Page 13 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
7
Jax
I spend the rest of the evening and the next day running through the conversation with Sage. I was a little pissed with myself that I went in for the kiss. What the hell was I thinking? Yeah, she was hotter than any girl I'd ever come across, never mind her tenacity in renting a board and braving the waves when she didn't have a fucking clue what she was doing. She'd also made it clear that she wanted to buy my shop, despite my rational argument for why that couldn't happen. That made her the enemy in this little negotiation that wasn't going to happen.
I couldn't afford to be touching, kissing, or fantasizing about this girl. I had a business to run and a job to do. She didn't fit in anywhere in that scenario.
I'd just brought the jet ski into headquarters to hose it down after my shift, when Kai and Cain walked by. Kai was my best friend from high school, and also a fellow lifeguard. Cain is one of the two HB lifeguard supervisors. While the two men are similar in looks, they're total opposites in personality. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kai had the laid-back island attitude to go along. Cain's tall and muscular like Kai, but his dark hair, deep tan, and intense expressions give off a scary vibe that Kai just doesn't have with his permanent smile. Women went crazy for both these guys, but Kai was coupled up with his schoolteacher girlfriend, turning all the women away. Cain was all too happy to take the attention of his rejections.
"Nice job out there, Jax. We've had some sick waves the last few days." Cain patted me on the shoulder as he walked by, headed to his truck.
"Thanks, man. All the inexperienced swimmers are keeping me busy, making my shift go by quick." I continued hosing down the jet ski, knowing I had to hurry up to relieve Jonny at The Shack.
Kai hung by my side, letting Cain walk off. "You've been kinda quiet today. Been that busy, or you got something on your mind?" Kai was studying me, genuine concern on his face.
I shook my head, chuckling. I shut off the water and tossed him a towel. We both started drying off the jet ski, the motions second-nature after years of the daily task. "Jeez, Kai. You're starting to sound like Hessa more and more. You aren't even an old married couple yet."
"Shut the hell up, asshole." Kai playfully punched me in the shoulder before launching back in, ignoring my obvious attempt at deflection. "You can either tell me now and work it out of your system with a friendly ear or stew on it some more and make yourself miserable. I don't really care, but if you're going to be absentminded another day I'd rather know ahead of time so I keep an eye on you out there on the water."
Jet ski thoroughly dry, I threw our towels into the dirty towel bin and gave in, knowing he'd just keep asking me. I looked around to make sure I wouldn't be overheard, but it was just us in the outdoor garage space.
"Fine. There's this girl." Kai laughed and I gave him a death glare. "She showed up in this stuffy suit, wanting to buy The Shack. I said no, she turns around and rents a board from Jonny, ends up trying to surf right by me yesterday. Can't surf worth a damn, suit falling off, waves crashing on her, so I make her haul it in. She won't take my help with her board. Argues with me. She's hotter than shit. And then we're arguing again about selling the shop and I almost kissed her."
I finally wound down my verbal diarrhea, having laid it all out there, not making much sense, I'm sure. He looked like he was thinking it over, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration.
"Hotter than shit, huh?" Kai broke out into a grin, completely ignoring my angst.
"Yeah, hotter than shit. That's part of the problem. I can't stop thinking about her even though she's a pain in the ass and she wants me to sell my dad's shop. And a part of me kinda wants to sell it." I look back up at Kai, gauging his reaction to my confession.
Frowning, he took a step closer. "I didn't know you were thinking of selling."
"I wasn't thinking of selling, but the idea sure is tempting. It's not making any money. Fewer people are interested in boating, which is where most of our rental sales were coming from. The boats are expensive to keep in good shape. I'm working long hours." I run my hand through my hair again, a habit that seems to be increasing lately. I sighed. "I just don't know, man. Maybe I'm holding onto something that just needs to die a quiet death, you know?"
Kai looked at the ground, his head shaking slowly. "Preserving your family's heritage is never a bad thing. In fact, more people should take that endeavor more seriously. But I can see that it's wearing on you. Maybe it just needs to look different than what you've been thinking." His head pops up and he's got his smile back. "Why don't we talk to some people in town for some business advice. You can implement some new ideas and see if that doesn't revive your bottom line."
I shrug. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. Couldn't hurt. What do I do about the girl?"
Kai laughs again. "If she's as interested as you are, explore her in the bedroom and get her out of your system." Then the smile dropped from his face. "But I remember how you were after 'the girl who shall not be named'. She was all about the money and that's not what you need, brother. If this girl is the same way, walk away now. You don't need to experience that again and learn the same lesson."
I grunted. "Got that right. Did you see she's engaged?"
Kai nodded. "Dodged a bullet on that one. Mark my words."
We walked into the station, heading to the locker room for our things, each of us thinking about the girl I'd dated for years before she'd dropped me over money, like our plans for the future were nothing in the face of a man with deeper pockets. I was thankful to have a best friend to watch out for me and make sure I didn't end up in that kind of mess again.
Unbeknownst to me or Kai, we weren't alone for that conversation in the lifeguard garage. A meddling group of women hid just around the corner, having shown up to surprise their lifeguard boyfriends. Of course, being the annoying, yet lovable, group they were, they didn't announce their presence, instead eavesdropping to get the latest gossip straight from the horse's mouth.
* * *
Sage
I was still sitting in this little coffee shop just off Main Street in Huntington Beach. The view was fantastic and nobody looked at me weird when I set up camp at a little table in the corner. The coffee was fantastic, even if the shop itself was a little old and dated. What it lacked in sophisticated furniture and trendy lighting was made up for in charm and loads of it.
I'd only planned to grab a cup to go and head back to The Surf Shack to work another angle I'd thought of last night while lying in bed. I should have been fast asleep, dreaming of spending my trust fund in interesting ways, but I couldn't get Jax out of my head. The muscles, the almost kiss, the emotion in his voice when he described what that place meant to him. We were at opposite ends of this thing. But my heart felt like I was over there on his side feelin' him up.
There wasn't an easy answer and the longer I sat here, the more I wondered if I'd find the answer in the bottom of my coffee cup. Before that terrible moment when the coffee was all gone and the questions were still swirling, a shadow fell over my table, blocking my sunshine. I looked up to find four women standing in my personal space, varied expressions on their faces.
They didn't look particularly friendly, judging by the way the tallest one had her arms crossed over her chest like she could kick my ass at the slightest provocation. The one with the dark eyeglasses was looking down her nose at me like I forgot to shower recently. And then there was the stunning African American woman scrutinizing me, like I was a puzzle to be solved and she was the girl to do it. The only one who looked like someone I wanted to converse with was standing front and center of the group, smiling at me like she was holding herself back from pulling me into an overenthusiastic hug.
