A Player for A Princess

Cal changed into longish cargo shorts and a light blue V-neck shirt. I can tell it’s designer, but I don’t say anything. As much as I can’t jump immediately into the life of a princess, I can’t expect him to embrace the life of a beach bum in one day.

Pulling up at the surfer bar, I shove the stick into park and kill the engine. A colorful shack consisting of sand floors and a thatched roof is in front of us, and just beyond that is the sea. The water is so brilliant turquoise it actually glows.

I lean back in the driver’s seat and exhale. “Look familiar at all?”

His eyebrow quirks and he quickly scans the area. “Should it?”

“They filmed the movie version of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea here.”

He nods. “Ahh… Never saw it.” As I sit staring at paradise, he hops out, rounding the vehicle to my side.

Taking his hand, I climb out of the Jeep. “I always hated that story. It’s depressing.”

“It is pretty bleak,” he says in that clipped accent I love. “He catches the biggest fish of his life only to watch as the sharks eat it all the way back to shore.”

We enter the open-air establishment where patrons sit around the bar in various states of relaxation. Some are dressed in bikinis, while some wear shorts and tees. It feels like south Florida to me. Easy life at the beach. This is home.

“I know it’s supposed to be a metaphor, but it’s hard to appreciate when it feels so close to reality,” I say.

“Not like movies should be?”

“Right.” I take a seat on the high wooden stool, and he cages me in his arms.

“I can protect you from the sharks.”

For a moment only our mutual attraction is between us. His eyes level on mine, and my chest tightens.

“What if you were the biggest fish I ever dreamed of catching?” My voice is low. “I’m not sure I could watch you slowly taken from me, piece by piece.”

“Not happening.” He breaks the moment, pushing away and taking the stool beside me. “How can you lose a dream you never had?”

I’m still recovering from our plunge into intimacy, and I don’t have a comeback. He’s using my words against me. Instead, I look across the bar at the chalkboard listing the day’s menu. “I guess we’re having cheeseburgers and fries,” I say. “And quarter beer.”

Our lunch arrives relatively quickly. I think it’s delicious, but Cal complains the beer is basically colored water. I only roll my eyes.

It’s an honor bar, which means we pay what we think our meal is worth. Naturally, I leave way more than I would probably pay at a regular burger joint. After a big score, I’m always too generous. Or guilty. I suppose it’s why I never seem to get ahead, but I can’t help it. It’s what Ava says makes me “small time.”

A glass case of cigars is near the entrance. Cal studies it as I walk slowly down to the water. The path is worn and the beige sand is packed hard from almost a century of wear. I pass under ancient palm trees with thick trunks like elephant legs. When the foliage opens, I stand for a moment watching the waves breaking softly until Cal joins me, looking out at them. If things were different, I could imagine living here. Starting over and building a new life.

“So you never want to go back?” His voice is quiet. “What about Ava?”

“She’s always in my thoughts,” I confess, looking over at him. The wind moves his golden-brown hair, and I long to thread my fingers in it. Instead, I think about my little sister. “She’s better with Rowan. He loves her. He’s the Prince Charming she always dreamed would rescue her.”

My phone chooses that particular moment to vibrate and ring. It’s the call I’ve been dreading all day, and I do a little wave before leaving Cal at the shoreline and walking back toward the bar.

“Where are you?” I hate Seth’s temper. He’s been showing it more and more lately, which makes me suspicious.

“I’m sorry.” I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my tone. “Were you concerned something might have happened to me after you abandoned me in the street to figure it out?”

Guess what? I get mad, too.

“Maybe,” he says, easing off the gas.

“More like you were worried about your money.”

“So where the fuck are you?”

“I’m with Cal at Smuggler’s Cove.” That shuts his big mouth. “I guess you thought he wouldn’t find me. Well, think again.”