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“You really are a words smith,” Savannah teased.
“I usually leave that up to you, but thanks,” Ginger said.
“I’m going to nap,” Norah said, stretching out in the backseat. “Let me know when we make our first pit stop. I need a coffee and some sugar if you’re taking suggestions for our first stop.”
“Got it,” Savannah said.
“You need me to stay up with you or can I catch some Zzz’s too?” Ginger asked.
“No, you can get some sleep. You two had a late-night last night.” They had gone over to Trevor’s place to pick up the last few boxes that Ginger had left over there. She had been putting it off and she just wanted to get it over with before their summer at the beach. She waited until the last minute and coaxed Norah into going with her since Savannah had to work late getting her column in before taking off for a bit. Plus, she had a million things to do to get her father settled before leaving him—something she was still feeling guilty about. The one thing Savannah knew for sure; she needed one hell of a summer beach trip and a break from life in general. If she had her way, the three of them would have a blast and there wouldn’t be a cloud in the sky or a care in any of their worlds. If only life worked like that…
Brooks
Brooks Terrance knew that spending the summer with his two best friends might be the last time that they’d all be together. Jude was moving to the West coast for work unless Brooks and Colter could talk him out of it. Honestly, this trip was his idea as a last-ditch effort to try to keep the three amigos together.
They had all met in college and when they found out that they were all from DC, going to college in upstate New York, they formed this strange bond and were practically inseparable. They even got an apartment off campus and shared it for the last two years of college. A part of Brooks thought that moving back to DC after college would mean that they’d all end up staying there and putting down roots as adults, but then, Jude went and burst his bubble, telling them both that he was leaving for the West coast in the fall. That was the day that Brooks called the rental place in the little beach town his parents used to take him to in Georgia and rented one of their last available beach houses for the summer.
When he made the announcement to the guys, they both balked at the idea, saying that they couldn’t be out of town and away from their jobs for very long, but then, Brooks reminded them both that Jude was currently between jobs and taking the summer off to pack up his things and take off on them, and Colter could work anywhere since he worked remotely as a CPA for an accounting firm in town. He could meet with his clients via online meetings and do everything from their luxury beach house. Brooks also had the ability to work from home as a social media consultant in advertising, all he needed was a laptop and the internet. Once he got the guys on board, he knew that his plan of getting Jude to see the light and stay in DC was going to work—it just had to because splitting up the three amigos wasn’t ever a part of the plan.
He picked them both up just before sunrise and they got down to the beach house, picked up the keys from the rental agency, and got settled just before dinner time. They were going to grill steaks on the deck overlooking the ocean and drink beer until the sun went down. All in all, it was a pretty good start to their summer beach vacation.
After they cleaned up from dinner, Brooks announced that he was going to bed and the other two agreed that it had been a long day and followed suit. What he wasn’t expecting was to find a pretty young woman standing over his bed in the middle of the night, demanding to know who in the hell he was.
“How did you get into my beach house?” Brooks shouted. He stood and realized that he wasn’t wearing anything under his sheet, so he tugged it up and around his waist before giving the woman too much of an eyeful.
“This is my beach house,” she spat, “at least for the summer it is.”
“That’s impossible,” he insisted. “I rented this place for my two buddies and me for the summer. We picked up the keys today.”
“Well, I rented this place for my two girlfriends and myself and was told that I could find the keys under the front mat where the rental agent left them for us since we got into town late. Wait, I can settle all this right now. I’ll just call her.”
“It’s the middle of the night,” Brooks challenged. He had a sick feeling that his perfect beach vacation was about to be ruined by a rental agent double-booking the place.
“It’s only ten-thirty, Grandpa,” she teased, holding up her phone for him to see the time.
“It was a long trip down here from DC and I drove the whole way. Excuse me for being tired and turning in early,” he grumbled.
“Well, we drove down from just outside of DC, from Maryland, and I drove the whole way too. I’m just as tired as you are, but I can’t go to bed since you are sleeping in it.” She nodded to the bed that he had just got out of and smirked back at him.
“Well, you could just share it with me, and we can both get some sleep,” he taunted. No, that’s not what he needed this summer. This trip was about the guys and keeping the band together. He didn’t have time to chase a pretty blond around hoping that she’d fall into his bed with him.
“Not a chance, buddy,” she spat. She dialed the number of the rental agent and put it on speaker for him to listen in. “Hello, is this Melody Jones?” she asked.
“Um, yes,” the woman said. “Who’s calling at this late hour?” He smirked at her again. He wasn’t the only one who thought that it was late. The woman had the nerve to stick her tongue out at him and he just rolled his eyes at her. He couldn’t stand how smug she was, but that was all about to change.
“This is Savannah Higgins. I have—I’m sorry but I didn’t catch your name,” she said, looking over at him.
“Brooks Terrance,” he grumbled.
“I have Brooks Terrance with me,” she repeated as if Melody wouldn’t be able to hear him on speaker. “Apparently, we’ve both rented the same house and I’m hoping that you can clear this mess up for me. I have a rental contract dated May third of this year, for the entire summer.”
Brooks crossed the bedroom and pulled his rental agreement out of his suitcase and looked it over. He wasn’t sure why he had packed it, but now, he was glad that he had tossed it into his suitcase. “My rental agreement is dated for the same day,” he said.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Melody shouted. “I can’t believe that this has happened again. I’m going to fire my assistant in the morning. This is the third time that this has happened this week.”
“The third time?” Brooks shouted across the room. “What did you do for the other two rentals that were double booked?” he asked. He was hoping that she’d say that she would have to toss the pretty blond out, leaving the place to the guys for the summer, but he feared that he wasn’t going to get that lucky.
Brooks looked up to find that they had drawn quite a crowd at his bedroom door. Two other women and the guys were standing there watching him as Savannah talk to Melody on the phone.
