Page 47 of F*ck You

16

Lee

The next day, I woke up snuggled between the two guys. Although it was more of a death snuggle since their body heat was radiating more than what the air conditioner could keep up with, not to mention their arms were all wrapped over and around me.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed with all my strength to slide down to the foot of the bed and fall to the floor, then I took a deep breath of fresh air.

I glanced back at their sleeping faces and smiled. They didn’t even realize I was no longer there as they closed the gap between them and scooted closer together. It was rather adorable.

The rest of the day passed in a surreal blur. Larsen went off to meet with his clients and take them scuba diving—something I still needed to learn and get a license for. Chase and I spent the morning surfing, and I got to put my new black and red two-piece swimsuit to use. The way his eyes popped out of his head when he saw me made it all worth it. He’d already seen me naked, but knowing I could still get that reaction from him even with clothes on really raised my ego.

We watched the sunrise from the middle of the ocean as we waited for our fourth wave of the morning. I was getting much better and hadn’t fallen down a single time today, which was a first since I’d fallen under at least once every other time.

We could barely keep our hands off each other and wanted to maul one another every chance we got.

After the sun woke the world, and we had a little make out session embraced in each other’s arms with the waves crashing around us, we dried off, threw some basic clothes over our swimsuits, and hopped in my truck.

“Is this normal?” Chase asked as the engine stuttered to life.

“Yeah, it’s just old. It was my grandfather’s truck, and I refuse to get rid of it. I’ll drive it until it dies beyond repair, so don’t bother talking me into a new one,” I warned.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to. I was just wondering if there was something I could do to help it run smoother. I don’t have much experience with vehicles, since my specialty lies in the ones that run on water, aka surfboards, but if you need to, Larsen and I could check it out sometime. Or else maybe even find someone who could.”

“Sounds good, I’ll hold you guys to that.” I put the truck in drive and took off to the phone store.

I succeeded with getting a new phone and a plan for myself. I refused to let Chase help me out at all financially. I’d already been tied to a guy for long enough before, and I wanted to be able to support myself on my own regardless of whatever happened between me and them. He didn’t argue and just held a hand against my lower back in support while I got everything set up.

We reached the car with a smile on my face and a brand-new phone in my hand. I squealed when I saw “Natalee Anders” pop up on the screen. My maiden name was amazing, and I had no idea what I was thinking when I used to consider changing it to Todd’s. I shuddered at the thought of ever being a Hardy and shook my head.

No more thinking about that tool, Lee. That part of your past is over. Clean break—well, sorta. At least you didn’t marry the guy.

I pushed all thoughts of my past from my mind and smiled at Chase as we returned to the truck and picked up some milkshakes before heading back. It was a rather short trip, too short, but it was still worth it to spend more time with either of them, even if only for a little while.

He took off to teach his scheduled group of surfers, and I hung out at my condo, relaxing before my shift tonight. The sheets with the warning on them were now in the dryer, the threat from that night gone, and my head was clearer than it had ever been before.

I sat on the small porch with my back against the condo walls and my legs crossed in front of me. I spent the rest of the daylight scrolling through my phone, programming the numbers Miss Morris had left, and shooting her a quick message with my new number and telling her that all was well before setting up the apps.

I hadn’t been on social media since I got here, and all the posts about how I up and left Todd for no reason made me laugh. My laugh literally rang out across the beach, I found this shit so funny.

Especially the one from the bitch with the cherry red lips who was asking for prayers and consolations for her friend. “Yeah, I’m sure he needs consoling alright,” I mumbled, before locking the screen and heading inside.

The water ran over my body as I washed away all my worries in the shower. I was struggling to remember I was worth it, that the only people I needed in my life were the ones who realized that too, and it was a daily battle. Sometimes my tough exterior cracked when no one was around, and I needed to get that shit on lockdown before someone discovered how fragile I really was underneath all the jagged edges. I was sure everybody would be stunned to discover I actually had a heart under there.

I fell down a lot and receded back into the dark, but the important thing was I would always come back stronger than before. The only thing that mattered was that I kept standing back up. It wasn’t defeat until I stayed down, and like hell that was ever going to happen.

With a towel wrapped around me, I wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. I left my phone behind on the dresser upstairs, since I’d already gotten used to not using it very much as it was. After scouring the fridge, I stuck a slice of cold pizza in my mouth and closed the door, fighting back a smile as I wondered when the guys would come over again and top movie night.

As I bit into the slice of pizza, I let out a scream when I saw the flash of a face in the window. My fingers seized the air, dropping the cold bread with the chilly cheese toppings to the floor.

My hand flew to where the towel was knotted at my chest. Had I imagined it? I could have sworn I saw Todd’s face in the front window. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, a lot had happened recently. That had to have been it, my mind playing tricks on me. No one even knew where I was.

In an attempt to calm my racing mind, I rushed to check the locks on the front door. My breath skipped a beat when I saw it was actually unlocked, but right as I put out a hand to flip the deadbolt, the door flung open and I jumped back with an earsplitting scream.

Todd stood in the doorway, dripping wet from the rain. I hadn’t even realized it was raining until now, but there he stood in all his wet asshole glory.

I took a few steps back until my backside was plastered to the wall, and he marched forward, shutting the door behind him. I noticed he didn’t lock it, and I could use that to my advantage. I could make a quick escape through that unlocked door.

I cleared my throat, the sound cutting through the silence. “Hi.”

---