“Which way did she go?”
“Towards the lifeguard station. Are you sure you’re all right, Tommy?” Her face is flushed, which means I’ve upset her.
“I’m sorry, Connie. I’m having a bad day. Stay here with the boys and I’ll be back soon.”
It doesn’t take long to reach the ramps to the sand, and when I get there, I just make out Angie’s long blonde hair waving against the breeze in the distance.
The weight of wet sand on my trainers hauls me back, so I flip them off and run.
The wind is howling, it’s cloudy as hell, and spots of rain dampen my exposed skin. Why she wants to be out in such shit weather beats me.
“Angie,” I call after her, but I’m not sure she can hear me. Then the wind drops, so I try again, shouting her name at the top of my voice. “Angie.” She finally turns around, squinting towards me, then waits so I can catch up.
She looks worried as I approach her. “Is everything okay?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Her face drops. “Oh, God, what? Is it Josh?”
“Josh is fine.”
“Then what happened?” Her eyebrows draw together while she waits for me to speak.
For a second, I contemplate what to say and decide to just come out with it. “I’ve just met your friend Fraser.”
“Okay,” she answers, cool as a cucumber, although she swallows hard.
“He said the two of you are no longer an item.”
Her eyes narrow and her lips set in a perfect line. “I see.” She nods, looking at the sand under her bare feet. “Let me ask you something, Tommy.” Her eyes connect with mine as her lips purse. Her walls are building up around her, I can see them. “What the hell has this got to do with you?”
My jaw clenches. “It has everything to do with me when you lie about it. Couldn’t you be straight and tell me to back off instead of fake dating?”
She closes her eyes, dropping her head to the side. “It’s not that simple.”
I draw in a breath and release it slowly. “When I asked if you were still seeing Fraser, why didn’t you give me a straight answer?”
“I’m sorry. I panicked. It all happened so quickly and I wanted to sort out my thoughts. It just seemed easier—” Now, she can’t even look at me.
“I thought we were always honest with each other, but it’s pretty clear that’s not true.”
Her wide eyes look right into mine and her body tenses. “You weren’t very straight with me either when you ended up shagging anything that moved behind my back.”
Throwing my hands in the air, I almost laugh with frustration. Instead, I bite my bottom lip to stop myself and try to reason with her. “You’re talking about something that happened a million years ago. Why drag it up again?”
She looks away. “I’m making a point.”
“A poor one. Don’t dig up ancient history, especially that history. I’m ashamed of what happened back then, but Jesus, Angie. I thought you’d be over it by now.”
Her fingers comb through her blonde hair as she gazes upat the sky. “I’m sorry, Tommy. I was just… I don’t know looking for a way to explain how I feel.”
“And you focus on that. Don’t you think I regret it?” She’s looking anywhere but at me, so I step in front of her to make sure she gives me her full attention. Her eyes snap to mine.
“I’m sorry, Angie, okay? I’m fucking sorry, but we’re not kids anymore. There was no need to use Fraser to punish me for how I behaved over ten years ago.”
She grabs my arm as I try to walk away. “I wasn’t using Fraser to punish you. At least, that wasn’t my intention.”
I blow out a long sigh. “Then what? What the hell is going on? You lied to me, and friends don’t lie to each other, especially not us.”
