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“Ah, great. Let’s get a wipe. The splinter came out by itself.”
I can see a faint blush on his cheeks, and I don’t even want to think about my own, so I don’t look at Matt, sure that he’d have something scathing to say about what he just interrupted.
Thankfully Matt keeps his mouth shut as Drew cleans the angry red spot from where he removed the splinter. However, he watches the two of us carefully,verycarefully, while Drew bandages my finger. It’s slightly unnerving.
“There,” Drew says as he playfully pats the bare skin on my thigh, almost as if he’s forgotten who he is tending to, making me shiver delicately. “All better now.”
Not even a little bit.
He smiles at me, all bright and happy, and I swear my heart skips a beat inside my chest. Wow, he’s got a great smile.
“We don’t have time for the two of you to make doe eyes at each other,” Matt snidely chimes in, wiping the smile right off of Drew’s face. “Sorry, Greer, but I think it’s time for you to get lost. Some of us have to actually work today, and you’re making it harder for us to do that.”
My cheeks burn in humiliation as my eyes drop to my lap. I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life as I have by the people here, be they staff or guests or my own damn family for that matter, and I’m getting damn tired of it.
If it wasn’t so important to Daddy, I would find someplace else to spend my summer, somewhere else to vacation where the people were friendly but still hot, and then I could read while working on my tan and enjoying the view. And nothing else.
This certainly isnotthat. Though, no one can fault the spectacular view—people included.
“What the hell is the matter with you, Matt?” Drew snaps as he pushes himself up to his feet. He glares at his friend while folding his arms over his chest. “You act like she’s done something to personally offend you when she hasn’t been anything but sweet and kind. Lay off her, man. You’re acting like an asshole.”
I don’t think he’s acting like anything, but I’m starting to get the feeling that Matt really justisan asshole.
I’m not going to stick around so he can take potshots at me anymore. Besides, Matt might not like me, but I like Drew, and I’m actuallynotan asshole. Therefore, I do not enjoy watching Drew stick up for me and fight with someone who is clearly one of his close friends on my behalf.
“It’s okay, Drew,” I murmur as I push myself up to my feet. It’s really not okay, but whatever. Avoiding eye contact with them, I continue, “Don’t worry about it. Clearly, I’ve worn out my welcome over here and my presence offends you in some way. I’d apologize, but I feel like I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m just sorry that you feel differently.”
I brush past Matt and hurry down the steps, ignoring Drew who calls out my name and begs me to stop.
I don’t stop. If anything, the desperation in his voice spurs me on even further and I end up running away from them. Not that Matt bothers to call out for me, but hey, I’m still running away from him at the moment too.
My feet carry me farther up the beach at a breakneck speed, and I don’t realize that I’ve lost both of my flip-flops and my feet are now bare until I am forced to stop so I can hunch over and clutch my knees as I attempt to catch my breath.
Good grief, I’m an absolute mess today. At least my finger no longer hurts.
And, another bonus, Brady wasn’t out on this part of the beach so he could witness my crazy run on the sand.
I wipe a hand across my damp cheeks. That’s it. My humiliation is complete. There might not be anyone around to see it, but I’ll always know the truth of how easily I allowed myself to be hurt by the negative feelings and opinions of others when they were about me.
Why do I even care so much?
I bet Chelsea wouldn’t give a crap if some driver didn’t like her company or thought she was a brat. Hell, she’d probably get off on the knowledge and then act like an even bigger bitch.
I drop down to my ass in the sand and pull my knees up to my chest. I wrap my arms around my legs and prop my chin on my knee.
The ocean is calm today and very, very different from the emotions raging inside of me.
The water does something to soothe me as it calls out to me like a siren, and I realize that since coming here, I haven’t once submerged myself in the salty water. My toes might have kissed the water’s edge, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.
How sad.
I stand up in a rush and whip my tank top up and over my head. It falls to my feet in the sand as I quickly unbutton and unzip my shorts. They slide down my legs, and I step out of them.
Leaving my small pile of clothes behind, I step into the water and allow the ocean to melt all my troubles away.
