“By the next morning?”
“Maybe. I don’t remember.” I wouldn’t look her in the eye as I stabbed my fork into an innocent piece of macaroni salad.
My phone buzzed across the glass table next to my plate. I took a quick glance at the screen and couldn’t help the smile pulling at my lips.
Joe:One more night, and you’re all mine.
“I think I know who texted her,” Claire sang from across the table.
“Look…” Megan dropped a hand to my forearm. “Maybe I’m a sap, but don’t dismiss what you guys have as a fling only because you think it happened too fast. Brooklyn isn’t that far from here.”
“It’s far enough.” I sighed. “I want what we had this week. I want us to be together every day, not once in a while, if we’re lucky. I’m afraid part-time isn’t going to be enough for either of us.” I set down my fork and draped my hand over my eyes. “This is ridiculous; it’s been a week. I shouldn’t be planning for my future after a week.”
“You didn’t plan a future with Trent aftertwo years, or put this much thought into when you could see him again,” Claire noted as she poured us all more wine.
“I put his name on the lease. That was planning.”
“But why did you even do that?” Megan asked.
WhyhadI done that? It felt like the natural next step, but maybe it had been sidestepping a real commitment. Yes, his name was on my lease, but we’d had no other real plans with each other for the future. It was convenient, like every other man I’d been with until it wasn’t.
Joe and I were about to get veryinconvenient, but, unlike all those who’d come before him, I knew I couldn’t drop it all and walk away unscathed. And that scared me most of all.
28
Caterina
Since checkout timefrom the rental was noon, all three of us were up early, going through the entire house to make sure we didn’t leave any souvenirs for the cleaning crew. I gathered what was left of the food, which ended up being a lot since we weren’t home other than to sleep.
“I hope leaving at this ungodly hour means no traffic,” Claire whined, and we loaded their suitcases into the back of Megan’s car. My suitcase was packed last night and in my trunk, before they’d even woken up. I was a mix of nerves and excitement, and I hoped Joe didn’t mind starting our weekend together this early.
“Claire, please.” Megan stifled a yawn. “There’s always traffic on weekends in the summer. Suck it up, buttercup. And you,” Megan said as she grabbed my shoulders, “have fun, relax, and let things happen. Okay?”
“Sure, that’s easy enough.” I coughed out a laugh and hugged them both goodbye.
I leaned against my car, watching them drive off, still feeling a little guilty. I didn’t spend as much time with them this week as I’d intended, but they understood and were truly happy for me. When I’d come to Ocean Cove alone, not knowing what the hell I was doing here other than trying to get to some kind of bearing on my life, I’d never planned on Joe.
But I would have fun, relax, and let things happen—three things everyone else found easy but went against everything I usually was. An unexpected laugh tumbled from my lips when I closed my car door and started the engine.
At thirty-three, I felt young and alive for the first time in my life, and I didn’t want it to end.
The restaurant was dark when I pulled up, but I spotted a light filtering through the front window of Joe’s apartment. Fishing my bag out of the trunk and rolling it to the side entrance, I took in my surroundings. The street was so quiet, it was almost creepy. It was only six-thirty on a Saturday morning, but, back home, there was always someone outside at any time of night. Without all the beach-goers and tourists bustling around, it was simply a small, sleepy town and almost intrusive to be out this early in the morning. When things were too quiet, I’d usually become agitated since I was so accustomed to noise all around me, but I enjoyed the peace, another thing that had eluded me until I’d come here.
I reached into my purse to dig out my phone and text Joe when the creak of his door startled me.
“Want to come inside before people think you’re casing the place?” Joe leaned against the doorjamb with his arms linked across his bare chest, in nothing but a pair of sweat-shorts. I’d seen him naked most of this week, but standing like that, lean muscle everywhere and a blinding smile stretching his lips, my pulse still surged, and my body still ached. I kept expecting us to burn out, but Joe did more to me with those crystal blue eyes than the other men I’d been with could do with their hands.
Joe was beautiful and belonged to me—now. Everything else faded into the distance.
“Do you always come to the door without a shirt?” My eyes traveled up and down his body.
“When a pretty girl comes over, usually.” He grabbed me by the waist and kissed me. Close-mouthed but slow and full of intention. “And this pretty girl is going to stay.” His hand weaved into my hair before he kissed me again. He tasted like coffee and toothpaste, and when his tongue collided with mine, I was hungry for more. Joe pulled back on a throaty groan.
“Let’s get upstairs before we put on a show. This street may look sleepy, but more people are around than you may think.” He took the suitcase and lifted my laptop bag from my shoulder. “Come on.” He beamed at me before grabbing my hand.
I followed Joe up the stairs to his apartment. “This place is yours. Feel free to sleep or whatever you want to do while I’m working.”
I nodded, scanning his living room as if I were seeing it for the first time. It was quaint and cozy. Joe didn’t have much in the way of pictures, but I spotted a few family photos under his huge mounted TV. I recognized his parents and figured the girl in the picture was probably his older sister. I guessed my focus was always on his bedroom, so I’d never taken in many details.
