The Carolina shore had always been my dream and suddenly I’d woken one morning and had started browsing real estate sites. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but it didn’t take long for me to land on a weathered, multistoried beach cottage outside Wilmington, North Carolina. Despite the fact that I’d gone to Duke University in Durham, I hadn’t had a chance to spend much time at the shore. I was probably drawn to the beach from the Nick Sparks novels I’d devoured throughout college. Regardless, I’d called about the house that same day. The multilevel, shingled beach house with twisting staircases and whitewashed porches spoke to me.
Silas and I drove down there one Saturday while Kyle was at the office. We drove, we saw, I offered asking price, and by the time we were back in Washington it had been approved. Needless to say, Kyle was not as excited as I was. But I’d gotten a degree in hospitality and my intention had always been to own a bed and breakfast or my own boutique hotel someday. It was exactly the change of scenery I’d so desperately needed, and I reassured Kyle it would only be for this one summer. After that I would rent it out, beach rentals were big on the shore.
I was absentmindedly scrolling through my contacts list as I sipped my Frappuccino and thought about my past with Kyle.
I’d moved into the house next to Kyle’s when I was twelve in a upper middle class neighborhood outside Richmond, Virginia. He had been outgoing and friendly, while I was shy and withdrawn, yet somehow we’d become fast friends, then as we’d hit puberty our hormones took over. We’d giggled and held hands and talked about getting married. He’d been my first kiss. When we were a few years older we had made out in the back seat of his car on Saturday nights and had snuck into each other’s bedrooms after dark. Kyle and I had had some rough patches in high school. We’d broken up for a few months, I’d cried when he had held hands with another girl, but it wasn’t long before we were back together. Kyle was my comfort, my home. The world had felt strange and awkward without him; I had felt strange and awkward without him.
Kyle had graduated a year ahead of me and had gone to Duke. He’d gotten a scholarship there and their law school was top notch in the East. The first year he’d been gone had been torture for me. Duke was nearly three hours away from our sheltered little town. He’d come home whenever he could and I had visited often, but I’d still missed him more than I had cared to remember. I’d been lost without him, so it hadn’t a surprise when I had followed him the minute I’d graduated. We’d lived on campus for a few years and then had lived in a small apartment together that was tiny but clean. But the further he’d gotten into his degree, the less I’d seen of him. It had been at that point that a slow shift had begun to take place. Kyle had taken too many classes every semester, had picked up internships and had spent late hours at the library or at his advisor’s office studying and setting the wheels in motion for his future. I’d known it was necessary, but that hadn’t made it any less painful. I’d known a life with him would be worth it in the end and he’d promised the late nights and long hours spent away would be over soon. It had always been, “just let me get through this semester, just 'til I graduate,” and then it’d become “when this internship is over, after my first promotion.”
The long days and late nights still hadn’t ended and things had grown strained. After more than eight years of supporting Kyle while he’d earned his law degree and then had started at a prestigious law firm in D.C., I finally broke. I saw Silas much more than I saw Kyle. I think Kyle resented coming home at midnight and finding Silas and I curled up on the couch together with ice cream watching The Notebook. Kyle would walk in and heave a sigh and then loosen his tie and head for the bedroom. Some nights I followed him in after Silas left, other nights Silas and I would stay together huddled on the couch and finish our movie before I would crawl into bed with Kyle, long after he was asleep. I knew we weren’t in a good place, but he was my entire heart and I still had faith that just one more promotion, just another year at the firm, and his schedule would ease up. We could buy a house and start a family. Maybe live outside the city. I still had the dream for our future that we’d conjured together when we were fifteen and I refused to let go of it.
A part of me felt guilty for making this monumental decision in my life without Kyle, but I’d been suffocating in D.C., so I couldn’t allow myself to have regrets. By the time I’d packed clothes and some essentials for the summer, Kyle was no longer mad. We were past that. It wasn’t our style to shout and scream, but there had been tension. He’d kissed me and said he would visit as soon as he could. I’d nodded with a smile. I even thought these few months might be good for us. Maybe we would come back reconnected. These last few years I’d been the effect to Kyle’s cause, but now I would be doing something that would be mine.
I got to his name on my contacts list and paused. The man I loved, the man who had always been there for me through thick and thin, the man I was leaving for the summer. It would be the first time we would be apart for such a long amount of time but the excitement of following my dreams eclipsed any sadness I had.
I exited my contact list and tossed my phone on the seat beside me then got back in the car and continued south.
***
“TOOK YOU LONG enough. How many potty breaks did you take?” My charming best friend leaned against his car door with a grin on his face. He looked like a natural on the beach with flip-flops, cargos, and a bright green polo shirt. His bronzed skin and perfectly styled, sandy blond hair a clear indication that he took care to look good.
I took a few steps toward him and stopped, gazing up at the sprawling beach house. My eyes locked on the white shutters, the multiple decks, the wooden staircases, and weathered shingles―it took my breath away. I closed my eyes and inhaled the salty sea breeze, caressing my face and whirling my dark hair. The call of gulls swooped overhead, a far cry from the sounds of the city that I’d just left.
“Earth to Georgia.” Silas grinned, throwing an empty styrofoam coffee cup at my head.
“I stopped for coffee a while ago and called Drew.”
“How’s that hussy doing?” Silas mumbled as he pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat of his car.
“You can ask her tomorrow.” I grinned.
“What? Fuck,” Silas swore as he knocked his head on the doorframe of his car. I hadn’t told him that I was going to invite Drew.
“She’s bringing her new man candy.”
“Of course she is.” He rolled his eyes. I laughed and faked a punch on his arm before heading back to my car and getting my own duffel bag. “Ready sport?”
“Enough with the macho names,” he grumbled, in a sour mood no doubt because Drew would be in his life for the rest of the summer.
“Fine, cupcake. Let’s go in.” I grinned and he followed me up the first set of steps to the front door.
The beach house was built on wood pilings that elevated the first floor nearly twenty feet above the sand. The ground level on the beach was semi-enclosed and served as storage space. The house was less than a hundred yards off the water and surrounded by rolling dunes and swaying grass. When the realtor walked us through the house she assured us that the water rarely made it up this far on the beach, but the house would be protected if it did. Hurricanes were another issue entirely and she’d suggested I have a hurricane safety inspection done to make sure the house could withstand hurricane-force winds. He could also instruct me on what to do in the event of an impending storm.
I unlocked the front door and we stepped into an open space that featured a spacious living room with French doors that looked out over another grand deck and the ocean. Water and waves dominated my vision. To the left was a large kitchen and to the right were the guest bath and a hallway leading to two bedrooms. Beyond the kitchen, another hallway led to three bedrooms and the stairway to the second floor. Each first-floor bedroom had an en suite bathroom, which made arrangements for this summer much more comfortable. Drew and I could log time in the bathroom, but Silas
was on a whole other level―he could spend hours in front of a mirror spiking his hair with half a dozen different products.
A large island divided the kitchen and living room and the house was completely white walls and worn wood floors. The realtor had suggested I refinish the floors, but I adored their charm. Whoever had designed the house was inspired by the natural beauty of the surroundings, beautiful in its quaint simplicity. I had fallen in love at first sight.
I walked across the room and opened the French doors. I wanted these doors open the entire summer to let the ocean breeze waft in and keep the dust bunnies and stale air at bay. I wanted to wake up each and every morning to a new fresh start, and keeping these doors open would do that.
“I’m going to go throw this stuff in my room.” Silas headed down a hallway.
“The corner room is mine, Silas,” I called after him. He shot me a dirty look because it was the largest room on this floor with the best views. “Advantage of being the owner.” I grinned. The house had two floors, but the three bedrooms on the second floor were in rough shape and I’d need to call a carpenter in to replace some of the flooring and update the plumbing. Every room in the house had access to the sprawling decks that wrapped around the first and second stories. There was also a small set of stairs off the second story deck that led to the widow’s walk on the roof.
While the bedrooms on the main floor were livable, they could use a fresh coat of paint and some modern updates, just one of the summer jobs I’d roped Drew into helping me with. While Silas said he would help, I knew his version of help was more like overseeing while sipping a drink with a little umbrella in his hand. He was good for opinions though, he had plenty of those.
I continued to walk around the living room and open all the windows before lifting the sheet off the ratty, old couch. There was some wicker furniture tucked in a corner that was in need of a paint job, but I liked it and planned on leaving it.
“I’m starving. Let’s order something.” Silas ambled back into the kitchen. “Stop working, we just got here.” He scrunched his nose.
“That’s why we’re here, Silas. Let’s just get our stuff hauled in and then we’ll talk dinner.”
“Fine, Mom.” Silas rolled his eyes before flashing me a playful grin. Silas always complained that I was too responsible, but on the flip side he was entirely too irresponsible, making us a perfect fit.
We both headed out the door to haul in the things we’d deemed worthy of the trip for the summer.
LATER THAT NIGHT we sat together on the couch eating pizza and drinking beer. My feet were curled up underneath me and I was angled toward him.
“I’m dying without TV, love.” Silas took another slice out of the box between us. I smiled at his pet name for me. He’d begun to call me that shortly after we met our freshmen year at Duke. I’d assumed he called everyone that, but I soon found out I was the only one who’d earned that pet name. It made me feel safe and protected, loved. Silas soon became a part of me. He was there whenever the pain became too much to bear, listened with open ears, sat with me, rubbing my back without complaint when I needed silence, and started calling me love, the only thing that had helped warm my frozen heart.
“I’ll work on it tomorrow, but you should know that I believe you have an entertainment addiction.” I crooked a grin at him.
“I fully admit to that. If there were a twelve step program I’d be there.”
“I bet.” I rolled my eyes at him. “You okay with Drew being here this summer?”
“Do I have a choice?” He scowled through a bite of pizza.
“No. Maybe you could come to an understanding,” I trailed off.
“Doubtful. When will she be here?” He sauntered to the kitchen and grabbed us both another beer. The boy was absolutely delectable. If he didn’t like other boys I would, without a doubt, have been in trouble. I would have fallen for his mischievous grin and sexy dimples and he would have broken my naïve heart. Silas wasn’t much for monogamy.
“Thanks.” I took the beer. “I talked to her earlier―she and Gavin are coming tomorrow.” I emphasized his name.
“Gavin, huh? Sounds like a tool.”
I giggled and shook my head at Silas. “Well apparently he’s a hot tool, with a big tool.” Silas and I erupted into a fit of giggles.
“Can’t wait.” His brown eyes sparked with amusement. “Did you talk to Kyle?” Silas asked.
“Yeah.” I took another sip of my beer.
“And how is he?” Silas watched me with a thoughtful expression.
“He’s… okay,” I mumbled.
“Still not happy about this summer’s arrangements?” Silas asked.
“Not particularly.” I huffed and picked the pepperoni off my pizza absentmindedly.
“Are you guys going to be okay?”
“Sure. He’ll get over it.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Silas continued to watch me. I was fast becoming uncomfortable with this conversation.
“He will. It’s just for the summer.” I shrugged.
“And what about next summer?”
“I don’t know, Silas. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m here and he’s there. That’s it. That’s what it is.” I jumped off the couch and headed for the kitchen to dispose of my paper plate.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, love.” He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and set his chin on my shoulder.
“I know. I just don’t want to talk about it. We’ll be fine. We’ve always been fine.” I plastered a half-hearted grin on my face. “I’m exhausted.”
“Okay.” Silas regarded me with somber eyes. “If you need anything just holler. I'll come running like the valiant knight in shining armor that I am.”
“Brandishing your blow dryer?” I giggled.
“Absolutely.” He grinned before gathering our empty beer bottles. I slid the pizza box into the empty fridge and then flicked off the light before we headed down the hall to our respective bedrooms. Silas paused outside his door.
“Are you really going to be okay, love?”
Silas knew I always had trouble sleeping my first few nights in a new place. “Yes,” I whispered. I was never good at lying.
“Come on.” He wrapped his arm around mine and headed for my bedroom where we curled up together; he held me while I sobbed softly into the cool sheets.
***
“HONEY, I'M HOME!” I heard Drew's voice singing as she opened the front door the following afternoon. Earlier that morning I'd scrubbed out the fridge then had gone to the grocery store to stock up on food and drinks. I'd also bought cheap utensils and dishes and was now arranging the kitchen. Silas had just finished washing the main floor windows and was sweeping when my other best friend arrived.
I set down the glasses in my hands, skidded to the front door, and wrapped Drew in my arms. It had been months since we'd seen each other and I was beside myself with excitement, knowing we would spend the entire summer together.
“God, G, I’ve missed you so much.” She held me tightly and we rocked back in forth. Tears sprang to my eyes as I inhaled her familiar perfume.
“Me too. I'm so glad you came. Your hair is shorter.” I held her at arm’s-length and took in her layered brown bob. “I love it.” Drew was obstinate, opinionated, and self-centered but she, much like Silas, had the ability to set me straight. She told it like it was unapologetically. She and Silas were also the two most hilarious people I’d ever met, so unlike me I couldn’t help but be drawn to them.
“Drew,” Silas said behind me with a curt nod. I rolled my eyes.
“Silas.” She rolled her bright blue eyes and then a small smile broke out across her face. For all their bickering I think they really enjoyed each other.
“Great house, give me a tour?” Drew looped her arm in mine and we headed down the closest hallway.
“I’ll take you to your room first.” She dropped a bag off in the bedroom I was giving her then we made our way throu
gh the rest of the house. At each room we talked paint colors and design schemes.
Later we made our way back to the kitchen and found Silas making margaritas.
“It’s a proper girls’ night already,” Drew said as Silas poured the frothy drink into glasses. “Thanks for letting Gavin come, Georgia. I know it’s weird since you haven’t met him, but he’s great. You’ll love him.”
“Can’t wait to meet him.” I sipped the cold drink.
“Tristan’s great too, and off the charts hot.” She rested her hip against the counter and took a drink.
“Who’s Tristan?” I asked.
“Is he single? How old?” Silas asked.
“Twenty-seven, single, and straight.” Drew shot Silas a warning look.
“Perfect and not a problem,” Silas winked at her.
“Tristan is Gavin's best friend. They’re in business together and working on a project they need to log hours on this summer. Plus he’s going through this thing―so I told him that you wouldn’t mind if he tagged along.”
“Drew.” I frowned.
“What kind of thing?” Silas cocked an eyebrow.
“Lady trouble. He just needs to get away for a while, put his past in the past kind of thing. You’re not mad are you, Georgia?” Drew pouted.
“Kind of weird that I don’t even know him…”
“Do you think I would invite a lunatic? Gavin's known him since they were kids.”
“Technically I don't even know Gavin.” I reminded her. She only rolled her eye in response.
“He's great. They both are, plus the more muscle we have here this summer the less we’ll have to do.” She shrugged. I heaved an exasperated sigh. That was Drew… living in the moment and getting us into situations we probably shouldn't be in. Maybe it had been a good thing she was ten hours away in Jacksonville the last few years.
“When are they coming?”
“Hopefully soon,” Silas said flirtatiously. Drew shot him another dirty look.
“This weekend. Gavin’s driving and Tristan’s sailing up the coast.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.