“I don’t do things halfway, Blake.” I knew it would cause trouble, but I asked anyway. “Why did you beat up that guy?”
“You don’t need to know.” His eyes grew hard the way they had the last time I asked. “He deserved it, though. Trust me.”
“How can I trust you if you won’t be open with me?” My heart was giving painful little jerks. Our date had started out perfectly. I hated seeing it turn downhill.
“How can you hold your breath for so long? I’ve been watching Meena.” His eyebrows pulled together. “And you’re nails are blue. No nail polish in the world looks like that.”
“I…I don’t know what you mean.” The panic I had felt earlier swooped in, but for an entirely different reason. “I think you should take me home.”
“Meena…” He trailed off and took a step closer. “I don’t want to end things like this tonight. I’ve had a really good time.”
“Me too.” I bit my lip. “But I really do need to go home. We have to be up early.”
He looked at me and nodded his head. “Okay.”
We picked up our shoes and headed for the motorcycle. He didn’t take my hand again and I wondered if that was for the best. My heart hated it, but my mind was scared.
Chapter Twelve
- Blake -
Last night had been perfect. Until I f**ked it all up. I sat on my motorcycle in front of Flukes with my helmet in my lap and looked up at Meenas’ window. I hadn’t meant to bring anything up last night, hadn’t meant to push her away. Hell, we weren’t even in a relationship and yet, we were in a way. She was different. So different from the other girls I had dated. Down to Earth, sensible, but gorgeous. And that kiss… it had made me think about skipping the beach and taking her straight back to my bed. But she wasn’t the kind of girl you screw real quick. Meena was meant to be savored, and I didn’t have much time to do that.
I ran my hands over the grips of my handlebars and frowned. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to touch her again last night. I didn’t know what I would have done had she pushed me away, but I knew it would have hurt like hell. Shit. She probably hated me at this point. I’d asked about her nails, and it was probably something like a blood disease, or something from before she was adopted. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to tell me. She had to hate me. I saw Ben open the front door and head down to the tool shed, so I swung my leg over the bike and went to join him.
“Morning.” I leaned against the wall of the shed. “Do you need help out here today?” Shit. That sounded like a cop out.
“Are you done with the logo already?” Ben looked at me, his face confused.
“Not yet.” I looked down at the helmet in my hands, hoping my expression didn’t give me away.
“Something go wrong last night?” Ben crossed his arms over his chest.
“No… I don’t know. I’m not staying long, you know?” I shrugged and ran a hand over the back of my neck. I was already sweating and it was barely eight in the morning.
“Meena doesn’t trust very easily.” Ben sighed. “And she has good reason. But she’s worth the trouble. And I’m not just saying that because I’m her dad. She’s a great girl, so don’t yank her around.”
“She is.” I’d have to be blind and deaf to not know Meena was great.
“Then man-up.” Ben turned away from me and I shook my head. “I want that logo tonight. It will take a week or more to order everything we need.”
“Yes, sir.” I took the steps up to the house two at a time and knocked on the door after kicking my shoes off.
“Come in!” Marion’s voice called, so I opened the door and set my laptop and helmet down on the table. The house smelled delicious, bacon and waffles were piled on the counter. “Grab some!”
“You’re spoiling me.” I sat down at the kitchen bar and filled my plate.
She set a glass of orange juice down in front of me and smiled. “I like spoiling people.”
“Is Meena up?” I didn’t hear anyone else in the house.
“She’s already gone down to see Mitch. I think Ben is having the crews powerwash and paint some of the buildings, and she didn’t want any chemicals to run in the pools.
“I should go help her then.” I downed the orange juice and snagged one more piece of bacon before heading out.
I found her at the fish shack, filling up a bucket. She gave me a small smile when she saw me, but I could tell there was something bothering her. If I could dropkick myself, I would have right then. Her hair was loose today, hanging down her back in soft waves that made my hands itch with the need to touch them. Her little shorts were in place, but she was wearing a large t-shirt instead of a sexy tank-top. It wasn’t that it didn’t still look good on her, but I recognized it for what it was. A sign that she wasn’t playing anymore. No more teasing or daring.
“Hey.” I took the bucket out of her hand and let her walk in front of me.
“Thanks.” She didn’t say anything else, just went straight to the dolphins and hopped down onto the platform.
We fed the dolphins and Meena checked on Jallia. I didn’t know how she was so certain about whether or not the mother was going to give birth any time soon. Her hands ran over the dolphin’s belly and she made soothing sounds. She looked like a water goddess in that moment. There were flecks of water on her cheeks and the sun shimmered in her eyes. When she sent them off to play, we sat there for a while, watching. The rocking of the platform was a soothing contrast to the nervous energy in my gut.
“I think we should stick to being friends.” Meena didn’t look at me and I caught a tremor in her words.
“Why?” I wanted to grab her and make her look at me. I didn’t want to be friends. I wanted her in my arms, telling me her secrets, tangled in the sheets of my bed. Every day. Every night.
“Everyone’s leaving. Violets leaves tomorrow and if we start something now, it’s just going to hurt when you go too.” She looked at me, her lips pressed in a hard line. “I don’t want to feel like the one left behind.”
“It wouldn’t be like that.” I turned toward her and reached for her hand. As my fingers traced over hers I thought I saw something white drawn on her wrist, but when I looked closer there was nothing there. It must’ve been a trick of the light. “I don’t want you to hurt.”
“I… I like you.” She frowned. “And if we get any closer it’s going to hurt. There’s no way around it. So it’s better this way.” She pulled on her hand gently and I let go.
“I don’t want to just be friends.” I watched as she swallowed. Her eyes were already so sad I wanted to punch myself.
“Then there is nothing else.” She stood up and wiped at her shorts. “We’ll work together for Dad, but that’s it.”
“Fine.” I stood up and fought the urge to grab her and kiss the pain away. “We’ll be friends. But it’s going to be hard.” I had to be around her some way and if this was all I was going to get, I’d be stupid to throw it away.
She nodded her head and climbed back up the ladder. I followed her to the house and we worked on the logo. She picked a teal, but I didn’t think it was quite right. I selected a lighter one but didn’t tell her it was because it matched her eyes. After getting the approval from her dad, she worked on ordering shirts from a local business while I worked on designing a website and flyers.
She leaned over my shoulder to see what I had come up with and I had to fight to not turn my face and bury it in her neck. My fingers cramped on the keyboard and I concentrated on straightening them from the clenched position they had been in.
“That looks good.” She smiled and it was a relief to see her a little more at ease. “I like the picture you used of Dad and Mom. They look so happy.” She sighed, her breath teasing my ear. An image of me pulling her into my lap danced through my brain and I had to close my eyes. I repeated the word friend over and over in my head, but it didn’t work. When I opened my eyes, I could see the swell of her br**sts under her shirt and quickly looked up at her face. She was staring at me and it was a hungry look.
“Meena,” I said. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but if she stayed right there any longer, I had a suspicion that we were going to end up on the couch.
She took a deep breath and looked back at the computer, reaching over me to click the mouse to the next page. “This part looks good too.” She stood up then, putting distance between us. I ground my teeth and looked back at the computer.
The inside of the brochure was up and there was a picture of Meena in one of the uniform one-piece suits, sliding through the water with Mitch. I loved that one. It captured her joy and serenity all at once. “I wanted the people to look at it and see themselves having fun.”
“You did it. It’s great.” She went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. “Want some?”
“Sure.” She brought me a glass and sat down across from me.
“I ordered fifty shirts. There are only sixteen employees, but this gives us backups for accidents and in case Dad hires anyone else. I also went ahead and ordered some stuff for the gift shop.” The gift shop was a tiny little tiki hut near the bird house. It was also the first place visitors went to sign in.
“We need to do something with the gift shop. Make it bigger, spruce it up. Something.” I leaned back in my chair and chewed on the end of the pen I had been using to make notes.
“Yeah. It’s a little run-down. I guess I can talk to Dad about a budget and see what we come up with.” I could feel her eyes on my mouth. It was almost physical. I should respect her wish to be friends, but part of me just wanted to win her over. And that was the larger part of me.
“Aren’t the guys working on painting and stuff? Maybe we could get them to help with the hut. Manual labor would be the most expensive part.” I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the table.
“We’d have to have a contractor and inspector no matter what.” Meena looked out the window.
“I know a guy.” I cocked my head to the side, studying her profile. “I could see if he’s busy.”
“Okay. Let’s talk to Dad and see where we go from there.” Meena took her empty glass back to the sink and I closed my laptop. Ben was working near the fish shack. Some of the guys were replacing old or rotting boards on the walkway and he was painting the building a tan color.
“Hey, guys! What’s up?” He always looked so relaxed, I wondered if I could bottle some of his cheerfulness up and send it to my dad.
“Blake and I were talking.” Meena walked to her dad, a smile on her face. I noticed some of the workers watching her, and it was clear from their expressions that they enjoyed the view. I glared, pissed that they could openly stare without her being upset. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that she even noticed. Devin smiled at me and I balled my hands up. When he turned to look Meena over, I stepped in his view to try and block her. She had no idea how she affected the men around her.