Page 3 of Strong Side
There’s only one person I want andneedto see right now. The only person who could make this hurt less. I open my Recent calls and tap on his name, and it dials immediately.
“Well, that was—” he starts to say, but I interrupt.
“Casey, I need you.” And then I start to cry.
CHAPTER
ONE
CASEY
PRESENT
It’s quitepossible my balls might just melt off today. The Oklahoma summer sun is no joke. I work a few days a week with Noelle at her father’s marina on Lake Eufaula. The lake is just ten miles away from our hometown and about two hours from the Walker University campus. Even though I’m staying in our house on campus this summer, I come to the lake to be here for Noelle when I can. Especially because of what happened at the end of the year with her ex and roommate.
Trey, her ex, plays baseball on the Walker University team and is one of the biggest douchebags I’ve ever met. I tried several times to get her to break up with him, but for some reason, she was caught in his web. He was her first boyfriend, and he definitely played on her naivety and lack of relationship experience.
I know why he wanted her. It’s the same reason I want her to be more than a friend. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. But it’s not just her looks; it’s justher. She’s the type of person who lights up the room with her smile, and she has one of the kindest hearts.
It’s Fourth of July weekend, so the marina is busy. Boats are weaving in and out of the dock, and the convenience store is packed. Noelle works in the store while I help on the docks, filling gas and doing anything else her dad needs me to do.
When I pull into the employee parking area, I see her car and park next to it. As I’m pocketing my phone while I’m getting out of the car, it buzzes. I look at the screen and see it’s Noelle texting.
Noelle: Are you almost here? We’re getting pretty busy on the dock.
Instead of answering her, I walk into the store and see her behind the counter. There’s a section that has supplies for boaters and fishermen, but the other side of the store has rows of snacks and food behind the counter, like hot dogs, burgers, nachos, and pretzels. Separating the food counter and the beverage coolers is a freezer that holds various ice creams and frozen treats.
She hasn’t seen me yet, so I sneak around the back side of the checkout and stealthily come up behind her. I hold up my finger to my mouth to keep the person at the counter from reacting and alerting Noelle of my presence.
Stepping up to her, I put one hand on her hip and lean in to whisper in her ear, “You got any of them sausages cookin’?”
She jumps with a squeal and elbows me in the stomach. “Shit! Casey!”
She looks over her shoulder at me, but she’s not mad. This is actually the first real smile I’ve seen on her in weeks.
Turning back to the customer, she finishes ringing up their order. “Your total for gas and the snacks will be one hundred fifty-three dollars and seventy-two cents.”
He pays and walks away.
“Hang on, Casey. Let me get Duff to come over so I can show you where my dad wants you today.” As she walks around me, her hand brushes my arm.
While I wait, I say hello to the next customer and spark up a conversation about the weather. Noelle and Duff—the teenage kid who works the early morning shift—come back over.
“Okay, King, let’s roll.” She grabs my hand, and we walk out of the store and down the dock toward the covered boathouse service area instead of the gas pumps. “My dad wants you to help my brother get all the kayaks and paddleboards set up along the shore for rentals. We couldn’t get them out first thing because we had a line at the gas pump when we got here and we had to pull the Jet Skis out first too.”
“Not a problem. Is Garrett in there now?”
“Yeah, he and my dad are pumping up the last two paddleboards, last I saw.” She drops my hand as we walk into the boathouse.
“Dad, Casey’s here. Do you want him to start taking the kayaks out to the beach?”
“Hey, Case.” He’s bending down and sealing up the paddleboard, his back to us.
“Hey, Mr. James. Just tell me where you want me to start.” I walk over to her brother, who is holding some of the oars, and give him a fist bump. “What’s up, G-Man?”
Noelle’s brother, Garrett, is in his junior year of high school. He’s a good kid, pretty funny when you get him talking.
“Sup, Casey? You want to go start with that row, and we’ll work our way down?” He nods to his right.
