I bark out a laugh, speeding up my steps. Not only did he get in a fight with my stepbrother, but now my date is leaving the prom with his ex-girlfriend.
This is just great. This night couldn’t possibly get any worse.
As if God were listening, the skies open up and dump rain on my head while I’m still three blocks away from the resort.
chapter eighteen
Dayton
present day
She’s been gone all day, and I’ve been pacing like a wildcat, waiting for her to return—a wildcat with an unhealthy obsession with a woman he can’t have.
I went to the grocery store this morning. Then I went out surfing for a few hours, but after coming back to the house and seeing her Land Rover still gone, I started shuffling around the bungalow, making notes of things to bring up with Javier.
The pit in my stomach grows larger when the hands on my watch tick to four p.m.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I grumble to myself.
She’s a grown-ass woman. She may not return all night, and I’ll have to live with it. I’m the idiot who decided to start sleeping in her bed and creepily watch her every move. Then I brought up her sexual experiences like a jerk and threw her divorce in her face like an even bigger jerk.
I know we can never be together, but that doesn’t make my obsession with her any easier to cope with.
I groan, lifting my hands up behind my head as I walk back into the studio. I spend the next fifteen minutes tidying up myduffel bag, lining up her shoes by the door, and sweeping out the stray sand. I start a load of laundry for her in the stacked washer and dryer, tucked away in the little closet, and make the bed. She has a bunch of throw pillows in different shapes, like a palm tree, a seashell, and a crab. I line them up across the headboard.
I’m still in my swim trunks from surfing, so I peel them off and jump in a cold shower.
Irefuseto think about how Summer’s naked body was in here a few hours ago.
Irefuseto pump my fist over my dick with images of her rinsing sand off her skin or cozying up in her fluffy yellow bed in her tiny pajama shorts.
I place my hands on the tiled wall, pressing into it while counting to ten, then twenty, then fifty, then all the way to one hundred before releasing an exhale. It was the method my dad always made me use, growing up, when my OCD started taking over every aspect of my life.
I finish rinsing the soap off and step out of the shower and onto the fluffy white rug. Everything in here has a feminine touch and reminds me of Summer, reminds me of how obsessed with her I’ve been since day one.
I grab a yellow towel and dry myself off. My hair has grown out, and the dark curls need to be cut. I make a mental note to schedule an appointment with my barber after I get back to New York.
After getting dressed in some black linen pants and a pale pink striped button-down, I walk outside, barefoot. A salty breeze brushes over my skin, bringing a sense of calm to me. I’ve always felt more at peace when I’m near the ocean. The sun is dipping lower to the west side of the island, but it’s not quite time for the sunset. My heart rate spikes when I hear a car pull up in the driveway.
I turn around, praying Summer came back alone, only to be met with the sight of Cheri and Amelia. My heart sinks even though I’m happy to see them.
“Dayton, hey, can you come help me with the bags?” Cheri calls out.
I walk up to the hatchback of her car, half hoping to see Summer in the back seat. Amelia squeals when she sees me, running and jumping into my arms. It’s impossible to be sad or upset when Amelia is hugging me, so I squeeze her back.
“Hey, princess. How’s your day been?”
She wraps her arms around my neck. “It’s been good. Mama said we were here to see Auntie Summer. Where is she?”
“Oh wow, aren’t you excited to see Uncle Dayton? I guess I’ll have to take your present back.”
“No! I am excited! But Auntie Summer smells like sunshine and salt water, and she’ssopretty.” She toys with the collar of my shirt, sticking her lip out in a pout.
Well, you’re not wrong about that, kiddo.
I grab the reusable grocery bags from the back of Cheri’s car with one hand, holding Amelia with the other arm.
“Auntie Summer is almost here. She just stopped at the store to get some groceries for dinner. Did you fire up the grill yet, Dayton?” Cheri is carrying a birthday present toward the worn-out patio table.
