Chapter 25
Chapter 25
AFTER MONTHS AND MONTHS of dating the man I had expected to marry, I had watched him go back to his ex, fallen in love with another, and lost one of my best friends.
So, it was a surprise when I received an email from Paige, instructing me to meet her and Marissa on the beach at ten that night. No explanation, nothing. Just the location and a “See you there.”
It was an olive branch, and I was going to grab it with both hands.
I arrived on time that evening, ready to have strips ripped off me. And I knew I deserved it. I knew acting on my feelings for Will had hurt Paige deeply. I hadn’t yet given up hope she would forgive me one day, although I didn’t expect it to happen any time soon.
Will gave me a hug beside the car. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I do. She’s really important to me.”
“I’ll be here, waiting. Okay?”
I smiled at him. Will Jordan, the man I loved. We’d been dating for three weeks and five days and it was wonderful. Unlike dating Parker, I didn’t feel like I needed to behave in a certain way or cultivate interests I didn’t have. I could just be me. And Will loved me.
I gave him a quick kiss, flicked on my flashlight, and walked over the sandy ground to find Paige before my nerve ran off into the night. I climbed up and over a sand dune and over another before I reached the beach. I could hear the waves rolling and crashing on the shore, a light breeze blowing my long hair in my face. I scooped it up into a high ponytail with a band from my wrist—always be prepared!—and spotted a bonfire with a couple of figures about a hundred yards away.
As I approached I saw Paige and Marissa, watching the flames in silence.
“Hi, girls.”
They both turned to face me. “Hey,” Marissa said.
Although angry with me at the time, Marissa had forgiven me, telling me you couldn’t choose who you fell in love with, and if Will was the man I loved, then she was happy for me. I had pointed out it was your family you couldn’t choose, she’d told me not to be a pain, and we’d hugged it out and returned to being the great friends we were.
Paige, on the other hand, had avoided me like I had a combination of leprosy, The Black Plague, and chicken pox, all wrapped up into one. I was hopeful her asking me to be here tonight was a good sign.
Now that I saw the bonfire, I wasn’t so sure.
I smiled, anxious. “It’s good to see you, Paige.” She gave me a curt nod in response. “What are we doing here?” I could feel the heat from the bonfire on my skin as it crackled and glowed.
Paige stepped forward. Without preamble, she launched in to a spiel. “Cassandra Clementine Dunhill, as penance, you have returned here to the beach from whence you came.”
So that’s what this was about: a Beach Goddess thing. I couldn’t suppress a smile. “From whence?” I glanced at Marissa.
Paige ignored my tease. “Yes. You are here tonight, precisely one year from the date of The Pact, to make your peace with the Goddess of the Beach.”
I looked from Paige to Marissa. She shrugged, shaking her head. I looked back at Paige.
“Okay. I will make peace with her.” Anything to get Paige back as my friend.
“Good.” She put her hand out in front of her, and immediately Marissa added hers. I followed suit. Unlike the first time we stood on this beach, hands piled high, there was no storm brewing. Tonight was warm and calm, the sun having just set below the horizon, casting a faint orange glow on us all.
We stood in a small circle as Paige began. “We, the maidens of the beach, are here to ask for your forgiveness. One of us”—she nodded at me to ensure the Goddess knew exactly which one—“has made a different choice. We ask that you allow her to follow her heart.”
The hope Paige was prepared to forgive me rose inside. “Really, Paige?”
She gave a short, perfunctory nod. “You deserve to be happy.”
Tears stung my eyes. Paige had forgiven me? Paige was happy for me?
“Tell us what price she must pay, oh Goddess,” she continued.
Wait a minute. Price ?
I watched, openmouthed, as Paige turned her face skyward. Marissa rolled her eyes, buying into this whole Goddess business about as much as she did the first time around. And just like the first time, my arm began to get sore from holding it in place so long.
Eventually, Paige turned her gaze on me. “You must dip in the waters to cleanse yourself. When you emerge, you will be free to follow your heart.”
“Hold on. You want me to go for a swim? Now?” I looked out at the dark ocean.
She nodded. “It is the wish of the Goddess. You must follow her instructions or she won’t be happy.”
I looked uncertainly at the water. It was ominously pitch black. I swallowed. “Well, if you’re sure.”
I began to slip my jean jacket off when Paige put her hand on my arm. “Fully clothed.”
“Paige!” She glared at me. “All right. But then it’s done, right? The Goddess or whatever will forgive me for not marrying my One Last First Date, and you’ll forgive me, too, Paige?”
She chewed her lip. After a beat, she gave a stiff nod.
My face broke into a broad smile. “Well, then. What am I waiting for?” And, without a backward glance, I ran down to the water’s edge, my dress flapping in the breeze. I didn’t stop to test the waters: I went straight in, running through the waves, thankfully now only lapping against the shore. I ran until the water was knee deep, slowing my progress. I struggled through, the water reaching my thighs. And it was cold. For such a warm summer night, it was quite a shock to the system. I glanced at the darkened figures on the beach, turned back, and dived under the water.
As I popped back up, I heard Marissa yell, “Go, Cassie! Woo!”
I felt something slimy brush up against my bare leg. I let out a cry. Without wasting another second, I swam to shore, my clothes heavy, my sneakers loosening with each kick. Dripping wet and freezing, with salt and sand in places I didn’t want to think about, I strode up the beach, back to the bonfire and my friends.
Marissa grinned at me. “That was awesome!”
I looked at Paige. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with him. I’m so sorry.”
She nodded, her eyes downcast. “I know. Thanks for doing that.” Her face broke into a grin. “You look like a drowned rat.”
I shrugged. “Well, I had to do what the Goddess wanted me to do, right?”
Paige scrunched her face. “About that. It was kind of my idea.”
“What?” I shrieked. She smiled at me and my heart melted. “That’s okay. I get it.”
Paige handed me a towel. I rubbed myself down, wringing my hair out. I took a step over toward her and gave her a hug. “I’ve missed you, Paige.”
She sniffled in my ear. “Yeah, me, too.”
“Good. It’s about time you two made up,” Marissa pronounced. “And about time we had one of these.” She reached into a picnic box I hadn’t noticed earlier and pulled out glasses and a bottle of champagne—the real deal, none of this sparkling wine rip-off stuff.
I watched as she placed the champagne flutes on top of the basket, warm inside, despite the fact I was shivering in my wet clothes. “Hey, why do you have five glasses? There are only the three of us.”
By way of reply, Marissa stuck her fingers in her mouth and gave her farm-girl whistle. Within seconds, two figures appeared from behind the dunes. The figures—a man and a woman—walked over the beach toward us. As they got closer, I recognized their faces immediately, illuminated by the fire.
“What the—?”
“Hey, Dunny,” Will said with a grin as he wrapped a second towel around me, kissing my cold cheek. “I thought you may need a change of clothes.” He indicated a bag in his other hand.
My eyes were on stalks. “You knew about this?” I looked from him to a smiling Bailey. “And you, too?”
They both nodded, Bailey laughing. “Although it was Paige’s idea, we all thought it’d be a fitting end.”
“No harm, no foul?” Will asked with the cheeky grin I was once misguided enough to think was smarmy.
I smiled at him, my heart filled with love. “No harm, no foul.”
There was a loud pop as the champagne cork went flying out of the bottle and into the fire. Sparks flew, and we all took a step back. Marissa poured the first glass of champagne until it overflowed. “Oops. Champagne wastage alert.”
“Perhaps that can be another offering to the Goddess of the Beach?” I suggested, a playful twinkle in my eye. “And now that I think about it, maybe the two of you need to go on your One Last First Dates now.”
Marissa handed me a glass of champagne and proceeded to pour the other four. “Well, that bottle’s done and dusted.”
“Do you want in on The Pact too, Bailey?” Paige asked.
She glanced around the group, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m in.”
“Umm, not wanting to bring this up at a time like this, but I kinda already went on my One Last First Date.” Paige glanced at Will, and then down at the ground.
“In that case, I would like to make a new pact. Raise your glasses, everyone,” I instructed.
We all raised our respective glasses in the air, clinking them between us in one champagne flute huddle.
“In the presence of the Goddess of the Beach, I now declare Paige’s One Last First Date as null and void. The slate is now clean.”
Paige smiled, nodding.
I continued, “May the next date you go on, Paige, Marissa, and Bailey, be your last.” I nodded at each of my friends. “To One Last First Dates!”
“One Last First Dates,” everyone repeated, clinking their glasses together and then taking a sip.
Will took my glass and placed it on the top of the box with his. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close. “I may not have been your One Last First Date, Dunny, but I’m kinda hoping you’re mine.”
I grinned at him, my boyfriend, my love. “You know what, ‘Poop Boy’? I have a feeling I am.”
THE END