Page 49 of Chasing Forever

Chase was talking now, and he was waving his hands around like he was the Italian. Then he pointed toward the cliff that he’d jumped from, and Callie nodded along, like she knew exactly what he was saying. He was probably regaling the woman with the story of his heroic jump, and she was captivated by his every word.

The woman turned in the direction he was pointing, giving Chase and Callie a view of her backside. Her bikini made Callie’s look like a romper. The bottoms were held up by strings hastily tied at her narrow hips, and the back rode up to show most of her butt cheeks and the tan lines they were supposed to be covering.

Callie shook her head in disgust. This woman knew exactly what she was doing, and Chase appeared to be a willing participant. The next thing she knew, he grabbed his towel off the chair, abandoning his T-shirt and book, and the two of them started walking away down the path.

“No, no, no!” Callie whisper-hissed. “You’re going the wrong way.” Not to mention that he’d carelessly left his book lying in the hot sun. Didn’t he realize the cover might get warped?

But they were walking purposefully toward the beach, and soon she wouldn’t be able to see them. Callie was horrified, and not just at them, but at herself for feeling crazed with jealousy.

Chase wasn’t hers to feel jealous over. She’d had her chance with him, and she’d blown it. She’d thought so last night, but now she knew so. If they’d slept together, she felt certain this wouldn’t be happening right now. Like he’d said, he was a one-woman man, and she could have been that woman. Instead, he was strolling down the path with a stranger in a red bikini that screamed, “Take me. I’m yours!”

“What should I do? What should I do?” She looked around the room like somebody might answer and then threw her hands in the air.

Quinn wasn’t there, but she heard her voice clear as day: “Go after him.”

Callie didn’t hesitate. She ran into the bedroom and pulled out her floral print bikini, the one she’d worn when she’d gone to the beach with Chase. It wouldn’t give her an advantage over the competition, but it was better than the alternative, the dreaded black one-piece.

She hurriedly tugged it on, though why did it seem tighter than the last time she’d worn it? Then she grabbed her beach bag and sunglasses and went to the patio door, where she hurriedly donned her flip-flops. She didn’t bother locking up, because Hawaii was too mellow for burglaries, right? Stupid logic, but she didn’t have time to overthink it.

Instead, she started down the path toward the beach, wondering what on earth she was going to do once she got there.

Chapter 24

Chase felt guilty, but he shouldn’t have. It’s not like he and Callie had a “thing.” They’d kissed a few times, but she’d made it clear that was as far as it would go. So why should he feel guilty about walking along the beach with Sara of the red bikini? She seemed like a nice enough girl, although rather on the young side, twenty-five to be exact. When she’d come up and introduced herself, he’d had no intentions other than being polite. But then she’d mentioned wanting to jump off the cliff, and when he’d told her he’d done it, she asked if he’d go with her.

“Are you here alone?” he asked, making conversation as they climbed the trail to the clifftop.

“No. I’m with my parents, but they would never do something like this. I’m glad I ran into you.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond because he had a feeling he might regret this. Not jumping, but agreeing to accompany her. She’d looked up at him with starry eyes, and he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. He wasn’t about to become a play toy for a bored twenty-five-year-old woman on vacation. He could practically hear Eric yelling, “You wuss!” but he tried to ignore it.

Once they reached the top of the cliff, they lined up behind a handful of other brave souls and waited their turn.

“What about you? Are you here with someone?” Sara asked.

“No. I’m on sabbatical.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“A lawyer.”

“Hmm.”

He wasn’t sure if she was impressed or not, but it didn’t matter. This might be the first and last time he’d ever see her.

He glanced out over the ocean and took in the beautiful sight. He’d already been there a while, but the view never got old. He scanned the horizon and then looked down to the beach.

Wait a minute. Is that? Yes, it is her. He spotted Callie down below, spreading her towel out on the sand not too far from where he and Sara had set their things.

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see her there, but he was. He figured she’d be holed up in her condo, writing until at least dinnertime. In a few short weeks, he’d already become accustomed to her patterns. Crazy.

He might not have noticed her but for the methodical way she went about laying out the towel and making sure to secure the ends with items from her oversized beach bag. For some reason, he smiled as he watched her.

“Chase?”

He brought his attention back to Sara. “Yeah?”

“I just asked where you’re from?”