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James
Itore out another floorboard as I remembered the way Rose looked last night as I walked into the tiki hut. Obviously lost in thought, she had no idea I was standing there watching her. I’d never seen a more gorgeous woman in all my life, and that alone should have deterred me from going over to her. Maybe it was her big brown eyes, or the way her dark brown hair was blowing in the breeze. Or the way her body slumped either in sadness or contentment, I couldn’t be sure.
I still couldn’t figure out why she came to the beach alone, but I wasn’t exactly handing out my secrets either. She had to be escaping like me. I didn’t know a single woman that would go to the beach without a girlfriend.
The entire walk back to her place, all I could think about was sliding my fingers between hers, just to see if the connection I was feeling with her was real. But I was married now, and no matter how much I despised the woman I was forced to marry, I wouldn’t cheat on her. And I really hated myself for that right now. If I had just met this woman sooner…I wasn’t even sure if it would go anywhere given the chance, but to find someone I got along with so well, and know there was no chance for us was crushing.
Taking my frustrations out on the floor, I ripped up another board and then grabbed the stack already torn out, and carried it outside to the dumpster. Wiping the sweat from my head, I looked at the dump in front of me, laughing to myself. Was I really going to be able to fix this place up in just six months?
My phone rang, and I pulled it from my pocket, grinning when I saw Shane’s name on the screen. “Fletch, it took you long enough to call me back.”
“Well, some of us have to work.”
“Yeah? Still hanging around the golf course with your old man?”
He scoffed at that. When we were in college, his dad constantly dragged him to the golf course to impress his friends with his kid that went to Princeton. He hated it, of course, which was why I teased him relentlessly for it.
“I haven’t been there in over five years.”
“Yeah? Whatcha been up to?”
“I started my own business.”
That was exactly what I wanted to hear. “So, you finally did it.”
“Yeah.” I could hear the pride in his voice. “I got away from my dad and started my own contracting business.”
“Thank fuck,” I barked out a laugh. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I bought a house. It needs…” I looked back at the house. It was sort of tilting to one side, but I couldn’t tell if that was the foundation or just the way I was looking at it. “It needs a little work.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “How much work are we talking about?”
“Um…more than a coat of paint.”
“How much more than a coat of paint?”
I rubbed at the back of my neck, thinking of how to put this. “Do you remember that house we used to pass on our way to Eric’s place?”
“Oh fuck. Are you serious?”
I laughed slightly. “You know I’m not the type to go for something easy.”
He sighed heavily into the phone. “Fine, where is this rat shack?”
“Down in Georgia.”
“Of course it is,” he laughed. “Send me the address.”
“How soon can you be here?”
“Later today.”
“No shit?”
“I’m practically in your back yard.”
