Page 19 of Trusting You

“I’ll try,” she blew out a breath, “but I can’t promise you anything.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” I yanked open the door to the front seat and started to climb in. “Now let’s go. I’m starving.”

Melinda

“Why am I doing this again?” I glanced over my shoulder at where Emma was grinning at me.

“Because you like him,” she sing-songed, “and you like hanging out with me.”

“Are you going to be around, though? Last summer you spent all your time with Brock,” I shoved another bikini in my bag. It wasn’t warm enough to swim yet, but we could still lay out on the beach.

“I already apologized for that. I’ll be a better friend this time. Besides,” she grinned, "you’ll be busy with Aaron.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she tipped her head to the side and stared at me.

“It means how do I know he’s gonna be different? What if some bikini bimbo comes along? What if he realizes I’m not worth the trouble? I’m just…” I paused as I blinked up at the ceiling.

“Scared?” Emma filled in. “Why? What happened that’s got you running from guys?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered. “You didn’t tell me about Jordan. I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Fine,” Emma nodded. “You about ready? It’s gonna be dark by the time we get there if we don’t leave soon.”

“I’m ready,” I zipped my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I fired off a quick text thanking my mom again for letting me go, and reminding her that she could call me if she needed to.

The drive from Eastman to Wilmington was boring at best. I didn’t know how Brock made it so many times. I guess when you’re in love you do stupid stuff. When we finally started approaching the coast though, all my worries started melting away. Emma and I rolled down the windows despite the slight chill. The salty air smelled so good. The sun

was setting over the ocean and as the highway turned into the small coastal roads, I relaxed further.

“I can’t believe this is where you grew up,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes and imagined myself floating in the ocean.

“I used to think it was no big deal until I went away for school. It gets harder to leave every time I come back,” Emma sighed.

“Are you and Brock gonna live here?” I rolled my head toward her.

“Probably. We haven’t really talked about it, but this is where his house is and his job. It wouldn’t make sense to go somewhere else,” she shrugged as she made the final turn onto her parents’ street.

“I guess living at the beach is where your heart is too,” I smiled as I thought about it. Her entire family was here. It was a perk that Brock was here too.

When Emma parked in her parents’ drive, she shook her head. “I swear I thought he had more sense,” she growled.

“What?” I looked around but didn’t see anything.

“That door right there,” she pointed to the storage closet under the house. “It’s usually locked. The fact that it’s open tells me Ryan and Jess are probably in there.” We climbed out of the car and I watched as Emma stormed over to the open door and banged on the side of the shed. “You better be more careful. Next time it could be Mom!” Em shouted.

“You need to mind your own business,” came a male voice. The next thing I knew, Ryan came out adjusting the drawstring on his suit, but the girl with him wasn’t the same one from last summer.

“Who are you?” she squeaked.

“His sister. Who are you?” Emma glared at her.

“Brinley,” she squeaked again. “We go to school together.”

“Mind your own business,” Ryan snapped as he grabbed Brinley’s hand and began dragging her toward the dunes.

Emma turned and stormed back to the car. “I swear he’s not my brother,” she growled. “I’m gonna be an aunt if he doesn’t watch it.”

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