“He will, jeez. I’m sure he is trying to give you time to get used to him being here. After how you reacted when he showed up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he waited longer than a week.” Rhian snickered; she was far from amusing.
“I wasn’t that bad. I was in shock. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. How would you have reacted?”
Sadie piped in, “Knowing the connection you had, I probably would’ve picked up my jaw off the floor and ran into his arms.”
“This isn’t a fucking romance novel, Sade.” I rolled my eyes; Sadie was a hopeless romantic and thought every love story was like freaking Cinderella.
“No, it’s not, but she’s right. Girl, you were far gone for him. After he left, I wasn’t sure you’d ever be the same again.” Rhian’s face was a little sad.
Thinking back to the months following Tanner's departure always made me feel crazy. I’d never felt so dejected in my life, and seeing as it was about a guy I’d barely known a week, I felt like a complete loser. I was usually such an easy-going person, and for a few months there, I was a raging bitch. Even I didn’t want to be around myself. “Shut the fuck up, Rhian. We don’t need to dredge up the past.”
They both laughed at my expense but stopped abruptly at the sound of the bell on the door. The look on their faces told me it could only be one person. I slowly turned to find a sheepish-looking Tanner standing there with his hands up in surrender.
“I know I shouldn’t have stopped by unannounced, but I’ve texted and called and hadn’t heard anything, so I wanted to come by and check on you. Did you get a new number?”
Fuck. I twirled around. “Do you mind giving us a minute?”
They scurried off without a word, just waving at Tanner on their way out.
“So…” I didn’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete bitch.
“So…” He mimicked, rocking back and forth on his feet.
“Well, I guess I should just say it. I blocked you.”
His face went from surprised to hurt in about two point five seconds.
“It’s not what you think.”
“Really? Could you explain how blocking someone could be taken the wrong way? Because the only reason I would block someone is that I didn’t want to hear from them. Please enlighten me, Easton.” I didn’t think I’d ever seen him even the slightest bit upset, but he was mad right now.
“Let me explain.” I took a deep breath; talking about feelings wasn’t my forte. “After you left, I had a…let’s just say I didn’t take it well. I missed you like crazy the instant you walked away, and I needed a clean break for my own sanity. I made the decision at the airport to let you go before I even walked out of there.” Fuck I felt like a dick.
“It’s fine; I get it.” He was looking down at his feet, still rocking back and forth.
“I’m sorry, Tanner. I know it was selfish of me. I just needed to get my life back, and I didn’t know how else to do it.”
“I guess I know why you never responded to me back then.” He chuckled, but it sounded forced.
I pulled out my phone and unblocked him before sending him a text.
Me: I really am sorry, Canadia.
He stepped forward to pull me in for a tight hug. It felt good to be in his arms, but it scared me all over again, more than the first time because this was more real. He was here, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
I chanced a look up at him and sure enough, “That look again,” I breathed out.
The smile that graced his face could brighten the night's sky. “That look is just for you.” He leaned down, but we were saved by the bell.
A group of kids walked in, and I stepped back from Tanner. “I’ll be right with you,” I told them around Tanner.
“I should let you get back to work; at least now I can text you.” His shoulders bounced with laughter.
“You up for a beach day? We’re all going Sunday if you want to meet us there around eleven?”
“Sounds good, I’ll be there.” He kissed my cheek, causing shivers to run through my entire body. How did he do that to me?
I watched as he left the store. My best friends looked to be interrogating him outside. They walked in shortly after. I rushed over to the customers to avoid their questions.
The little shits didn’t want any help, so, unfortunately, I didn’t have much choice but to face the firing squad.
Sadie had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot repeatedly. Her face had a half scowl on it, and as soon as I was within earshot, she gave it to me. “You blocked him? You fucking blocked him?” She huffed out a breath and adjusted her stance. “What the hell, East? Why would you do that?”
“Ugh, I already feel bad enough. I don’t need your shit, all right? I had my reasons, and it worked to get me through that time. I didn’t know what else to do.” I sighed and went behind the counter to try to distract myself and avoid their death glares.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us, though. Like seriously, Easton, what the fuck?” Rhian probably would’ve done the same thing in my situation. She didn’t care that I had blocked him, more that I’d left her out of the loop.
“Sorry, I wasn’t proud of myself. It wasn’t one of my sparkling moments.” They knew the word sorry coming out of my mouth was big for me, so they dropped it.
“You invited him to the beach, though? How do you feel about that?” Sadie leaned on the counter.
I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s whatever. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, no different than Spence and Carson.”
The looked at each other. “You keep telling yourself that.” Rhian slapped me on the shoulder. “We’re going to head out and leave you to your lies.” She emphasized the word lies like she’d never told a little white lie.
“See you when I get home.” I wasn’t going to take the bait.
“Love you.” They said as they walked out the door.
We’d arrived at the beach a little early, which gave me some time to try to calm my nerves. I kept telling myself this wasn’t a big deal. I mean, it wasn’t. We were only hanging out at the beach with some friends. This was something I did multiple times a week. It’s not like anything was going to happen, especially with a group of people here.
All I needed was to get out on the waves and clear my head.
I’d been out there for almost an hour by the time I decided to come in for a breather. As I was paddling in, I noticed Tanner sitting in the sand talking to Rhian. Everyone else was still in the water, so I walked over to take a short rest.
“Hey, you were looking good out there,” Rhian said as I came to kneel in front of them.
“Thanks, the sets are perfect today.” I nodded at Tanner. “Are you coming out?”
He raised a brow. “Not sure that’s such a good idea. You know surfing and I don’t quite mesh. I might be safer on land.”
“I’ll keep him company,” Rhian said as she bumped shoulders with him. She didn’t mean anything by it. She would never do that to me, but the churning in my gut at the thought of them together had me feeling sick.