The Heartbreakers

6.

Kisses And Deals

Peyton

PATRICK DELAURENT’Swife is a nice lady, there’s no other way to put it.

She knows I’m the captain of a rival team, and yet she’s friendly and invites me and the guys to go on a private tour of the Cove Angels HQ and be the first to visit the Patrick DeLaurent museum before it opens to the public later on this summer.

We shake hands and I walk away with a sense of longing. Diving for the Angels was my childhood dream. I’ve followed Patrick’s jumps both from a plane or from a base since I can remember.

I was shocked and sad when he died during a jump in Mexico while he was testing a mod to his wingsuit. The investigations determined that he made a rigging error in the modification of his parachute container.

Patrick was my hero and it’s because of him that I even decided to try skydiving in first place.

After speaking to Ms. DeLaurent, I can’t bear to go back to the party.

If I find Penn in my way, God knows I won’t be able to resist kicking his sorry ass. If I’m not one of the Angels, it’s because of him.

I text the guys, telling them I’m walking home via the beach; Dad insisted on us riding with him to the party, surely enough to make sure we wouldn’t leave early and that we wouldn’t pick up any overnight guests.

It’s a beautiful night and even with the eco-lights that illuminate the beach, it’s still possible to see a ton of stars shining in the Northern California sky. I have to say that the skies here rival the ones in Texas and I love having the beach on my doorstep.

I’m not too far from the house, about to walk around a cluster of rocks, when I hear voices and stop in my tracks.

It sounds like a man and a woman and I hesitate, debating whether I should walk back to the house in case they’re hooking up. I don’t want to walk in on them like a fucking creep.

I’m about to turn around when I recognize one of two voices.

“I care about you, Len. I love you but not that way. I’ve thought about it many times but I’m seriously not attracted to you.”

Fuck, it’s Darrius Penn.

It seems that no matter what I do, I always find him in my fucking way.

A feminine voice replies, sounding totally heartbroken. “Am I that ugly?”

The girl sounds like she’s on the verge of tears and curiosity gets the best of me, so I lean closer, standing behind a rock for cover.

Well fuck, if I thought Penn was an idiot before, now I’ve got proof; the girl he just told he doesn’t find attractive is the hottie Jameson was trying to sweet talk earlier on.

The one with the sparkly dress, the gorgeous legs and one of the hottest pairs of tits I’ve seen in a while.

I stand there, listening to her declaring her love and the douche bag admitting to using her to make his ex jealous; stringing her along just on the off chance he’d get bored with the party girls he likes to date, and finally fucking her best friend.

So playing dirty and fucking people over is a normal MO for the asshole, as if I ever had any doubt that he is a sack of shit.

The girl starts crying and I have to hold onto the fucking rock I’m hiding behind to keep from walking there and kicking Penn’s sorry ass.

How can he call himself her best friend and hurt her like that?

The motherfucker calls her Snow White, telling her she’s too inexperienced for his liking. Even if that was the case, he should never speak that way to someone he claims to love.

“Stay away from me, Darrius. I need time to come to terms with this. Alone.” She sobs and the douche goes back to the party and walks away, leaving his best friend heartbroken.

I’m frozen in my spot, unable to walk around the rocks without being seen and aware that going back to the house isn’t a good idea; because if I see Penn, I’ll fucking kill him.

“He doesn’t love me,” she cries, looking up at the sky and collapsing onto the wet sand. “Papà, he doesn’t love me and he never will. He’s been using me but he doesn’t care about me. I’ve never had a boyfriend, I’ve waited for him to notice me, he knew all along and laughed at me for being inexperienced. It hurts too much. I totally lost him tonight. We can’t go back to the way we were and I can’t live without Darrius. If you were here, you’d know how to make it better.”

She keeps crying desperately and my heart aches for her. She’s speaking to her father and looking at the sky. She says “Papà,” Daddy in French. Can I believe that the girl Darrius Penn just turned down is Patrick DeLaurent’s daughter?

I look at her for a few more minutes, wishing I could say or do something to make her feel better.

She rises from her spot, keeping her eyes downcast and she starts walking toward the sea.

I can tell that she’s still crying by the way she shoulders are still trembling.

She walks on the wet sand and into the water.

What the fuck is she doing?

She keeps walking further, crying and wading into the calm, dark sea water.

When the water reaches her knees and she doesn’t stop, I start to panic. She’s trying to kill herself all because of Penn.

I act before I even think it through; I run toward her and scoop her up into my arms, lifting her out of the water.

“Oh my God!” She shrieks. “What the fuck? Who are you? Put me down!”