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“Eight.” She added, “in the morning.”
He whistled. “Wow. Okay. So I’ve been having insomnia lately and sleep late. Do you think you can move it?—”
The red hang-up button felt too satisfying to press. Not long after, a headache built as she finished the drafts she’d been working on for the day. Her body’s way of telling her to slow down. It was only early afternoon on a Thursday, and her favorite nail salon was right across the street. Some self-pampering should help.
And after that, maybe some “self-care” with Rick if he was available.
Rick liked beaches. His favorite time to visit was in the evening, when the sun set and turned everything into a golden masterpiece. He’d walk around the sand, feeling each grain between his toes, and take photos as he strolled. Today was especially beautiful. The sun was more contrasting above the ocean horizon, streaks of orange and pink rippling the grays of the water.
He held his camera and snapped a shot, and at that moment a bird flew by. The shutter vibrated and captured the image to his satisfaction. It was tremendously peaceful, and one of his favorite pastimes.
The peace, however, was broken when Charlie appeared two hours after they spoke through text messages. She was complaining about her brother, and Rick had the bright idea of inviting her along his beach walk for a stress relief. So as punishment, she arrived wearing a neon pink two-piece bikini that nearly blinded him more so than if he stared at the sun. It took effort to keep his gaze up, but the reminder of her insane body sent him back to the night he helped her out of her wedding dress.
God, she was torturing him. He thought it was the corset that made her breasts look good, but it was all her. She had gained weight, and he was happy to see her healthier, but her curves were driving him crazy.
Things became worse when she stopped by to get a cone of soft swirl ice cream. So now he had to avoid looking at her at all, especially while she was swiping over the cream with her tongue like an expert.
“Thank you for inviting me. This is really relaxing,” she said between licks.
Nowhewas the one far from relaxing. Memories of their kiss at the club swarmed back, but he fought to erase them or his shorts were going to embarrass him.
The weather was perfect, warm enough for beachwear, but nottoo hot to scorch skin. Intermittent breeze cooled them down with the drop of temperature as time passed. He couldn’t resist admiring the way the gold lights highlighted her. She was the very definition of radiant standing there.
“I really don’t know what to do with him,” she said, after finally finishing the last bite of her cone.
“He really set his place on fire smoking weed?” Rick asked.
She spent the last half hour telling him about her brother before providing the history of his screwups. “Yes, if you can imagine. I want to say I can’t believe it, but it’s very like him. My only surprise is that our mother is finally doing something about her idiot son.”
“So it’s a blessing in disguise,” he said.
“Maybe. A very expensive blessing.” Charlie rolled her eyes. “I wonder what it was about this that finally woke her up. She had been babying him since the day he was born. To her, he could do no wrong. Any time he got in trouble with the teachers, she took it as a personal attack, and spun it so it was as thoughtheywere wrong.”
“This is his biggest mess, right? He did something very dangerous that risked his life. Maybe that was what triggered her.”
She paused and considered it. “I wouldn’t call this his biggest mess, but itisthe first time he almost killed himself and others. So maybe you’re right. Blessing in disguise.”
He nodded, and they continued to walk next to each other.
“I resented how easy my parents were with Ryan growing up. My mother, mostly. After college, she bought him a penthouse unit at the Newport Coast Lofts. He has a full panoramic view,” Charlie said begrudgingly. “She paid foreverything. He never had to work. She only told him he did, and he half-assed it. Taking minor jobs, getting fired, then telling our mother his employers were out to get him. She completely bought into his lies.”
“So you can say he’s pretty smart, pulling a fast one,” Rickremarked. “Maybe he’s actually a mastermind. He knows all the ways to make it without having to lift a finger.”
Wrinkling her nose, she threw him a glare. “Don’t say that. I’m irritated as it is.”
“You have to give him some credit for surviving this long in luxury,” he said. “He was born to money, but staying in money is the real challenge.”
“Are you saying I’m the stupid one?”
He laughed. “I’m saying he’s not as dumb as you think.”
“To think if I had been born with a penis, my life would be so different.”
Rick’s smile was invisibly sad. “Different, not better.”
She didn’t comment, but took the lead in their walk. They ended up at the end of the pier, and the sun finally closed down. Lampposts lit their way, and the crowd had thinned out. Light breezes blew past his skin in soothing, chilly caresses. He could almost taste the salt from the water.
Charlie leaned against the railing and looked out. Rick put his camera back into the bag he shouldered when he saw her hiding a shiver. He unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and placed it over her. The hem reached her thighs, thankfully hiding most of the goods from his view.
