“You couldn’t pay me enough money to crunch numbers,” Sunshine says, coming up to the counter. She has an armful of clothes, including a few bathing suits that I know will look fucking spectacular on her. Especially after seeing her in the clothes she was wearing earlier this morning.
“Somebody’s gotta do it.” I shrug my shoulders, but I know I need to make my getaway before she figures out the prices are completely different than what’s on the tags. I mean, she may hate numbers, but it won’t take her long to realize she’s getting a deal, and I’m not ready to go head-to-head with Sunshine.
“See you around.” I wave over my shoulder, knowing I’ll stay much longer than I need just to be in her presence. Though, she does seem to be in a better mood than she was. Even her eyes don’t look near as weary. Maybe she took my advice and realized crying over some douche nugget wasn’t worth her time after all.
8
Melanie
When the cashier rang me up, all I could do was smile. Fox retreated, well, like a fox going into his hole. Too bad he won’t be able to hide for long. It seems my utterly drop-dead gorgeous neighbor is intent on staying in my life, no matter the cost or what he says about some mythical man being the one who broke my heart. I shake my head free of those thoughts. Each time I think about him, it only makes me want to cry all over again, and after the fun morning of eating and shopping, I don’t want the melancholy to take hold again.
By the time I get back to my place, it’s lunchtime. I was smart and went ahead and placed a grocery order, so food would be delivered by the time I got home. The thought of getting in my car to get groceries made my skin crawl, it’s my least favorite chore. I can shop for clothes, shoes, home décor, honestly anything else, but when it comes to grocery stores, it’s a no for me. I’d rather go to the dentist for a root canal.
Since I’ve decided to up my stay, I guess it would be smart to unpack my clothes and do the laundry that I basically lived in for the first week. Then throw on my swimsuit, offload the groceries, and then I’m heading to the beach. I won’t even tell you I kind of wish Fox followed me into the dressing room. Sure, giving him hell was fun, but the hungry look in his eyes told me he was thinking it. Too bad my mouth told him what my body was pissed about denying.
I grab the sunscreen, towel, and the trucker-style baseball hat I bought with more bathing suits than I could fathom. The surf shop really surprised me once I got past the string bikinis, you know, the ones that look like they have a diaper as bottoms held together by strings. No, thank you. I want to be able to walk, run, or swim in the ocean without losing my bottoms and top.
That’s why I settled on more modest bathing suits with full coverage bottoms and a bandeau style top that somehow is miraculously staying up, though that could have to do with the one-sided shoulder strap. I’m walking down the small deck that’s attached to the house, my eyes solely focused on the beach and not Fox’s place. God, if I saw him right now, I may do something stupid, like strip my clothes off and show him just what he’s managed to do to me without even touching me in the places my body needs him most. Though, I may have to muzzle him if he brings up a touchy subject again.
I almost stutter-step when my bare foot hits the sand. I swear I can feel Fox’s eyes on me, a searing heat. I don’t look though, in fact, I’m going to ignore him and the way he makes me feel. My only thoughts need to be on getting to a better place, mentally and emotionally. Sure, this morning was decent, the crying stopped for a while, but I know it’s just a passing moment. There’s nothing but time that can help ease the ache that’s deep in my heart.
“Melanie,” a voice breathes out once I’m settled on my beach towel. I’m sitting up, my arms on my knees, head tipped up at the sky, allowing the sun to kiss my face.
“Don’t ruin this moment, Fox,” I mutter, bringing my focus to the ocean, where kids are running up and down the shoreline, surfers sit on their boards off in the distance, and a few people stand up to their hips in the water.
“Not gonna ruin it, sunshine, just seeing if you want some company.” He doesn’t wait for me to respond, instead, he spreads his towel on the sand beside mine before sitting down.
“It’s a free country, so why not.” I shrug my shoulders, but I’m scared to look at him, to see him in nothing but a pair of shorts again. To ask what was on my mind earlier this morning, but we don’t know enough about each other for me to even mention the scar running down from his lower thigh into his upper leg.
“Are you going to tell me what’s rattling around in that head of yours?” I whip my head around to look at him, my jaw dropping at the sight of him. I’ve seen him dressed in the same thing earlier, but up close and personal, it’s completely different.
“A little of this and a little of that,” I respond before taking my eyes off Fox, reluctantly.
“You’ll open up eventually, sunshine,” Fox states, and then he turns his head to gaze at the water as well, leaving us both to our own thoughts.
9
Fox
It took everything in me to not ask her about the guy who’s set her on an emotional rollercoaster, not when she looks at peace for the first time in twenty-four hours. That’s why I’m shocked when Melanie says, “He wasn’t just any guy, you know, the one you accused of not being worth it.” She looks over at me.
“Could have fooled me the way you were mourning him, sunshine.”
“I’m sorry if I was loud, truly. It was just something my dad and I used to jam out to. That’s who I’m mourning, not some guy, you know?”
“Fuck, Mel, come here.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder, trying to give her some kind of support. The way she was wailing with the guitar, her bloodshot eyes, it all makes sense as to why she’s been so torn up. Hell, why she still is. Today I saw a glimpse of her happiness, but I know the ups and downs death takes on you. I had my own demons to battle with after being sent home.
“I’m okay, promise.” She tries to pull away from me, but I don’t release her. Instead, I move us closer together, smelling the sweet scent of oranges mixed with vanilla.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t hold you for a minute. When’s the last time you’ve had a hug, Mel?” I ask her.
“Well, if you count my second dad, it’s been a couple of weeks before that. Several hugs at the funeral, but nothing that really was meaningful, besides from Gene. That was nothing like what my dad would give me, his hugs. He’d wrap me up like he was a teddy bear and just hold me. I miss him so damn much. He was too young. I wanted him to be there for all the milestones in my life. Now he’s not.” Those words sound as if they’re ripped from her soul.
“Then let me hug you, sunshine. Nothing more. Give me those tears and let it out, at least for now. Then you get up, and fuck do I know it’s hard as hell, but you brush yourself off. If he had things he wanted to do while he was alive, you do those for him. Persevere, even when life is trying to knock you down.” I kiss the crown of her head, already feeling this gravitational pull towards her sunshine.