Slow Burn - a Novel: The Elite (8 page)

Who was she?
If it weren’t for her pink hair and piercings, I would’ve assumed that back in high school she had been the head cheerleader, homecoming queen, fantasy of every guy in school type of girl. She was the complete package. Full lips that led to an easy smile. Dazzling blue eyes that were wide and open, entrancing and intriguing. A figure that while possibly curvier than most airbrushed models on billboards and swimsuit campaigns, was lush and decadent, the stuff that real men dreamed about. Her features, porcelain skin, and sunny disposition all pointed to an outgoing, spunky, popular girl type.

And while I didn’t know her well enough yet to say for sure she hadn’t been a bubbly cheerleader, there was something about her that told me that wasn’t the case. There was something darker about her that had nothing to do with her somewhat alternative look.

“I’ve just been having a hard time with my sister,” she continued, shaking her head. “She has these new friends that she’s met since being here. She went out with them today and was supposed to keep her phone on her, and turned on. But, I’ve texted a few times to check in and she isn’t answering. I don’t know anything about these kids she’s spending time with and whenever I start asking questions, she gets all defensive. It feels like she’s hiding something and I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry, Carly. She seems like a sweet girl but I can see how she might be a handful too.” Carly nodded in agreement, but dropped her gaze back down to the counter. “Sorry, I don’t mean to say anything against her —”

Carly interjected with a wave of her hands. “No, no, you don’t have to say that. I know what you mean. Hell, I should be apologizing to you for the way she’s been shamelessly throwing herself at you every chance she gets.”

To my surprise, Carly’s words had a glimmer of amusement in them and when she looked up, her eyes reflected that with a slight smile. “I would say I’m used to it, but that makes me sound like an arrogant prick.”

Carly laughed and the sound radiated through the coffee shop, lifting some of the heaviness that had settled between us. “It’s not like it would be a newsflash,” she replied, still smiling. “I see the looks you get around here.”

I held up my hands, feigning innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Nick,” Carly said, with a slight eye roll.

I lowered my hands and set them on the counter between us. “Okay, fine. But then again, I could just be getting looked at because I’m new in town.”

Carly scoffed and I couldn’t help but feel a little excited by her non-verbal confession that she was into me. If she wasn’t, there was no way she would have been paying attention to the way that other women looked at me. I decided against pointing that out though. I was slowly winning her back to a good mood and didn’t want to risk alienating her by pushing the issue.

That would be a conversation for another day.

“So, what are you going to do?” I propped my elbows on the counter.

She eyed me suspiciously. “You don’t really wanna hear about all that.”

I shrugged. “I just got off the phone with my boneheaded little brother. So, trust me, if nothing else, at least I’ll understand where you’re coming from.”

“How old is your brother?”

“Just turned twenty-two. But he acts like he just turned sixteen. He’s still in that party animal phase and it’s not a good look.”

Carly frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t say too much ‘cause I was the same way. Once upon a time. Feels like forever ago…Nate’s in the Marines, stationed over in Japan and the whole crew has too much time on their hands. At least from the sound of it. Out drinking and tearing it up anytime they’re not on duty.” I heaved a sigh. “Exhausts me just thinking about it. I’m getting old I guess.”

Carly laughed and the thrill of victory swept through me. “Sounds familiar. Alesha is probably out there doing the same thing, but trust me, it’s even less cute since she’s underage.”

“And a female.”

Carly grimaced. “Yeah. A thousand times scarier.”

“Does she throw your past in your face? That’s Nate’s favorite thing. Any time I get on his case he gives me the same fuckin’ line ‘it’s not like I’m doing anything you didn’t do.’ It’s infuriating.”

“Right. Like that’s a reasonable excuse.” She shook her head, staring off into space for a moment. God, she was sexy. Real sexy, no matter what she was doing.

Carly propped her elbows on the opposite side of the case and leaned into her hands, raking her fingers into her hair.

“How come she stays with you in the summer? She said something about it the other day, but I don’t remember. I was a little distracted…” I smiled at her, leaving my meaning unspoken—but obvious.

Carly blushed and looked away, before pouncing on her sponge to continue her scrubbing. “Our dad is remarried and his wife, Kelli, has family over in Greece. So, for the past two summers, they’ve gone over there for two or three months to spend time with family. My dad works for an international bank, and he works out of the Athens office while they’re there, and Kelli runs a fashion blog and does a lot of promotion stuff while they travel.”

I nodded. “All of which would be a lot trickier with a cranky teen in tow…”

“Right.”

“Damn, that must be nice. Travel for three months every summer. You ever go over to visit?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve never even been out of the country before. You?” She paused and interrupted herself before I could answer. “Oh—duh. Of course you have.”

I laughed. “A time or two. You don’t do eight years in the corps without taking a few trips overseas. I’ve been to Japan, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. But, I can safely say that none of those trips were any fun.”

Carly smile slightly. “I’m sure you made the best of it.”

“Did my best. My buddies and I were always getting into something, but still…not my idea of fun.”

“I suppose not.” She scrubbed the counter once more and then turned to dump the used sponge into the sink by the espresso machine. “Where would you go if you could go somewhere just for fun?”

“New Zealand is at the top of my list. Something about the wide open space and the green landscape appeals to me.”

Carly came back over and leaned on the case opposite me once again. “And then you might as well hop over to Australia. I mean, you’re right there.”

“Exactly!”

“Sounds fun. Is that your plan?”

“Someday. Yeah. Why not? I don’t have anything concrete mapped out, but I got another three months to figure it out.”

“Why three months?” She asked, wrinkling her nose.

“I’m at the museum for the next three months. Rosen only needs me for the next ninety days. It’s more of a contractor position.”

“Oh.” She frowned and my heart jumped at her disappointment. “What happens after that?”

“I don’t know. I like it here though, so maybe I’ll find a way to convince him to keep me on longer. All I know is I’m not going back to Fallon.”

She laughed. “Well that’s good to hear. Aaron’s a smart guy. I’m sure he’ll keep you. If nothing else, I’m apparently in desperate need of a bus boy…” she said, gesturing to the dining room that looked like a tornado had ripped through. Each table was stacked with plates and discarded mugs.

“Woah.”

“Yeah. It’s been an insane day.”

I turned my attention back to her. “You’re just about ready to close up, right?”

Carly nodded. “In about a half an hour. It usually drops off around this time, so I tend to take advantage by getting a jump on the cleaning.”

I shifted forward and braced myself against the dessert case, staring down at her on the other side. “So, tell me what there is to do around here on the weekends. I was asking around at the museum, but no one seems to have much in the way of suggestions. Do you all just camp out on your couches with your Netflix account all night?”

“Something like that,” Carly replied laughing. “Most of the fun happens outside of Holiday Cove on the weekends. If you want to get out of town, you can usually find some fun just a little way up the coast.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?” I asked. Carly flashed me a suspicious look., “I’m just asking hypothetically. I’m not inviting myself along on your weekend plans. Unless you wanted me to.”

“It’s gonna take me another two hours just to get this place put back together.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” I said, grinning over at her. “I’ll help you clean this place up and then you come out to dinner with me.”

“Nick, I…”

“It’s not a date,” I insisted, interrupting what had sounded like the start of an objection. She pursed her lips. “Just two new friends hanging out. Come on, consider it a random act of kindness. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to go out wandering aimlessly up and down the coast and that would suck. It’s either come out with me, or go home and pace around worrying about your sister.”

Her eyes wandered back to the messy tables and then back to me. “Well, I guess…”

“Excellent. Let’s do this.” I marched over to the trash cans, grab a black bin that was stashed on the second shelf off to one side, and started clearing tables.

I could hear Carly laughing from her place at the counter, but I just smiled to myself and kept cleaning.

Carly

“This is a nice truck,” I said, immediately regretting my own words. Wasn’t there anything else I could have come up with?

Luckily, Nick didn’t find it lame. He grinned at his truck and I was reminded how much boys loved their toys. He could probably go on about his truck all evening if I let him. “Thanks. Now, why don’t you tell me where I’m pointing it,” he said, coming around to the passenger side.

“What are you doing?” I asked, startled as he reached past me.

He gave me a quizzical glance. “I was going to open your door.”

“I thought this
wasn’t
a date,” I challenged.

“I’m not allowed to open your door because we’re not on a date?”

Well…put that way it sounded stupid. But, I’d already waded into the battle and I wasn’t going to back down. “I just think it has certain connotations…”

Weak, Carly. Weak.

Nick grinned and straightened. With a dramatic flourish of his hands, he waved at the handle. “All yours then. Wouldn’t want those pesky connotations throwing off our night.”

My cheeks flushed and I rolled my eyes at myself. I threw the door open and climbed into the lifted truck as Nick jogged back around the front to the driver’s side. He slid behind the wheel in one fluid, well-practiced maneuver, as I buckled in.

Stop staring at him
, I told myself, tearing my eyes off his powerful biceps and dragging them down to his large hands as they wrapped around the wheel. He gave me a sidelong glance before I could fully peel my gaze from him, and he smirked. “Where to?”

I jerked my head to face the front, staring out the windshield. This was a mistake. I should tell him that I changed my mind. Could I fake a call from Alesha? No…I was an adult. He was an adult. We were fine.

Right?

“Um, there’s this bar and grill not too far from here if you want a drink. They have like twenty something brews on tap. Pool tables, too.”

“Dancing?”

I shot him a puzzled glance, unsure if he was hoping for, or against, the possibility of dancing. “Not unless someone gets really shitfaced.”

He laughed and the deep, rumbling sound filled the cab of the truck and sucked all the air from my lungs. Or was that just the effect his smile had on me? It was the dimples. Damn them!

“I can’t make any promises.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else then,” I teased, forcing myself to get a grip.

Nick’s smile softened, but that dimple on the right side was still visible. “I’ll behave myself. I’m a little too old for that shit anymore.”

I laughed. “Right. How old are you anyways?”

“Twenty-nine. You?”

“Twenty-eight.”

He nodded. “And you’ve had this place how long?” He asked, jutting his chin at the now dark coffee shop.

“Two and half years now.”

“Great. You’re so young to have such a thriving business.” He brought his eyes back to mine, even darker than usual in the dim interior of the truck, the only light coming from the dash. “That’s very…sexy.”

I tried to laugh, but it got caught in my throat somewhere on the way and came out as a very unsexy-like snort. “I don’t know about that. It’s a lot of cleaning, budgeting, and obsessing over spreadsheets, none of which could really be called
sexy
.”

He grinned, his mind obviously mulling over an amusing retort, but he kept it to himself and left me wondering what was rolling around his tongue.

I cut him off at the pass and cleared my throat, breaking the electric energy that buzzed between us. “Harvey’s. That’s the name of the place. If you hit the highway, I’ll give you the directions from there.”

I could feel his eyes lingering on me and I suddenly wished I’d brought a sweater. I needed an extra layer between his searching eyes and my bare shoulders showing under my thin black tank top. My teeth worked on my bottom lip as I resisted the urge to turn and meet his eyes. It would only lead to trouble.

Thankfully, he started to back up and the moment washed away like a wave wiping away the footprints in the sand.

I needed to keep things casual and light with him or else I was going to do something stupid—and not very lady-like
.

* * * *

“Patio?” Nick asked, a pint in each of his hands.

“Definitely,” I answered, reaching for mine. He handed over the darker of the two and followed my lead as I swiveled through the crowded bar to get out to the less crowded patio. The doors were open wide, propped open by two large planters. I picked a table close to the fire pit to keep off the chill in the air. There were a few other people out on the patio, but they were closer to the edge, and focused on a card game. A pergola eclipsed most of the patio and there were paper Chinese lanterns hanging from the slats that were intertwined with ivy vines and fairy lights that provided a soft light over the space.

“It’s nice out here,” Nick said, lowering into an Adirondack chair.