Page 38 of Love By the Bay

“Hey Violet, can we have two more daiquiris and a soda water with lime for our table please?”

God damn it, if that isn’t the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. But I dare not look to my right to get a glimpse of the owner because if her subtle scent and sweet voice are anything to go by, she’ll be an angel, and I’ll be in a whole heap of trouble.

“Julia, you know you haven’t worked here for three years now,” Violet the bartender laughs. “You don’t have to come up and put your orders in like you still do.”

Julia, the owner of the scent and the voice, laughs, and that’s all it takes to make my cock turn to a rod of steel. I can’t help but glance up from my phone. Next to me is indeed an angel, but not the blonde, halo-wearing kind. No, this angel has flaming red hair that hangs in a long wavy ponytail, leaving her creamy white neck exposed and ready for my hungry lips and teeth. Her smile is broad and sunny as she continues to joke with Violet, her large voluptuous tits bouncing as she laughs. I use my very useful military training to covertly ogle her generous curves and round ass encased in jeans that seem to be sprayed on.

“Hey there, stranger.” Her voice shakes me from my perv-fest and I raise my eyes, realizing I probably wasn’t being as subtle as I’d hoped. The angel quirks an eyebrow as she looks me over, hand on her hip. “You like what you see?”

Shit! Busted.

Chapter 2

Julia

“You guys are making me wanna throw up in my daiquiri,” I grumble, as I watch my best friend Olivia snuggle up against her husband of two months. Jake and Livi have known each other since they were kids — in fact, he was her brother’s best friend. They enlisted in the Navy together, but Pete was killed in Afghanistan about seven years ago, and Jake felt responsible for it. That was the reason he’d stayed away for so long. But then Jake and Olivia fell in love — a mess of complications that took them almost a year to figure out.

But now they’re married and living their best lives here in Crescent Bay. Olivia continues to work as an elementary school teacher. Jake realized the Navy wasn’t right for him anymore, and he pivoted to cyber security consulting.

The three of us have a standing Thursday night dinner date at Bodie’s, the dive bar on Main Street, which — in my opinion — serves the best frozen daiquiris and cheeseburgers in the state. I’m not even halfway through my first sip before they start canoodling and whispering on the other side of the worn, vinyl booth.

I cough loudly to make my presence known, and finally Livi tears her eyes away from Jake and shuffles away from him slightly, although his muscular arm remains draped over her shoulders, twisting a lock of her inky black hair around his fingers.

Although I couldn’t be happier for them, their love just shines a huge spotlight on the fact that I’m still single and probably will be for the rest of my life. The Crescent Bay dating pool is very shallow, and I’ve already had a nibble of most of the decent specimens in my age range and come up empty.

“Sorry, hun,” Olivia sighs, squirming as Jake brushes his knuckles across the skin of her neck. “Jake was in San Francisco for three days, he only came back this afternoon.”

“Oh I see, I’m not only third wheeling but I’m also acting as a cock block,” I say, rolling my eyes. “That’s just great.” I take the thin straw out of my drink and decide to just take a huge gulp and get the pleasant daiquiri buzz going sooner rather than later.

Jake chuckles and takes a swig of his soda water. “It’s all good, Jules. I saw to my woman as soon as I got home. She’s good for at least another few hours.”

Olivia’s cheeks and chest turn fire engine red, and I can’t help but giggle at the fact she’s still so shocked by Jake’s dirty mouth.

Thankfully our burgers arrive, and we dig in, chatting about our week and sharing the highs and lows. Unfortunately, most of my news falls into the low category and as I tell my best friends about it, I feel my blood pressure rise.

“Belinda quit this morning,” I say as I shove another onion ring into my mouth.

“Oh no, what happened?” Olivia asks, knowing the continued nightmare I’m having trying to get someone to work at my doggy day care center.

“She just didn’t show up, so I called her and she told me she thought the job would be more playing with cute puppies and less cleaning up dog crap,” I reply through gritted teeth. “I was perfectly clear about the duties she’d be expected to perform, but I did have a litter of very cute dalmatian puppies in at the time, and I don’t think she was listening very carefully.”

“I’m sorry, babe.” Livi reaches over and pats my hand. “Are you gonna try and find someone new?”

“I’ll have to,” I sigh, running through a mental list of all the shit I should be doing instead of enjoying a few hours of down time with my bestie. “Cassie is too busy with grooming, and Arthur has a full training schedule and no extra time.”

“Well summer vacation starts in a few weeks, so I can come by and help if you need me to,” she offers. My heart swells with gratitude for my best friend.

“Thanks, but I know you’ve worked hard this year. You’ve earned your summer vacation. I’m sure I’ll find someone else. I put a notice up by my gate, and they let me post one on the town website.”

As I lift my half-eaten cheeseburger to my mouth, the door to the bar opens, and I forget that I’m supposed to take a bite. Walking into the dimly lit room is by far the most attractive man I’ve ever seen — so tall and broad that he almost fills the door frame. After taking in the room like he’s casing the joint, he approaches the bar and takes a seat. I can see his hair is dark, with a scattering of gray at the temples, giving it that salt and pepper look. It’s hard to tell his age from this distance, but I’d put him at somewhere between thirty and forty which should immediately signal that he’s too old for me. I turned twenty-four last month.

“Earth to Julia!” Livi laughs, waving her hand in front of my face, jolting me from my drool-fest. Her back is to the bar so she has no idea what’s caught my attention. I quickly drop my burger onto my plate and swipe surreptitiously at my chin in case there’s noticeable drool.

“What?” I ask in a high-pitched voice, trying to keep my eyes on my best friend, while also watching the guy at the bar. He’s talking to Violet.

“You completely zoned out on me,” she laughs, twisting around in her seat, trying to follow my wandering eyes. “What are you looking at?”

I know the moment she spots Mr. Tall and Handsome because that evil little smirk stretches out her full lips.

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