Page 6 of Falling for Nicole
“Incredible. You should have got your lazy arse out of bed.”
“I know, man. But did you see who I brought home last night? I wasn’t risking missing out on another piece of that.”
“You’re punching well above your weight with that one. You must have got her good and drunk to get her to agree to go home with you.”
“Fuck you, man. She was practically begging for it.”
Shaking my head, I walk back into my soggy, soon to be bar, and head straight to the office, ignoring the builders on the way.
BJ and I were in the same halls in our first year at uni. Thanks to our mutual love of surfing, we hit it off instantly. I used surfing as an excuse for why I wanted to come down here, but in reality, I was running away after the death of my older sister. I couldn’t cope with being around everyone as they tried to continue with their lives. It would be easier if I wasn’t reminded daily of the huge hole that had suddenly appeared in all our lives.
BJ, or Ben to those who don’t know him so well, didn’t take life too seriously, and was exactly the type of friend I needed at that point in my life.
We met Liam down at the beach one morning during our second year, and the three of us have kind of been inseparable ever since. When I told them about my dream of opening a surf school, they immediately jumped at the chance. I’m not sure I could have done all of this without them—not that I’ll ever openly admit that to them, of course.
I hear him and my other instructors chatting as they get everything ready to head out down to the sea. The season is just starting to kick off and we’re slowly getting more and more bookings for rentals and lessons. I always knew this was going to be a seasonal business, but it didn’t stop me worrying all winter that it wasn’t going to pick up again like it did last summer—but so far, so good.
* * *
I’m getting ready to leave for the day when my phone rings. It’s Lilly, and I answer as I lock up.
“Hey.”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Shit. The shack flooded.” I explain to yet another person the events of today.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nah, just got to wait for it to dry out and see how much damage it’s done.”
“That sucks. Anyway…” she starts, and I inwardly groan, I just know I’m not going to like what’s coming next. “I know you know Nicole’s here. We’ll talk about last night’s disappearing act another time, by the way. But for now, I need a favour.”
I’m fairly certain I won’t be agreeing to any favour where Nicole’s involved, but seeing as it’s Lilly, I regretfully ask what she wants.
“She needs a job, and I was wondering, with your shack opening soon, if you had any vacancies. She has experience,” she says in a rush, correctly expecting me to cut her off.
“No.”
“Dec, come on. She needs a break, her mum just died and—”
“Lilly, you don’t need to give me the sob story. I’m very sorry that Nicole lost her mum, but that isn’t reason for me to start handing out jobs willy nilly.”
“It’s not willy nilly. You’ve known Nicole forever; she’s trustworthy and will work hard. Come on, do it for me.”
I don’t need the reminder that I’ve known Nicole forever. She’s forever been a pain in my arse. I’m not likely to forget that. “No,” I repeat.
“Declan, please.”
“I said no, Lilly. I’ve got to go, I’ve got a date.”
“You don’t date.”
“Okay, fine. I’ve got to go, Georgia’s coming over so I can fuck her.”
“You’re a dick,” she mutters. “Please just think about Nicole.”
There’s no risk of me forgetting her anytime soon. The image of her arse in those skin-tight leggings as she walked away from me earlier is still burned into my eyeballs. I don’t say that out loud. Instead, I mutter some kind of agreement and hang up. I have no intention of offering Nicole a job, no matter how bad her life’s been. I refuse to spend that much time with her.
