Page 57 of On The Beach

Iwatched from the edge of the beach as the ferry pulled away, Belle's figure growing smaller until she was just a speck against the horizon. My heart felt heavier than I could have ever prepared for. I stood, feet buried in the sand, wondering if I'd just made the biggest mistake of my life.

Eventually, I dragged myself over to Coral Cove, where Franco, Cato, and RiRi were at the bar as usual, along with Nick and the other regulars.

The minute I walked in, I felt their eyes on me, all of them sizing me up, waiting for me to say something so they could kick my ass for it.

Franco was the first to speak. "You're an idiot, Mick."

I forced a smile. "Yeah, tell me something I don't know. Espresso, double shot, RiRi."

As the espresso machine whirred, RiRi folded her arms, shaking her head. "Why da fuck did you do that, Mick?"

"Do what?"

"Be so cruel to her." RiRi all but slammed the espresso cup in front of me, making some of the coffee spill on the counter.

"I wasn't?—"

"Lie on your own time, not here," Cato cut me off. "Son of a bitch."

"Well, it's good to know who my friends are," I muttered.

"We are your friends." Franco glared at me. "That girl didn't deserve that. She was here looking for you, sure, but she's no emotional bamboozler."

"You could've been nice about her finding out you're da doctor she was looking for," RiRi accused.

"She was here for her fucking career, okay? So, she's a cool chick, but that's all. Why the hell are we discussing her?" I didn't want to talk about Belle. I didn't want to think about Belle. I wanted her out of my head.

"She told us why she was here, and it wasn't about business. She really needs you to sign something so she can go save some lives," Franco stated. "Come on, man, you got to know her? She's quirky, sure, but she's not deceitful."

"Yeah, not like da other women you fuck around with," RiRi chimed in.

I quirked an eyebrow and looked at her sardonically.

"Well, except me," she amended. "And we don't do dat anymore. We're friends."

"That's what I thought, but you're all Team Belle." I felt like a child ready to stomp my feet. These weremyfriends—not hers. But they weren't wrong. I'd been a jackass. I could've handled it a hundred different ways, but I'd chosen to be…well, a coward who was cornered. "Was she okay?"

"No." RiRi threw her towel at me. I caught it and put it on the bar counter. "She wasn't okay."

"She was crying," Franco admitted.

"She was heartbroken," Cato added.

I finished my espresso, which did nothing to clear the cobwebs in my head.

"I can't go back," I breathed softly. "I won't get dragged back to…allthat."

Franco held up his hand. "What doesallthat mean?"

I sighed. "I worked seventy-hour weeks. A lot like what Belle does. The rest of the time, I was with Mia."

"That the fiancée who fucked her trainer?" RiRi frowned.

I nodded.

"Can't blame her if you were working all those many hours, can you?" Cato mused.

"With friends like you," I muttered again.

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