“Only about an hour and a half.”
“Shit, I’m sorry Beau.” I tell him.
“You were tired, don’t you worry.” He grins as he leans in to kiss my cheek.
My eyes roam his room until I find a box with old yearbooks sitting there. “Geez, how old are those?”
“Aren’t you sunburnt still? You should be lying still.” He says quickly trying to change the subject.
“Are those—“
“Yeah Shay,” he cuts me off. “Those are from when I was, what did you call me? Busty Beau?”
I face palm myself as I fight off the urge to laugh. “I thought you were past that.”
“I am. You’re the one who saw the books. Want to see them? I think you are actually in this one.”
Oh god, maybe this isn’t a good idea. He saunters over towards the box and grabs a yearbook a few books down. He flips it open as he sits beside me and begins sifting through the pages. This thing is ancient. I bust out laughing when I see Sienna’s picture. She’d die if Rob saw it. She looked like the problem child. I’m next and Christ, why do I have a side ponytail in my hair. On top of that, I have the cheesiest smile.
“You were such a cute kid Shay.” Beau teases. I want to tease back, but I did plenty of that when we were younger.
“Damn straight I was.” I smirk.
When we get to Beau, I feel horrible for every mean name I ever called him. He was a chunky kid. His cheeks looked like they were filled with marshmallows, but his smile was the cutest thing ever. How did I never remember that smile? Seeing his picture, I remember every little thing about him and a tear escapes my eyes.
“Hey, what are you crying for?” he asks.
“I was so damn mean to you. I’m so sorry.” I say trying to stop the tears.
“Shay, I told you I’m over it. I swear I am. It was the past and it’s over. Come here baby.”
“Be careful,” I choke out. “the sunburn.”
“Shhh, I got you. Hell Shay, we were kids. Kids are mean as shit to each other. I don’t blame you at all.”
“Promise?” I say looking at him with tear-stained eyes.
“With all my heart. I mean, I used to blame you, but I was also a fat kid so what did I know?” He tells me and yep, my heart just dove head first onto the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Beau Granger is it for me, but the distance may as well make us worlds apart.
Damn cruelty. Damn it to hell. I smile the best I can and lean in to kiss him. He kisses me with so much force that if I weren’t sitting already, my knees would be weak. It just blows my mind that someone can have this effect on me. He tries to remove my shirt, but it brushes the burn and I whimper. God, I crave his touch, but the sun is stopping us.
“Sorry baby, I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“Not your fault, remember the nursing student forgot her sunscreen.” I joke.
“I’m so glad I ran into you. You have no idea Shay. I think I would have lived a miserable life if none of this had ever happened.” He tells me.
“I seriously doubt that. Have you looked in the mirror? Girls must be practically throwing themselves at you. You’re like the total package Beau.” I suddenly wish I hadn’t said that. Now I feel like a complete idiot.
“I look in the mirror every day and all I see is an unhappy guy looking for the perfect girl. She doesn’t seem to exist though, until now and the worst part about that is, she doesn’t even live here.”
My jaw drops and I can feel tears burning my eyes. Why are these feelings coming about when we both know there is nothing we can possibly do? I feel like God is upstairs pointing and laughing at me. The girl who never believed in love, may finally get the chance to feel and understand it, but what’s the point?
“Why are you so unhappy though? I don’t get it.”
“Shay, girls do throw themselves at me, but I’m not settling for just anything. I’ve watched Rob and Sienna for a while now and it drives me crazy to see what they have, knowing I don’t have it. I want to make someone’s dreams come true. I want to be the one they can’t wait to get home to, but all the girls here are the same.”
“What do you mean they’re all the same?” I ask.