Dirty Summer 8

Blair stopped in mid-stride. Cora was planted under his arm, smiling and looking right at him. Her dark, pixie haircut was perfectly styled—too perfectly, thought Blair as she exhaled. This whole thing was a disaster. Complete disaster. Ugh! Why hadn’t Reid been a little more forthcoming with the details of Justyn’s Dock House nights? She decided then that, even if he and Maggie patched things up, she would definitely punch him the next time she saw the swimmer.

The exit to the Dock House was about twenty paces behind her. Maybe she could turn and walk out before Justyn saw her standing there like a total idiot. This didn’t have to get any worse than it already was. She reached down for her purse and slung the leather bag over her shoulder. Justyn looked content with his arm draped around the fan girl. He hadn’t noticed Blair was there. Good, he won’t even notice I’m gone.

She walked toward the door with every intention of going straight to her car. However, she couldn’t help it. As much as she wanted to walk right out the door, she needed one last look. One reminder that

he had moved on and she was the one holding on to a summer crush. One more snapshot of Justyn to remember. One more reminder that this was exactly why she had vowed way before the summer not to let anyone in her heart again. This moment needed to be preserved.

As she pivoted on her heels and looked across the bar, he saw her. Shit! Panicked and flustered, she slid through the narrow entrance and ran to her car. Oh my God, where are my keys? Blair fumbled through her oversized bag in front of the driver side door and dropped the keys on the pavement.

“Shit.” She crouched down, searching under her car for the keys.

“Blair?” Justyn walked over to where she was a shaking, nervous wreck. He dropped to the parking lot and scooped up the keys from behind the front wheel.

“Hey.” She let a nervous reply eek from her lips as she tried to stand.

Justyn hopped to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

“I-I …” None of the prepared speeches she had rehearsed on the plane or in the car seemed to fit this moment. Seeing him with Cora had changed all of that.

“I don’t even know what to say.” He stepped closer to her, causing her senses to buzz from the nearness.

“I should get going. Just popped by to say hi.” She reached for the keys that were in his fist.

Justyn scanned her eyes. “What? That’s it? I haven’t seen you in a month and you’re just out of here?”

Four

Justyn

Justyn had no idea what was going on with this girl. He thought he had seen a mirage when he looked over at the bar door and locked eyes with her. Nothing was going to stop him from running after that blonde, just in case it was Blair. He knew he had it bad. He thought he saw Blair everywhere he went. The girl he spun around in the grocery store yesterday almost clocked him. Even his cousin, Cora, had started teasing him about it. The music helped; singing about Blair helped. When those notes were in the air and he could sing about her, his heart didn’t hurt quite as much for that one song. Now here she was, rolling out of town, and she hadn’t been here five minutes.

“I shouldn’t have come. Big, big mistake.” She fiddled with the door handle, suddenly very clumsy.

Justyn reached around her and took the keys from her hand. “Say something before you leave. Have a beer with me at least?” He realized he might be begging a little, but this was crazy.

“I think you’ve got that covered.”

Justyn laughed. Once it started, he couldn’t stop. He wiped the tears that started squeezing from the corners of his eyes.

“I’m glad my humiliation is so funny to you.” Blair stood, looking disgusted as he tried to control the jolts of laughter.

“You-you’re mad, because you think I’m with Cora.”

“Aren’t you?” She sputtered the question.

“No, she’s my cousin. She’s here every week with her friends.” He stopped laughing long enough to brush a lock of her hair away from her face.

Blair’s eyes softened. “So, you’re not with someone else?”

Justyn’s hand moved along her neck and snaked its way through her hair. “No, didn’t you hear that song I wrote about you? I am not with anyone else.” He was still trying to wrap his head around her being here.

“Oh my God, I thought you were with someone, and I flew here and quit my job for nothing.”

Justyn’s wide eyes conveyed all the surprise he was feeling. “Quit your job?” She kept the surprises coming.

“Yeah, talk about it later?” She bit her lower lip.

Talking could wait. There was only thing he wanted right now, and the more he played with her hair, the harder it was to deny.