Suns Out, Buns Out
SUNS OUT, BUNS OUT
RACHEL
Even though I’m an extrovert, I don’t mind being alone from time to time. Maybe I should’ve been frustrated that Cam had skulked off to his room, but I understood why he was so upset.
Taking a little break also gave the constant flutter of butterflies in my chest a chance to chill out. Besides, I had known how difficult this event would be for him, and I was here to support him. If that meant allowing him some alone time to recharge and clear his head, I was happy to give him space.
Once Jill and her bridesmaids left to go get ready for the wedding, I walked around the resort, bought a hat from the resort gift shop, and then decided to get in my bikini and soak up some rays on the beach. I had just flipped to my stomach when my phone buzzed.
Cam
All right. I’m done feeling sorry for myself. Where are you?
Suns out buns out!
Cam
???
Lol! I’m on the beach behind the resort pool. Grab your swimsuit and join me.
Cam
Be right there.
Ten minutes later a shirtless Cam trudged through the sand toward me in all his glory. He strode past two women who sat up and gawked. His aviator shades only enhanced his movie star vibe. I loved the fact that he here was with me, even though we were doing our best to keep each other in the friend zone. I pushed myself up to my elbows when he sat down on the chair next to me.
“Love the hat,” he said. “Did you bring that with you?”
I swung my legs around and sat on the edge of my chair, straightening my new oversized pink sunhat. “Resort gift shop.”
“Looks great on you.”
“Thanks.” I grinned.
“Up for a little beach walk?”
“Absolutely.”
Once I put my beach bag in a locker, Cam and I strolled along Seven Mile Beach. The powdery white sand, soft and cool beneath my feet, stretched endlessly in both directions, a pristine ribbon separating the turquoise waters of the Caribbean from the resorts and restaurants inland. The sun cast its golden light over the scene, making the entire beach shimmer as if dusted with tiny diamonds. With Hot Baker by my side, this was shaping up to be the best day ever.
And then Cam made it even better.
“I’m so sorry about earlier,” he said, walking so close that our bodies grazed each other here and there as we traipsed through the sand. “That was rude. I shouldn’t have left you when you came all this way to be with me. I think being around Britt and Roman brings out the worst in me.”
“I understand,” I said, eyeing a pretty scallop shell in the sand. “I’m here to support you. If that means you need some alone time, I honestly don’t mind.”
“Thank you, but seriously. I was being an ass. The more I think about it, that’s probably why Britt left me for Roman.”
I threw a concerned look his way. “Why do you say that?”
“Roman is actually a really good guy. Or he was before Britt, anyway. Remember my worst date ever with Bonnie Kilroy?”
“Yeah.”
“If that had happened to Roman, he would have still taken her out and paid. He probably wouldn’t have gone out on a second date, but he still would have sat through it, whereas I turned that car around the second Bonnie made that statement about her needing to be sure I’d be able to afford her.”
“I think you should have turned that car around.” I paused to pick up a bit of sea glass.
“I guess I’ve always been jealous of him. He was the golden child. He followed the path my father set out for him, while I only wanted to rebel. He was a straight-A student and valedictorian, where I coasted with Bs. He went to Johns Hopkins for med school and is one of the most successful surgeons in Phoenix.”
“But,” I stepped in front of him, walking backward while he spoke, “can he make an éclair? I think there’s more virtue in that, frankly.”
Cam laughed, picked up a smooth rock, and threw it across the water. “That’s the one thing he can’t do.”
“Seriously, though, I’m not making light of everything you’re saying.” I tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Do you think it made it that much more shocking when he betrayed you because he was so perfect in your mind?”
Cam’s lips parted as he stared at the beach ahead. “Yeah, I think that’s a big part of it.”
“And he’s older, right?”
“Yep.”
“So, your big brother, that you idolized, was the stable one between the two of you.”
“You’ve been talking to my mom, haven’t you?”
“No, I swear. It makes sense. Britt was your chance to settle down. Then Roman swooped in, and you felt all this shock and sadness mixed with jealousy and anger. Not only did it change how you saw him, but he also took away your chance to be that stable, grounded person.”
“That’s exactly it,” Cam said, picking up a smooth rock and skipping it into the ocean. “How much do you charge an hour again?”
“You can pay me in potatoes and pastries,” I said, picking up another shell.
Cam shook his head. “You say things like that and yet …”
He lifted his sunglasses, unleashing his eyes on me and activating those butterflies that had been enjoying their break.
“How do I say this in a friend way and not in a ‘I’d like to use my mulligan now’ way,” he continued. “You’re a very fit and beautiful woman. Do you exercise fifty hours a week to burn off all those potatoes and pastries?”
“Oh yeah. Very focused workouts.”
“And those are?”
“Rolling big semi tires across the desert. I wrestle javelinas and then I go to junkyards and bench-press really old cars.”
“No way, me too!”
I giggled.
“Seriously, though. How do you look this good?” Cam asked.
I shrugged. “I do like to run and do some yoga, but honestly, I log about 15,000 steps a day at the store.”
I paused to breathe in the sea air and to admire the endless azure expanse in front of us. Cam did the same and the silence that enveloped us was not heavy or awkward; it was restorative and welcome. My skin enjoyed the warm embrace of the sun, but in that moment, I longed to be in the water.
“So incredible here,” Cam said.
I threw my hat and my sunglasses down on the beach. “Come on, let’s get in.”
“I just got a perm so I can’t get my hair wet,” Cam said, stroking his locks and smiling.
“Do people still get perms?”
“If they do, they probably shouldn’t.”
Cam laid down the towels he’d been carrying and set my hat and his sunglasses on them. We waded into the water. Once it came up to my calves, I bent down to scoop water up and wet my arms while the gentle waves curled in.
“You’re not afraid of water, are you?” he asked with his hands on his hips.
“Not at all. But I like to ease in.”
“Yeah, that’s no fun. You ease into a freezing lake, not this warm, beautiful ocean.”
I piled my hair into a bun on top of my head, securing it with the band that had been on my wrist. “Why don’t you go further out and let me know if you see any sharks.”
“I think you’d make better bait.” He crouched down, ready to pounce on me. He looked so ridiculous.
I burst out laughing. “You wouldn’t dare!”
A playful squeal left my body as Cam lunged for me. I dodged him once, but he was too fast. He chased me into the waves, then scooped me up in his arms like I weighed nothing at all and tossed me into the ocean. I sunk down and bobbed to the surface, blowing out water. He laughed as he swam toward me.
“Jerk!” I shouted, pouncing on his back and pushing him under for a second. He burst back up, found his footing on the ocean floor, and his strong hands tugged at my waist. They pulled me to him, and as if it were a motion I had done a thousand times before, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I said, pushing a wet Superman-like curl out of his face.
“Wanted to get you all wet, I guess.”
“Mission accomplished.”
Yep, mission accomplished, especially with his tan, sculpted shoulders and arms holding me tight. Shit, this was going to be Operation Green Thunder all over again .
The water lapped lazily around us while we remained there, motionless like statutes carved with no other purpose than to gaze at each other for all eternity.
“I guess you really are feeling better,” I finally said.
“Always, with you.”
His eyes matched the color of the ocean exactly. His lips were dotted with salty droplets, and I swear I could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
I was in real trouble here.
“I liked it when you said, ‘She’s with me.’”
When his mouth twitched into a smile, I knew he remembered what he had said after he threw Andrew against the wall of Sugar & Spice.
“I liked saying it,” he breathed.
Using a mulligan and pressing my greedy lips to his was all I could think of. A deep, pulsing heat began to spread from my abdomen, warming me from the inside out. My thighs throbbed with anticipation as his hands moved down to cup my backside. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to contain the intense desire that was building within me. The tension between us crackled like electricity, begging to be released.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a half smile. “We should probably get back.”