Slow No Wake (13 page)

Brad glanced in my direction. “Everything is good, but I would recommend the salmon or the ahi tuna salad. They’re both excellent.”

I closed my menu. “The
ahi tuna salad it is.”

“I guess I’ll try the salmon then,” Hannah said, shutting her menu.

“Good choices,” Brad said, but he was clearing addressing my sister.

When the waiter came to take our orders, he also addressed Brad as Mr. Collins. Brad ordered for the three of us and the waiter took our menus and exited.

It may have been rude, but I was overcome with curiosity. “It seems like everyone who works here knows you pretty well.”

Brad gulped. He was clearly embarrassed and I regretted mentioning it. Finally, Brad said, “My parents own the restaurant.”

His eyes immediately went to Hannah to gauge her reaction.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Hannah said thoughtfully.

That seemed to calm Brad a bit. Then he continued. “They own several restaurants in town and some other businesses.”

I should have guessed that Brad came from a wealthy family. He had that air about him. It explained a lot.

Brad looked down at his napkin. “I’m an only child and my parent’s really wanted me to take over running the small business empire they built, but I just couldn’t. It’s not me. I’m too introverted and I don’t have the right personality or aptitude to be successful in that arena. So, my parent’s will probably sell everything in a few years when they retire. I’m enjoying the restaurants while I still can.”

I could see there was a bit of sadness in Brad’s eyes. I wondered if he felt like he let his parent’s down in some way. Maybe he felt as though he couldn’t live up to their expectations. Even though many people found him a bit off-putting and quirky, I appreciated him a bit more.

My sister, never one to hold back, said, “Don’t feel bad. I’ve never made my parent’s happy, either.”

When I glanced at Brad, he was actually smiling at my sister. They were certainly kindred spirits in a way I never imagined. I always found it interesting what deep needs and hidden traits actually drew people together, often unconsciously.

“Thank you for joining me for lunch,” Brad said to Hannah. “It really means a lot to me.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Hannah replied.

The two couldn’t take their eyes off of each other for the rest of the meal.

***

L
ater that evening, Daniel took me for a long walk on the beach. The night air was warm and damp, but there was just enough gulf breeze to insure we wouldn’t get too hot. I was starting to love the fresh smell of ocean air and the sounds of the gulls as they passed by. I wondered how I had ever lived anywhere but near the sea. 

“How was lunch with Brad?” Daniel asked stifling a laugh.

“It was actually really nice,” I said. “He took us to The Pier.”

Daniel stopped and gaped at me. “He took both of you to The Pier for lunch?” he repeated as if he hadn’t heard me correctly.

I nodded.

“Do they pay therapists that much more than intake counselors?” he asked in disbelief.

I laughed. “No, not at all. I certainly couldn’t afford to eat there. Brad does all the time.”

I knew I was teasing Daniel but then I felt badly because his expression turned grim. “I’m sorry I can’t afford to take you to a place that nice. Now I feel like a shit taking you to the cafeteria for lunch.”

I placed my hands on Daniel’s chest. “You don’t have to take me anywhere that fancy. It’s not my style anyway. As long as it means spending time with you, you could pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and take me to the park and I would be just as happy.”

Daniel looked into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I assured him.

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss.

“Brad’s parents own the restaurant,” I admitted.

Daniel went wide-eyed. “You’re kidding.”

I shook my head. “I guess they own several restaurants and shops.”

Daniel thought about this for a minute. “You know I’ll probably never be wealthy,” he said finally.

“And?” I said.

Daniel gulped. He put his hand to my face and looked deeply into my eyes. “I know you can do a lot better than me.”

“I didn’t know there was anything better than the best.”

Daniel pulled me close and wrapped me in a tight embrace. “I think I’m the one who got the better end of this deal.”

I guess we both felt lucky to have found each other.

We walked quietly for a while,
then Daniel asked, “Are you going to introduce me to your sister?”

I gulped. “I’d like to avoid it as long as possible.”

Daniel stopped walking and turned to me. He cupped my face in his hands. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not your ex-fiancé. I would never do what he did. Ever.”

I could feel a tear slide down my cheek. Daniel brushed it away with his thumb then placed a gentle kiss in its place. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I know you were hurt. I know how that feels. I was hurt, too. I know how difficult it is to trust again.”

Then he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

***

H
annah followed me around the apartment like a puppy as I packed my stuff. “Is it just you and Daniel going?” she asked as I placed my bikini into my overnight bag.

“No,” I said vaguely.

“Who else is going?” she asked in a casual tone that was anything but casual. She was pumping me for information. She could pump all she wanted; she was still not going with us.

I looked her in the eyes. “Does it matter who else is going if you’re not?”

She shrugged.

I grabbed my cosmetics case and headed into the bathroom. My sister followed me. She watched as I packed my toiletries.

“How many other people are going?” she asked.

I placed my toothbrush and toothpaste into my case. “I’m going with four guys. Are you happy?”

Hannah went wide-eyed. “You’re going camping with four guys? No other girls are going to be there? Just you and four guys? Is that safe?”

It never even occurred to me to question whether it was unsafe. “Daniel is a very big guy. He’s extremely protective of me. He won’t let anything bad happen to me. Honestly, I don’t think he’ll even let me out of his sight.”

I didn’t want to admit that Daniel was so ‘protective’ that he modified his entire work schedule to keep his roommate away from me. Not that he didn’t have good reason.

“I’m just worried about you,” she said.

That got me thinking. I wondered if something had happened to Hannah at some point and that’s why she was worried. I thought about all of the times she had gone out with groups of guys and the possible things that they could have done to her. It made my stomach clench. Here I was thinking that Hannah wanted to tag along for her own benefit, but now I had the feeling she wanted to tag along so I would be protected.

“Is there another reason you’re worried? Maybe something that happened to you?”

Hannah glanced down and didn’t respond for a few moments. Then she slowly nodded.

“Is this something you want to talk about now?”

She shook her head.

“Maybe we can talk about it another time?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Okay,” I said. I took her in my arms and gave her a hug.

TEN

Locked In

“T
his has to go, too,” I said, as I handed Joey-G my toiletry case.

He inspected the back of his Ford Excursion for an empty space. The case was small but ample trunk space was already packed to capacity with tents, camping gear and luggage to accommodate five people. Not to mention all of their kite surfing equipment.

“Maybe you can put this on the floor by your feet?” Joey-G suggested as he handed the bag back to me.

Daniel took it from my hands. “I’ll put it next to me. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “You need more leg room than I do.”

Daniel kissed my cheek. “Let’s get in the car.”

Joey-G hopped into the driver’s seat and Ricky rode shotgun. That left Eddie, Daniel and me for the back seat. I had a feeling the next few hours were going to be a bit uncomfortable.

Eddie took the left passenger side, behind Joey-G and I slid into the center “hump” seat. Daniel sat to my right, behind Ricky. Both Eddie and Daniel were tall and muscular guys, so it was tight.

Once we were on the road, Eddie made a point of stretching out so his right leg was touching my left. He glanced over at me and gave me a dimpled grin. My breath caught reflexively and I immediately hated my body for responding to him.

I glanced at Daniel and he was scowling. He put his left arm around my shoulder and pulled me in as close as he could. It was just enough so that my leg was no longer touching Eddie’s.

“You can lay your head on my shoulder if you get tired,” Daniel said quietly.

Apparently it was not
quiet enough, because Ricky yelled back, “Whose shoulder can I lay my head on? Joey-G is driving and I don’t want him to run off the road.”

The guys all chucked at Daniel’s expense, but he didn’t seem to mind. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

I could see Joey-G looking at us in the rearview mirror. “No making out in my car,” he yelled back to us. “I’m the only one allowed to score in this vehicle.”

Daniel flipped him the bird.

“I saw that,” Joey-G said.

“You’re just jealous,” Daniel said. 8Y

“Hell, yeah,” Joey-G said. “Lexie’s hot.”

I could feel my face getting warm with embarrassment. Daniel pulled me even closer to him, which I didn’t think was possible in such a confined space. If I was any closer, I would have been in his lap.

The rest of the trip the guys talked about kites and wind and waves. I could feel myself getting tired. As I lay my head on Daniel’s shoulder, I could feel his breath catch. As I snuggled in even closer and placed my hand on his muscular chest, his heartbeat quickened. Daniel felt so warm and I felt so secure in his strong arms, it didn’t take long for me to drift into a peaceful sleep.

***

A
kiss on my forehead woke me up. “We’re here,” Daniel said softly as I opened my eyes.

Joey-G and Ricky were already out of the car and Eddie was stretching out next to me. He must have fallen asleep at some point, too.

Daniel opened his door and we both hopped out of the car. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the beach.

“Wow,” I said to Daniel. “This is wonderful.”

He smiled. “Yeah, we like to come up here every few months, if we can. The waves here are a bit different than they are further south.”

“And so are the chicks,” Joey-G said. “What’s that saying about variety…it’s the seasoning of life.”

Ricky frowned. “Dude, variety is the spice of life. And you call yourself a chef. Ha!”

The guys all laughed.

“We’d better get the tents set up first,” Eddie said. “The last time I tried to set up a tent drunk, it fell down on me in the middle of the night.”

We unloaded everything from the back of the SUV and then the guys got to work setting up the tents. I asked Daniel if I could give him a hand, but he told me he could handle it.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked. I was feeling strange just standing there watching everyone else work.

“You can do the most important job,” Daniel said, removing his wallet from his pocket. He handed me a ten dollar bill. “Walk up to the concession area and get two bags of ice, then
fill the coolers with ice and beer.”

I had to grin. Of course, getting the beer ready for consumption would be considered the most important job to these guys.

I headed over to the concession area. It was 11:00 a.m., so the breakfast crowd was long gone and the lunch crowd hadn’t started yet.

A young blonde was at the counter. I thought she was around my age, but she was overly tanned and it seemed to be prematurely aging her. When she approached me, she had a strange expression on her face.

“You here with Eddie?” she asked, her tone harsh. I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by the question.

“Eddie’s part of the group I’m here with,” I said. I hoped that would appease her.

She looked me up and down as if she was sizing me up. I felt extremely uncomfortable. “Eddie and I usually get together when he’s in town,” she said.

“Okay.” That was really too much information, but whatever. “Would it be possible to get some ice?”

“I’ve never seen them bring a girl with them. They usually hook up with girls in town.”

It was becoming increasingly obvious that I was going to have to hear whatever this young woman wanted to tell me before I had any hope of getting the ice.

“So which one are you with?” she asked.

I sighed. Even though it was none of her business, I figured the quicker I satiated her curiosity, the quicker I could get my ice. “Daniel,” I admitted.

“Figures,” she said, but didn’t elaborate.

Now she had my curiosity piqued. “Why do you say that?”

“He usually doesn’t do hook-ups.”

I didn’t like that she used the word
usually
. I would have preferred the word
never
in its place.

She continued staring at me. “I can see why he likes you,” she said after what seemed like an uncomfortable eternity. “You’re cute and classy.”

I took it as a compliment. “Thanks.”

“I’m
Cyndee, by the way,” she said pointing to her name tag.

“I’m
Lexie.”

“Cool name.” She bit the side of her mouth as if she was thinking about something. “Would you mind doing me a favor?”

“What is it?” I asked hesitantly. My thoughts were spinning with all of the things I could imagine Cyndee may want me to do for her.

She swallowed. “Would you mention to Eddie that I get off work at six? Maybe he could stop by and say hi?” I’m sure that wasn’t the only reason she wanted him to stop by.

“Sure,” I said. “No problem.”

Cyndee’s
face lit up. “Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Can I get my ice now?” I asked as nicely as possible.

“It’s on the house,” she replied.

***

W
hen I carried the ice bags over to our campsite, the guys cheered and hooted. I noticed the tents were all up and the guys looked like they were readying their kite surfing gear. I placed the ice in coolers with the beer.

Daniel came over to me and kissed my cheek. “Thanks,
Lexie.”

“No problem,” I said as I handed him his money back. “Ice was on the house.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“Apparently the attendant is a big fan of Eddie’s,” I said loud enough to get his and the other guy’s attention. All eyes were on me. “Do you know a blonde named
Cyndee?” I asked. “With a y and two ees?”

Eddie actually looked a bit uncomfortable, but he played it off. “Names I’m not too good with, but I usually remember a face and I always remember a body.”

Joey-G and Ricky laughed. Daniel glanced at me. I sensed he was trying to gauge my reaction. I continued. “Cyndee wanted me to let you know she gets off work at six and she wants you to stop by and say hi.”

“I’m sure she wants more than just a hello,” Ricky said.

“Eddie will make sure she gets off,” Joey-G added.

I could tell it was going to be a very long weekend.

***

I
crawled into Daniel’s tent to change into my bikini. It had been quite a while since I put on a swimsuit, but I thought I looked decent in it. I wasn’t expecting the reactions I got when I stepped out of the tent.

Joey-G, Ricky and Eddie were all eyeing me. I suddenly felt like a sizzling steak set down in front of three hungry men. Before I knew what was happening, Daniel threw a beach towel over my shoulders.

I turned to face him, not sure what to say. Daniel gulped. “Do you have a tee shirt and shorts?” he stammered. “Something to wear over your bathing suit?”

“But we’re on the beach. I’d like to get some sun. You’re the one who said I looked pale, remember?”

“I know, but…” He seemed to be at a loss for words. “That bikini is…you’re so…” He rubbed his temple as he searched for the right words.

I put my hands on my hips. “I’m so what?”

Eddie looked at Daniel and then to me. “What Daniel is trying to say is that you’re smokin’ hot in that bikini and he doesn’t want every guy on the beach checking you out.”

I glared at Eddie and he just smirked. I turned to Daniel. “Will it make you feel better if I put on my shorts with the bikini top?”

“I guess so,” he said, but I didn’t think he was convinced. I had the feeling he wouldn’t be happy until I was fully clothed.

I let out an exasperated sigh and crawled back into the tent. When I reappeared, I was in my shorts and my bikini top. I handed Daniel back his beach towel and he nodded. “Thanks,” he muttered.

I kissed his cheek then whispered in his ear. “I only changed to make you happy.”

That got a small smile out of him.

The guys all grabbed their gear. I grabbed my beach towel, sunscreen and a paperback, and we headed to the water.

I found a secluded spot near some large rocks jutting into the water. The temperature was a near perfect 85 degrees and the constant breeze guaranteed it wouldn’t get too sweltering in the sunshine. I was really starting to love Florida. Sand, surf and sunshine—what was not to love?

I was surprised to see that Daniel had followed me. He put his towel down next to mine and we both sat stretched out on the sand.

“What did you bring to read?” Daniel asked.

I held up the book
Savages
.

He scrunched up his nose. “Do you like it?”

“So far. I haven’t had a chance to read very much of it yet.”

“Did you bring sunscreen? I wouldn’t want you to get burnt.”

I held up my SPF 30 and he nodded. “Let me know if you need help putting it on your back.”

I handed him the sunscreen and turned my back toward him. I could feel him squeeze some of the cream on my back. Then with soft but deliberate movements, he rubbed the substance into my skin. I liked the feeling of his hands on me. Jolts of electricity moved through my body with every one of his strokes. I imagined him touching the rest of me with his strong hands.

“There,” he said when he finished. I was a little sad he was no longer touching me. “Now your back won’t burn.”

I gave him a quick smile. I liked having Daniel take care of me, even if he went a little overboard sometimes. I had never been taken care of by a man. Jeff had always expected to be taken care of.

“You don’t have to stay here with me,” I said. “I know you probably want to spend time with your friends. I want you to. That’s why I brought my book.”

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” There was apprehension in his voice. Was he really that insecure about me and our relationship?

I looked into Daniel’s eyes. “I’m here with you, Daniel. I don’t want anyone else. You don’t have to worry.”

He nodded, but I sensed he wasn’t completely convinced. I wondered what had happened in his past to make him feel so insecure.

“Please go have fun with your friends,” I said. “It would make me happy.”

“Okay, but only to make you happy,” he said as he rose and grabbed his gear. I watched as he headed over to where Eddie, Joey-G and Ricky were getting set up.

I watched the guys for a while as they did their thing. It was kind of exhilarating watching them and I imagined the adrenaline rush they got from soaring through the waves and then flying through the air on their boards.

After a while, I decided to read my book. With the warmth of the sun, the light gulf breeze and the relaxing sound of waves, it didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.

I was dreaming about Daniel’s hands on my body…when the feeling of cool sand being thrown on my arm interrupted my revere.

I opened an eye and saw Eddie standing over me. He flicked another bit of sand at me with his foot.