Chapter 9
NINE
EVERLY
“He just walked away? You’ve got to be joking?” Alex peers at me over those heart-shaped sunglasses.
She has insisted we spend our first day off together in over a week on the little beach at the resort instead of at our beautiful, and might I add, private, beach at her dad’s house. I did my best to protest, but she swears the smooth, pebbly rocks at this beach are easier on her feet.
What a diva.
All I know is I sure as hell don’t want to run into Hux, so I’d much rather avoid this whole establishment like the plague.
“Yep, no goodbye, no nod in my direction, nothing.” I look over my shoulder as I say it. I know I’m being paranoid, but I can’t help myself.
“Hmm.” Alex turns her attention to the lake, seemingly lost in heavy thought.
“Seriously? ‘Hmm’ is all you have to say?” I mock as I sit up from my towel. “That is not the best friend reaction I need! Where is your anger? Your outrage? Once again, I betrayed my instincts and gave the jerk a try in hopes that he’s magically, not a jerk. But nope. Jerk. Big, fat jerko.”
“Well, we can both agree, Hux is far from overweight, that man is shere muscle.”
I stare at her, my mouth open. I fling myself back down on my towel and dramatically stomp my feet on the damn pebbles.
“Listen, I know it seems like the typical asshole move, and we all know I am the first one to try and steer you away from those bad boy types you always seem to be pining after, but I know Hux, and I just feel like there’s more to the story that we don’t know.”
“Alex, we made out on a boat, and then he acted like a dick. I don’t think we are missing anything. Also, you knew Hux when he was what, fourteen years old? I’m sorry, but I am not sure I trust your eleven-year-old brain’s judgment.”
“Hey, I was a very mature eleven-year-old when it came to matters of the heart. Let’s not forget I witnessed firsthand the shit show that was my parent’s divorce.”
Alex has always been such a happy, sassy, spitfire.
Acting as if her life is more of a comedic drama you might watch on TV instead of what I am sure was a heartbreaking and scary family breakdown.
I’ve always assumed this is the root of her inability to be in a committed relationship.
She’s broken hearts, but hers has never even been bruised.
“Okay, well, seeing that you’re an Anderson expert even after an eight-year hiatus, give me some backstory on this jerk who you claim has a heart of gold.” I stare at her, my arms crossed across my chest.
The more I think about it, the more I realize she really hasn’t given me any good insider information on him. I know we have been busier than we both expected, but it still seems weird how tight-lipped everyone is around here when it comes to the Anderson family .
“Well, honestly, I don’t have that much to tell. His mom, Diane, is a wicked talented wood sculptor, like you need to see the stuff this lady can carve with a chainsaw. Totally badass. And you already know Mike.” Tucking her hair behind her ears, Alex sits up, hugging her knees to her chest.
“I know a few years ago when the economy wasn’t doing so hot, Aurora Lake tourism took a pretty big hit, which put a lot of strain on the Andersons.
They are considered one of the nicest and most popular businesses up here, but keeping a business afloat in northern Maine is never easy.
” She rakes her hand through the soft pebbles, stopping to pick out a piece of green lake glass.
“Then, when everything happened with Storm, Elle told me Hux dropped out of college at NYU right before his senior year to stay here and help out.” She holds the small treasure between her forefinger and thumb, lifting it to the sun for a moment before tossing it into her beach bag.
“Storm? Hux’s older brother, right? I saw a picture of the two of them with Mike when they were younger in the lobby. What happened?” From the quiet tone of Alex’s voice and the fact that I’ve heard not even a murmur about him at the resort over the last month, I know it’s not good.
“I don’t know much about it; even my dad doesn’t like talking about it.
I saw a few things on social media when I did some digging.
I guess there was some kind of accident.
It was unclear to me how involved Storm was, but it sounds like it destroyed Hux.
” This time, she looks over her shoulder, sharing my paranoia about who might overhear.
“If you think Hux can be a dick, Storm made him look like a saint. Sarcastic as shit, I was always a little scared of him, to be honest, but he loved it here. He never had big dreams of leaving; he couldn’t wait to take over the family business and spend his whole life here, even as a teenager.
In no way was Storm a straight-and-narrow kind of guy.
He had flaws, but he also had this toxic attraction that was hard not to be blinded by, like looking directly at the sun.
The details of his unraveling are still pretty unknown to me, and it seems very taboo around here. ”
Alex stops short, and I follow her gaze to the path that leads to the beach.
Ashlee, in what looks more like lingerie than a bathing suit, and two of her similarly dressed girlfriends pick a spot a few feet away from us to start laying out their towels.
Ashlee looks over our way, giving a small half-wave, and Alex returns a smile.
With all the money Ashlee’s father has, you’d think they would have bought their own lakefront mansion, like Nick’s family has, and a larger bathing suit.
But no, there is one cabin at Anderson’s that is nicer than the rest, and her family has it locked down every year.
A beautiful log structure that must have been remodeled before the resort started to get into financial trouble, it’s by far the largest cabin we have, with two large bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a full kitchen.
It’s so big that it is the only cabin I clean on Thursdays, taking my whole shift.
Rhonda maintains it daily with a light clean and making sure it’s well-stocked for Mr. Calloway and his daughter.
I won’t even begin to guess what they pay to stay all summer, but I know Mr. Calloway and Mr. Anderson go way back. I’m sure that Mr. Calloway knows how important the business income is to his good friend.
What drives me nuts is I know that their cabin has a beautiful, secluded, private beach. It even has the same kind of pebbly rocks. So, she obviously has come here to show off her ass-sets. I roll my eyes and hold my book up high, blocking out everything else.
I can’t focus on the page inches away from my face though.
I don’t even know where this jealousy is coming from.
It’s not like I can lay claim on Hux. I don’t even like him.
Yes, that kiss was from a different galaxy and still has me spinning like one, but he is a grumpy, arrogant ass.
Plus, I’m the one who walked in on him going to pound town on her.
I think it’s pretty safe to say he is all hers.
“I missed you at tennis this morning.” I overhear one of her friends say, a bit of suspicion in the tone.
“Shut up. Don’t act like you don’t love all the attention being on you when I’m not there, Carley.”
“Well, that’s true, but why were you dragging so bad this morning? It’s not like it’s the first time you and Hux have pulled an all-nighter.” All three girls laugh, and the grip on my book tightens. I need to stop listening to this conversation.
“He was all worked up. I wasn’t sure he was ever going to be tired enough to go to sleep.”
I sigh loudly, throwing my book down and rising to my feet. I can’t stomach another word about Ashlee and Hux’s sexual escapades last night. I glance their way and find that Ashlee is peering at me over the top of her phone, a sly, knowing smile painted on her pouty lips.
I feel as if lava is starting to bubble in the pit of my stomach.
So what if he told her about our clumsy, sloppy kiss, probably made fun of me too, probably told her about how inexperienced and embarrassing I am?
So what if then he still slept with her?
As much as I don’t want to care, tears unexpectedly well at the corner of my eyes.
I turn my face to the sun, shutting them tight.
Get it together, Everly.
I have always had a talent for making things into something they aren’t.
I blame my chronic anxiety for that one.
But I’m not a girl that kisses strangers.
It’s never appealed to me, so by the time I get that far, it’s a surefire sign I’m catching feelings and thinking those feelings are mutual.
It was my downfall with Austin, thinking he loved me.
When really, I’m not even sure he ever even liked me .
I walk to the shoreline, and as expected, the water instantly makes my toes numb. I walk deeper in and finally sink beneath the surface. The biting water immediately assaults my body and takes my mind off my frustration.
Here’s to hoping that maybe, just maybe, these arctic temperatures can permanently freeze these unwanted emotions I’m starting to feel for Hux.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to stay home feeling sorry for yourself all night.” Alex grabs the book from my hands and carelessly throws it across the room. I cringe. I don’t like when my book pages get bent.
“I won’t be alone, your dad’s home.” I reach for the remote, but Alex is faster than me.
“Oh, okay. So you’re going to stay home alone instead of spending the Fourth of July with your best friend? Who, by the way, in less than two months, will fly away to the West Coast, and you may never see again.”
“I think that’s a bit dramatic, don’t you?” I cross my arms across my chest. Envisioning I am cemented to this couch. I will not be dragged off for anything.
“Everly, even my father, who is in his late fifties with very iffy hearing is going, come on!”