Garrett gives my mother’s knee a reassuring squeeze. “You did the right thing.”
She nods reluctantly before looking over at me, and I agree, saying, “He’s right. That guy lied and stole from you.”
She releases a defeated sigh before standing and making her way outside.
“Look, I didn’t want to say anything in front of Mom,” Garrett says. “But I talked to Richard last night.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. We didn’t get into anything serious, but he doesn’t sound good, man.”
“That’s his fucking problem, not ours.”
His shoulders slacken. “Yeah, I know,” he mutters.
Neither of us wants to admit that the disintegration of another marriage sucks ass, but I need to get some space.
“Where are you going?” he questions when I stand and start walking toward the stairs.
“I’m going to go skimming at Indian Rocks.” I head upstairs, throw on my swim trunks, and grab my skimboard. I desperately need to get out of this house. It’s way too tense.
Before I hit the front door, I text Micah.
Me: Heading to Indian Rocks. You down?
Micah: Yeah.
Me: I’ll come pick you up.
It takes only a handful of minutes before I’m passing over the small bridge that leads to the gated community on Harbour Island where his parents live. Rolling in front of the drive, I lie on the horn, and a few moments later, Micah comes out with his board tucked under his arm.
“Let’s do this,” he says when he jumps into the passenger seat of my SUV.
With the sunroof and windows open, we cruise across the Gandy bridge and over to Indian Rocks beach. The humidity is unusually thick for this time of year, and it’s no surprise that the ocean water is hotter than normal—not that the gulf waters really ever get cold like they do in Miami.
“Look at this flat, shit,” Micah drones.
“We’re skimming, little bitch,” I shout as I run past him, drop my board, and jump on, riding the sliver of water that rolls up the shore.
We spend the next hour or so throwing down tricks and skimming the swashes that rush up the sand. The beach is pretty much ours with only a few people scattered about, which is why I love it here. No tourists flock to this area; it’s all locals.
“Are we calling it?” I ask when Micah grabs his board.
“Yeah, man. I need a breather.”
When we sit in the sand and Micah tosses me a bottle of water from his backpack, he asks, “Is that Henley?”
“Where?”
“Over there,” he says, pointing to the chick I couldn’t get rid of after we hooked up last year.
“Fuck.” I breath the curse, praying to the gods above that she doesn’t see me. “Who knew she’d turn into a crazy barnacle?”
Micah laughs. He knows the nightmare she put me through. The girl kept texting and calling, blowing up my damn phone and not taking the hint, which wasn’t even a hint. I flat-out told her that I wasn’t interested in anything other than having fun. I eventually had to block her.
“Should we warn the guy she’s talking to?” he says under a chuckle.
I shake my head. “Not my problem, bruh. But speaking of chicks, what’s going on with you and Ady?”
“Nothing, man. The girl is still completely hung up on her ex.”
“Still?”
He shrugs.
“So, are you going to tell her that you’re smacked?”
“I’m not fucking smacked,” he defends, but it’s bullshit.
“Dude, don’t even try to deny the fact that you’ve had a thing for her ever since she moved here junior year.”
“Whatever, man.” He brushes it off before chugging his water and turning the damn table on me. “And what about Kate?”
“What about her?”
“You guys are hanging out all the time. What’s up with that?”
“Nothing’s up.”
“Your eyes are turning brown.” He laughs.
“Fuck off.” Truth is, it doesn’t matter how I feel about anyone. I’m not into commitment. It isn’t my thing. I’m down for fun. The last thing I want is drama from a relationship. Never had one, and I’m not interested in starting one. “We’re friends, man.”
“Are you sure that’s all?”
“Yeah, she’s turned me down a few times, so I gave up.”
I still see the way she looks at me when she thinks I’m not paying attention, but I can’t read her beyond that. Every advance I make, she pushes me away. Most of the time, she seems annoyed with me, but I’ve hung out with her enough to know she’s a chill girl. Fucking her would only ruin our friendship. Since we run in the same circle, it would wind up creating tension because she’s made it clear that she isn’t into anything casual.
“Why do you keep her around then?”
“It’s kind of hard not to when she’s friends with Ady and is always at our place. Plus, she’s good friends with Brody and the whole crew,” I defend, but I can tell he isn’t buying it.
Yeah, the chick is hot, a surfer, and mellow—the perfect package. I like that it’s uncomplicated and easy.
“Has Ady said anything to you?”
I release a breathy chuckle. “Ady would have my meat kiwis in a blender if I did anything with Kate.”
We both laugh because it’s the truth. Ady has become a little sister of sorts, and she has no problem voicing her opinions about me. Plus, after watching how much she’s struggled to make girlfriends after she moved to Florida from Texas, I don’t want to be the cause of ruining what appears to be a solid friendship between the two of them. It’s also evident that Kate is helping Ady through whatever Kason did to her, which is another reason why it would be a terrible idea to hook-up with her.
“Enough shit,” he says, changing the topic. “How’s everything with your mom?”
“Not good.”
“Have you talked to your stepdad since you’ve been home?”
“Hell no.”
Despite all the shitty men my mom has been with throughout the years, I kind of liked Richard. But him pissing away all the money and lying to my mom about it is fucked up. That dude can eat ass shit for the rest of his life as far as I’m concerned.
“I’m sorry, man,” he says. “Shit sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
And just like that, the pang in my chest returns.
KATE
After a month off for Christmas break, it feels good to be back at school. Not that I didn’t enjoy my time at home, but tensions were making me want to get back to Miami. Audrina hasn’t been getting along so well with our parents lately. I know it’s just her age. She wants to be treated like an adult when she is still a kid and she doesn’t know how to navigate it so she lashes out. But she has a boyfriend now, so it’s no surprise that all she wants to do is spend time with him.
“Kate,” someone hollers across the bustling lawn, which is lined in pristine palm trees, as I’m making my way across campus to my communications class.