Page 7 of My Summer Fling

“Millie, wait,” I plead, grabbing her arm before she can slide out of the truck. “I’m sorry, okay? I really am. I don’t know what it is about you that brings out the worst in me, but shit just slips out. Something about you makes me just want to push all of your little buttons.”

I give her my most contrite smile and puppy dog eyes.

She sighs. She’s giving in.

“You’re just so cute when you’re angry.”

Judging by the way her face just changed back to angry, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. Again.

Whoops.

She pulls her arm free and slides out of the truck, only looking back at me to tell me to hurry up so that we can get this whole thing over with. I have to sit there a minute and think about the inner workings of a DSLR since I can’t take a cold shower to make my cock calm the fuck down.

She bangs on my window and gestures for me to get out. I just smile at her and climb down. The boner that was trying to pop up is down … for now. I just have to stay on her good side for the rest of the day. Because the next time she gets angry, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from bending her over the tailgate.

The pitcherof sangria has been steeping in my fridge all day, and it calls to me like a siren song after the day I had. I already had a couple Truly’s when I got home but I’ve decided I need something much stronger. I grab it and pour a glass full, and when I say a glass, I mean a cup. Like one of those huge take home plastic cups you get from restaurants. By the time it’s full, the pitcher is half gone.

I’m a lightweight, and I’m already tipsy from the Truly’s. So is this going to get me wasted? Probably. But I deserve it. It’s Friday and I had to put up with Noah and his snarky ass comments all afternoon. To be fair, I can handle his snarky comments and one-liners. But it’s when he says things that send very unpleasant flashbacks ricocheting through my body about what happened between us … it’s too far.

He drains me in the worst way, and even though he seems to flinch every time one of those snarky comments slip out, it doesn’t make me feel any better. I wish I could be that person, the one that says inappropriate things to poke and prod at the other. But it’s just not me. I may have a mouth on me, but I can’t intentionally throw words around the way he does, not caring that they’re hitting the bullseye each fucking time.

I put the pitcher back in the fridge and pick my phone up off the counter. I dial my brother’s number as Ihead for the front porch. Annie is lying on the steps, and her ears perk up when she sees me. I give her a few ear scratches and she settles back into her evening nap.

The waves are pretty crazy from the evening storm wind blowing in. The clouds are gathering behind the ocean, making for an angry but beautiful thing to watch as I take a seat on the porch swing, the chains groaning with rust.

“Millicent!” my brother says as a way of hello.

“Theodore.” I smile. “I got your highly annoying package today,” I tell him.

“Huh?” He sounds genuinely confused. “I didn’t send you anything Mills.”

“You didn’t send Noah to the island to help me?” I take a few big gulps of the sangria, hoping the sugary alcohol will help burn off some of my bad mood. All it does is settle into a small bonfire that’s starting in my stomach.

“Uh, no, Mills. But isn’t it a good thing that he’s there? You’ve been running around like a chicken with your head cut off for the past month trying to get everything together. And while I appreciate that and love you to death for it, it would make Beth and me feel much better if you had help.”

“Much better!” I hear Beth yell in the background.

“But,” I whine before I stop myself. They have enough going on. I don’t need to add to it just because I can’t get along with one person.

“What’s wrong, Millie?” Teddy’s voice takes on a different tone, and I can tell he’s suddenly in big brother mode, ready to protect me or try to make me feel better.

I take a deep breath. “Nothing. I went and tried way too much cake today,” I tell him, forcing a happier tone.

I list off the different types of cake and which were my favorites. He writes everything down, including the prices and all the different options they had. I tell him about the florist and send him pictures of the examples she worked up for us while we’re on the phone.

I put the phone on speaker mode and set the phone on my lap while I sip on my drink, listening to him and Beth discuss options, the sound of the waves relaxing me as they weigh their options. The storm clouds are getting closer, and the wind whips the palm trees that border the house.

I’ll never get tired of living here. Every time I sit out here I feel connected to my grandmother. I can remember sitting on this very porch swing with her and my grandfather when I was little, watching the ocean waves lap at the shore until I fell asleep on their laps. Even the smell of the Atlantic is different from the Pacific to me.

Teddy comes back on the phone with Beth, and I jot down notes as to what options they’ve chosen in my phone so I can call both places tomorrow and get everything ordered. As we finish up the phone call, I’m really starting to feel the effects of the sangria I’ve sucked down. I may have made this batch a little too strong.

So when I see Noah walk on the beach in front of my house, I blink a few times, thinking I’m hallucinating. Or I’ve fallen asleep and entered a nightmare. But when he just keeps getting closer, the wind blowing his perfect fucking hair and his abs rippling with each step—because of course he’s shirtless—I know I’m unfortunately not dreaming.

And Annie? She’s over the moon. He has his camera up, taking pictures of her as she runs off toward him, wagging her tail and licking his hands as he laughs. After a moment together, he follows her in the direction of the house.

“I gotta go, Teddy,” I say, holding Noah’s gaze as he walks up the few steps that lead to my porch.

“Thanks again for everything, Mills. And tell Noah I said hi, yeah? Let him help you!”

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