Page 37 of Beautifully Used
“Um … sure. I guess. A beer sounds good.”
“You can get whatever you want, doesn’t have to be a beer.”
“Of course.” She stood and walked inside, stopping in front of the mirror to run her fingers through the long strands of her hair. “Just a sec.” She went to her suitcase, dug her hand down the side and pulled out a black elastic band. She proceeded to pull her hair up and started to wrap the band around it. I had thought her hair looked great the way it was and wished she’d left it down. I often thought about how it would feel tangled in my fingers.
“Don’t,” I said, a bit shocked that I had spoken out loud.
She stopped wrapping the elastic around her hair and looked at me. “What?”
“You should leave it down.”
“But it’s all frizzy from the salt and humidity. It’s only going to get worse if I leave it down.”
I shrugged and mumbled half to myself, “I like it down,” as I opened the door.
She followed me to the door and I let her exit the room first. I closed the door, noticing that her hair, to my unreserved delight, hung loosely down her back, the tips swishing gently at the very top of her lovely derriere with each step. She was right about the frizz though, as curls stuck out in all directions.
Keeping my hands off her during this gig would be near impossible. I probably should have just resigned myself to getting drunk and staying that way—especially at night—making myself incapable of any type of performance in the art of seduction.
The ride down in the elevator proved to be painfully quiet. I wasn’t sure why the uncomfortable feeling seemed to overwhelm both of us all of a sudden. We each stood with our backs to the mirrored wall, facing the elevator door. As soon as it opened, I drew in a breath of relief. We’d been living under the same roof for several weeks now. Surely this unexpected sleeping arrangement couldn’t affect us that much, could it?
Chapter 30
Gabrielle
* * *
As Brodie and I headed toward the bar, we noticed Kipper and Denny sitting at two of the stools in front of a large flat screen, mesmerized by the baseball game going on. I slowed my pace, no longer sure about sitting in the bar when there was a beautiful beach with a sunset that was about to happen right outside. Brodie must have sensed my apprehension as he tapped my shoulder. “Wanna get something to go and take a walk?”
“That actually sounds great.” I smiled at the prospect of digging my toes into the sand. The beach was one of the things about San Diego that I missed. In fact, there were a lot of things about San Diego that I missed. I only wished I could have afforded to live there on my own, but without my mom’s help, that was a no go, and she wasn’t about to pay my way if I wasn’t in school. I understood that and didn’t have any problem with her not supporting me anymore. I liked being responsible for myself and living on my own terms, not hers. One of the stipulations of having her pay my way through college and supporting me was that I had to adhere to her rules, her ideas, and her beliefs. It was always about what she wanted for me, never what I wanted; right down to what major I took. Believe me when I say, her terms were not always the most desirable. Doing and seeing whomever and whatever had to be approved by my mom—the queen of the rotary club in Pacific Beach. After all, she had her reputation to look out for. What would people say if her daughter ever fell into the wrong crowd? Well, now I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and hang out with whomever I wanted. I liked being my own person. I liked living in Turtle Lake, loved Brodie’s house, and I couldn’t have asked for a better, more affordable living arrangement. Having grown up at the beach, there’d always been that allure. Maybe someday I’d be able to afford to get back to beach living.
Brodie ordered a beer, asking for it in a plastic cup then looked at me questionably. “Oh, whatever your house cab is will be fine.” I smiled at the bartender.
With drinks in hand, we headed outside. As soon as we got to the edge of the pavement where the sand started, I stepped out of my sandals and Brodie kicked off his flip-flops. “It looks like we made it just in time for the sunset.” I followed Brodie’s gaze toward the horizon. “And it looks like it’s going to be a pretty good one with the scatter of clouds we have.”
I dug my toes into the sand, elating in the cool grains hiding below the surface. Brodie took my hand, though the gesture seemed lighthearted as he said, “Come on. Let’s go closer to the water. I love the feel of the wet sand between my toes.” My stomach flipped upside down with excitement. A feeling I hadn’t felt for a very long time, one that confused me. I had to remind myself it was just a hand. After all, we were roommates. Roommates who didn’t want to complicate anything. At least I didn’t think so. I wasn’t exactly sure at this point.
“Me, too.” I giggled as the words left my lips. Brodie kept his stride slow and leisurely, which was helpful, keeping in mind we had drinks in our hands. I took a sip of my wine as we approached the small waves lapping up the beach. We walked along the edge of the water, allowing the foam to flow over the tops of our feet. The water was nice. Not too cold, perfect for the middle of summer. There were still a few straggler beach-goers out, but most of them were either strolling along in the opposite direction we were going or packing up their stuff to head inside.
Something inside me wanted to ask about Brodie’s past, but another part of me didn’t really want to know. I liked him now, the way he was, I didn’t need to know what had driven him to do the things he had done. He seemed changed now, and that’s really all I needed. But the curiosity niggled in the back of my mind, and I blurted out, “I’m glad you’ve changed.”
His head snapped in my direction. “Huh?”
“From the way you used to be. I’m glad you’ve changed.”
“And how was I?”
He was making this very difficult for me. I knew he understood what I was talking about, but it seemed like he was going to make me spell it all out. “You know, sleeping around. A lot. You haven’t been doing that, at least not that I’ve noticed. Of course, it’s none of my business what you do.”
“You’re right.”
“I’m sorry. I knew I probably should have kept my mouth shut and minded my own business.”
“No. I mean you’re right. I haven’t been, as you call it, ‘sleeping around’ lately.”
I nodded, more to myself than to him. I wanted to know why, but I was too freaking scared to ask.
“You’re wondering why,” he said.
