“Jase!” Mom scolds him. I stick my tongue out in reply. He flips me off.
“It’s over. I’m done with his games. He’s been cheating on me. Well, technically, he wasn’t cheating since we were always ‘taking a break,’ but in my eyes, he cheated.”
“I’m going to kick his ass,” Jase seethes.
I step next to him and place my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “I love you for that, I do. Honestly, he’s not worth it. I’m good with it. This has been a long time coming. I just want to forget it and move on,” I tell them.
“Regardless, he better hope he doesn’t see me out,” Jase warns.
Jase has a good couple of inches on Daniel and more muscle. He could definitely give Daniel a run for his money. Not that I think that will be an issue. Daniel doesn’t like confrontation, at least not with guys who are built like my little brother. Daniel is more of a preppy pretty boy type. Don’t judge, I was a sophomore in college and he swept me off my feet. My standards are much higher now, trust me.
“Well, sounds like we have more than just graduation to celebrate,” my dad quips.
“That we do, Dad. That we do.”
“Right,” Mom says. “Let’s get Stacy and her parents over here so we can give you your presents.” She claps her hands in glee. My mom has always been a giver. Something about giving lights her up. I get that from her, also a trait Daniel played on.
Good riddance.
Jase shoves his index finger and thumb in his mouth and whistles loudly. I never could do that. “Hey, Stace, we need you all over here,” he yells once he has everyone’s attention.
Looping her arms through both of her parents,’ Stacy leads them to us. Her parents step away to stand beside mine, all four of them wearing huge-ass grins. Hmm . . . this is gonna be good. I can already tell.
Jase steps between Stacy and me and throws an arm over each of our shoulders. “Remember this in four years, will you?” he says, loud enough for our parents to hear. He knows what it is and is envious. Hell, yeah! I cannot wait to see what it is.
“Girls, we are so damn proud of you,” Stacy’s dad says.
“You’ve both busted your ass to get through college,” my dad chimes in.
“You deserve a break, some fun in the sun, if you will,” Stacy’s mom hints.
“A little rest and relaxation before joining the post-college world,” Mom adds.
Jase releases us and joins our parents. “I want it to go on record that I’m jealous as hell,” he announces with a grin. Mom reaches around my dad and smacks his arm.
Reaching in his back pocket, Jase pulls out an envelope with our names scrawled across the front. I glance over at Stacy and she shrugs; she has no idea either.
Jase hands us the envelope. We both squeal with delight as we lean in close and pull it open together. I read the card, and then read it again, giving my brain a second chance to process what it says.
“Hawaii?” Stacy asks.
“Yep, the two of you get to spend a week on a private stretch of beach and soak up some rays while I’m stuck here.” Jase tries to hide his grin. He’s happy for us, even if he is jealous he’s not going. He’ll get his in four years.
“Holy shit!” Stacy and I say at the same time. This causes everyone, and I mean everyone, to burst out laughing. Apparently, all the guests had gathered around. Stacy and I were too intent on discovering what was in the envelope to pay attention.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket. Sliding it out, I glance at the screen.
Daniel.
I hit ignore and slide my phone back into my pocket. Not today, he’s not going to ruin this. He needed his space. He’s getting it.
Permanently.
“Your reservation is in a week,” Stacy’s mom informs us. “Gives you time to shop for some new clothes.”
Chapter 2
Logan
“Seriously, Logan, you need to live a little. Buy the damn bikini,” Stacy says as she flings said bikini into my cart.
“You call that a bikini? It’s tiny pieces of fabric strung together by . . . string.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “We’re going to the beach, a private beach in Hawaii. You finally got rid of the loser, and you need to let loose. Here.” She pulls the same bikini off the shelf, checks the size, and tosses it in her cart. “Now, we’ll both be barely dressed and living the dream.”
“I still can’t believe they rented us a freaking beach house in Hawaii!” I say as my phone dings, alerting me to a message. Digging it out of my purse, I swipe the screen and see Daniel has sent me yet another message.
Daniel: Why are you ignoring me?
Is he for real? I’m ignoring his dumb ass because he’s, well . . . a dumb-ass. UGH!
“Daniel?” Stacy asks.
“Yep.” I hold my phone up so she can read his message.
“What the hell? He’s delusional,” she says, shaking her head.
“He’s something,” I say as I delete his message and slide my phone back in my purse. He’s texted me at least twice a day for the last week. Six days since he gave me his ‘I need space’ speech. Six days since I’ve been single, knowing this time it’s really over. Six days where I have felt . . . free. It’s weird how you don’t realize how much someone is holding you back until you are able to really open your eyes and look at it from a different perspective. Daniel is toxic.
“This trip is going to be amazing. We’re both single and beautiful.” She winks at me. “We’re going to live it up, experience one last hoorah before entering the wonderful world of adulthood.”
“Stacy, we’re already adults,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but now we have to become straight-laced members of society. We can no longer be the young girls hiding behind the ‘they’re in college’ façade. We actually have to be full-functioning members of society. Which reminds me, how’s the job search coming?”
I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in business administration. “I’ve applied for every damn entry-level admin position I can find. I even applied for a few assistant positions that I am overqualified for.” I shrug. “I have to start somewhere. I’ve had a few interviews, but no callbacks yet.”
“I start my new job the Monday after we come back. It’s not what I thought I would be doing with my degree, but I’m excited to try something new.”
Stacy has a degree in education. She wanted to be a high school science teacher. However, teaching jobs are few and far between. She ended up accepting a teaching position for a pharmaceutical company. She’s going to be giving presentations to physicians and their staff about the company’s products.
Stacy is outgoing, so this is actually a great job for her.
“That’s awesome, Stacy! I’m so excited for you. You’re going to kick ass at this job, you know that, right?”
“You know it.” She laughs. “Don’t worry, you’re going to get the call that will change your life.”
Turns out, she was right. After hours of shopping, we head to our apartment to pack for our trip. Our flight leaves early tomorrow morning. I’m right in the middle of examining the strings I purchased, which the store and Stacy refer to as a bikini, second-guessing my purchase when my cell phone rings. I’ve applied for several jobs, so I answer even though I don’t recognize the number.