Wet (The Water's Edge #1) (18 page)

My mind screamed a warning at me to slow down and think this through, but my body hollered at me to give in and enjoy the feast. I had to buy myself some time, regain my equilibrium.

Me: I can’t. Girl’s night.

West: Fine. Tomorrow. 7 @ the Wreck. K?

Me: I don’t know.

Yeah, so
I admit, I wanted to meet him. I just wasn’t sure I should. I needed a day to try and figure out what the hell was really going on with those two and then I could confront him in person if it came to that.

Not wanting to be a liar myself, I quickly texted Rue.

Me: Dinner tonight? Girl talk?

Rue: Can’t. Business dinner. After?

Me: Sure. Ice cream and doughnuts?

Rue: Absolutely!

Later than night, while waiting for Rue to get home, I watched bad reality TV, which seemed to reinforce the likelihood that West was a dirtbag who only thought with his dick and that I was probably being played, along with Aubrey, and whoever he’d done at the hotel the night he gave me a ride home. My anger was rising when my phone buzzed.

Rue: Sorry, girl. Saw this Adonis as I was leaving and am having drinks.

Quelling my frustration, I turned the television off and picked up a book instead. Two hours later, I was convinced West had to be some poor, misunderstood prince-in-disguise who just needed the right girl to open his heart of stone. Someone like me.

My phone buzzed again.

Rue: I’m sorry, but I can’t resist! He says he’s pierced! You know how long I’ve been waiting to try that. I’ll bring Krispy Kreme for breakfast, I promise!

Me: Be safe and have fun. Forget about the doughnuts, meeting Theo at the gym, then work.

Rue: Ok! Sorry! Later this week?

Me: Sure. And I want details!

Rue: ;-)

I wanted to be mad at Rue for flaking on me, but it was hard to hold onto it when I pictured her following a hardware-sporting Adonis with her tongue hanging out and a zombie-like expression on her face. In my mind, zombie-Rue was under Adonis’s spell, blindly trailing him and whimpering, “Must see piercing!” while she clutched at his shirt.

Happy for Rue, but annoyed with myself for letting West consume my thoughts, I tossed the book aside and booted up my laptop. I had one last backup method to take my mind off him. Calling up Pinterest, I typed “male model” in the search bar and daydreamed. The girly side of me enjoyed the eye candy for what it was, reminding myself that there were plenty of hot guys out there besides West. The photographer side of me took notes, paying attention to camera angles, lighting, poses, props, and staging. I tried not to compare the guys I was ogling to West, and was only partially successful.

My flimsy resolve annoyed me. I was turning into the kind of girl other girls mocked on those reality TV shows I was watching earlier. I like him. No, I don’t. Yes, I do. No, I really don’t. Yes, I do. Barf. It made me think of that bug from the cartoon movie, the one that was mesmerized by the bug zapper and kept drifting toward it, crooning, “I can’t help it. It’s soooo beautiful.”

Zap!

I did not want to be just another West Montgomery casualty.

CHAPTER 11

^“
R
emember that redhead I mentioned the other day?” Theo watched me work my triceps on one of the machines. “I think she’s stalking me. She was supposed to leave after the weekend, but it’s been another week, and she’s still here. And I keep seeing her everywhere.”

“Are you really complaining?” My voice was laced with skepticism.

“Yeah. It’s weird. She’s obsessed or something.”

“Obsessed?”

“I dunno. Maybe? I’ve seen her at work, at Starbucks, the drugstore, the freaking gas station.”

“It’s a small island,” I pointed out. “Maybe it’s coincidence?”

“I think this is the only place she hasn’t tracked me yet,” he said, muscling through a set of chin-ups on the machine next to me. “And that’s only because I parked two blocks away, in front of the Starbucks.”

“So, will she be at the resort today? And does she have a name? I feel bad calling her ‘the redhead.’”

“Probably. And it’s Chelsea.”

“Well, that should be easy enough to deal with. Just tell her that you and I started seeing each other in the meantime, and that I’m the jealous type. If she shows up, we can flirt like crazy until she gets the message.”

“You think that’ll work?” Theo sounded dubious.

“What? I’m not good enough for you?” I teased.

“No, no, it’s not that. I just don’t want her going after you or anything. It’s bad enough that I keep bumping into her everywhere.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Do I need to be worried?”

Theo shrugged. “Maybe. She even knows what kind of shampoo and deodorant I use. She followed me around the grocery store the other day and bought some so I’d have it ‘at her place.’ Who does that after a one-night stand?”

“Was it really only one night?” I crossed my arms and stared him down.

Theo face reddened. “Well, I mean, she was willing… and she followed me home.”

“Theo!” I said, groaning.

“What?”

“Just on principle, I should refuse to help you.”

“Okay, then just on principle, these sessions cost fifty bucks each from now on. So you owe me roughly…”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Fine. But drinks are on you this week.”

Theo grunted and threw a medicine ball at me. “Crunches. Two sets of thirty. Then we’re done.”

After our workout, we headed back to the cottage in my Wrangler for breakfast, leaving Theo’s clunker abandoned at Starbucks. He made us egg white omelets with cheese and tomatoes, while I blended up some mango, pineapple, and spinach smoothies. As yummy as the food was, I barely tasted it. Being back at home reminded me of West all over again.

On the way to the Edge, I worked up the nerve to ask him for insight. “So, Theo, if I ask you something, can you keep it just between us?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“It’s about West, and I know the guy code, bros before hoes, and all that.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Hesitating, I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “What’s the story with him and Aubrey?”

Theo hesitated. “I’m not sure I know the whole story. I know his parents and her parents are close, like, really close. And they always hoped Aubrey and West would end up together. I think Aubrey did too. And West just kind of seemed to go along with the whole thing. Like, he was usually her date for the gala at the end of the summer, or if there was some big social event. But I haven’t seen them together since he moved down here from Chicago last year. So who knows? Plus, I heard she was dating some football player.”

I swallowed uncomfortably. Aubrey and West had a history together. A pretty long history, it sounded like. And Aubrey didn’t strike me as the type to not get what she wanted. West’s story about the football player seemed to check out, but maybe Aubrey was hoping to rekindle things with West on the rebound?

Theo watched me. “Does that mean there’s something going on with you two? Did
you
hook up with
him
more than once?”

“No! But I worked with Aubrey on… a little project, and she threw out that West was hers.”

“Bitch was marking her territory, huh?”

“Theo!”

“Well, wasn’t she?” Theo sounded unrepentant. “She’s manipulative, so be careful around her.”

“She do something to you?” His anger sounded a little personal.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered, looking out the window.

“Did you and her…. ever?”

“What? Hell, no. I wouldn’t touch her if my life depended on it.”

Curious about his strong reaction, I studied him. There was a story there, but I’d respect his privacy for now. Besides, we were almost at work. I didn’t have time to pry it out of him. “You know I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

He nodded.

“What’s the deal with West? When I asked who was a good hook-up the other night, you didn’t mention him.”

“’Cause he’s not a good choice. Girls fall for him. Often and hard. And he’s nice enough about it, doesn’t lead anyone on or anything, but something about him makes girls go nuts. They chase him until it’s just embarrassing. I’ve heard the bathroom at the Wreck is a shrine to him. Not that I’ve investigated that particular claim.”

I wrinkled my nose.

Theo glanced at me. “No one would be surprised if you went for him again. Like I said, lots of girls do. It’s ridiculous. I just don’t want to see the aftermath. It’s never pretty.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. Note to self — no turning into a West zombie.

Pulling into the employee lot, we grabbed our bags and headed toward the locker rooms. “Hey, Theo, when we get out there, make me an iced coffee, will ya? I need some caffeine.”

He grinned. “I’ll make it a double.”

Work sucked. Kendra called in sick, and the pool was packed. The only time I had a spare second to even think about anything other than lifeguarding duties was during the adult swim break every hour, when I blew the whistle and everyone under sixteen had to clear the pool for ten minutes. And during those breaks, I was trying to help poor Theo.

Chelsea had shown up, all right, and hadn’t budged from her stool by Theo’s hut the whole morning. It was like she was chaperoning him or something. I came over every chance I got, but at this point, I was about to float away from all the drinks he kept making me. We were acting like a flirty couple, but Chelsea did not seem to be taking the hint. Or maybe she just didn’t care. It was hard to tell.

Around one, I was trying to quickly eat the turkey sandwich Theo handed me during my break. “Thanks, babe,” I said, leaning over to brush his hair off his forehead. I could hear Chelsea hiss on the other side of the bar.

Theo pressed his lips together and leaned over the bar toward me. “Why isn’t she leaving? I’ve done my best to ignore her and flirt with you. What am I doing wrong?”

I peeked around him. Chelsea’s eyes were glued to us. “She’s stubborn, isn’t she? We’ll just have to up our game.” Speaking louder, I arched my spine. “Sweetie, my back has a knot in it. Could you help me out?”

Theo rolled his eyes, since Chelsea couldn’t see his face, but managed to make his answer sound suggestive. “Sure thing, Sadie.”

Coming around from behind the bar, he slid up close to me and dug his thumbs into the tender flesh along my spine, rubbing in circles. I arched more and groaned, trying to play it up. “Oh yeah, right there. Your hands are amazing.”

Theo ducked his head and whispered in my ear. “I can’t take much more. I’m going to bend you over the bar and shove my tongue down your throat in a minute if she doesn’t leave soon. Think that’ll get the point across?”

Chelsea fumed at me, the flames from her eyes almost searing me with their intensity. “Theo!” I squealed, swatting his hip. “Not at work.” I giggled and pressed my hands to my cheeks, like he had said something naughty.

With a huff, Chelsea slid off her stool and marched away, shooting one last glare in my direction.

Theo froze behind me, his hands still on my back. “It worked, didn’t it?”

I smiled at him smugly. “What’d I tell you?”

Giving me a quick hug, Theo resumed his position behind the bar. “You’re the best. I owe you.”

Nodding my emphatic agreement, I wadded up the wax paper with the remains of my lunch.

As I walked to the trash can, I almost ran smack into Aubrey, who was rounding the corner with three other perfectly-coiffed clones of hers. I stepped back, indicating for them to go ahead.

Aubrey stopped and removed her sunglasses, looking me over. I crossed my arms self-consciously, well aware that her chic resort-wear looked a lot more polished than my modest red two-piece bikini, messy bun, and bare feet. Her friends stopped behind her.

“Girls,” Aubrey started, tipping her head to one side. “This is Sadie. The photographer I told you about.”

“Sadie? I had a dog named Sadie once,” one of them sniffed. She had on mirrored sunglasses, so I couldn’t see her eyes.