Page 41 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

“So…” He pulled me in closer to him so I could embrace the scent of his earth cologne. “After tonight, we’ll be strangers once again. I’ll be busy doing what I need to do, and I’m sure you will be settling into your life too.”

I closed my eyes and leaned closer to his chest, “I wish it didn’t have to be that way. This week was truly amazing.” I stared up at him. “Does it have to be goodbye?”

“Maybe just a see you soon then?”

I nodded, “A see you around.”

“I think I could do that,” he twirled me further away from the fire into the dim darkness. “I know I could never forget you. You’re something I’ve been missing for a long time.”

I leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips. Before I could pull away, he wrapped his fingers in my hair and pulled me closer to get one final taste.

“This will be our see you around.”

“Kim?” Mandi called out. “Where are you?”

I jumped and turned around, “Coming!” My voice cracked a little.

I joined Mandi and the other girls near the DJ station. Amanda stood in the front with a bouquet in her hands. Next to her was Carl with a garter belt I imagined Amanda had on her earlier.

“Alright ladies. It’s time to catch the bouquet!” The sparkle in Amanda’s eyes filled me with excitement.

She turned around and everyone started counting down from 3. We all yelled toss at the same time and watched as the bouquet went flying in the air. We all jumped up to catch it as it bounced from one hand to the next, until I finally wrapped my fingers around the bushel, held firmly, and pulled it to my chest.

“Kim!” Mandi screamed in excitement. “So, who’s the lucky guy going to be?”

I blushed and turned toward the guys who were now tossing the garter belt from one to the other. Jared stood in the back, a small smirk on his face as if he knew something no one else did. It wasn't like I could ask him to be the lucky guy. We weren't a fit for one another. Outside of Hawaii, away from this resort, we were part of two separate worlds that simply didn’t go together. He was my dad's best friend, myfriend'sfather at that. There was just a certain boundary you couldn't cross.

“I don’t think I have anyone I can bet on just yet.”

14

JARED

Istared out into the skyline of New York. Most of my boxes were still piled up in the corners of the condo. I had managed to find a nice one in the Financial District with the help of Jessica and a decent realtor, but the act of moving itself was still such a pain. Hiring movers was all well and good, but I preferred not to have someone touching my stuff and putting it somewhere I wouldn't know about. The last time I moved, I couldn’t find my favorite watch for weeks, and had to buy a new one.

I grabbed my phone and hovered over Kim's number. I wanted to give her a call to see how she was doing, but I quickly scrolled past it. There was no way I could call her, not after our last conversation on the beach. We had done our farewells. It was done.

Out on vacation, it had been easy for us to enjoy one another's company. The fact that there were too many familiar faces in New York was a good enough sign that I needed to watch myself. One wrong step and stocks would crash, the business would falter, and I would lose too much money from it.

I scrolled past her name for the third time, and stopped at Maurice's name.

"Hello?"

"Hey Maurice, it's Jared. Just wanted to let you know I'm all settled in. Figured I'd call to see when you're free to chat again and maybe grab a few drinks. My treat."

Maurice didn't answer at first. I tapped my foot in anticipation. It was likely Kim told her dad about us after we left and the potential friendship I wanted to rebuild would now be destroyed because of my stupid decisions.

"Yeah! Sorry, dropped my phone. We can definitely meet up. Mind if I get back to you on a good day? I need to check my calendar."

I glanced at the paper calendar hanging on the wall to check my own schedule. The monthly photos were based on old drawings Mandi had done when she was younger. My week was pretty empty so far. I didn't have anything specific planned.

"Sure, no problem. If I don't answer, just leave me a voicemail."

"Of course."

"Well, see you around, Maurice."

I ended the call with a heavy sigh and sat on the sofa. The TV was on, set to photo mode so it looked like a painting hanging on the wall instead of a television. I reached for the remote but stopped myself. There were far more productive things I could do than binge on tv.

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