ally was the complete opposite. Everything about her was soft and sexy, feminine and fragile feeling. Her lips were stiff when they first met mine, and I could tell she was more than a little surprised by the gasp that I swallowed up when my mouth sealed against hers. Hell, I was surprised myself. But it felt so right.

And I could tell Ally felt the same way.

She instantly relaxed, letting herself fall gently against the door, hands knotted in my hair as she tilted her head up to meet mine. She even tasted sweet.

When Danny made his little deal with me, I had never expected this outcome.

Danny called dibs on Ally when he had first spotted her and her friend Remy. He said she was sexy but looked like a bit of a mess. I definitely agreed with the first part, but had no clue what he was talking about when he said she was a mess. So when Ally turned Danny down almost immediately, I knew I had to talk to her.

Yeah, she didn’t have a shit ton of makeup on, and her hair was thrown up into a messy looking bun, but that appealed to me more than anything. I’d never really been attracted to blondes, Kara being the perfect example with her black almost everything.

But Ally…there wasn’t even one word to describe her. She was almost as tall as me, with a willowy figure, but curves in all of the right places. And those eyes of hers. They looked a little familiar, and then I realized that’s because they were almost identical in color to mine. Not that I stood in front of the mirror all day staring at my own, but hers were beautiful. I could stare at
those
eyes all day.

But even in the short time that we had known each other, that wasn’t what I liked most about her. There was just something about her. She seemed airy, like she floated from one thing to the next, wherever life took her. I guess Kara was right when she said I was boring, maybe just a little. I always had a plan in life, and I always followed it. In a way, I think I was a little jealous of Ally’s carefree attitude, and the fact that she didn’t know where she would be tomorrow.

I at least hoped she would be here, because I really did want to get to know her, even if we started out as just friends. But friends most definitely didn’t do this to each other, or make it feel so damn good. I could tell she was into it by the tiny little noises that were coming from deep in her throat, and I stroked my tongue against hers roughly, loving the sounds she was making.

I felt like she needed me to protect her from the world, and I wanted to, after just one kiss. I can’t even imagine how I would feel after knowing her for more than one day. But then all too soon it ended. Her hands suddenly moved from my back, coming between our bodies to break us apart.

“Oh my God.” Her hand went up to cover her mouth as she stared back at me with wide eyes. Reality started to set back in, and she shook her head repeatedly like she was trying to erase what just happened. “I can’t believe I just did that,” she whispered, avoiding my eyes.

“Ally, it was just a kiss,” I stated simply, even though it had really been so much more than that. I could tell she was freaking out for whatever reason, and I was trying to diffuse the situation.

“Just a kiss?” She touched her lips one more time and reached for the doorknob. “Listen, Nick, you seem like a really nice guy, but...” She paused as she searched through her purse with shaky hands. I couldn’t believe I was getting the nice guy speech from this girl that I had just met hours before. Maybe I needed to start acting like a jackass. Is that really what girls were into?