Page 23 of Make Me Unwind

My mouth snaps back shut as he blocks my easy answer. I swallow and shrug. “I’m not sure. He said….” Promise we’ll do this again. Yeah, I’m not saying that. “We didn’t get the chance to talk about what happens next. Other than he invited me to eat dinner with him tonight.”

He arches an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s a good idea? He lives here and you live three states away. The more you see him, the harder it might be to walk away.”

The thought already has my insides hollow. Should I tell Asher that I can’t see him again? I can’t. I want to see him again.

Weston reads my face as the thoughts bombard me at once. “What’re you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh in exasperation. “But I’m going to see him again tonight. And then, I’ll decide.” Weston is right. I’ll keep sinking farther down into the rabbit hole if I see him again.

“Be careful.” He grasps my shoulder. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Thanks, big brother.” I give him a quick hug and step back. “I need some fresh air.” I grab my phone and walk toward the beach. The sun beats down on me, erasing the chill of the cabin’s air conditioning. Down at the oceanfront, a man is teaching a young boy to paddleboard.

Could I live here? It’s beautiful. The ocean is peaceful, with its gentle waves lapping at the sand. The temperatures aren’t that different from back home. When I get closer, I realize it isn’t Asher. From their similarities, the same movements, skin tone, and jaw and cheekbones, this must be his brother.

My heart sinks. It wasn’t until I saw his face that I knew for sure it wasn’t Asher and that I’d come down here in hopes of catching him alone to see where we stood. But he’s nowhere to be found.

When my cell phone rings, I jump. Lexie. “Hello?”

“Hey, sweets, how’s it going?”

“Good. Bad. I don’t know,” I groan as I trudge in the opposite direction as Asher’s brother. Or whom I assume is Asher’s brother. I don’t need him to hear this conversation.

“What happened? Did you have sex with the sexy SEAL? Please tell me you did.”

“I did.” And I’m not the least bit ashamed of it.

“Yes!” I don’t have to see her to know she pumped her fist into the air.

“But now, I don’t know what will happen.”

“Do you want to see him again?”

“Yes.” My heart thumps in my chest. “Yes, I do. He invited me to have dinner with him tonight, so I’ll see him later, but even after that, I want to see him again.”

“Your school is online.”

“I know.” I bend down and snatch up a shell that the ocean had shoved ashore at some point and left behind. It’s white, glossy, and about four inches wide. I run my thumb over it. “I’d miss everyone if I moved here.” I spin in a circle. “And I don’t know where I’d live. It’s not like I have a lot of money saved up. College is taking everything I had tucked away.”

Dread settles in my gut. At best, we’ll talk on the phone for a few weeks and fly to see each other once, but we realize it was only a vacation fling. And then…. It would be over. The hollowness in my stomach moves to my chest, causing it to ache. I rub above my breast. Maybe Weston is right. Maybe I shouldn’t see Asher again.

I stare up at the sky, studying the white puffy clouds. One of them looks like an elephant’s head. Beside it, the next one has the shape of a flying bird.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen. See him tonight and go from there. I think there was a reason you met him, so don’t toss it all into the trash without seeing it through. Maybe it’s fate, and he’s the love of your life.”

Once Lexie hangs up, I drop down to the sand and watch the waves, letting the crashing of the surf against the beach ease the tension in my shoulders. One breath in. Hold it for ten seconds. Exhale. In the distance, the sounds of the resort float on the wind, lulling me to relax. Causing me to unwind. See it through. Don’t push him away. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

Chapter Fourteen

Asher

I pace the kitchen floor as I wait for Piper to show up. What if she doesn’t show up? Do I go to her place and ask to see her? Her brother would likely smash his fist in my face if I did. And I don’t blame him. I fucked her like an animal in the cabin he paid for. And didn’t care at all that I was doing so. Until I had to walk out in front of him. Guilt slides through me.

Even though I don’t know him, I should have respected him more than that. His kids could have been in the cabin. I should have respected her more.

I lick my lips and stir the sauce simmering on the stove, inhaling the basil and oregano as the red liquid bubbles. After I twist the knob to low, I use the wooden spoon to keep the bottom layer of the sauce from singeing.

Visions of Piper’s naked body fill my brain until the scents in the kitchen disappear, and all I see is her. Her silken flesh felt like velvet under my fingertips. Her beautiful mouth against mine. Those long legs and perfect tits. All of her is perfection.

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