"You missed out." She dropped down in the sand next to me and pressed something cold to my bare shoulder.
I yelped and sat up, turning to threaten her as a good-looking guy dropped down in the sand next to her and lifted his beer to me.
"Hey." He smiled and nodded to Casey. "Your friend here says you guys are from New York. I've always wanted to visit."
"Me too," a deep voice resounded on my other side, and I jerked around to see a muscled guy leaning toward me.
"Here's your beer." Casey wagged the sweaty bottle in front of me, and I yanked it from her grasp and gave her a look.
"You bring the party with you every time, don't you?" I pressed the bottle to my lips and turned from Casey to the guy beside me. "I'm Vivian. Nice to meet you."
"Chase. Pleasure’s all mine, good looking." He winked and pressed his shoulder against mine. "You guys wanna come out for drinks and dancing tonight?"
"Sure," Casey responded a little too quickly.
"Maybe. We just got in, so I think we were hoping to scope out the place a little before making any plans." I took another drink of my beer and sighed internally as some of the guys behind us called for their friends to rejoin them.
"Casey, you got my digits, right?" The meathead beside my friend asked as he watched me with interest.
"Sure did." Casey pushed at his shoulder playfully as I dropped back down into the sand and ignored the behemoth next to me. "They were cute, right?"
I turned my head so that I could see her better. "Is that a joke?"
She laughed and stretched out beside me. "Well, they're no hottie with a thick wallet from the plane, but they were pretty to look at."
"Speaking of the guy from the plane..." I bit my lip, wondering how much to divulge to my bestie. It was more than obvious that she was interested in Easton too, but the question was whether I was or not. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Fate? Naw, I mean, not really." She brushed my hair from my face as she propped her head up on her hand. "Why? You think that was fate that had you running into him more than once?"
"I don't know. I don't think so." I shrugged as best I could while lying down. "I need to let it go, but something about it is nagging me."
"So then let's do this...if you see him again while we're here, let's call it fate. If you don't, then it was just an odd by-chance sorta thing." She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest as she looked out toward the water.
"That sounds fair." I ran my fingers through my hair rhythmically until my eyes grew heavy. "We should get up and do something. I'm going to pass out if we just lay here."
"You slept on the flight. What's up with you? You coming down with something?" A concerned look slid across her features.
I sat up and picked up my beer, taking a long drink of it before responding. "No, just haven't been sleeping well at night. I know it's stupid, but having Jackson cheat on me really did a number on my mental state."
"How so?" She turned her attention to me, her expression a bit tight.
"I just feel like maybe I deserved it somehow. I know it's stupid, but if I was prettier or sexier or–”
"Shut that shit up. That's the dumbest thing you've said since we were kids and you thought a quarterback was a refund." She pressed her arm to mine and pushed against me a little as I chuckled.
"I know it is, I just can't figure out why, Casey. Ten years of being together and now it's all over because he slept around on me. Why would he do that? What was missing that he was looking for?" I fought back tears. "I want to forgive him, but we're not talking about a onetime mistake, but a series of times that he slept with other girls. This has been happening for years. How a
re we supposed to get past that?"
"You're not supposed to get over that. You're supposed to take time to heal, and then let things happen as they may. The right guy will show up. I promise." She reached over and brushed sand off my shoulder as I ignored the pity in her gaze.
"I don't need a man. I'm fine just like I am. If I decide I need sex, then I'll just have it." I shrugged and got to my feet. "I'm going to walk the beach, and then you and I are going to find one of those bicycle vendors. I've always wanted to ride on one of those two-seaters. It's your lucky day. You're the extra rider."
"No freaking way. Do you know how ridiculous we'd look?" She chuckled before leaning back and stretching back out. "Not happening."
"Yeah it is. I don't care what you say. I'm not trying to impress anyone, including you." I gave her a cheeky grin and walked down to the edge of the water. It was a little depressing that Easton hadn't called, but most likely a good thing. I needed time to find myself again, and that was impossible to do under the attention of a handsome man. And he was incredibly handsome. Visions of him brushed by my mind's eye as I let the sun, the sand and the sound of the waves ushered in rest to my soul.
*****