Chapter 23
The week since Willa had quit her job at the Beachside Inn had flown by. She’d reached back out to the gyms she’d initially applied to, but nothing had changed—they weren’t hiring. She also emailed a few hotels, thinking maybe she could set up a deal similar to the one she had with The Beachside Inn—but no luck.
At least she had a trust fund she could dip into, if and when she needed.
Which she had—several times since moving.
But she didn’t want to rely on Daddy’s money—not if she could help it.
Anxiety about being jobless again creeped in, but she pushed it aside, deciding that was a problem for Future Willa to deal with. She needed to get through the Bingo Ball first. And she deserved to enjoy this weekend with her best friend.
Willa pulled into the airport and chuckled as she remembered Shawn’s reaction when she’d told him she quit.
“Good. I didn’t like your boss,” he said.
“You’re gonna lose it when I tell you what he said to make me quit,” she responded.
His eyes shot to her and narrowed.
“He told me you couldn’t come to my classes anymore,” she said, and he visibly relaxed. “Then he offered to look the other way if you came to my classes. But only in exchange for sex.”
Shawn stood up from where he was sitting on the wharf and towered over her.
“And what did you say to him, Greene?”
“I told him he could get fucked. Among other things.”
He kneeled in front of her and dropped his head to her pussy.
“That’s my girl,” he said against her sex before tugging her pants down and eating her out so thoroughly that she didn’t notice she’d caught a fish.
She clenched her legs at the memory before pulling the Jeep to a stop at the arrivals section of the airport. Willa pulled out her phone and saw a text had come through from Charlie that she’d landed about 15 minutes ago. She shot back a text telling Charlie where she could find her. Tossing her phone into the passenger seat, she got out of the car and leaned against the side of it, crossing her arms as she waited.
A few minutes later, Charlie walked out the automatic sliding doors dressed in a baby blue sundress and a beach hat, her blonde hair blowing in the breeze and tanned skin glowing underneath the sun. She grinned when she saw Willa.
“Ugh, let’s never go this long without seeing each other again,” Charlie said, tugging her into a hug.
“Deal,” Willa said as she wrapped her arms around her best friend.
They put Charlie’s luggage in the back seat and hopped in the car.
“So what’s the plan?”
“The plan?”
“For the weekend!” Charlie said, exasperated. “Aren’t you going to show me around, introduce me to some locals, charm me into moving here?”
“You would never move here.”
“Well, not with that attitude.”
Willa laughed. “Tonight, we’re fishing off the wharf. I’ll teach you how to throw the cast net. Shawn will probably come over.”
Charlie fanned herself. “Can’t wait to meet the hot neighbor. His six-pack better be as amazing as you said it was.”
“The Bingo Ball is tomorrow night,” Willa continued. “So we can just take it easy tomorrow. Maybe go swimming or something.”
“As long as my hair doesn’t get wet. I just got it colored.”
Willa rolled her eyes. “I sweet-talked Shawn into taking us on a boat ride on Saturday.”
“By sweet-talked, do you mean you sucked his dick until he agreed?”
“I plead the fifth,” Willa laughed. “And Saturday night, we’re having a girls’ night with my friends from the hotel. Takeout, rom-coms, the whole nine.”
“And then Sunday, we’ll nurse our hangovers?”
“Just like old times.”
“Perfect.”
Shawn’sfirst impression of Charlie was that she probably devoured men with those scorching eyes and innate sexuality. Of course, he only had eyes for Willa.
His second impression was that she had a lot to say. And she had no problem saying it.
“Can I see your six pack?” Charlie asked.
Shawn’s eyes widened and he glanced at Willa, who’d covered her mouth with a hand in an attempt to hold back laughter.
“Uh…” Shawn wasn’t sure how to answer.
“It’s just that Willa said your abs are amazing, and I’m not convinced they’re any better than other abs we see at the yoga studio all the time. You know?”
Shawn looked at Willa again, whose shoulders were now shaking with silent laughter.
“I guess?” he said, then lifted his shirt up.
He shifted a bit under Charlie’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Wow,” Charlie said, nodding appreciatively. “Willa was right. Your abs are amazing. Never seen anything like ‘em. You even have the V and everything. Can I touch them?”
Shawn dropped his shirt and looked at Willa in alarm, who had abandoned all pretense of hiding her laughter and now was doubled over in hysterics.
“Sorry, Charlie,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I doubt Shawn wants to let you touch his abs. He barely knows you.”
Charlie looked at Willa with narrowed eyes, then back to Shawn.
“Look, I don’t bite, I promise,” Charlie said. “And I won’t put the moves on you, either. I know you two are fucking. I just want to feel them. For research.”
“Research?” Shawn asked skeptically.
Charlie nodded solemnly. “I have a lot of sex. I see a lot of abs. I want to feel how yours compare to the others.”
Shawn looked at Willa, who shrugged as if to say, Up to you.
“Are you always like this?” Shawn asked.
“If you mean charmingly bold, then yes. Now lift your shirt back up.”
Shawn did as she asked, and she ran fingers along his abs. He didn’t love the way it felt; he’d rather it have been Willa caressing his abdomen, like she did most nights. But he didn’t mind it, either. He knew Charlie was harmless, and she obviously cared for Willa a great deal.
Charlie turned around suddenly and looked at Willa.
“You were right,” she said. “I’m impressed. Nicest abs I’ve ever touched. Kudos to you, my friend.”
She turned back to Shawn and gave him a wink.
“Thanks…?” Shawn’s voice trailed off.
“You’re welcome. Now, aren’t we supposed to be fishing or something?”
Willa rolled her eyes. “We are fishing, Charlie.”
She pointed to the fishing rods nestled in the holders at the edge of the wharf. The sun had set about 30 minutes ago, and Shawn came over as always with a bucket of shrimp. Willa had let him know that Charlie would be in town for the Bingo Ball, but she hadn’t given many details on what they’d be doing or what Charlie was like.
Shawn had been entertained by their good-natured back-and-forth since he got here.
“Wow, fishing is easy,” Charlie responded as she sat down.
Willa shared a look with Shawn over Charlie’s head and shook her head, a bemused grin tugging at her lips.
“We haven’t caught anything yet, Charlie,” she said. “You’re scaring all the fish away with your loud, invasive questions.”
“Who, moi?” Charlie pressed a hand against her chest in over-exaggerated astonishment. “So, what? You guys just sit in silence for hours until you catch a fish?”
“We don’t sit in silence. We just talk quietly.”
Charlie pressed her lips in a thin line.
“The only time I’m even remotely quiet is during savasana and you know that, Willa.”
Shawn chuckled, and Willa grinned at him.
“I should’ve known it would end up this way,” Willa said. “You barely even gave the cast net a try.”
“That thing was heavy!” Charlie whined. “And it made me all sticky with salt water.”
“Charlie, you can hold a handstand for a minute. You expect me to believe you can’t pick up a cast net?”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve been throwing that thing since you were, like, in diapers or something.”
Willa sighed and sat down. Shawn leaned against the side of the wharf and eyed them. They had the rapport of two people who’d known each other through the trenches of life, and it made his heart ache. He really needed to call Tucker back. Go to dinner. See Hanna. He needed to get over himself and just tell them the reason he’d stopped coming around was because he felt lonely—lonelier when he was around their happiness.
“Are you two always like this?” Shawn asked.
Willa said, “Like what?” at the same time Charlie said, “Yes.”
The two of them looked at each other and then burst out laughing. He’d never get tired of Willa’s laugh, the way her face lit up with joy.
Suddenly, one of the rods jerked down, and Charlie shrieked. “Is that supposed to happen?”
Shawn bit his lip, trying not to laugh. He’d taught hundreds of people how to fish over the years. He’d mastered the art of keeping a straight face when people asked weird questions or had strange reactions to fishing. But for some reason, his poker face was breaking as he watched Willa look at Charlie with the patience a mother gave a toddler while Charlie inched away from the fishing rod.
“That means you caught something!” Willa exclaimed. “Don’t you want to reel it in?”
Charlie tentatively walked up to the fishing rod and started to pick it up.
“Use both hands and hold it tight, otherwise the fish will tug it out of your hands,” Shawn said.
Willa winked at him then looked back at Charlie, who was holding her fishing rod like it was a dirty sock.
“Okay, now hold the rod with your left hand and reel with your right hand,” Willa urged.
Charlie clenched the rod so tightly with her left hand that her knuckles went white. Shawn resisted the urge to chuckle as she slowly started reeling in, her stance wide, looking like a deer in headlights. She slowly reeled, the steady ticking of the rod breaking the silence of the humid night.
“I’m doing it!” Charlie shrieked.
“‘Atta girl,” Willa said. “Now if you could just pick up the pace of your reeling, we could probably get this fish up here before the morning breaks.”
Charlie’s jaw dropped in feigned offense. “How dare you! I’m working hard over here!”
“Do you want help?” Willa smirked.
“Of course I do! I’m never going to reel this thing in!”
Willa stepped next to Charlie and held the fishing rod, encouraging Charlie to continue reeling it in. With less effort exerted on holding the pole, she was actually able to reel it in faster. Shawn watched them with amusement and awe, leaning against the side of the wharf. They didn’t need him, and he was happy to watch his girl show her friend the ropes.
His girl.
Fuck.
He was really screwed.
He was falling for Willa and he knew it. Every day that she expertly reeled in a fish and actively listened when he told her about his day and led him to bed so he could eat her pussy, he fell for her a little more.
And he didn’t have a goddamn clue what to do about it.
Charlie pulled him out of his stupor as she started jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
“I did it!” she whisper-screamed.
“You caught us a nice little redfish,” Willa said, grinning as she unhooked the fish and held it out to her. “Want a picture with it?”
Charlie grimaced. “What, like I’m a dude looking for material to put on my Tinder? Hard pass.”
“C’mon, Charlie,” Willa said. “It’s probably three pounds. Barely big enough for us to eat, but I’ll fry it for you for lunch tomorrow. Get over yourself and let me take a picture of you holding it.”
Charlie groaned. “Fine. But you owe me.”
“I just reeled in this fish for you and I’m cooking you dinner and I’m hosting you for the week.”
“Fine. Call it even, then.”
Willa laughed and handed the fish to Charlie, then grabbed her phone from her pocket and snapped a photo as Charlie beamed.
“This thing is slimy. Can I put it down now?”
“Toss it in the cooler,” Willa said.
“How can you tell it’s a red fish?” Charlie asked, holding it underneath the light of a lantern near the cooler.
“It’s got a black dot on its tail. See?” Willa went over to where Charlie was and pointed to it.
“Cool,” Charlie said. “At least I learned something. That’s the first and last time I’ll be fishing. I was made for inside activities only.”
Willa laughed and glanced at Shawn. His heart fluttered at the way her eyes twinkled at him, and he felt the desperate need to kiss her. Of course, it’d be a few days until he could come over. She’d warned him that they probably wouldn’t hook up while Charlie was in town so she could maximize time with her best friend. Shawn understood, of course, but he already felt the lack of her.
“Nice job, Charlie,” Shawn said gruffly, his eyes never leaving Willa.