The Shore (8 page)

Cody eyed her suspiciously.

“So tell me about your dad,” Ryan said, doing her best to change the subject.

“Well,” Cody began, “he worked a lot when we were younger, like a lot of dads. But he was always there when we needed him. He made it to most of our games through the years, and he was our loudest cheerleader. Of course, he was also the one to kick our asses when we needed it.”

“Oh, I’m sure that
never
happened,” Ryan teased.

“I wish I could say that was true. Riley and I, well, more me than Riley, were kind of hellions growing up. Dad, to this day, isn’t sure how I survived my teenage years. A lot of luck, I guess.”

“You were a pretty good ball player weren’t you?”

“What is this, the Cody show? What about you? I want to hear about you.”

“My name is Ryan Echo Blake, and I’m pretty boring,” Ryan said with a poker face. “So, about your baseball playing days…”

Cody laughed. “Yes, you are pretty, but you’re not getting off that easy.”

“Really? Because if we had kept going how we were going on that dune, I would venture to say you weren’t that far off from making it happen.”

Cody stared at Ryan. Well, he hadn’t expected
that
to come out of her mouth! It was kind of nice to see her mind could live in the gutter alongside his own. He was so stunned he couldn’t think of a witty comeback.

Since Cody seemed a little baffled by her response, Ryan grinned and answered, “Fine. I graduated from high school, went to school for design, and moved to Charlotte about ten years ago. I’ve been at the same firm the entire time.”

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that comment you just made, Ms. Blake,” Cody said with a gleam in his eye. “How did you go from Wisconsin to Charlotte?”

Ryan smiled but answered his question. “I fell in love with North Carolina a long time ago. The problem was I wanted big city more than shore, so I opted for Charlotte. I figured I had the best of both worlds – a few hours to the ocean and a few hours to the mountains. It’s like I’d never have to leave the state again.”

“You don’t seriously want to never leave the state again, do you?”

Ryan laughed. “No. I love to travel and explore. I especially love to take road trips. It was just nice to move to a place where weekend trips to beautiful places would be easy.”

“Phew! You had me worried there.”

Ryan grinned. “Now will you tell me about playing ball?”

“How’d you know I was a ball player?”

And there went her cheeks again. “Umm…”

“You Googled me, didn’t you?”

Ryan laughed and buried her face in her hands. “Yes. I’m so ashamed…”

Cody laughed and reached over to pull her hands from her face. She was far too beautiful to hide.

“I did pretty well in high school and ended up with a scholarship to UNC. I thought I might be able to have my chance at the big leagues, but one night I got pummeled by a hit that bounced right back at me. It messed up my shoulder so bad my throwing days were pretty much over. But then, you probably already knew that, right?”

Ryan went to hide her face again in embarrassment, but Cody wouldn’t let her. “Nu-huh. I want to see those beautiful blue eyes when I talk to you.”

Ryan couldn’t help but smile at his words, but then the reality of what happened to Cody hit her.

“So just like that your dream of playing in the majors was over?”

“Pretty much. I mean, I was fortunate enough to get an education from a top notch school, so it wasn’t all bad. And let’s face it. No baseball career can last forever.”

“Do you still play?”             

“Yeh. There is a summer league here. I can’t throw as well as I used to, but we’ve won some good games. We have a game Friday. Maybe if you’re bored you could come check it out.”

Ryan wanted to, but then she remembered. “I’d really like to, but I think we might be doing the girls’ night out Friday.”

“No biggie. If Abby and Mac are going out, that probably means Riley will have Jake. We can have our own guys’ night out.”

“You, Riley and Jake? Oh, boy.”

“You have no idea. We get Jake all hopped up on sugar and candy, and then we give him back to Abby,” Cody cackled.

“That’s just mean, Cody Calloway!”

Cody sat and laughed.

The waitress arrived with their pizza and Cody dished up a slice for each of them. “Do you see your parents often?”

“Usually a couple of times a year. Paige and I typically head to Wisconsin for Christmas and then my folks will stay with me on their way home from the beach.”

“They come down for the winter?”

“For some of it. Dad finally turned over a lot of the operations of the company to his #2 guy, so they usually spend about eight weeks down here. Plus, they miss the brunt of the ice and snow, too.”

“I can’t even imagine what that’s like.”

“Cold. It’s very cold. As a kid, you live for snow days. There’s nothing like having your mom walk into your room before the sun is even up and tell you school has been cancelled for the day.”

“The only time we had that was when a hurricane would come through. Thankfully those were very few and far between.”

The rest of the evening flowed easily and they had some great conversation. They talked about their childhoods, the things they did to get in trouble, and even gossiped about the people Ryan could remember from back in the day. A lot of the kids she had hung out with were just like her – here only for a few weeks, or the entire summer, but lived elsewhere around the country. Cody had grown up here, so it was like a revolving door of new and familiar people through the years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cody pulled into the driveway and turned off the truck. As much as Ryan wanted to invite him in, the thought scared the shit out of her. It had been a long time since she’d been with anyone, and her nerves were driving her crazy.

Cody slipped off his seatbelt and turned toward Ryan. “You okay? You’ve been kind of quiet since we left the restaurant.”

Ryan mimicked Cody, turning to face him. He took her hands in his, and she looked at them like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Ryan?”

She looked up at him. “I’ve had a really great time these last couple of days. And I know I really like you.”

Ryan paused and Cody felt his stomach drop. “I really like you, too, Ryan. I’ve had a lot of fun since finding you knee-deep on the side of the road.” Cody smiled, trying to lessen the tension he was feeling.

Ryan smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s just…” she started and looked back at their hands.

Cody tugged gently on her hands. “Talk to me, Ryan.”

“It’s just… The last relationship I had was quite a while ago, and I got hurt pretty bad.” She paused while she gathered her thoughts. “But…”

Cody let go of one of her hands to lift her chin so she would look at him. “Tell me.”

“God, this is so embarrassing.”

“You’re not really a guy are you?” Cody asked, once again coming completely out of left field.

“What?” Ryan replied, startled. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“You aren’t going to tell me I’ve spent the last few days getting to know you, and kissing you, and you’re really a guy, are you?”

Ryan laughed. “No!”

“Well then, nothing you have to tell me can be that bad.”

Thankful for the stress relief, Ryan felt it was a little easier to say what she needed to get out. “It’s just been a long time since…”

“You’ve been with anyone?”

Ryan nodded.

“And you’re feeling … nervous?”

“Yeh.” She could feel her cheeks burn again.

Cody breathed a sigh of relief. Her nerves he could deal with. He was certain he was falling for her, and her having someone at home just wasn't an option.

He scooted closer to Ryan and pulled on her hands so she moved closer to him, too.

“I’m willing to take this at whatever speed you want it to go, Ryan.” Then with a completely straight face, he added, “I’m not going to lie though. I could take you into that house and kiss you and hold you all night.”

Ryan looked at him and whether she wanted to admit it or not, Cody saw want in her eyes again.

“But in the meantime,” Cody said and placed a lingering kiss on her lips, “I’m more than happy to cover you with kisses in my truck,” he kissed her again, “and on the dunes,” and again, “and on the beach,” and again, “and any other place you’ll let me kiss you.”

Ryan’s body was tingling from head to toe, and she was seriously reconsidering grabbing his hand and pulling him into the house. She thought better of it though, and chose to simply, but passionately, kiss him back.

The kiss began to deepen and it took all of Cody’s self-control to leave his hands around her waist. The feel of her skin earlier wasn’t enough. He wanted more. But he heard her, and he told her the truth. He’d take this as slow as she needed it to go.

Breaking apart, Cody said, “I’d better get out of here or I’m not going to be able to keep my promise.”

Ryan frowned a little, understanding the reason he was leaving was because of her fears.

“No frowning,” Cody said with a small smile and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve got plans tomorrow night with a bunch of the guys, but how about I take the afternoon off and we take the dogs to the beach? They can run around and get rid of some of that pent up energy.”

Ryan smiled. “That sounds like a good idea. How about Berkley and I come to you and Wrigley?”

“Sounds like a plan. Can I have your phone? I’ll add my address to my contact information.”

Ryan dug into her purse and grabbed her phone, unlocked it and handed it to Cody. “Are you sure you’ll be able to find your name? You might want to do a search for ‘sand,’” Ryan grinned.

Cody laughed and took the phone from her.

Feeling brave, Ryan committed the ultimate sin for guys that wear ball caps. Cody’s head was down while he was typing and she grabbed his hat and put it on her own head.

His head didn’t move, but she could see an eyebrow rise and when he looked her in the eye, she was under complete scrutiny.

Ryan lifted her hand to Cody’s hair. It was a medium brown color and curly. Without the hat, it was messy, but there was something hot about it, too.

“May I help you?” Cody asked with a grin.

“I just wanted to see what you looked like without your hat. Every time I’ve seen you, you’ve had one on.”

Cody laughed. “Ahh. And?”

“I like it. Your hair is really soft.” She continued to run her hands through his hair for a moment, finally reaching the back of his head near his neck. “And I really love these curls.”

Maybe that’s why I didn’t recognize him the other day. His hair was really short back then. I’d never seen him with all of these curls.

“The sad part is, I think that hat looks better on you than it does on me.”

Ryan felt herself blush again. “That’s only because you did the hard work of breaking it in.” She grabbed the bill and pulled the hat off her head. She put it on Cody’s head with the bill facing the back, which showed off more of his curls. She had a thing for guys that wore their hats backwards, and Cody wore his well.

He handed Ryan’s phone back to her. “So about 2 tomorrow? I can get some work done and then we can play on the beach.”

“That sounds good.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “Thank you, Cody.”

The way she said it was more earnest somehow, as if she was referring to more than just a trip to the dunes and some pizza. “For what?”

“For not making this awkward.”

Cody wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her into a deep, long kiss.

“I meant what I said, Ryan. I really like you, and we can take this as fast or slow as you want it to go. I just want to spend time with you.” He paused for a moment, then added, “And kiss you.”

Ryan smiled and kissed him again.

“See you tomorrow, Cody. Sleep tight.”

“Sweet dreams, Ryan.”

She grabbed her purse, opened the door and walked toward the house. She unlocked the door and turned to wave at Cody, appreciating that he waited for her to get in the house before he left.

Ryan laid in her bed unable to fall sleep. She was having a hard time clearing her mind after the conversation with Cody. It had been more than four years since she and Jaxon broke up. Well, they never really “broke up,” Ryan had just walked out and never spoke to him again. He had hurt her that much.

Ryan thought about a conversation she and Madison had one night over their favorite pints of Ben & Jerry’s.

“You are a GOOD person, Ryan. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone to grow old with,” Madison said, her face as sincere and serious as I had ever seen it.

I could feel the tears in my eyes. I knew, deep in my heart of hearts, what Madison was saying was true. I just couldn’t convince my head of it.

“I can see your tears, Ryan, stop it. No one from your past deserves one iota of your tears or brain space.”

“Iota?” I asked with a raised brow, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

“We’ve had this conversation so many times. I just don’t know how to convince you. You are worth someone’s love and that someone is out there for you. Waiting for you. Don’t let what happened in the past control your future.”

Madison slid another bite of Chunky Monkey into her mouth.

“Hell, you know if I was a lesbian, I’d be on you like white on rice.”

I laughed out loud, nearly spewing the ice cream in my mouth all over her lap. “Thank you, Mad.”

Madison grinned for a split second then put her ice cream down as if she were giving me all of her attention.

“I just want you to try, Ryan. What’s the worst that could happen? You tell some guy about some deep dark secret and he laughs at you? If he does, then he’s a dick and he was never meant to be with you anyway. He was never going to be good enough for you.”

“You’re the best, you know that?”

“Yes, I do.”

As usual, her best friend was right. They hadn't known each other that long, not compared to others, but Madison just got her. And it was like any bullshit Ryan tried to pull just bounced right off her. She wouldn't let her get away with anything.

Sighing to herself, she conceded she would at least
try
with Cody. There was obviously something happening between them, and if she wasn’t able to open up, she might as well end whatever was happening before it went any further. She would answer whatever questions he asked her as openly and honestly as she could.

And with that, Ryan closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.

There was one question Ryan wanted to ask Cody though, and she just hadn’t had the balls yet to ask. The man was in his mid-30s, single, never been married, hot as hell, fit, liked well by others, and helped women on the side of the road – why hadn’t he been snatched up yet? If he had something crazy going on, she wanted to know now before her feelings grew any stronger.

Grabbing her purse and the small bag she packed of extra clothes and a towel, she called for Berkley. “Come on, girl! You want to go for a ride?”

Berkley’s head popped up from where she laid on the living room floor. The dog just looked at Ryan.

“You want to go…” Berkley’s held lifted and tilted. “For a ride?” Oh, Berkley heard her this time. The dog jumped up from the floor, grabbed her stuffed green frog that would ribbit when squeezed, and made a fast dash down the stairs to the door. By the time Ryan had turned the corner and started down the stairs, Berkley was waiting impatiently by the door with her tail wagging and the frog in her mouth.

Ryan laughed when she saw her. “You want to go see Wrigley?” Berkley’s tail began to wag even faster, if that was possible. “Okay, Berk. Let’s get outta here and go see our guys.” Ryan smiled at the sound of that.

Cody was sitting at his desk when he heard Ryan’s car. He looked at the time on his computer and grinned. 2 o’clock. Right on the button.

He remembered dating a girl in high school who either thought her shit didn’t stink (and oh, it did) or she really had no care in the world about other people’s time. She was constantly late, no matter how early someone asked her to be somewhere. He had learned then that being prompt meant something to people, and he appreciated those that understood the concept.

It was a nice day out and Cody had all of the windows open while he was working. It also meant, as he walked toward the living room, he could see Ryan mess with Berkley’s leash and get out of the car. He just stood there, watching and admiring.

She was so fucking beautiful. And seriously, he needed to come up with a better word for her, but that was all he could think of. Stunning? Cute? Attractive? While all those words described Ryan, the only word that might really come close was sexy. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, kind of like the first day he’d seen her, and she had on a pair cotton shorts and a simple t-shirt.

Ryan started walking toward the door and before she had a chance to knock, it opened.

“Hi!” Ryan said, startled.

Cody grinned and said nothing. He didn’t want to say anything. He just wanted to kiss her. So he wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close and did.

Ryan felt her knees go weak at the feel of his soft lips.

Cody pulled back with a grin. “Hi yourself.”

Ryan couldn’t help but wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for another heart-stopping kiss. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, and he willingly opened his lips to her. Ryan sucked his tongue and pulled herself closer to Cody. He made a noise deep in his throat that made Ryan press herself even tighter against him. When his hands lowered to her ass and pulled her in, there was no mistaking the feel of his cock through his shorts.

Cody loosened his grip and forced himself to back away. “You’re going to kill me, you know that?” he asked with a tortured look on his face with just the smallest hint of a grin.

Ryan blushed a bright shade of red. “Sorry.”

Cody chuckled, a sound Ryan was growing to love and still found sexy as hell.

“No you’re not,” he winked.

If possible, Ryan blushed even more.

Cody lifted his hand and caressed her cheek softly. “It’s alright,” he said. “I kind of like it.” He leaned in and gave her a long kiss before backing away.

Ryan smiled at him.

“I suppose I should let you in, huh?” Cody asked.

Ryan grinned and bent down to take the leash off Berkley. The dog took off through the house before Ryan even had a chance to cross the threshold. “Where’s Wrigley?” Ryan asked.

“Out on the deck. He’d been bugging me all day to go out, so I just left him there for a while. He was driving me nuts while I was trying to work.”

Ryan smiled.

“You want the grand tour?”

“Sure,” she smiled.

Cody took her hand in one of his and her bag in the other and led Ryan through the house. The living room was open and airy, with tall ceilings like the majority of the houses along the shore. It was comfortable looking and not at all like the man cave she had expected to find. There was a large blue couch facing a fireplace and a TV that hung over the mantle. In front of the couch was a beautiful oak coffee table. Matching blue chairs that looked comfy enough to fall into and lose herself in a good book sat on either side. The walls were a cream color that was intermixed with accents of oak woodwork.

The next room was built like a loft over the living room and obviously Cody’s office. His desk ran the length of the wall and sat beneath a window that faced the beach. It held multiple monitors and all the other necessary peripherals he might need. The desk was huge, and Ryan envied the amount of workspace he had. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a shelf with numerous books related to the various programming languages web developers might use. Ryan loved reading on her iPad, but there was something about having a reference book in front of her.

They passed two smaller bedrooms and a bathroom before they reached the master suite. Cody stopped in the doorway of his room so Ryan could take a peak. He didn’t dare actually go into the room as he was afraid they wouldn’t come back out.

Ryan took in the king-size bed covered in a cream and brown duvet that was bookended by dark chocolate wood nightstands. The headboard was made of the same wood as the nightstands, but looked like simple slats attached to the wall. There was a matching tall dresser along one wall, and a shorter matching dresser along the opposite wall. The walls were a cream color, which made the furniture and dark drapes stand out.

Cody looked to Ryan and saw her eyes were fixed on the bed. “What are you smiling about?” he asked, squeezing her hand.

“Nothing. It just looks like a very comfortable room … and bed.”

“Yes, it is. They are. And if we don’t leave this doorway right now,” he moved his body closer to hers, “you may get a different kind of introduction to the contents of this room.”

Ryan looked at him and swallowed hard. Her heart began to race. She wanted to stay, but instead said, “We should probably get moving along then.”

Cody looked at her for a long moment, thinking of how easy it would be to walk her into the room, lay her on the bed, and make love to her all afternoon. Then he cleared his throat, turned on his heel, and pulled Ryan toward the kitchen.

This kitchen was … impressive. She wasn’t sure what her favorite part was: the huge island/breakfast bar, the butcher block countertops, or the little veggie sink her hand slid across. “You must be one hell of a cook.”

Cody looked at Ryan. “What makes you think that?”

“Have you looked at your kitchen lately? It’s beautiful!”

But there was something that had been nagging Ryan since they began the tour. She hadn’t been able to put her finger on it until they got to the kitchen. There was a woman’s touch here. Maybe his mom had helped with the decorating, but Ryan had a feeling it was more than that. Almost as though a woman had lived here.

Cody felt a slight twinge in his chest. This kitchen was definitely not his most favorite part of the house. It brought back memories. Too many memories. He wasn’t ready to dive into those details with Ryan quite yet.

“I can hold my own,” referring to her comment about being a good cook.

“Maybe you’ll make dinner for me one night?”

Cody tried to give her a reassuring smile. “Sure.”

They heard a
thump
and looked over to see Berkley waiting, not so patiently, by the sliding door that led to the deck. On the other side of the glass sat Wrigley, his tail wagging, too. They both laughed as Cody walked over and opened the door. Berkley leapt onto the deck. The dogs circled each other, doing the best job they could of butt sniffing, and eventually started playing. Wrigley would chase Berkley, then Berkley would chase Wrigley.

“Maybe we ought to get them down to the beach,” Cody said still laughing. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone and set it on the counter. “Don’t want it to get wet in case one of the dogs takes me down with them.”

Ryan nodded in agreement. “Good idea. You never know when one of the
dogs
might just push you into a wave.”

Cody’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “Don’t even think about it.”

Ryan winked and turned to find her bag where Cody left it near the front door. “Be right back.”

Cody’s breath caught when Ryan returned. He figured she went in search for her bag, but hadn’t expected her to take off her shirt and come back in a bikini top and shorts. The change had caught him off guard – in a good way.

“Wow,” Cody sighed and Ryan could feel herself turn a dark shade of red. “You really are trying to kill me.”

“Do I need to go throw you in the shower?” she asked.

He raised his eyebrow and grinned in response. “Yes, please.”

She looked him in the eye and could feel the tension between them. Nerves or not, she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to hold out. The feelings, the
physical
feelings, she was having toward Cody just might surpass her nerves.

In a desperate plea to change the subject and lessen the tension, Ryan asked, “Do you have any dog toys you usually take to the beach?”

He, too, was thankful for the subject change. There was only so much a guy could take, and she was starting to push his limits.

Dumbbells. Picture frames. Bar stools.

Anything to make his cock behave.

“Oh, yeh. Right in here.” Next to the door was a big wicker basket of toys, chews, towels, and pull ropes. Cody knelt down to pick out a few for the beach and stood after making his selections.

“These should work. You ready?” he asked.

Ryan nodded and followed Cody onto the deck. She wasn’t sure which she loved more – the kitchen or this deck. It was huge! It ran the length of the house with a swing on one side and a built-in grill and refrigerator on the other. There was a picnic table that could easily seat eight people near the grill and a couple sets of Adirondack chairs with matching tables between them.