Page 31 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
"Okay? That's it?" The wrinkle was back.
"Yeah, I was mad, you apologized. It's over. Now will you please let me hug you?" I tugged on her arms again, relieved when she finally let me pull her in, her head fitting perfectly under my chin.
"So...we're good?" she asked into my chest.
I laughed quickly, wondering what kind of men she was used to dealing with. "Yeah, of course we're good. Thank you for helping to bring all these people out here. The Shack is going to look better than ever, thanks to you and Esa. By the way, I want to take you out on a date. How's next weekend look for you?"
She wiggled closer to me, finally settling into the hug. "I'm wide open. Whatcha got in mind?"
"I've got a few ideas. I'll let you know what we're doing once I've got it set up. Just set aside the weekend for us, okay?"
Pulling back, she lifted up on her toes and kissed me quickly. "Heck yes, I will. Come on, let's check out the progress."
She grabbed my hand, a ball of excitement now that we'd talked it out. We walked back across the parking lot and talked with all the people I'd seen around town since I was a kid. They all seemed happy to be there, happy to spruce up the building they'd come to see as part of HB culture.
Later on, several of the men and I were trying to replace the planks on the dock that were looking worn out and unsafe. I ended up whipping off my shirt when the sun got too hot. Bailey immediately had something to say about it.
"Yeah, mama! Now I see the benefit to doing all this manual labor." The girls all snickered, Sage included. If I hadn't been so used to Bailey's ways, I would have been embarrassed.
"Hey, eyes on your own man," Sage called out from a ladder up against the main building. Another truck had just pulled in the parking lot and five guys filed out, like clowns out of a small car: Ivan, Jack, Dean, Kai, and Cain.
I was surprised to see Cain, as he didn't normally hang out with us much outside of work. He was a bit of a loner as far as I could see, but maybe Ivan was getting him to come out of his shell.
"What the hell, Stern? You're flaunting your abs to our girls while we're not here?" Dean yelled over to me, a teasing grin on his face.
"Figured they wanted to see what a real man looked like, asshole," I yelled back. That got a rise out of everybody, turning our work group into more of a social gathering. Somebody turned on a radio and we picked up our pace, reenergized by the fast beat. Eventually, the guys disentangled from their ladies and got to work. It wasn't long before they too, were stripping off their shirts, much to the delight of all the females onsite.
"Oh, lordy, those boys are liable to draw quite a gathering..." Hessa mumbled a little too loudly. Kai just smirked at her, turning her cheeks pink.
"We should charge admission. That'll pay for a lot more repairs!" Esa, the consummate business woman was seeing dollar signs.
We all settled into a rhythm, the painting of the outside almost completed by the Beach Squad. Surprisingly, they did a hell of a job, making the building look almost brand new. The guys and I replaced almost half of the boards on the dock, and several other volunteers had scrubbed windows, weeded the lot and planted flowers in new pots outside the front doors.
The sun was lowering in the sky by the time we called it a day. I sent home the volunteers that were here first thing that morning. I promised myself I'd do something special for them to thank them for their time. The lifeguards (and detective...couldn't forget Jack wasn't really one of us, and boy did we make sure he didn't forget it either) and the Beach Squad finished the clean up on our own. When we were done, we ordered pizza delivery and I lit the portable fire pit I had upstairs on my porch. The group paired off, all of us finding somewhere to sit, whether it be the few chairs I had or blankets on the floor. Cain was the odd man out, having no girl by his side. Ivan teased him that it was probably his first time without a date. Apparently, Cain was quite the ladies’ man with a different girl every week. I'd have to make sure I kept Sage far away from him and his charm.
We all chowed down on the pizza, our bellies empty after all that manual labor. My arm was around Sage's shoulders, her head on my chest. I'd watched her interact with my friends all day. She fit right in and I could tell they genuinely liked her. I counted that as another good sign for us working out as a couple. We should still be in that awkward, get-to-know-each-other phase, but it wasn't like that with Sage and I. Things were settling into place, far sooner than I ever expected.
I looked around the circle at all my friends, their faces lit by the dancing flames, knowing I was lucky to have a group who'd drop everything to come help me. I raised my beer up in the air and toasted the group.
"Thank you for coming out and helping me today. It means more to me than you'll ever know. To lifelong friends."
Everyone cheered and sipped their beverage, our conversation continuing late into the night. At one point, I looked down at Sage and just stared at her, taking in all of her expressions. She was looking around the group with a sense of wonder in her eyes, like she'd never sat around in a circle of friends, shooting the shit and being comfortable being herself. The smile never left her face and I was glad I’d let the argument go and just enjoyed everything she'd set in motion.
I wanted to know everything about this woman. And next weekend, on our date, I'd get to fill in the blanks.
