Dare Me by Ella Frank
Kieran
I’D LOST MY damn mind.
As I drove my rental car over the bridge that linked Savannah to South Haven Island, I knew what I was doing was crazy. Maybe the most impulsive, insane thing I’d ever done, and that was saying a lot, considering what I did for a living. If I’d been sober last night, there was no way in hell I would’ve bought a ticket to Georgia, but here I was.
Palm trees lined both sides of the road, and the soothing smell of salt in the air made me lower my window a bit even as I kept the A/C blasting. It was hot in Chicago, but wow, humidity was a whole different thing down here. Even so, I could see the appeal of the island immediately, and why Bash had chosen this place over city living. Something inside you relaxed when you crossed over that bridge and caught a glimpse of the ocean. It was beautiful.
Still, even the tranquil environment couldn’t stop the nerves from taking over as the GPS directed me toward the AnaVoge building. That was the only address I had for Bash, and I was holding out hope that someone worked there on Sundays, or else I was shit out of luck for the day.
Making the turn into AnaVoge’s parking lot was a fun experience in driving one-handed, something I shouldn’t be doing in the first place, but screw it. I didn’t know if they even had Ubers on an island this tiny, and really, I wanted to feel like I had some control over this crazy decision. What would I even say to Bash when I saw him? The last thing he’d expect was my showing up to disrupt his life here, but he’d disrupted the hell out of mine, so it was only fair, right?
Well, shit. That won’t be happening today, will it?I thought as I pulled into AnaVoge’s empty parking lot. Of course they’d be closed on a Sunday. Wasn’t everything in the South closed for church or something?
Great. I’d have to wait until tomorrow to show up, but who knew if I’d still have the nerve to do that. Fuck me. Why was I here again?
Bash’s face flitted through my mind, and I sighed, put the car in park, and dropped my head back against the headrest. Yeah…that was why. He was why. I needed answers and to get to the bottom of what had happened between us, since obviously something had gone very, very wrong.
I stared at the building in front of me, a chic, modern expanse of steel and glass. This was his, a company he’d built from the ground up, and that alone was impressive as hell. Almost as much as the man himself.
Okay, I’d stay, which meant I needed to find a hotel for the night. The beach seemed like a good place to start, because why not enjoy myself on a balcony? Or throw myself off it, either way. I reset the GPS to head in that direction and see what hotels popped up.
This was definitely the most impulsive I’d ever been. But what else was I gonna do? Sit at home, do nothing, and waste the time I had off from work? No fuckin’ thank you.
The GPS took me to the public beach access point, where hotels and restaurants lined the strip on either side. Yes, this was perfect. Surely I was bound to find a room at one of these places.
I pulled into the small parking lot at the access point, and when I saw the sandy beach, I decided to take a moment and just…breathe. A lot had happened in the last couple of days— couple of weeks, really—and while I was here for a very specific reason, that didn’t mean I couldn’t take a moment to just take a moment.
I shoved open the car door and climbed out, and the salty air was like a balm to the soul. It instantly soothed and made me feel as though I was on vacation, which I was sure was another one of the reasons Bash enjoyed this island lifestyle compared to the bustling city.
I kicked off my shoes and slid them inside the sling on my left arm, then headed down the sandy path that led through the brush and out onto the open beach. The sand under my feet was soft and warm, and it had been so long since I’d been on a beach that I took a moment to just stand there and enjoy the sensation.
Why the hell didn’t I do this more often? Take a vacation. Go somewhere peaceful. Unwind. Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken time off. I’d always attributed that to being too restless to just stop and relax. But maybe it had more to do with not knowing what it was I needed. This was apparently it.
The sound of the waves against the shoreline was like something from the sleep app I used on occasion, and I found myself moving toward them, wanting to feel the cool water against my hot skin.
There were a good number of people out and about today, being that it was the weekend, but it was by no means overcrowded. It was nice. There were families with kids running around and a couple of teenagers flying a kite, and it reminded me of when my parents used to take me and my brothers up to Savanna to fish.
Memories. That was what places like this made you want to create. It made you want to slow down and savor each day, instead of rushing right through them and then wondering where the hell the time had gone.
Wow, okay. So maybe I needed this more than I’d realized. Or maybe I was just feeling reflective because last night at Bailey’s, Sean—Sean—had announced a wedding date. Something about that little reveal made me realize how much he’d changed recently, how he’d been willing to have an open mind about things. The same things I now found myself thinking about.
Shit.I continued down the beach, my feet sinking into the wet sand as I went. Who would’ve ever thought that I’d have anything in common with Sean? We were about as different as two guys could be. A lot of that had to do with the age gap between us, but also that Sean had been carrying around our father’s baggage most of his life and made sure to keep his distance. That had changed after my parents died, but not before we came to blows over it.
Another reason I didn’t like to stand still, I supposed—too many ghosts floating around in my head. Ones that I preferred to remember in a good light, even though it was a dark addiction that had taken them away.
Jesus, ten minutes on the beach had been better than the two months of therapy I went to after their car accident. I definitely should’ve done this sooner.
As I made my way farther down the shoreline, I noticed several shops up on the bank, their balconies offering gorgeous views of the Atlantic. There were some with surfboards and swimsuits; another had little tables and chairs set up—a cafe, maybe—and as I continued on, I spotted a bigger establishment, one with a large wraparound porch under a wide awning, with huge fans that were trying their hardest to provide some sort of breeze.
It was clearly a favorite, judging by the amount of people there. I could see the waitresses moving through the crowds with trays full of food and large drink carafes, and thought what a perfect place it was to grab a bite to eat. The food on the plane had been average at best, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect spot than a table overlooking the ocean to get me in the right headspace. Maybe I could look up a good hotel while I was there. Somewhere with a view like this.
I made my way up toward the restaurant and noticed the sign on the balcony read the Overlook. I liked that. Simple but catchy. As I got closer, a loud burst of laughter came from one of the tables closest to the rails. I saw a group of guys all gathered around a table in the middle of busting a gut over something that had clearly amused them, and that was when I saw him.
There, standing on top of his chair—is that a champagne bottle in his hand?—was Bash, and he was holding the thing to his lips like a microphone as he bellowed out a really bad rendition of “That’s What Friends Are For.”
I blinked once, twice, and then rubbed my eyes for good measure, because I didn’t think my imagination was creative enough to hallucinate that. But this was no illusion; I’d know that face anywhere. The man standing on that chair was Bash. He looked about as blitzed as he had been the night we went to the burlesque show.
He wobbled a bit on his chair, and a massive guy beside him helped him back on solid ground. I couldn’t stop staring, still shocked that I’d stumbled across him here. Given he seemed to be a little intoxicated, not to mention surrounded by his friends, now probably wasn’t the best time to just show up.
But what could I do? I’d come all this way, and it had to be fate that we’d ended up on the same stretch of beach. I wasn’t about to tuck tail and hide now.
I pulled my shoes out of my sling and headed up to the Overlook before I could talk myself out of it.
Ready or not, here I come.
